CAT TELECOM DISASTER ON HORIZON? Former Bangkok Post IT journalist Don Sambandaraksa of Telcom Asia has a completely different take on what he dubs the "Great Firewall of Thailand" which he sees as a potential disaster in the making: "Back in the old days, only CAT Telecom ran a commercial gateway alongside a handful of tiny academic connections. Deregulating this sector and creating competition is arguably the only success the Thai telecom regulator has had since it came into existence, speeding up internet access and enhancing reliability. "CAT has always acted more as a rent collector rather than a telco... "...it seems like all the major cable systems skirt around Thailand, coming up through Malaysia then jumping into the sea before surfacing again in Vietnam... "The continued existence of the single gateway project makes a total mockery of everything new ICT Minister Uttama Savanayana said about turning Thailand into a data center hub for the region and building better connectivity. Would anyone in their right mind host a regional operation in Thailand under these circumstances? "A return to the good old days of a CAT monopoly would be disastrous. The people of Thailand can kiss a fast internet goodbye purely from technical incompetence, not to mention all the monitoring, censoring and deep packet inspection the military want. Would VPN and encryption be outlawed? That would be a logical next step." http://www.telecomasia.net/blog/content/general-happiness-orders-great-firewall-thailand

Wanchai Vach-shewadumrong, deputy managing director of Internet Thailand, a leading internet service provider (ISP), said the government should not implement the single gateway policy as it would not be practical and transparent. "It will lead to strict control of the country's internet traffic similar to what the Chinese government is doing," he said. Instead, he said policymakers could order all international internet gateway providers to cooperate to filter or block any content or any internet traffic that will pose a threat to national security. If service providers do not cooperate, the government can revoke their licences to operate.

"The planned single gateway is to serve basic economic needs, not for national security purposes," he said. "The government is not trying to control access to information like communist countries," Mr Uttama said.

Mr Uttama said there was much public misunderstanding about the project and discussions with the private sector and public sector is needed to clear up the confusion.

The nine existing gateways owned by state enterprises and private companies will not be dissolved, he said..

The ICT Minister responded to the criticism this Thursday claiming that the planned gateway will not invade personal data or violate people's rights to access public information... (See latest update by Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong here ). The ICT Minister said the new gateway is aimed at being a main connection point for internet traffic in the country to facilitate the digital economy.

When the project was finally discovered this week by the public, it was widely criticised on social media.

On June 30 the cabinet ordered government ministries and the police to "set up a single internet gateway in order to control inappropriate websites and to control the flow of information into the country from overseas via the internet."

The existence of the government order was not known publicly until it was discovered and announced on social media by someone who found it while browsing the official cabinet resolution repository (see here ).

25/09/2015 Adapted from article by Komsan Tortermvasana & Suchit Leesa-nguansuk Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Minister Uttama Savanayana has admitted the government plans to create a single international internet gateway to share digital infrastructure with interested companies.

ICT Minister admits to govt plans for single internet gateway into Thailand but insists will not 'control access to info like communist countries'.

Image displayed from Thailand's Ministry of Information and Communication Technology when accessing prohibited content (Source: Wikipedia).

Click "play" to listen to Great internet wall of Thailand? All a misunderstanding says ICT minister and "Download" to keep this file for educational purpose.

Vocabulary:

academic : relating to education - เชิงวิชาการ

access : having the opportunity to have or use something - มีโอกาสในการใช้

admit : to agree that something is true, especially when you are unhappy, sorry or surprised about it - ยอมรับ

aim : to have as your purpose or goal - มีเป้าหมาย มีจุดมุ่งหมาย

alongside : at the side of, side by side, parallel to - ข้างๆ, อยู่ถัดไป,อยู่ข้าง

announce : to tell people something officially, especially about a decision, plans, etc - ประกาศ, แจ้ง, แจ้งให้ทราบ

back in the old days : in he past... , many years ago... -

browse : to look for information on a computer, especially on the Internet - ค้นหาหรืออ่านเอกสารบนอินเตอร์เนต

cabinet : the group of government ministers who make and approve government policy - คณะรัฐมนตรี

censor : a person whose job is to examine books, films/movies, etc. and remove parts which are considered to be offensive, immoral or a political threat - เจ้าหน้าที่ตรวจสอบ, เซ็นเซอร์

circumstances (noun): facts or conditions that affect a situation - เหตุการณ์แวดล้อม

claim : to say that something is true although it has not been proved and other people may not believe it - อ้าง

