THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Don't fear Internet single gateway: ICT minister

Don't fear Internet single gateway: ICT minister

The objective of the international-Internet single gateway initiative is not to enhance national security, but to help Internet businesses reduce costs by sharing a single gateway, Information and Communication Technology Minister Uttama Savanayana said y

Uttama said the initiative was being explored by the ministry along with other organisations and stakeholders.

He did not commit to a timeframe on when the proposal will be sent to the Cabinet for consideration but he said the ministry was not in a hurry to get it finished as it needed to be carefully considered.

The public needed to understand that the single gateway would save Internet businesses money, he said, because they would not have to invest in their own gateway.

Uttama added that the single gateway was still in the discussion stage.

He said businesses would not be forced to use the single gateway.

"It is to be done on a volunteer basis when we develop the infrastructure. It is not to force them. That is impossible," said Uttama.

He said that the end-of-September deadline Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha had envisioned for the project was for the ICT Ministry to report the project’s progress and was not a deadline for completion.

He said the public’s liberty and rights were important and the ministry was conscious of that.

Thailand’s single gateway concept would not be based on a controversial concept from another country, he insisted.

nationthailand