Ict Ministry Expands Free Wi-Fi Project To 200,000 Access Points Nationwide

[webfact]

ICT Ministry expands free Wi-Fi project

Sirivish Toomgum

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- The Information and Communications Technology Ministry will expand its free Wi-Fi project to 200,000 access points nationwide by the end of this year, up from around 76,000 points.

The ministry has joined with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and six telecom operators to implement the service expansion. It kicked off the project last year as part of the government's policy to promote equal Internet broadband access among Thais.

ICT minister Anudith Nakornthap said the ministry and the NBTC would work more closely in supporting the government's ICT policies.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the ICT is the key to enhancing the country's competitiveness and could be adapted to provide various public services.

She made the remark while presiding over the opening ceremony of the four-day Bangkok International ICT Expo 2012 fair yesterday at Impact Muang Thong Thani.

The premier also asked NBTC commissioners during her visit to its booth at the fair when it will auction the much-needed 2.1GHz spectrum and where the proceeds from the auction would be spent. NBTC vice chairman Settapong Malisuwan told her that the auction would take place in October and that all the proceeds would be transferred to the state coffers.

-- The Nation 2012-08-04

[MaxLee]

Not in a hundred years, and this isn't really a funny joke, as the Internet service in Thailand already IS a pain in the A**** for many years...

Random connection disconnections are the most common problems depending where you live. A disconnection problem in business is gonna cost money per seconds....

[givenall]

Not in a hundred years, and this isn't really a funny joke, as the Internet service in Thailand already IS a pain in the A**** for many years...

Random connection disconnections are the most common problems depending where you live. A disconnection problem in business is gonna cost money per seconds....

i guess it is easier to expand than even start the service

[whybother]

Do you have to sign up somewhere and login to get this free Wi-Fi?

Sent from my HTC phone.

[Thai at Heart]

Do you have to sign up somewhere and login to get this free Wi-Fi?

Sent from my HTC phone.

Well otherwise, all and sundry could write all sports of nasty things and no one would be any the wiser. Legal nightmare.

[whybother]

Do you have to sign up somewhere and login to get this free Wi-Fi?

Sent from my HTC phone.

Well otherwise, all and sundry could write all sports of nasty things and no one would be any the wiser. Legal nightmare.

My point exactly. So, where do you sign up for this free access? Has anyone ever seen a free access point?

Sent from my HTC phone.

[Thai at Heart]

Do you have to sign up somewhere and login to get this free Wi-Fi?

Sent from my HTC phone.

Well otherwise, all and sundry could write all sports of nasty things and no one would be any the wiser. Legal nightmare.

My point exactly. So, where do you sign up for this free access? Has anyone ever seen a free access point?

Sent from my HTC phone.

Who knows.....

Probably needs an entire ream of a4 copies with every sheet in triplicate, dated and countersigned twice.

[BabySun]

Do you have to sign up somewhere and login to get this free Wi-Fi?

Sent from my HTC phone.

Well otherwise, all and sundry could write all sports of nasty things and no one would be any the wiser. Legal nightmare.

My point exactly. So, where do you sign up for this free access? Has anyone ever seen a free access point?

Sent from my HTC phone.

I have seen.I wrote post about it: free internet in Bangkok International Airport - you can find there free terminals and 2 free wi-fi networks.One is old and working for years,

where you need to log-in,the new one works without any restrictions and no log-in is required.

This post I am writing from free wi-fi hotspot in restaurant.

Have you fallen from the Moon just last night??

[siampolee]

Might it not be a better idea to ensure there is a nationwide network via the telephone system so as schools,medical services and individual and companies nationwide have ease of access to the internet,?

Oh sorry.

The spread of information would indeed be regarded as a subversive action that might lead the population in general to question what is actually going on and why many politicians and business people the police etc are above the law.

Edited August 4, 2012 by siampolee

[whybother]

I have seen.I wrote post about it: free internet in Bangkok International Airport - you can find there free terminals and 2 free wi-fi networks.One is old and working for years,

where you need to log-in,the new one works without any restrictions and no log-in is required.

This post I am writing from free wi-fi hotspot in restaurant.

Have you fallen from the Moon just last night??

A free wi-fi hotspot in a restaurant is not part of the governments free wi-fi policy.

If you need to log in, where do you get the user/password?

If you don't need to log in, then someone is breaking the law, since the law says that everything needs to be logged so that the government can track down anyone that breaks the law with things they put on the internet (such as posts here).

[Buchholz]

Do you have to sign up somewhere and login to get this free Wi-Fi?

Sent from my HTC phone.

Well otherwise, all and sundry could write all sports of nasty things and no one would be any the wiser. Legal nightmare.

My point exactly. So, where do you sign up for this free access? Has anyone ever seen a free access point?