clear up : clean up; make tidy and clean -

collector : a person who collects things, either as a hobby or as a job - นักสะสม

commercial : for business purposes - เกี่ยวกับการค้า

competition : a situation in which people or organizations compete, i.e., try to be more successful or better than somebody else who is trying to do the same as you - การแข่งขัน

confusion : a feeling that you do not understand something or cannot decide what to do - ความสับสน

connection : something that connects two facts, ideas, etc. - การเชื่อมต่อ การเชื่อมโยง

connection : something that connects two things, etc. - การเชื่อมต่อ การเชื่อมโยง

connectivity (noun): how well connected things are, how easily you can get from one place to another - ภาวะเชื่อมต่อ, สภาพเชื่อมโยง

continued : happening or existing for a period of time without interruption - ซึ่งติดต่อกัน, ซึ่งต่อเนื่องกัน

cooperate : to work with other people to achieve a result that is good for everyone involved - ร่วมมือกัน

criticised : receiving words of disapproval over something that you have supposedly done wrong - ถูกวิจารณ์, โดนว่า

criticism : comments that show that you think something is wrong or bad - การวิจารณ์

data : facts or information, especially when examined and used to find out things or to make decisions - ข้อมูล, ตัวเลข, สถิติ

deputy : a person whose rank is immediately below that of the leader of an organisation - รอง

disaster : an extremely bad situation - ความโชคร้าย

disastrous : extremely bad or unsuccessful - ซึ่งทำให้เกิด (ภัยพิบัติ, ความหายนะ, ความโชคร้าย)

discover : to be the first person to become aware that a particular place or thing exists - ค้นพบ

dissolved : officially ended as a group - ที่ยุบพรรค

dub (verb): to give a name to, not the real name - ตั้งฉายา, ตั้งชื่อเล่นให้

encryption (noun): when messages sent between use a secret code so that others cannot read the message - เปลี่ยนข้อความให้เป็นรหัส, การนำข้อความมาทำให้เป็นรหัส

enhance : to improve the quality, amount or strength of something - ปรับปรุง, ทำให้ดีขึ้น

existence : the state of being a real or living thing - การมีชีวิตอยู่

existence : the state of being a real or living thing, or of being present in a particular place, time, or situation - การดำรงอยู่,การมีอยู่,การมีชีวิตอยู่,ความเป็นอยู่

existing (adj): present now; in use now; used now - ที่มีอยู่

facilitate : to make it possible or easier for something to happen - ทำให้สะดวกขึ้น

former : of or in an earlier time; before the present time or in the past - อดีต, แต่ก่อน

gateway (noun): a device or system that connects two computer networks that cannot be connected in any other way - เกตเวย์ อุปกรณ์สำหรับเืชื่อมต่อเครือข่ายคอมพิวเตอร์ที่ต่างกัน

handful : a small number or amount - จำนวนน้อย

implement : to make something such as an idea, plan, system or law start to work and be used - นำแผนหรือนโยบายมาปฏิบัติ, นำมาใช้

inappropriate : unsuitable - ซึ่งไม่เหมาะสม

incompetence : lack of skill or ability to do something correctly or well - การไม่มีความสามารถ

infrastructure : a set of systems within a place or organisation that affect how well it operates, e.g., the telephone and transport systems in a country or the system of train tracks that a railway uses - สาธารณูปโภค

inspection : an official process of checking that things are in the correct condition or that people are doing what they should - การตรวจสอบตรวจตรา

international : connected with or involving two or more countries - นานาชาติ, สากล, ระหว่างประเทศ

internet service provider (ISP) : a company that provides internet service to people and companies - ผู้ให้บริการอินเทอร์เน็ต (ไอเอสพี)

invade : to enter a place in large numbers, usually when unwanted - บุกรุก

journalist : a person who writes news stories or articles for a newspaper or magazine or broadcasts them on radio or television - ผู้สื่อข่าว

leading (adjective): among the first and most important in a group - ชั้นหนึ่ง, ชั้นแนวหน้า, ชั้นนำ

licence : an official document that gives someone permission to do or use something - ใบอนุญาต

major : very large or important - สำคัญมาก

managing director (MD) : the top manager of a company, similar to a CEO, the member of a company's board of directors who is responsible for running a company on a daily basis -

ministry : a government department that has a particular area of responsibility - กระทรวง

misunderstanding : a situation in which a comment, an instruction, etc. is not understood correctly - ความเข้าใจผิด

monitoring : regularly checking something - การจับตาดู, การตรวจตรา, การเฝ้าระมัดระวัง

