Thailand Science Research and Innovation (TSRI) is forming a collaboration with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NTBC) to promote optimal use of 5G wireless broadband technology.
Optimised 5G adoption is one of TSRI's top priorities in its economic push to produce prototypes of 5G solutions and products this year.
Some sectors that should focus on 5G optimisation include medical, agriculture and autonomous vehicles, Dr Sirirurg Songsivilai, chairman of the National Commission on Science, Technology and Innovation at TSRI, told the Bangkok Post.
The commission set crucial agendas to implement many projects with related agencies, including those related to the planned PM2.5 pollution scheme, 5G development through the existing infrastructure, the electric vehicle ecosystem for the next era, and biotechnology for foods.
Dr Sirirurg has been in talks with NBTC chairman Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck and his team to shape up the 5G collaboration. He said the TSRI is not committed only on a paper procedure but also committed to generating some prototypes as solutions and products for local adoption, and the production is expected this year.
Thailand is the first mover in Asean in terms of the 5G spectrum licence auction, which was held by the NBTC in January 2020. Wireless data consumption and 5G adoption in the country has risen since then, Dr Sirirurg said.
He said Thailand's 5G adoption is trailing its regional peers, although Thailand is clearly at the forefront of the 5G wave thanks to the country's dynamic market with some of the most tech-savvy consumers in the world.
Dr Sirirurg said the promotion of wider 5G adoption should be done through proper 5G optimisation and import substitution.
He said the TSRI was established more than four years ago by the government to be the sole national agency for shaping science, research, and innovation promotion in Thailand through collaboration with other agencies. The commission operates under the National Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation Policy Council, which is chaired by the prime minister.
The agency was allocated an operations budget of 15 billion baht in 2023 and is seeking a budget of 19.5 billion baht for 2024, which is being considered by a House of Representatives committee.
Dr Sirirurg said the agency is shaping its operations and management as a core tool to develop research for implementation to help drive economic recovery and the nation's future.
"We act as a centralised centre of researchers in the country, executing results and solutions to benefit the overall economy and people's well-being," he said.