Thirty-eight telecom delegations from Asia-Pacific have mutually agreed to push for nationwide broadband across each country in the region by 2020 in a drive to bridge the persistent digital divide.
Getting more women online will boost economies, says Ms Yingluck. TAWATCHAI KEMGUMNERD
Speaking at Connect Asia-Pacific 2013 yesterday, Gp Capt Anudith Nakornthap said the Thai government plans to spend at least 4 billion baht to expand nationwide broadband coverage with the aim of promoting Thailand as an ICT hub of the Greater Mekong Subregion.
The event was hosted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and Thailand's Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Ministry in the context of the Asia-Pacific Digital 2020 scheme.
Hundreds of telecom-related delegates and regulators from 38 ITU member countries joined the event to discuss ways to embrace ICT and stimulate economic growth.
The ITU will host another event, ITU Telecom World 2013, from today until Friday at Impact Muang Thong Thani.
Gp Capt Anudith said Thailand set a goal to extend its broadband coverage nationwide by 2020 and cut international bandwidth costs by half.
ITU secretary-general Hamadoun I Toure said up to 3.5 billion people in Asia-Pacific and 6.8 billion globally own a mobile phone. But 4.3 billion people in the region are still unconnected.
"Broadband penetration in Asia-Pacific could reach 78% of the population by 2015, up from 22% currently," Mr Toure said.
Mobile adoption in the region is close to 90%, but up to 68% of people still have no internet access. Thailand's mobile uptake is 130%, compared with some other countries in Asia averaging 90%.
Mr Toure urged the Thai government to support the mobile broadband revolution and enhance local content development to sustain the industry.
He said up to 88 potential investment projects for broadband expansion worth US$53 billion were raised at Connect Asia-Pacific 2013.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Asia-Pacific is a key engine for the global economy and boosting investment in ICT infrastructure will sustain regional growth.
She pressed regional telecom leaders to promote universal broadband access, support the software industry, remove red tape and reduce the pesky digital divide.
"I believe the number of global 4G subscriptions will surge by 10 times from 2012 to 2017, driving mobile broadband usage," Ms Yingluck said.
She also cited a report that said bringing 600 million additional women and girls online could boost global GDP by $13-18 billion.