Thailand’s telecoms regulator gave the green light to a proposed merger of True Corp and dtac nearly a year after the tie-up was first mooted, but added a number of conditions to the controversial deal aimed at protecting consumers.

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) approved the deal after first confirming it had the power to make a decision on the merger, Bangkok Post reported.

Thailand’s regulator imposed a price cap and controls on the combined entity, which GSMA Intelligence figures showed would have a market share of around 55.5 per cent based on its Q3 estimates.

In addition, the NBTC will require the new operator to provide third-party verification of its cost structure and fees for at least five years, and break out voice, data and messaging tariffs separately based on average-cost pricing, the newspaper wrote.

The merger will reduce the number of major mobile players in Thailand to two and faced resistance from some NBTC board members, opposition political party Move Forward, the Thailand Consumer Council and current market leader AIS.

NBTC began reviewing the proposed tie-up in February.