2 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

 

I spoke to a Government official back in 2003 who told me "you won't be allowed to live here after 2010". 

 

Right out of the horse's mouth. 

 

And yet we are still here in August 2016.

 

Strange horse.

2 hours ago, tifino said:

 

maybe he meant was:

 

if you are still in LOS in 2016, you don't have a life??

 

 

He got that wrong too.

This country government makes it more and more official what Thai tourism scam gangs doing for decades...

Almost unbelievably stupid idea even by Thai Govt standards. Incredibly easy to get around this (get a Thai to buy you a sim). But if their plan is to put fear into potential tourists....then go ahead.

Best of luck.  I just stop carrying the phone.  I've just been looking for a reason.  Thanks! 

9 hours ago, schweizer said:

George Orwell would have loved this

 

Would have been a good joke 10 years ago.

6 minutes ago, CALSinCM said:

Best of luck.  I just stop carrying the phone.  I've just been looking for a reason.  Thanks! 

 

In that case you have to take an Immigration Officer with you everywhere you go.

9 hours ago, PattayaAJF said:

having worked in mobile telecommunications for more that 25 years i believe that triangulation of a specific SIM has been in use since the mid 90s .. in fact when i was working in Taiwan in 1998 we had a "tiger team" which regularly tracked the movements of some VIPs as part of their normal security arrangements .. so while the "tracking" aspect is well understood the difficulty may be in the "administration" of a large scale surveillance program .. just my humble thoughts .. 

Totally agree with you but do they really think they can track every foreigner who is in Thailand? Not a chance

Enough of these half ars ed methods of tracking foreigners, I demand electronic ankle bracelets for all foreigners entering the kingdom that can only be removed when the pesky foreigners leave the kingdom. Should the wearer try to remove the bracelet, they would of course explode causing instant death.

“We would just facilitate the police. So they could more easily track foreigners who enter the country and commit crimes,”

So far, the immigration are not even able to identify wanted criminals when they entering the country.
If someone wants to rob a bank, he simply let his cell phone at home.
This tracking Sim Card will hold no single terrorist thereof to ignite his bomb.
That's all a false front.

It's just about additional money for the private pockets of certain people.
Foreigners are allowed to pay this brainchild.
At the end it does not matter whether someone uses the SIM card or not.
The main thing is, he must buy one.
 

I think they should just implant tracking devices in our ass cheeks instead. 

Who will be the stupid criminal bringing the sim card with him when in action??? 

Who needs a sim when you have WiFi? I rarely place a mobile call. 

10 hours ago, IMA_FARANG said:

So what happens if you DON"T have a SIM card and don't use a cellphone?

well, how non-Thai of you, you are trying to apply logic to a Thai thought

I think in reality, the government would have more luck tracking Pokemon than random visitor to the kingdom.

Can't be bothered to read 17 pages, so apologies if I am repeating here, but I think it is quite brilliant move by the  Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission.  Not able to requisition fighter jets, submarines, or aircraft carriers, this government agency will now sell "special" SIM cards to all foreigners, SIM cards that will be exactly like all other SIM cards, but of course for a "special" price.  What is left to say other than Chaiyo!

Just as well i don't bother to carry a phone with me most of the time.  The Mrs has always got hers and we only need one.   Seems to me a lot of people can't recall when a phone was something that was in a phone box on the street or at home !

10 hours ago, IMA_FARANG said:

So what happens if you DON"T have a SIM card and don't use a cellphone?

Where in the hell do they come up with this nonsense.... no wonder no tourist are coming here to the land of Hassle, just as easy to put a tracking bracelet on you as you come out of the airport because they are not going to track me as I don't have a phone now what.

They will carve a capital F on your arm....

 

Is this country backwards or what? They can't even enforce the simplest of motor violators or manage the dog population where they have to rely on volunteer orgs and foreign grants to do their work... 

 

CB

I'm buying a dumb phone.

 

And gonna leave it behind, whereever I go.

 

Should I be in any situation where it may be useful in case of emergency, such as out on the boat - I'll put it in my pocket.

 

My smartphone shall remain sim-less, used for fetching business mails on the go, via wi-fi, which for anyone not in Thailand, is everywhere...

 

you won't be safe with wifi

 

your IP is still going to be there to reveal you

And presumably they will expect visitors to just roll over and accept it? Given dual-sim phones, with one sim disabled if desired, one wonders how they propose to enforce such a draconian rule.

Well, let's be thankful it's moving forward. We are in LoS where moving forward does not equate to making progress.

Why not ankle bracelets like criminals?
Aren't we?

When I see this news and the new vehicles for the Royal Thaï Air Force, I felt like posting a comment on "US urges Thai military to return the country to civilian-led government as soon as possible" but it's not available...

 

So combining all what happened in LOS since the Coup with these three today's news, I really feel that there is a masterplan to lock up security before revealing an very uncomfortable truth which could lead to civilian unrest and high powers fights...

 

Peace and Long Life The King.

 

I hope they are submersible down to over 30m, because I do a lot of diving.

 

WOW !
What a Brilliant idea, I bet whoever thought up the idea, is about to be invited to become a member of MENSA.

 

Foreigners will be so enthralled with the concept, I'm sure they'll be tripping over each other to come and take part in this fabulous experience and Marvell at the smooth, efficient way such well planned ideas are executed.

 

 Now for those,  "Nay Sayers" and yes, there are bound to be a few who will conjure up  reasons to object to this most reasonable of regulations, may I suggest the following alternatives.

1: Have a special ID Code Tattooed upon your forehead.

or

2: Have an Electronic Chip Implanted in your Ear.

 

Now, there you go Boys and Girls...oh!!  and those In-between, we have plenty of options for you to embrace and give you cause to be Deliriously Happy !

10 hours ago, SymS said:

Good luck with that, considering I seldom take my phone with me when I go out... They really need to mandate implants, then we are talking...

I guess once again the article is probably not quite accurate with words: "not just tourists but everyone who doesn’t hold a Thai passport". I know many Thai nationals without passport, will they be tracked too?

I would suggest that the majority of Thais do not have a passport. 

I really do not think this is going to be too much of a problem.

 

Considering that the Thai Baht is at 45:1 GBP, the amount of tourists that can afford to visit Thailand is the foreseeable future will be a factor.

 

Already we are making plans to visit elsewhere next summer. 

 

When I first came here in 2007, I lived like a King and brought 1000GBP to Thailand, spent like a trooper and went home with 400GBP.

 

This year I have brought 3500 GBP and its nearly all gone with just 2 days left until I go home.

 

Burma is looking like a far more attractive proposition.

Wonder when they will start requiring us to wear coloured arm-bands when out in public...

Reminds me of the farmer that hung the bell on his errant cow so he could always find it....the cow soon learned that if it stood very still the bell did not ring and the farmer couldn't find it.