The Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry's efforts to provide free mobile internet packages for students to support their online study has hit a snag as it cannot draw money from the Digital Fund because this subsidy is not included in the fund's stated purpose.
Therefore, the ministry is seeking an alternative source of funding to support the move.
DES Minister Chaiwut Thanakhamanusorn said the scheme remains on hold as the ministry is having difficulty financially supporting the move.
The assistance scheme was announced by the ministry in April, aiming to help 8 million students study online in the wake of the pandemic.
The two-month assistance scheme will offer a five-gigabyte monthly package with a speed of four megabits per second.
Carriers have also agreed to charge the ministry 107 baht per month per package, much lower than their regular rate of 300 baht.
The DES Ministry earlier planned to use the Digital Fund to subsidise this scheme and it was expected to cost 1.2-1.6 billion baht.
The Digital Fund's income is partly derived from spectrum licence auctions held by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC). The telecom regulator must provide 15% of the auction payment to the fund with the rest going to state coffers.
Mr Chaiwut said he has not figured out which financial resources the ministry will use to fund the programme and when it would be implemented.
"The ministry may have to seek alternative resources or could ask the cabinet to use the state budget to support the move," he said.
An executive of a major mobile operator who requested anonymity said the assistance is expected to be given in time for the new school semester.
The DES Ministry still needs to coordinate with the Education Ministry to get the list of assisted students and their mobile phone numbers.
"The operators earlier believed the scheme may be hard to implement with regards to funding and coordination with the Education Ministry," the executive said.
The executive said the DES ministry's move is seen as a problem for the Education Ministry's work although the assistance would benefit the public.
The Digital Fund's spending objective is not in line with the planned subsidy by the DES Ministry and there is limited state budget to spend, the executive noted.
Before the assistance scheme was initiated, the prime minister assigned the DES Ministry to coordinate with related agencies, including the NBTC, mobile and fixed broadband operators and application providers to provide assistance to students being forced to study online due to the latest wave of Covid-19 infections.
