Previously the National Telecommunications Committee, the regulatory body, has been plagued by bad practice, said the minister.

Caught up in the reeking political mess inherited from the last government, the trend of convergence between telecommunication and broadcasting means a single regulatory body would be more efficient to monitor the market. As a matter of fact, it is inevitable, Sitthichai added in the joke-splattered presentation.

Citing the example of free telephone on the Internet, the line is increasingly blurred between the two fields. The separation between a National Telecommunications Committee and a National Broadcasting Committee has thus been rendered obsolete, said the minister.

"As you can see from the media, it's partly the fault of Thai society. But mostly it is due to conflicts of interests and corruption that were rife within the previous

administration," said the minister.

"But hope is not lost."

In his self-proclaimed "very technical" presentation, Sitthichai said that the

government would reform the industry by making it a free and leveled playing field for all parties - at least theoretically. Yet he added wryly that nothing worked in theory in Thailand.

Concerning the future of broadband Internet, he hoped to quadruple the numbers of users from about 700,000 currently to 20-30 million next year.

This also means increased revenues for ICT related industries such as mobile content providers.

Sitthichai also said that the government would also try to bridge the technology gap within Thai society, firstly through improving the e-Government programme. Today the rich and poor are no longer divided materially, but digitally as well. Such problem needs to be addressed before the country could truly become a digital economy.

Jeerawat Na Thalang and Ki Nan Tsui

The Nation