HOME REVIEW
The NTC's Apichart Sakdiset |
Your TOT announced plans for a new survival strategy, taking money off the top of fees other people and companies pay for the third-generation yuppiephone service that is going to take Thailand by storm and generate tankers-full of revenue; under the plan signed with your CAT Telecom, TOT will buy full control of SuthepNet, aka Thai Mobile, for 2.4 billion baht to be paid over five years; it will change the name of the little company that couldn't to TOT Mobile, and "allow" the top mobile networks to use the system - Advanced Info Service, DTAC, True and up-country provider TT&T; the lure: TOT owns the entire "world standard 1,900MHz" band; the hitch: 3G is an unknown quantity, with almost no demand in Thailand to this point; the catch: TOT deputy president Varut Suvakorn said he may ask the government to take a lot of money from taxpayers to help to "invest" in the project.
No. 2 yuppiephone network DTAC of Norway and No. 3 True Move of Thailand announced that second-generation (2G) phones are really cool and wonderful; they are working with your CAT Telecom on upgrading to 3G, but there are some pesky "technical issues," plus the National Telecommunications Commission needs a lot more information if anyone expects them to issue licences to import high-speed packet access (HSPA) equipment.
The US Federal Communications Commission recommended so-far unspecified punishment for Internet broadband supplier Comcast; the firm has been "traffic shaping" downloads by users to discourage file-sharing, where customers actually try to use the bandwidth they pay for; the FCC "protects consumers access to the Internet," said chairman Kevin Martin; meanwhile, Thai Internet web site overseer T.H.NIC sent out a warning to every customer to keep massive and extensive records and also make sure that there is no copyright material (huh?) or face government wrath; this, T.H.NIC managing director Parkpoom Tripatana decided, is "to protect the users when accessing to information technology"; it would be impossible for a satire writer to make that up.
The Computer Association of Thailand praised the current Computer Crime Law, but suggested a couple of minor amendments, no big deal really; a two-day seminar will point out that schools and Internet cafes cannot monitor users, but will be held responsible if someone uses their machine for some vague "crime" and that needs changing; as for storing all data on all computers or get a huge fine, well, that could also be changed, nothing major.
Deputy secretary-general Apichart Sakdiset of the National Telecommunications Commission warned a seminar on media law that the hazy, confused telecoms laws are driving away foreign investors, mostly because there are too many conditions attached to potential business deals; he told the Thai Journalists' Association and others who attended, that his so-called "independent" NTC cannot even meet with a foreign firm or visitor unless it gets permission from the government.
Malaysia announced new restrictions on Internet cafe's because of all that crime going around in the country; all cyber cafe's must close by midnight, and should not even think about using darkened glass to cut down on the bright sunlight, said deputy housing and local government minister Hamzah Zainuddin; if police can see through the front windows, they can nip all the crime plotting in the bud; and no cigarettes; and no one under 12 inside.
PTT Plc said that oil prices could fall back to $100 unless Middle East tension escalates. PTT Plc said that oil prices could reach $300 if Middle East tension escalates. PTT Plc said it would be happy to import three times as much liquefied petroleum to power converted cars, so long as the government pays for the extra 40,000 tonnes.
The Office of the Attorney General filed abuse-of-power charges against ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra over his 2003 decision which converted yuppiephone concession fees into excises taxes; the charge alleges that the major beneficiary of the scheme was the Shinawatra family's Advanced Info Service network, and that overall the change hooked 40 billion baht from the pockets of your TOT and your CAT Telecom.
An Asian study by security software specialist ReadiMinds concluded that one in every four banks in the Asia-Pacific region has been hit by attempted robbery by online thieves; most of the attempts seemed linked to phishing, where potential thieves wheedle password and PIN information out of unwitting bank customers, mostly through fraudulent email.
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