Bangkok itself supposedly already has 20,000 of these free access points (and supposedly has had them for the past 6 months) as part of this 30 Billion Baht scheme from the Pheu Thai Party.

Information from that thread has this registration information

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__4958736

WiFi users will need to register on the MICT’s website:

http://www.mict.go.th.

Name, surname, and ID card number are required. They are allowed to access the Internet for two hours at a time at an average speed of 2 Mbps. They should look for the logo SMART-WiFi@TH in the free WiFi areas.

The Free WiFi project, part of the MICT’s Smart Thailand scheme, has a budget of 30 billion baht, from 2012 to 2015.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Buchholz

[whybother]

Bangkok itself supposedly already has 20,000 of these free access points (and supposedly has had them for the past 6 months) as part of this 30 Billion Baht scheme from the Pheu Thai Party.

Does anyone know how you identify these free access points, as opposed to the True / TOT / DTAC access points that you have to pay for to get access to.

[Buchholz]

Bangkok itself supposedly already has 20,000 of these free access points (and supposedly has had them for the past 6 months) as part of this 30 Billion Baht scheme from the Pheu Thai Party.

Does anyone know how you identify these free access points, as opposed to the True / TOT / DTAC access points that you have to pay for to get access to.

Walk around town with your laptop or tablet on "searching for connections" mode until you stumble upon an area that brings up:

SMART-WiFi@TH

as one of available connections?

.

[madmitch]

There are free TOT access points. Simply register by entering your name and your Thai ID card number and you can access the free service for two hours at a time.

I used a relative of the GF's info and can use it.

I have no idea if it works with a foreign passport number.

[webfact]

ICT to make free wifi service available at 200,000 more spots nationwide

BANGKOK, 4 August 2012 (NNT) – The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is set to make its free wifi service more widely available across the country.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said that the government-initiated ICT Free wifi service has been implemented to enable more Thais nationwide to make use of the Internet, narrow the gap between those who have and do not have such access and further improve the distance learning project for people in remote areas.

The PM said that more than 200,000 ICT Free wifi service spots in all 77 provinces will be made available soon, at such public locations as hospitals, gas stations, city halls and tourist destinations.

ICT Minister Anudith Nakornthap added that the ICT Free wifi was first commenced in 2011 to raise Thai people’s internet access level while promoting self-learning by Thai students.

He said that the ICT has joined the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) and all telecom service providers in realizing the project.

-- NNT 2012-08-04

[Buchholz]

Additional info from the MICT registration.

Registration is only good for 6 months.

If you have questions, and presumably questioning where 20,000 free access points in Bangkok alone are at qualifies, then you are directed to call TOT Call Center at the number, 1100.

http://www.mict.go.t...me=SmartNetwork

Edited August 4, 2012 by Buchholz

[Derifo]

Do you have to sign up somewhere and login to get this free Wi-Fi?

Sent from my HTC phone.

Well otherwise, all and sundry could write all sports of nasty things and no one would be any the wiser. Legal nightmare.

My point exactly. So, where do you sign up for this free access? Has anyone ever seen a free access point?

Sent from my HTC phone.

I signed up and used it last month, but couldn't do the same two days ago. You should see, "ICT_FreeWifi." or something like that.

[OzMick]

If you are looking for 200,000 hotspots, you should re-read the article. The bit that says "will" .

[jocko]

Bangkok itself supposedly already has 20,000 of these free access points (and supposedly has had them for the past 6 months) as part of this 30 Billion Baht scheme from the Pheu Thai Party.

Does anyone know how you identify these free access points, as opposed to the True / TOT / DTAC access points that you have to pay for to get access to.

Google Free wi-fi rader and then download to your device you can look at it on utube it works ok

[BabySun]

I have seen.I wrote post about it: free internet in Bangkok International Airport - you can find there free terminals and 2 free wi-fi networks.One is old and working for years,

where you need to log-in,the new one works without any restrictions and no log-in is required.

This post I am writing from free wi-fi hotspot in restaurant.

Have you fallen from the Moon just last night??

A free wi-fi hotspot in a restaurant is not part of the governments free wi-fi policy.

If you need to log in, where do you get the user/password?

If you don't need to log in, then someone is breaking the law, since the law says that everything needs to be logged so that the government can track down anyone that breaks the law with things they put on the internet (such as posts here).

Would you use free wi-fi system without registration and identification necessary?

I am using such now - it works country wide,in every coffee shop and on the streets out of old telephone boots.nobody is dying,nobody is making any fuss.

May be you should immigrate to NorthKorea?

In SingaporeAirport - free wi-fi,no logs.

In HongKong Airport - as above

In Bangkok Airport - 50/50

I am in HK now - free wi-fi everywhere,no logs.

[hellodolly]

Additional info from the MICT registration.

Registration is only good for 6 months.

