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Published on December 13, 2007

As I sit at the peak Internet hour waiting while my ISP is endlessly "connecting to ...", I have enough time to write a response to James Groveway's moan about the dysfunctionality of Thailand's broadband.

There is a PhD to be got by studying the deleterious effects of TOT and CAT on the Thai economy over the last 10 years. I have not researched this topic, and there must be others who know much more, but I offer a few random thoughts on the workings of the neanderthal telecom corporations of Thailand in their twilight years.

As I understand it, they were originally a single state organisation, and the plan was to separate them into a telecoms branch and a post office branch, after the style of many industrialised countries in the 1980s. Unfortunately CAT, the intended post office end, didn't like the idea of shuffling envelopes around and not having any sexy modern telecoms, and so was given international telecoms access as a consolation prize.

Naturally TOT, as the intended telecoms branch, didn't like that, and made the expected complaints, after which it was given regional international telecoms access.

CAT got the international Internet connectivity monopoly in the 1990s, unsurprisingly. I seem to remember that TOT complained, but to no avail.  CAT's way of organising connectivity was in line with its status as a monopoly - it required a 30 per cent stake in all the ISPs it licensed.

The main effect of this was that ISPs were naturally reluctant to increase their investment, as there was in effect a 30 per cent tax. Equally, CAT has always appeared to be reluctant to invest in increasing international trunk connectivity, which you would imagine was its duty as a state organisation. It is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the beneficiaries of the operation are not, or not just, the Finance Ministry, its majority owner as I understand it. 

Meanwhile, TOT over the last 10 years is surely the saddest story in the world: a state telecoms corporation unable to break out of its former glory as monopoly holder of the trunk national system, the licence holder for privatised telecoms extensions (such as AIS) and the telecoms regulator to boot.  The NTC, the new regulator and the intended holder of all Thai telecoms assets, was created on paper in the 1997 constitution. Its flesh and blood manifestation was delayed for years by Thaksin. But now it's attempting to create a new telecoms regime - while unfortunately sitting alongside the old owner and regulator, TOT, which barks at everyone like a mad dog.

The new regime and the old regime sit together, competing for clients, access fees and the high moral ground in a scenario that could only be invented in Thailand. It is as if they changed the gauge of the railway, but left the old gauge alongside the new.

So, James Groveway, with a couple of regulators fighting over the turf, and the CAT sitting on the sidelines trying to turn itself into a profitable organisation (for whom?), it is hardly surprising that your and my connectivity operate at the level of a declining torch battery.

Pip pip pip pip pip ...

Richard Sproat

Bangkok

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Hi-so father has

a lo-so attitude

I am in complete agreement with Mr Jim Brown's statement concerning the recent bus/car episode (in which a young man deliberately drove into a crowd of people, killing one and injuring others). But I would like to carry it a step further. I am not sure who is in greater need of a 'head doctor' - the son or the father - after his inane threat of lawsuits and statement about "uneducated low-class people". It is a true indication of much of today's hi-so attitude (ie. the former PM and his family) in trying to reverse blame and admit no fault.

This boy intentionally killed a person and should go to jail and pay a heavy fine (daddy will have to fork it over, I am sure), no matter how many tears are shed or how bad he feels. 

If he had done what most people do when two vehicles have a scrape - simply exchange insurance and personal data, along with a policeman's report, and go on your way - this fatal result would not have occurred. Apologies and money do not erase this deed. It is time to "pay the piper".

Hyde Parke

Chon Buri

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Chiang Mai needs to

get its act together

At the risk of being labelled as yet another complaining foreigner, I have to take issue with comments contained in yesterday's article on the downturn in tourism in Chiang Mai.

The Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association apparently puts the slump in visitors down to various factors that are conveniently outside their control. Things such as "internal political turmoil", "global oil prices", and "poor economic environment". Local tourism operators can, however, apparently take comfort in the knowledge that "the overall tourism industry is expected to rebound very soon after the general election". Aside from an election, apparently all we need is more money spent on marketing and overseas junkets, on new special events, and on a convention centre. 

But did anybody ask the tourists about what they thought? Did they all say "we are just waiting for the election and then we will be there". And apart from seeking handouts from Bangkok, how about all the many things that the local government and tourism industry could and should do for themselves to improve the tourism appeal of this great city?

How about consistent and serious enforcement of the laws against burning rubbish, and on excessive exhaust emissions from vehicles? This in a region that promotes itself as a spa and wellness centre yet suffers choking pollution for most of the year.

How about a considered and coordinated approach to English language signage throughout the city?

How about an air-conditioned meter taxi service that covers more than just the airport?

How about a voluntary Code of Conduct for local operators that includes things like a commitment to check and promptly respond to e-mails that arrive at the addresses they insert in their advertisements (apparently as little more than fashion statements)?

How about further (ongoing - not photo opportunity) improvements to street sanitation, litter control, and rubbish collection?

Thapae Road deserves a special mention here. This could be the premier up-market shopping street in northern Thailand but instead it is an absolute disgrace. One cannot walk for five feet without tripping either on a pothole, a non-functioning telephone or information kiosk, or on some relic of an earlier ill-considered and failed attempt at street beautification. Take, for example, the hideous green concrete light fittings that obstruct the footpaths on both sides of the street. I don't think these were ever functional, and are now used as trash bins (that are never emptied) and are in various stages of disintegration. There is also no shelter from sun and rain for shoppers, and clearly no controls - let alone a unified theme - over any aspect of buildings and signs.

How about the mayor approving a well-considered street beautification programme here, with public consultation, a fair and transparent tendering process, and with construction and subsequent maintenance undertaken by suitably qualified and experienced professionals? 

These are just a few actions that might be considered. I am sure there are many more and quite possibly better ones. These are, however, the type of practical local measures that should perhaps have been the main focus at the recent TAT Chiang Mai talk-fest instead of the usual buck-passing.

Bruce Bickerstaff

Chiang Mai