Thai govt approves 20 billion baht for internet broadband, gateway

[Jackin1960]

So so very happy we are out of it all and back living in Europe. Even the wife despairs at the goings on in her native Thailand and wonders when if ever the people will rise up and oust this vagabond PM for an elected representative of the people and jail this man for the harm he has done.

[FloydGlenn]

When are the elections scheduled for again... Oh that's right never... When you can illegally take control of an entire country and there's no push back from the "Sheep" what's a little thing like controlling all of the communications. You think the "Sheep" are going to rise up and do anything to the Wolf, no I didn't think so...

[chilli42]

When the government comes out and says they are positively not going to do something ... you can be sure that they plan on doing the exact opposite. My first epiphany on this was in 1998 when the Thai government said that the Baht would "not" be allowed to devalue as they would never let it free float. It's been the same ever since. They did not disappoint on this occasion either.

[cyberfarang]

Surprise, surprise, we are getting a single Internet broadband gateway. Who would have guessed it?

[athousand]

Mm

[DennisF]

Have to have everything in place for the main event which is going to change things a lot around here.

Military believe control is the key to avoid too much dissent.

Wont work.

[Cake Monster]

Right now, there will be many powerful Foreign Business Exec,s sitting around the Board Room Tables of their varius Organisations debating what to do next.

The thought of a Internet " Gateway ", that in some form or another, will allow their business metrics, copyright exposure to their products, and personal details to be " possibly monitored " will not sit at all easy with these people.

Ok, the fact that there has been a massive amount of FDI into the Thai Economy in the past, and it may be written down, is water under a bridge, but there will almost certainly be a large drop in any future investments.

There will also be an increase in factory relocations to a more competetive base, where investment will be welcomed.

[Trouble]

If anyone ever doubted what the junta is all about, there should be no doubt now. It was not about peace in the streets, it was not about fighting corruption, it was about power for a different group of people. They have done well in prohibiting people from speaking out to date. Now they want to go after those that can still use the internet for expressing descent and route them out.

[jmccarty]

Single gateway = single point failure = enormous embarrassment!

Would not want to be the guy in the hot seat when this happens!

[dbrenn]

So they were gonna do it....then they weren't.....now its funded? 20 Billion???? Take the usual 10-30% of the top for the bosses......quite a haul. No wonder it was approved.

But the Junta has abolished corruption. They said so on the telly.

[eddie61]

Every year, every month the junta takes further steps away from freedom and democracy and towards totalitarianism and censorship. Spending 5 billion on Internet censorship in the year 2016 is wrong. This country is gonna fail. They should be investing in the future, making brighter students, accepting foreign investment, developing technology, science and research. This will force the Thai's to remain consumers of western products instead of being the creators of it. I am not moving back. God I miss 2013 pre-junta Bangkok.

Just put yourself in their shoes. It's not what you want, it's what they want. Funnels they can control and milk. It used to be forest resources, then airwaves, but those are no longer relevant.

They are playing catch-up by getting a monopoly on the new funnel.

Old plot, different setting, story ends the same.

A thai soap opera, it seems.

In fact it is a strategy perfected by Britain's imperial brains. Control the choke points!

Fortunately the Thai military never went to Eton, so that they are always playing catch-up...but way ahead of the pack by Thai standards.

Old plot, different setting, story ends the same.

Edited January 22, 2016 by eddie61

[mrfill]

If a single gateway is so essential for commerce, why don't they have them in the US, Europe or Japan?

Don't they do any commerce?

[elgordo38]

If a single gateway is so essential for commerce, why don't they have them in the US, Europe or Japan?

Don't they do any commerce?

The scammers are the jammers

[attrayant]

If a single gateway is so essential for commerce, why don't they have them in the US, Europe or Japan?

Don't they do any commerce?

Sure, but we use the internet mainly for challenging the status quo, complaining about government waste and organizing calls to action. So you can see why a free and open Internet might not be too welcome here.

[jaywalker]

I'm Speechless.

[erobando]

If a single gateway is so essential for commerce, why don't they have them in the US, Europe or Japan?

Don't they do any commerce?

I think you don't understand Thainess.

Thailand is different than the places you list and the internet here is unique. A single gateway is better for Thailand, trust me.

By the way, I just recorded a song about unity and happiness. You should listen to it.

[jaywalker]

Seems a bit like putting the genie back in the bottle

Ignore that man behind the curtain.

[roberta]

I am wondering if they have started testing this thing already. Since Sunday March 06 I have experienced problems during the late evening. Sites hosted within Thailand load normally, but overseas news media-sites either do not load at all or are glacially slow. The next morning everything is normal again. To me it makes sense that they would test it at night when few people would notice. If these really are tests, and the performance is a preview of what we can expect all the time in the future, remaining in this country is looking a lot less attractive.

[osiboy]

whats the point with so many sites blocked ? cheaper to give free newspapers away !

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Could this be Thailand's new full employment act?

20 Bn baht, surely enough to hire sufficient people to read/monitor every Facebook and LINE post made in the country every day, and snitch on those who talk about any bad/forbidden bad things.

After all, the police can do it all by themselves, now, can they? They need time for cleaning their uniforms, shining their shoes, polishing their medals, etc etc.

Edited March 9, 2016 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[phoenixdoglover]

All in all, it's just another brick in the wall.

[Praematura]

Thailand the hub of bad ISPs.

[NCFC]

Time to pack up and leave

[aussieinthailand]

20 billion baht for a spying/censorship internet overload/massive mistake that no one in their right mind wants, but 20 billion for flood protection/, water supplies , education, health, sustainable fishing, environmental projects solar power for remote villages, etc etc, HA,,,, no chance nimrod.........

Now in al seriousness if the yellow's actually want to win an election for a change, simple, announce a full reversal of the gateway policy and they would romp it in, sure the 20 billion is fully wasted and in the pockets of the corrupt but hey maybe that's the plan all along?

[MaxLee]

The day, that the internet stands still in Thailand, is the day where kids in Thailand are gonna massacre-die from Paranoia epidemics from lack of fast internet................