monopoly : complete control over something by one organization or person - ระบบผูกขาด

national (adjective): for the whole country - แห่งชาติ, ของชาติ

national security : the protection or the safety of a country’s secrets and its citizens - การรักษาความมั่นคงแห่ง่ชาติ

not to mention : in addition; also -

official : done by people in authority or decided by the government; announced publicly - เป็นทางการ

operate : to carry out an activity like running a business - ดำเนินการ

operation : a business activity - การดำเนินการทางธุรกิจ

order (noun): something that somebody is told to do by somebody in authority - คำสั่ง

overseas : connected with foreign countries, especially those separated from your country by the sea or ocean - เกี่ยวกับต่างประเทศ, ข้ามทะเล

packet : a quantity of data or information that travels along a computer network or internet -

personal : your own; not belonging to or connected with anyone else - เป็นส่วนตัว

policy (noun): a set of plans or action agreed on by a government, political party, business, or other group - นโยบาย

pose a threat : to be a possible danger - กระทำการซึ่งอาจก่อให้เกิดอันตรายต่อ

potential : possible in the future - ที่อาจเป็นไปได้

practical : suitable for the situation in which something is used - ที่ขึ้นอยู่กับความเป็นจริง

private : involving groups, businesses or industries that are not owned or controlled by the government - เอกชน

private sector : businesses and industries that are not owned or controlled by the government - ภาคเอกชน

project : a planned piece of work that is designed to find information about something, to produce something new, or to improve something - โครงการ

provider (noun): a person/company who gives or supplies something - ผู้ให้

public : the public; all people; the people in general - มหาชน, ประชาชน

public : open to people in general - สาธารณะ

public sector : government sector; part of the economy controlled by the government - ภาครัฐบาล

publicly : intending to be seen or heard by people in general - อย่างเปิดเผย

purpose : the intention to achieve something - ความตั้งใจ, ความประสงค์, ความปรารถนา, ความตั้งใจ

region : a large area of land or space, usually without exact limits or borders - ภูมิภาค, ขอบเขต, แถบ, บริเวณ

regional : of or relating to a region - เกี่ยวกับภูมิภาค

regulator : an official (or organisation) who makes certain that the companies who operate a system work effectively and fairly - ผู้มีอำนาจควบคุม

reliability : the condition of being accurate and able to trusted; in statistics, the degree to which the measure is consistent, that is, repeated measurements would give the same result.— - ความน่าเชื่อถือ

rent : paying money for the use of something for a period of time - ค่าเช่า

repository : a place where documents or computer files are kept -

resolution : an official decision that is made after a group or organisation have voted - มติ

respond : to say or do something as a reaction to something that has been said or done - ตอบสนอง, ตอบรับ

revoke : to officially say that something is no longer legal - เพิกถอน

right : a moral or legal claim to have or get something or to behave in a particular way - สิทธิ

sector : a part of a country’s economy or business activity - ภาคเศรษฐกิจของประเทศ

security : protection; safety from attack, harm, or damage - ความมั่นคง, ระบบรักษาความปลอดภั, ความปลอดภัย

share : to have or use something at the same time as someone else - ใช้ร่วมกัน

similar : like somebody/something but not exactly the same - คล้ายกัน

single : one only - เดี่ยว

skirt (verb): to avoid talking about something unpleasant; to avoid having to do something unpleasant - หลีกเลี่ยง

social media : the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue, e.g., Facebook, Twitter, etc. - เครือข่ายสังคมออนไลน์

state enterprise : a company or business owned and managed by the government - รัฐวิสาหกิจ

strict : demanding that rules are obeyed; very careful and exact - เข้มงวด

success (noun): achieving the goals you wanted to achieve or made a lot of money - มีผลสำเร็จ, ประสบผลสำเร็จ, ประสบชัยชนะ

surface : to become known or seen - เป็นที่รู้, ปรากฏ, เปิดเผย

take : the particular opinion or idea that somebody has about something -

technical : connected with the skills needed for a particular job, sport, art, etc; connected with practical methods for doing something - ในทางเทคนิค

telecom : a business in the telecommunications industry - โทรคมนาคม)

tiny : very small -

traffic : the number of cars, trucks and other vehicles traveling along a road at one time; also used for data traveling along a network - การจราจร

transparent : not keeping anything secret; open - โปร่งใส

via : through - ผ่าน (ช่องทาง)

violate : to do something that is against the law - ละเมิดกฏหมาย