Takorn Tantasith is the Secretary General of Thai Sang Thai Party , Chairman of the Committee on Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, The House of Representatives and also the Member of the House of Representatives of Thailand .^[1][2] Previously, he served as the first Secretary-General of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), Thailand.^[3] Being Secretary-General, he holds the highest executive position at the Office of the NBTC, having roles and responsibilities as stipulated by the Act on Organization to Assign Radio Frequency and to Regulate the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Services B.E. 2553 (2010).^[4] Takorn was appointed Secretary-General of the NBTC on 5 January 2012, for a five-year term,^[5] and in late 2016 was reappointed for a second term starting 5 January 2017.^[6] Prior to this, he was Acting Secretary-General of the NBTC, and Secretary-General of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)from 2009-2012.^[7]

One of the accomplishments of Takorn as Secretary-General of the NBTC is the two spectrum auctions organized by the Office of the NBTC in 2015. The first auction, held in November for the 1800 MHz spectrum, concluded after an unprecedented two-day bidding battle and generated more than 80 billion baht in public revenue.^[8] The second auction, held a month later for the 900 MHz spectrum, lasted over four days with the final revenue reaching over 150 billion baht.^[9] Earlier in 2015, Takorn also spearheaded a nationwide campaign to register all mobile SIM cards in Thailand, and ordered a temporary suspension of Thai TV's licence following the channel's non-payment of its digital television licence fees.^[10][11]

Following a great achievement in 2015 that unleashed 4G mobile internet and transformed Thai economy landscape, the Office of NBTC under Takorn's leadership organized auctions in 2018 for the expiring 1800 MHz and 900 MHz spectrum bands which generated a total revenue of 50 billion baht. In 2019, the Office of NBTC held an auction for 700 MHz in advance to prepare Thailand for 5G era. The total revenue earned was 56 billion baht this time. For 2020, under his direction, the Office of NBTC plans to release 5G spectrum in these following bands: 700 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2600 MHz and 26 GHz to the private sector in February.^[12][13][14]

Early life and education

Takorn was born on 10 September 1960. He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Second-Class Honors) from Ramkhamhaeng University, Thailand, in 1982, and a master's degree in Public Administration from Detroit University, United States, in 1986. In 2013, Takorn received an honorary doctorate in Public Administration from Prince of Songkla University, Thailand.^[15] He was also awarded a "Technology Person of the Year" in 2015 by Foundation of Science and Technology of Thailand in 2015,^[16] an honorary degree for doctor of philosophy by Srinakharinwirot University in 2017,^[17] and Human Resource Excellence Award presented by Thammasat University in 2017.^[18]

Personal life

Takorn is married to Pornpanee Tantasith. Pornpanee holds a bachelor's degree from the Faculty of Arts at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, and a Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics (Teaching English as a Second Language) from the University of South Florida, United States, and previously was a lecturer at Assumption University (ABAC), Thailand.

Takorn and Pornpanee have two sons, Chantawit and Kritti, and one daughter, Isaree. A former scholarship student of the Bank of Thailand, Chantawit graduated from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) with a Bachelor of Political and Economics. After his stint at Bank of Thailand, he completed a master in public policy at Harvard University and a master's degree in economics from Columbia University. He is currently pursuing PhD in public policy at Oxford University. Isaree received a scholarship from the Office of the NBTC and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in law from Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom and holds a Master of Laws (LLM) from the Australian National University (ANU), Australia and graduated from the Thai Barrister Association. She is currently serving as a Judge at Court of Justice. Kritti is a recipient of the Thai government scholarship and completed a bachelor's degree in social policy from London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) After he finished his master studies in anthropology from University College London (UCL)He is currently a lecturer at Thammasat University

Career

• 5 January 2017 to Present: Secretary-General of the NBTC (second term)
• 5 January 2012 to 4 January 2017: Secretary-General of the NBTC
• 20 December 2010 to 4 January 2012: Acting Secretary-General of the NBTC
• 1 December 2009 to 19 December 2010: Acting Secretary-General of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)
• 2006-2009: Deputy Secretary-General of the NTC
• 2005-2006: Principal Expert, Office of the NTC
• 2005: Advisor to the Chairman of the State Audit Commission, Office of the Auditor General of Thailand
• 1987-2004: Budget Analyst, Bureau of the Budget

Other Notable Roles - Current

• Member, Digital Economy Fund Committee
• Member and Counselor to the Digital Economy Committee
• Member, National Safe and Creative Media Commission
• Board Member and Secretary, Broadcasting and Telecommunications Research and Development Fund for the Public Interest
• Member and Counselor to the Public Relations for the National Unity Commission.
• Member, National ICT Security Master Plan Drafting Committee
• Member, Emergency Medicine and Disaster Communications Strategy Committee
• Member, National Intellectual Property Policy Commission
• Member, National Cybersecurity Committee
• Member, Committee to Prevent and Curb Defamatory Websites, Royal Thai Police

Other Notable Roles - Past

• Public Relations Vice-Chairman, Committee to Organize the Celebration of the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Her Majesty Queen Srisavarindira, the Queen Grandmother of Thailand
• Member, Committee to set up the Institute of Technology to Drive ICT Policy for Education Reform
• Vice-Chairman, Technology for Education Development Fund, Office of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education
• Advisor to the Senate Committee on Communications
• Member, Senate Subcommittee on Land Transport
• Member, Subcommittee to compile and document the works of the Senate Committee on Communications
• Secretary, Senate Committee on Communications, 2000-2001
• Expert, Senate Committee on Communications, 2002-2003
• Board Member, Zoological Park Organization under the Royal Patronage of H.M. the King
• Board Member, Forest Industry Organization
• Member and Secretary, Broadcasting Subcommittee
• Advisory Member, University Council, Kalasin Rajabhat University

Notable Executive Training Participation

• E-Government Executive Education, 1st Class, 2013
• Broadcasting Executive Forum, 1st Class, 2013
• Energy Innovation Executive Education, 1st Class, Thailand Energy Academy, 2012
• The Country's Pillars: Executives in King Rama IX's Vision, 1st Class, 2012
• National Defence College of Thailand, 23rd Class, 2010
• Judicial Process Executive Education, 14th Class, Judicial Training Institute, Courts of Justice, 2009
• Capital Market Academy Executive Education, 8th Class, 2008
• Civil Service Development Program, 50th Class, Office of the Civil Service Commission, 2006
• Advanced Public Administration and Public Law Executive Education, 4th Class, King Prajadhipok's Institute, 2005
• New Wave of Leaders in the Thai Civil Service, 1st Class, 2000

Royal Decorations & Awards

Takorn has received the following royal decorations in the Honours System of Thailand:

• 2013 Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant
• 2010 Knight Grand Cordon (Special Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand
• 2003 Knight Commander (Second Class) of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant
• 1999 Knight Commander (Second Class) of the Most Noble Order of the Crown of Thailand

Takorn has received the following awards.

• 2017 Honorary Degree for a Doctor of Philosophy by Srinakharinwirot University
• 2017 Human Resource Excellence Award presented by Thammasat University
• 2015 Quality Person of the Year Award in the Technology category by the Foundation of Science and Technology Council of Thailand.

^[19]

References