Don't fear Internet single gateway: Thai ICT minister

[ikke]

What a joke, sure they couldn't get away with this in the UN meeting, so spread some lies.....

[connda]

"Ignore the man behind the curtain."

-The Great Oz

Now, nothing to see here folks, so move along.....

[realenglish1]

Single gateway When as any government tried to save companies money ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ?

Wolf in sheep's clothing

You have better fear it because it is Big Brother taking over

[bkkcanuck8]

I seem to remember early on Thailand only really did have one international connection by one company and the internet was almost unusable as there was too little international bandwidth.... and this is what they want to move back to? If you are focusing on improving international bandwidth you do not restrict it down to one line/organization - you incentivise and allow competition to increase the bandwidth and you make sure to eliminate and restrict any organization that creates market restrictions and monopolizes the resource. The truth is obvious..... (BTW, the cutting off of facebook which they said was a technical glitch - happened across multiple providers and thus was proof that the government ordered it).

I recall 2001 when I got a 1 mb attachment and was able to finally download it in Pattaya on my dial-up connection after 16 tries.

As far as Facebook goes...... I think the world would be a better place without it.

FB has to be the stupidest concept ever IMHO, yet the masses seem to love it.

You mean you CAN ACTUALLY live without seeing what people are having to eat or views of their Stabucks coffee ?

Concept is not wrong, the implementation and the way people use it can be pretty asinine.

If you use Facebook as a way to keep in contact with your "lesser friends" - then it is a good tool. Unfortunately the way most people use it, it tends to demote your close friends and raise up your lesser friends and more or less tends to distance the people that you should be communicating with more directly.

Creating communities that are focused around common interests would make it more useful, but their implementation in regards to that is pretty pathetic.

They have been planning on this great firewall - it was reported about last year but seemed to garner no attention since it seemed so far away. Part of the plan was to create Thai alternatives to Facebook or international platforms so that once the firewall went up you would be weaned off sites that they did not have the power to control.

[klauskunkel]

He said the public's liberty and rights were important and the ministry was conscious of that.

You may be aware of it, but do you support it? Defend it?

[JAG]

Which other countries also have single gateways? The answer to that question tells you all you need to know.

Someone will be along shortly to point out that they also have "elections".

[selftaopath]

The simple fact of the matter is that the internet is now an "essential service" for commerce and communication, and any sort of restrictions on it will also limit commerce and communication. If you want the country to progress, do not let your paranoia over being defamed over-ride free-flow of information.

Another angle to the "essential service" aspect is that you should never put all your eggs in one basket. If the single gateway should fail, you need alternatives, and with the internet, that means other already-open gateways.

Realistically, the oligarchy's FIRST priority is NOT for the country to progress. It is only for focused on self interests. Seems to me their mantra is "to hell with the good of the country/population. It's all about ME and Mine.

[oztaurus]

Censorship is freedom.

1984 + 31 years

[maoro2013]

Papua New Guinea has a single gateway.

Some years back a large company was raided by armed police and prosecuted for running their own.

[mesquite]

If tourists start avoiding Thailand due to the resultant lack of decent internet, this plan will be outta here like shit through a goose.

[empireboy]

They're ALREADY blocking sites now!

[Always18]

"There is nothing to fear - this is just an essential tool of repression which we will use to international standards. Too much information can only lead to confusion and unhappiness but Nanny will protect you all from that".

[Just1Voice]

This government reminds me of the boy telling his girlfriend: "I just want to put the head of it in. Honest."

[Time Traveller]

It's not the gateway we fear. It's the people who think a firewall is necessary are the ones that we need to be fearful of.

[robblok]

They're ALREADY blocking sites now!

And have been for years only this could be even worse. 100% against this plan. Thankfully its still in the planning stages and might never get off the ground. If this would just be an extra gateway im all for it as long as the internet providers are free to use their own.

[Peabody]

I probably don't understand the concept.

Does a single gateway mean 1 cable coming into the country, through a single access point, which is then distributed to True, DTac, BBB, etc.

Are there already multiple cables?

How many gateways are currently in use?

[oneday]

The objective of the international-Internet single gateway initiative is not to enhance national security, but to help Internet businesses reduce costs by sharing a single gateway

It will just also happen to make it so much easier to control whatever the government decides it needs to control.

...right...we are sheep...we believe you...we believe you...we believe you.

[Tywais]

Thailand's International Internet map. Nothing could go wrong from what I can see. High resolution map here.

[jabis]

I wish the fiber router in&out of my mooban wouldn't quirk every nth day rendering the whole 50Mb connection useless until the guys reset it

[bangkokheat]

these people seriously keep on thinking everyone is so gullible, doesnt matter how many times you catch them with their fingers in the cookie jar

[jadee]

I wish the fiber router in&out of my mooban wouldn't quirk every nth day rendering the whole 50Mb connection useless until the guys reset it

That must be annoying but at least you get great internet most of the time, that's a great speed for Thailand, most places can't get fiber.

[Mot Dang]

Crap. It is to monitor EVERYTHING.

[quandow]

One more reason to go paranoia

I'm going to Mexico rather than to paranoia.

[Mot Dang]

Thailand's International Internet map. Nothing could go wrong from what I can see. High resolution map here.

inetmap082015_international.jpg

Oh yeah. That makes it all so much clearer.

[Traveling Sailor]

One more reason to go paranoia

One more reason to leave Thailand. Thailand does not appreciate the money that expats add to the economy anyway.

For those that dissagree with me, please provide proof that the Thai government appreciates our presence and makes it pleasant for us to be here.

[LannaGuy]

They're ALREADY blocking sites now!

And have been for years only this could be even worse. 100% against this plan. Thankfully its still in the planning stages and might never get off the ground. If this would just be an extra gateway im all for it as long as the internet providers are free to use their own.

well that's one junta supporter finally waking up to this repressive regime where's the junta boy djjamie defending it, or Rubl, H90, Jinjag, Baerboxer and the few others?

[jadee]

Thailand's International Internet map. Nothing could go wrong from what I can see. High resolution map here.

inetmap082015_international.jpg

Trying to make sense of that map has made me realize just how dumb I am. So are you suggesting it's too difficult for the government to make a single gateway?

[graham66]

We have enjoyed / endured the Great Firewall for many years here in China. What it's all about goes without saying, and from an objective viewpoint it is very 'successful' insofar as information is regulated, and people foolish enough to spread 'rumours' etc. are swiftly tracked down and brought to book.

However, it is not without considerable cost, not the least of which is a reported 55,000 people employed operating the system - their main job being to keep the internet moving despite the sieving of information. Computers scan the data, but people have to evaluate all the items thrown up (on which note, "hello Mr. Chan or whoever, yes, it's me again, but I'm harmless and just trying to help our new Thai friends"). Will Thailand have a (proportionately) large number of tech-savvy people available? If so, it's a good job-creation scheme, at least. If not, the internet will seize up!

[TheCruncher]

"It is to be done on a volunteer basis when we develop the infrastructure. It is not to force them. That is impossible," said Uttama.

What you all worry about, don't you see they are just creating an EXTRA gateway.

I'm sure you all feel comforted now.

[bbbbooboo]

Stupid IS what stupid DOES ?