Radio amateur license in Thailand (1)
Following a posting from Gringo last year, Lung Addie was surprised about the reactions and the number of Dutch ex-radio officers who are here in Thailand. The questions and reactions were therefore specifically aimed, but despite the replies that Lung Addie gave to these questions, I must conclude that it would be appropriate for the blog to provide its own clarification on how exactly it should work to become a radio amateur license in Thailand.
The worldwide umbrella body for amateur radio is CEPT. Here the conditions are determined which a radio amateur must meet in order to have a conforming broadcasting license. The examinations organized by a country determine whether or not a country is accepted by the CEPT. License holders from a country accepted by the CEPT then have a HAREC license and if the amateur has obtained the full license, a HAREC class A license.
However, each country is free to determine its own standard level. If it does not meet the requirements of CEPT, this permit will not be recognized by CEPT, which is the case for Thailand. This means that a Thai broadcasting license cannot be exchanged for a broadcasting license accepted by the CEPT, and vice versa Thailand also refuses to accept a CEPT license just like that. So there is only one option left and that is to conclude an agreement from country to country, a so-called RECIPROCAL AGREEMENT. A not so simple and lengthy procedure in Thailand that is handled at the level of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Foreign Affairs), the Interior (Internal Affairs), and NTC (National Telecom Commission).
A history
For Belgium it all started about 13 years ago and the procedure was started by ON6TZ, Wim, who then emigrated to Thailand. Lung Addie then met ON6TZ at a RAST (Royal Amateur Society of Thailand) meeting in Bangkok. He told me that he had initiated the procedure and hoped it would be dealt with very quickly because, as it turned out, he had taken identical procedure texts (with periods and commas) from Luxembourg. Luxembourg, as a tiny country, already had such an agreement with Thailand at that time and it was only Luxembourg to replace Belgium in the procedure.
So that would be a piece of cake… so he thought… but MIS… it wasn't a piece of cake at all. Everything had to be checked and approved again. Wim had switched on all known channels, including the ambassador, but things were not going fast enough for his liking. He had been hungry for 4 years and after a heavy shouting match in which he gave the ambassador his opinion, he decided to move to Cambodia. In Cambodia there was no problem: Belgian permit, filling in the documents, 70 USD and the permit was there. Our interests were then taken over in Bangkok by Alexander, and in Belgium by myself. Personally, on a professional basis, I had good relations and contacts at BIPT, in the Netherlands with NERA (then still in Nederhorst den Berg).
The entire procedure was followed and after 3 years we finally had a date on which the reciprocal agreement would be voted on in the Thai parliament. And then ….. came yet another military coup with the great Taksin affair. No more government, so no vote in parliament. It took about 2 years for a new parliament to be installed and then, well, guess what…. the file was SEARCH.
Lung Addie had meanwhile become acquainted with a former Thai minister and, after some pressure on his part, the Belgian file was conjured from a bottom drawer somewhere, thickly covered in dust. Then, thanks to the good work and relations of this ex-minister and Alexander, everything in Thailand started to accelerate. After a few months we had a new date for a vote in parliament, the approval followed and after a waiting period of 6 months, for possible amendments, we Belgians could apply for and obtain a Thai broadcasting license.
In Belgium, the entire procedure took 3 weeks. The question from the responsible official (whose name I will not mention here) at BIPT ended up with Lung Addie:
Official: How many Thai radio amateurs are we talking about?
Lung Addie: how many requests have you ever received?
Official: NONE
Lung Addie: that will not change quickly because there are virtually no Thai HF amateurs and if there are, they first have to get to Belgium and want to practice their hobby there.
Official: OK, that's all right, approved.
He knew all too well that, if Belgium refused, Thailand COULDN'T approve the reciprocal agreement.
That was the end of the matter in Belgium. Why make it complicated when it can be simple?
The route to be taken from the file in Thailand
- The file first goes to Foreign Affairs. Here the protocol is checked for whether or not it complies with the correct legal terms and content, whether or not a dot or a comma is skewed. Duration : +/- 1 year.
- From Foreign Affairs to NTC to check whether the file meets the technical requirements (examination level of the relevant country) Duration +/- 1 year.
