Netpracharat

The Thai government (led by Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-O-Cha) is pursuing its Thailand 4.0 project by employing digital technology to drive economic and social development, in order to strengthen the foundations of the Thai economy and increase Thailand’ competitive edge at the global level. The project is being implemented in line with the 20-Year National Strategy, the 12th National Economic and Social Development Plan, and the Digital Economy and Society Development Plan, which have all aimed at expanding high-quality digital infrastructure throughout Thailand, making it accessible, available, and affordable to everyone. The development of broadband internet is essential, and will be one of the key factors that bring Thailand to the same levels of development as other countries. However, the expansion of the broadband internet network in remote areas is costly and the return on investment is rather low. For this reason, a majority of telecommunications service providers in Thailand have focused on providing services in urban areas. This in turn leads to a digital divide, which has left residents in remote areas with limited access to information and various public services.

The project aims to expand the Fiber Optic (FTTx) broadband network to cover a total of 24,700 target villages.

It also aims to provide at least one wireless hotspot in every target village, with the minimum speed of 30Mbps/10Mbps (download/upload), free of charge.