IoT tipped to soar to Bt34 bn in 3 years

Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said IoT would create benefits for people and businesses alike and was already growing in use.
The NBTC regulates the 2,100- 1,800- and 900-megahertz spectra to support third- and fourth-generation technology that telecom operators use to provide IoT services. The commission is also regulating the 380MHz spectrum for the next three years. 
Takorn, citing a report by consultancy Frost & Sullivan, said the headline forecast of IoT services reaching Bt34 billion in three years was supported by the growth of the technology in sectors as diverse as manufacturing, automotive production and agriculture. The report said IoT services would begin to take on greater popularity in the country next year.
Weerawat Kiatipongthaworn, chief corporate officer of Advanced Info Service, said the company had provided IoT platforms and services to support businesses and start-up ventures in developing new products and services in innovations such as smart homes, smart parking and healthcare advances. 
Thiraphant Sirisoonthornphibul, vice president for B2B (business to business) products at Total Access Communication (DTAC), said the company had developed an IoT platform that provides four elements: installed sensors, connectivity, enablement and application. The platform would support users in areas such as smart farms for the agricultural industry. 
Thiraphant said the company would also join with partners to encourage the adoption of IoT usage. The company believes that throughout Asia, IoT technology will be popular in the areas such as transport, logistics, automotive production and services for smart cities.
Sunsern Samaisut, managing director of True Digital and Media Platform, said the company had cooperated with partners to provide IoT end-to-end solutions and IoT total solutions to support the market.
Digital Economy and Society Vice Minister Pansak Siriruchatapong said the government would drive the country towards its goal of technological advancement under the “Thailand 4.0” policy.
Frost & Sullivan said Thailand was on track to become Asean’s digital infrastructure hub by 2020, with spending on IoT in 2014 amounting to US$57.7 million. It is forecast to soar by 1,600 per cent by 2020.
A survey by Asia IoT Business Platform found that more than 70 per cent of Thai enterprises and organisations were exploring possible IoT solutions for their needs. However, only 7 per cent of them reported any benefit from IoT implementation. These enterprises and organisations cite cost, legacy systems, and complexity as the top three concerns in adopting IoT.