Poised for precedence in digital development

The Prayut government has laid out an impress ive digital road map for the economy and society. Minister of Digital Economy and Society Pichet Durongkaveroj is bullish about Thailand being on track for solid digital links domestically and internationally.
His 2018 agenda covers the implementation of digital infrastructure that includes enactment of several laws, a national digital ID programme, a village Internet programme, and installation of undersea cables to better connect Thailand with the rest of world.
Regarding digital laws, it has become imperative to ensure that the country’s legal framework is up to date given the rapid transformations currently disrupting virtually all sectors of the economy and society at large. Besides facilitating the advent of new tech businesses and services such as online and mobile banking apps, e-commerce and online payments, the government needs to safeguard the country’s digital infrastructure with current cyber-security laws.
The digital ID programme is another key foundation stone of the new economy, since existing laws need to be amended to accommodate, for example, the opening of bank accounts on mobile apps. This means we’ll no longer have to go to a bank branch to open accounts, but instead will be able to do so using only our phones linked to the bank and the government’s census database. The latter is needed to authorise individuals to identify themselves online as part of the verification process.
Next, the agenda is to implement a “digital government” vision, with a focus on the use of big data to facilitate operating a business. 
Manpower also figures prominently on the ministry’s road map, with key components including a digital literacy-training programme, a “Coding Thailand” initiative, and a “smart government” programme. In terms of technology development, the aim is to 
nurture the “Digital Park Thailand” scheme and set up an IoT (Internet of Things) institute and a consortium of private companies and investors.
The much-heralded Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) mega-infrastructure investment programme covering Chon Buri, Chachoengsao and Rayong will have the tech-development feature too, as well as a “smart city” urban-development concept. In addition, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen are designated as suitable places for digital tech development cities.
Over a five-year period, residents of the EEC and these other three cities will have the chance to enjoy better living conditions due to the adoption of digital technologies. In fact, the economy and society are now regarded as regional leaders in the digital transformation process when such key indicators are taken into consideration.
First, Thailand has a mobile subscription ratio of 150 per cent of its population of over 60 million. Second, the Internet penetration ratio is now 67 per cent, while the mobile broadband subscription ratio is 92.9 per cent. Third, social media messaging apps now connect 60 per cent of the population, while e-commerce transactions are set to grow rapidly, to the tune of US$80 billion per year.
Yet one of the most important requirements in a national digital tech-development strategy is to ensure that no one is left behind in this transformation process. In this context, the village Internet programme aimed at giving digital access to people in rural and remote areas is probably the single most important scheme of the many projects on the entire digital agenda.
Unless this village Internet system is successfully implemented and further developed, along with other components of the digital road map, the country will soon face critical problems resulting from the digital divide between the haves and the have-nots.