Thais ‘early adopters in accessing Net’

Overall, the group’s broader ICT study covered 45,000 respondents in 24 countries.

Thai consumers were found to be early adopters based on time spent on the Internet and the variety of online services used, with most of those surveyed using at least three digital services and spending more than an hour on the Internet each day.

The majority of the early adopters are in the age group 15-39, and 55 per cent of them are female. 

In addition, all the early adopters in Thailand own a smart phone, she said. 

 Almost 60 per cent of consumers surveyed in Thailand said their use of ICT had significantly increased over the last five years.

Meanwhile, around 55 per cent said ICT had made their lives and the management of daily tasks easier – well above the global average of 45 per cent. 

Thailand and Singapore were the two countries in Southeast Asia with over 100-per-cent mobile broadband subscription rates last year, Allen said. 

 

Ranked second in region 

Thailand is ranked second in the region for mobile broadband subscription penetration, and third in fixed broadband subscription penetration. 

Thailand is experiencing growth in middle-income households, which will drive the demand for high-speed broadband services at home, she said, adding that this creates an opportunity for operators to cater to the need for home broadband and small and medium-sized enterprise solutions through alternative access technologies. 

Last year, Thailand had around 40 million smart-phone subscriptions, and the number is expected to double by 2021, according to the Ericsson study. 

 Line, YouTube and Facebook are the most widely used social media in the country, while the Internet of Things (IoT) will be one of the foundations for a digital Thailand, with Thai consumer readiness to adopt IoT in the near future, the survey found. 

Around 43 per cent of those surveyed utilise IoT-connected household appliances, gadgets and services, compared to 36 per cent globally. 

“We [at Ericsson] are driving the transformation of Thailand towards a networked society and a digital nation. We are committed to doing so for many more years. 

“We strongly support the ‘Digital Thailand’ vision, where a transformed Thailand maximises the use of digital technologies in all socio-economic activities to develop infrastructure, innovation data, human capital and other digital resources that will drive the country towards wealth, stability and sustainability,” Ericsson Thailand’s chief said.

She said 5G would be a key enabler of “Digital Thailand”, with her company building a 5G ecosystem to enable rapid growth, and having a 5G platform ready for the market.