If you have questions, and presumably questioning where 20,000 free access points in Bangkok alone are at qualifies, then you are directed to call TOT Call Center at the number, 1100.

http://www.mict.go.t...me=SmartNetwork

I am confused. If this is to help remote areas get internet connection why do they have 20,000 locations in Bangkok. I would have thought it virtually imposable to find a spot in Bangkok where you could not all ready get a internet connection.

Was the plan to make internet connections on highways a while back part of this plan? I think the reasoning behind that was so a person could drive and internet at the same time.

[whybother]

I have seen.I wrote post about it: free internet in Bangkok International Airport - you can find there free terminals and 2 free wi-fi networks.One is old and working for years,

where you need to log-in,the new one works without any restrictions and no log-in is required.

This post I am writing from free wi-fi hotspot in restaurant.

Have you fallen from the Moon just last night??

A free wi-fi hotspot in a restaurant is not part of the governments free wi-fi policy.

If you need to log in, where do you get the user/password?

If you don't need to log in, then someone is breaking the law, since the law says that everything needs to be logged so that the government can track down anyone that breaks the law with things they put on the internet (such as posts here).

Would you use free wi-fi system without registration and identification necessary?

I am using such now - it works country wide,in every coffee shop and on the streets out of old telephone boots.nobody is dying,nobody is making any fuss.

May be you should immigrate to NorthKorea?

In SingaporeAirport - free wi-fi,no logs.

In HongKong Airport - as above

In Bangkok Airport - 50/50

I am in HK now - free wi-fi everywhere,no logs.

It has nothing to do with what I would use.

I am asking about the government's free wi-fi access points. Not some coffee shop that allows it's customers (or passers by) to use it's internet connection.

It IS the law in Thailand that internet usage gets logged. It is not something that I support. It is simply the law. Every company must log their employees internet access BY LAW. If someone posts something against the law and it can't be tracked back to an employee, then the company bosses can get in to trouble. Very few companies log their internet usage, but it is the law.

Since it IS the law in Thailand, I wondered how the government managed the access to their free wi-fi points. I would be very surprised that they would allow unregistered access to their wi-fi given their laws.

BTW, last time I was at Singapore airport, to get access to the free internet I had to give my passport number to get a user/pw. I would doubt very much that there are no logs.

[easybullet3]

Do you have to sign up somewhere and login to get this free Wi-Fi?

Well otherwise, all and sundry could write all sports of nasty things and no one would be any the wiser. Legal nightmare.

My point exactly. So, where do you sign up for this free access? Has anyone ever seen a free access point?

Sent from my HTC phone.

I have seen.I wrote post about it: free internet in Bangkok International Airport - you can find there free terminals and 2 free wi-fi networks.One is old and working for years,

where you need to log-in,the new one works without any restrictions and no log-in is required.

This post I am writing from free wi-fi hotspot in restaurant.

Have you fallen from the Moon just last night??

Most airports in the worlds have free wifi.

the free wifi at bangkok airports is not complete coverage. there are many areas without signal. (and I seem to remember it is the AOT (airports of Thailand) free internet (not the ICT)

the free wifi you are receiving from your restaurant has NOTHING to do with the ICT free wi-fi project. it is most likely from the restaurant that you are eating in. (is this the first time you have got free wi-fi from a restaurant??) did you realise that free wifi is something that restaurant owners give as an added benefit to eating in their establishment.

To answer your question: "No, we have not just fallen from the moon", but I could ask the same question to you (for your 'lack' of observation).

[Buchholz]

I have seen.I wrote post about it: free internet in Bangkok International Airport - you can find there free terminals and 2 free wi-fi networks.One is old and working for years,

where you need to log-in,the new one works without any restrictions and no log-in is required.

This post I am writing from free wi-fi hotspot in restaurant.

Have you fallen from the Moon just last night??

A free wi-fi hotspot in a restaurant is not part of the governments free wi-fi policy.

If you need to log in, where do you get the user/password?

If you don't need to log in, then someone is breaking the law, since the law says that everything needs to be logged so that the government can track down anyone that breaks the law with things they put on the internet (such as posts here).

Would you use free wi-fi system without registration and identification necessary?

I am using such now - it works country wide,in every coffee shop and on the streets out of old telephone boots.nobody is dying,nobody is making any fuss.

May be you should immigrate to NorthKorea?

In SingaporeAirport - free wi-fi,no logs.

In HongKong Airport - as above

In Bangkok Airport - 50/50

I am in HK now - free wi-fi everywhere,no logs.

It has nothing to do with what I would use.

I am asking about the government's free wi-fi access points. Not some coffee shop that allows it's customers (or passers by) to use it's internet connection.

It IS the law in Thailand that internet usage gets logged. It is not something that I support. It is simply the law. Every company must log their employees internet access BY LAW. If someone posts something against the law and it can't be tracked back to an employee, then the company bosses can get in to trouble. Very few companies log their internet usage, but it is the law.

