Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (Thailand)

Kingdom of Thailand
Ministry of Information and Technology

กระทรวงเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและการสื่อสาร
Ministry overview
Formed	3 October 2002
Jurisdiction	Nationwide
Headquarters	Chaeng Watthana Government Complex, Building B, Chaeng Watthana Road, Lak Si District, Bangkok
Annual budget	4,073.7 million baht (2007)
Minister responsible	Dr. Uttama Savanayana[1]
Ministry executive	Mrs. Songporn Komolsuradej, Permanent Secretary
Website	www.mict.go.th

The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) Thai: กระทรวงเทคโนโลยีสารสนเทศและการสื่อสาร; rtgs: Krasuang Theknoloyi Sarasonthet Lae Kansuesan) is a cabinet ministry of Thailand, established on 3 October 2002 by the Bureaucratic Restructuring Act of B.E. 2545 (2002).^[2] The ministry is headed by a minister of state, currently Dr. Uttama Savanayana (since 19 August 2015).

Departments

Administration

• Office of the Minster
• Office of the Permanent Secretary

Dependent departments

• Thai Meteorological Department
• National Statistical Office of Thailand

Public companies

• TOT Public Company, Ltd
• CAT Telecom Public Company, Ltd
• Thailand Post Company, Ltd

Public organizations

• Software Industry Promotion Agency^[2]
• Electronic Government Agency
• Electronic Transactions Development Agency

Looking forward

Following the 2011 Thai general election victory of the Pheu Thai Party, the new Minister, Group Captain Anudith Nakontap, voiced readiness to push forward the ICT policy of his party.^[3] Prime Minister (and former president of Advanced Info Service) Ms. Yingluck Shinawatra envisions building internet data centres nationwide to accommodate emerging smart card technology. IDCs could help citizens with smart D cards to access different state agencies. The smart ID card was a project of her brother, former Prime Minister Thaksin.^[4]

The party campaigned on a pledge of free public Wi-Fi and One Tablet per Child. Thai Internet technology companies hope the project will promote Thailand as a tablet manufacturing base exporting to ASEAN, and that the new ICT Minister will push for broadband internet prices of 300 baht (US$11) per month, half the current rate, to increase accessibility and support the local ICT industry at large. Somkiat Ungaree, honorary president of the Association of he Thai Software Industry (ATSI), applauded the government's school tablet project in expectation of benefit to local software development.^[5]

The new ICT Minister also went record to declare (in translation) "...from now on, the ministry's officials and staff members of every level have been urged to be more stringent in the pursuing of violations against the Computer Crime Act^[6] and lèse majesté on websites, by enforcing the law to the fullest."^[7]

See also

• List of ministries of Thailand
• Censorship in Thailand
• Internet censorship and surveillance by country - Thailand

References

1. "MICT Administrator". Ministry of Information and Communication Technology. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
2. "About Us". Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT). Retrieved 24 December 2015.
3. "ICT minister ready to push forward party policies". Thai Financial Post. August 10, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.|quote=
4. "Yingluck may push for data centres". Bangkok Post. August 10, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
5. "IT companies hope to build on state tablet project". Bangkok Post. August 10, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
6. Act on Computer Crime B.E. 2550, 10 June 2007, English translation
7. Saiyasombut, Saksith (2011-08-16). "Thailand’s lese majeste law claims another victim, opposition grows". Asian Correspondent. Retrieved 24 December 2015.

External links

• MICT website
• MICT Official censorship notice: Thai: เว็ปไซด์นี้มีเนื้อหาและข้อมูลที่ไม่เหมาะสม ("This website has content and data which is unfit")