50% of Thais should get broadband access in 2015

BANGKOK, 28 May 2011 (NNT) – The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has targeted that 50% of Thai people must have access to broadband services within 2015 under the national broadband masterplan.

ICT Ministry Inspector-General Methini Thepmani stated that many countries worldwide are giving importance to internet broadband in order to provide their citizens with easier access to state information and service, which corresponds to the 2009-2013 ICT Ministry policy.

Citing a survey result, the inspector-general elaborated that Thai people are using computers for many more purposes from education, information access to tax payment.

Ms Methini continued that the ICT Ministry hence set a target that 50% of Thai people must have access to broadband service by 2015 which is the same year that ASEAN nations will unite into a single community.

The inspector-general added that the policy so far has been well cooperated by public and private organisations since all sides agreed that the government should take the lead in improving the telecommunication services for entrepreneurs to enhance their potential in free trade competition.

-- NNT 2011-05-28

A nice load of meaningless drivel.

I live out in the country and I have been waiting for just a simple landline for 8 years.

Before 50% of Thais get a broadband access Thailand needs to upgrade firstly its in-country fibre optic network all the way from out in the sticks to all the cities which will take time and billions of baht.

At the same time the international gateways to the world need to be expanded 100 times the existing size and additional capacity booked for 2 or 3 times that.

That should bring Thailand up to the level that it should be at now before 3G and LTE come into fashion and use and then around that time the backbone will need to be doubled again.

We don' have a land line either, TOT says to hard to quote, at least 3BB said 200,000b for net, they have a ADSL node 2.6km away. TIT

We live in a small village 18km outside Udon. When we first built our home, there were no TOT lines in the area. Then we got a line and dialup internet. Phone lines in the area were down more often than up. Then TOT got the phone lines sorted out. Then they brought a network station within 5km of our home and I could use adsl, albeit way under advertised speeds. Then they moved the network station to within a km of our home (in front of the village school). My speeds now are consistently 5-5.5mbps. Two weeks ago, I saw TOT technicians unrolling fiber optic cable along the highway that passes our village. It's getting better all the time.

...has targeted that 50% of Thai people must have access to broadband services within 2015...

I hope they reach this target, but just having "access" to broadband doesn't mean everyone with access will actually sign-up for internet. Heck, a lot of people have access to landlines right now, but don't sign-up for a landline although they only cost 107 baht per month excluding calls because they prefer only to use their cell phone. But you definitely have to provide the internet access first to see how many people will sign-up.

Broadband doesn't mean it has to be landline.

Broadband doesn't mean it has to be landline.

The nearest base station to me which would get broadband is probably 60 km away and the landline is now down to about 1km away, so maybe in this lifetime I may get a decent internet connection.

But I am not holding my breath as the landline has taken 8 years to travel 5 km.

Broadband can be satellite, not just fixed line.

Broadband via satellite is expense...usually slow compared to DSL landline...Thai's could sign-up for satellite broadband today if they wanted to. I think the broadband access the govt is talking about is low cost broadband which will most likely come from DSL/phone line or cell phone. Of course internet access via cell phone is also currently available but it ain't that fast when compared to DSL landline and I don't think as cheap for unlimited usage like you get with DSL via landline. Different delivery methods are possible to provide "access" but unless they are cheap enough and provide pretty much unlimited service/hours they may not be used (accessed) that much.

Is 3G considered "broadband?" How about EDGE?