Since it IS the law in Thailand, I wondered how the government managed the access to their free wi-fi points. I would be very surprised that they would allow unregistered access to their wi-fi given their laws.

BTW, last time I was at Singapore airport, to get access to the free internet I had to give my passport number to get a user/pw. I would doubt very much that there are no logs.

The way they manage their access at Swampy airport is similar, but they didn't verify either the name or passport number when I signed in on their sheet (logbook) for the free access there.

Unless there really is a Stephan Yankovic with Ukrainian passport number 123456789, then the reliability of that information is suspect.

Anyway, it would seem the airport isn't following "the law" if their lackadaisical compliance is an indicator.

I'm not sure if the airport free WiFi is considered part of this specific wifi program of the OP, but I do seem to recall it was AOT that issued the user/password slip and AOT is governmental.

.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Buchholz

[Buchholz]

Well otherwise, all and sundry could write all sports of nasty things and no one would be any the wiser. Legal nightmare.

My point exactly. So, where do you sign up for this free access? Has anyone ever seen a free access point?

Sent from my HTC phone.

I have seen.I wrote post about it: free internet in Bangkok International Airport - you can find there free terminals and 2 free wi-fi networks.One is old and working for years,

where you need to log-in,the new one works without any restrictions and no log-in is required.

This post I am writing from free wi-fi hotspot in restaurant.

Have you fallen from the Moon just last night??

Most airports in the worlds have free wifi.

the free wifi at bangkok airports is not complete coverage. there are many areas without signal. (and I seem to remember it is the AOT (airports of Thailand) free internet (not the ICT)

the free wifi you are receiving from your restaurant has NOTHING to do with the ICT free wi-fi project. it is most likely from the restaurant that you are eating in. (is this the first time you have got free wi-fi from a restaurant??) did you realise that free wifi is something that restaurant owners give as an added benefit to eating in their establishment.

To answer your question: "No, we have not just fallen from the moon", but I could ask the same question to you (for your 'lack' of observation).

Thanks for taking the time for pointing out what most readers thought of the quoted post.

Anyway, I was wondering if on this issue of who is providing the service, if there was something to help differentiate between the different internet wifi providers.

Returning to the MICT website, it seems that this is their advertising logo, but I'm not sure how prominently it is displayed. I'm only an infrequent BKK visitor, but I don't recall seeing it.

For the Bangkok residents, is this commonly encountered in BKK? I realize BKK is huge, but still.. if there's 20,000 free access points distributed across the city, I would expect it to be a frequently sighted sign.

I guess a follow-on question would be... do you believe there are 20,000 free wifi MICT access points in Bangkok?

.

.

Edited August 4, 2012 by Buchholz

[MaxLee]

MICT is a government regulated organization which in my eyed stands for only ONE thing: CENSORSHIP!!!

If THIS organization rules Thailand's free WIFI access .... Need I say more?????

Edited August 4, 2012 by MaxLee

[Buchholz]

MICT is a government regulated organization which in my eyed stands for only ONE thing: CENSORSHIP!!!

If THIS organization rules Thailand's free WIFI access .... Need I say more?????

You do have a major point.

MICT is the governmental unit behind most of the impediments, filters, blockage, etc.

I'm curious if those are all ratcheted up even further when the MICT is the free WiFi provider.

.

[whybother]

MICT is a government regulated organization which in my eyed stands for only ONE thing: CENSORSHIP!!!

If THIS organization rules Thailand's free WIFI access .... Need I say more?????

You do have a major point.

MICT is the governmental unit behind most of the impediments, filters, blockage, etc.

I'm curious if those are all ratcheted up even further when the MICT is the free WiFi provider.

.

Why do you think Chalerm spent 400 million baht on his LM war room!

[MaxLee]

MICT is a government regulated organization which in my eyed stands for only ONE thing: CENSORSHIP!!!

If THIS organization rules Thailand's free WIFI access .... Need I say more?????

You do have a major point.

MICT is the governmental unit behind most of the impediments, filters, blockage, etc.

I'm curious if those are all ratcheted up even further when the MICT is the free WiFi provider.

.

Why do you think Chalerm spent 400 million baht on his LM war room!

This midget only wants to rip us off. When the government organizations want to control something they want to reap the benefits among themselves unde the table...

[Buchholz]

MICT is a government regulated organization which in my eyed stands for only ONE thing: CENSORSHIP!!!

If THIS organization rules Thailand's free WIFI access .... Need I say more?????

You do have a major point.

MICT is the governmental unit behind most of the impediments, filters, blockage, etc.

I'm curious if those are all ratcheted up even further when the MICT is the free WiFi provider.

.

Why do you think Chalerm spent 400 million baht on his LM war room!

well, the full amount of the funding was spent anyway...