TT&T man to steer telecoms institute

His appointment takes effect early this month. Supot has already resigned from his director post in the fixed-telephone operator TT&T.

Supot said that he would focus on promoting the R&D in three areas: wireless equipment, cable networks and broadband multimedia products. If successful, the development would help the country reduce imports.

The total value of the mobile-device market in Thailand last year was around Bt45 billion, according to mobile-phone operators. There are around 40 million mobile-phone subscribers in Thailand and 700,000 broadband Internet subscribers.

The institute is expected to spend Bt60 million on R&D this year.

Supot added that TRIDI would work closely on

R&D with relevant organisations, including the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) as well as telecom operators.

The institute has signed a collaboration deal with the Board of Investment and the Finance Ministry to jointly conduct a comprehensive study on global technology trends in order to keep up with the latest developments, he added.

TRIDI will also promote the use of locally made telecommunications products and assist in protecting the intellectual property rights of such products.

Usanee Mongkolporn

The Nation