Executives herald era of change

Telecommunications industry executives are forecasting a wealth of opportunities and benefits arising from the imminent launch of 3G mobile services in Thailand.

They say 3G will create new business and new application services such as e-education, e-commerce and infotainment which will benefit both businesses and mobile-phone users.

However, both users and businesses will be encouraged to join the wireless broadband medium, offering new application services, by charging fees for their services.

TOT's senior executive vice president for enterprise effectiveness Kittipong Tameyapradit said 3G would soon become an integral part of modern business life. It will enable Internet and intranet access, video-conferencing and the sharing of interactive applications anywhere. As a result, business operators will find it easier to make decisions, enabling a faster expansion of their enterprises.

For mobile users, 3G will bring new applications to people living in metropolitan areas, including entertainment and infotainment applications. It will also bring benefits to people living in remote areas, enhancing the quality of their lives with services such as telehealth applications, allowing them to undertake regular medical examinations and connecting them with doctors via the Internet.

"I think that in the first step, 3G will hit premium users. It will quickly become popular among teenagers and business people, using entertainment and business applications. These will provide both lifestyle support and collaborative information technology for business organisations that executives will find easy to use.

"I also think that fees for 3G services will be calculated according to a bit rate, which will encourage intensive use by mobile users," Kittipong said.

In order to encourage the use of 3G in Thailand, he said the government should plan to invest in infrastructure, to narrow the digital divide in the Thai community and to allow service providers to offer new services at lower cost. The price for 3G should be nearly the same as that for 2G voice services, with fees for data and multimedia paid according to a bit rate.

"I believe that Thai consumers are ready for 3G and have an understanding of the technology. They will be able to use 3G mobile phones immediately," Kittipong said.

Association of Thai Software Industry president Somkiat Ungaree said 3G would provide two-way communication, facilitating new services such as e-learning or e-education. Students will be able to access knowledge from the Internet and there will no longer be a shortage of teachers.

At the same time, 3G will enable the government to provide high quality Web services, such as supply-chain information via e-industry, e-commerce, e-education, e-government and e-society. The technology will also help businesses create "pay-per-use" software services, or software as a service (SaaS).

Moreover, software developers will be able to develop applications to meet niche markets and differentiate their businesses from the rest of the market, helping to create competitiveness for local enterprises and inviting new players to enter the new business era.

"I think that 3G will encourage businesses to create innovative goods and products to supply niche markets, creating business differentiation and lending competitiveness to local enterprises so they can expand," Somkiat said.

Songyot Kanthamanon, managing director of Grand Planet Enterprise, which provides

an online website-building application at www.readyplanet.com for individuals wanting to own a website, said that 3G would enable businesses to provide online training or e-learning, giving people the opportunity to broaden their knowledge.

Application services for mobile-phone users will include TV online and video conferencing, with users paying per view.

He said 3G would enable the development of websites providing online training and broadcasting. Mobile-phone users will be able to share videos with friends in real time, and small- and medium-sized enterprises will be able to easily do business via the Internet.

"I believe that 3G will be a hit if mobile operators provide reasonably priced services and implement international-bandwidth infrastructure that will enable users to easily access the Internet and 3G application services," Songyot said.

 When mobile operators provide 3G services to the market, companies will have to adjust their websites to support mobile display, he said.