- From NTC back to Foreign Affairs to, after the necessary re-checking, (a comma may have fallen out of place along the way) to be forwarded to parliament where an agenda date is then set for a vote and possible approval or disapproval. Duration +/- 1 year.
- From here, the file goes to the Home Office for a vote in parliament. Waiting time: indefinite because it is not a priority. It went fast for us: 2 months.
- After approval, a waiting period, before taking effect, for any amendments. Duration 6 months.
- In the meantime, thanks to the intervention of the ex-minister, we were "barely" 6 years further. Without his intervention it would have been a total start over and so we were sweet for 9 years. A consolation, for our German colleagues radio amateurs it took 12 years.
ON6TZ, Wim, who gave up, and Lung Addie, ON4AFU, had already been “radioactive” from Cambodia for more than 3 years as XU7TZG and XU7AFU, respectively.
The French radio amateurs thought it was smarter and simpler to play and went on a European tour. This would mean that ALL European EU countries, with radio amateurs, holders of a HAREC A license, could claim a Thai HS0…. MIS: nobody in the European Parliament was interested in getting involved in that and so the French, with years of useless delay, could start the final procedure, which resulted in a good result about 2 years ago.
For the Dutch radio amateurs: if a license is desired, someone will have to start the procedure. Now, at the moment this makes no sense as the military government will not be involved at all because: NOT PRIORITY. So wait for a new elected government to arrive and then start the procedure.
Good information about the how and what on the website: www.qsl.net/rast/
In a next article I will try to explain how things should proceed after obtaining the reciprocal agreement, because that is another story in itself… after all, we are in Thailand.
With regards, good courage and a lot of patience,
LS 73 Lung Addie HS0ZJF
A very informative story for anyone interested in the world of radio amateurs. The word "amateur" is in my opinion somewhat misleading, because from the knowledge and experience of many, such as yourself, one can hardly speak of amateurism.
A fascinating story about the licenses, which raises three questions:
1. Which countries other than Luxembourg and Belgium have a Reciprocal Agreement with Thailand?
2. How can I obtain a Thai license as a Dutch citizen?
3. If that is not possible (question 2), can a Dutch person obtain a Belgian license and then obtain a Thai license via that detour?
Looking forward to your part 2 and more, Lung Addie!
Dear Gringo,
thanks for the words of praise about the radio ace amateurs. The word "amateur" is indeed a bit misleading, but anything that is not professional is considered amateurism in the broad sense of the word. I myself was one of the only "professional" radio amateurs in Belgium. Was Senior Radio Operator Field Engineer and largely responsible for just about everything concerning aviation frequencies and underground ( tunnels ) radio communication in Belgium. This includes the radar and ILS (Instrument Landing Systems) on the ground. Was in regular contact with the Dutch NERA when it came to cross-border radio traffic or about the Scheldt Radar Chain. Vlissingen and Antwerp are not that far apart.
Radio amateurs are praised worldwide for their knowledge and evolution of modern radio technology and were often the pioneers in finding the latest techniques. Radio amateurs can be found in just about every branch of the technology industry.
In answer to your questions:
1 – The following countries have a reciprocal agreement with Thailand:
Austria – Belgium – Denmark – France – Germany – Luxembourg – Sweden – Switzerland – United Kingdom – USA .
2 – The only solution for obtaining a license as a Dutch citizen is for someone to start the procedure for concluding a reciprocal agreement. Can be found at http://www.qsl.net/rast/
3 – The answer in NO (unfortunately). Via the detour through another country, which does have a reciprocal agreement with Thailand, is not possible. The nationality of your passport must match that of your radio amateur license. Have tried it. I also had a US license but was denied because I was not an American.
73 Lung addie hs0zjf
Beautiful story.
By the way, do they have an active Radio Control Service in Thailand or something?
Dear French,
Yes they have an active Radio Control Service. I even visited; They have the most modern and professional equipment: Rohde and Schwarz. The control center is located in Bangkok and you can see the impressive antenna park, with logperiodics antennas HF and VHF. They also have a few measuring trucks, equipped with trigonometry equipment from OAR and Thompson, not cheap stuff I would say .... clearly visible from a large traffic interchange. Don't ask me which one because it's been several years since I've been there. Whether they can work properly with all that complicated equipment is another question. I suppose so because they even pass the ISO 9001 and ISO 2008 standard!
Lung addie