By Joseph Waring

Scrutiny of a proposed merger of True Corp and dtac continued to mount, as a member of the board of Thailand’s telecoms regulator made an unsuccessful challenge to its authority to approve the deal, Bangkok Post reported.

A majority of board members of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) reportedly voted against a proposal by Prawit Leesathapornwongsa for the Council of State to rule on the body’s authority to clear the merger.

Leesathapornwongsa had also pressed for NBTC to outline its timeframe for evaluating the merger, Bangkok Post wrote.

The Council of State is a department under the Prime Minister.

NBTC’s board approved a move for its management to detail a timeline for reviewing the deal and forward suggestions, Bangkok Post stated.

Last week, AIS filed a petition with NBTC opposing the merger with the regulator, suggesting the deal would impact competition and severely affect consumers.

The merger also is opposed by a member of NBTC’s supervisory committee, and the Thailand Consumer Council, Napat Winitchaikul.