Like a lotus born in the mud, the new Thai regulator NBTC may arise like a beautiful flower after the 3G auction mess. It could do what NTC lacked the mandate to achieve: a distinct Thai model of digital convergence that could trigger the equitable growth economy which can bring the nation back together.
Sure, it will take some months for this flower to bloom, perhaps a year. But that year is needed, because it buys time for researchers to present the new NBTC regulators on Day One with a plan to interlink the full power of all media for the benefit of all Thais. It could correct the mistakes of Malaysia, South Korea and Singapore which each has leaped into ubiquitous broadband without asking themselves broadband’s true purpose.
Here are three reasons why NBTC do this, when NTC could not:
The B word (broadcasting): By adding broadcasting to telecommunications, the new regulator has the mandate to influence content as well as infrastructure. It could be the author of a comprehensive broadband ecosystem could integrate the full power of multimedia to fulfill explicit national goals.
The P word (policy): At last, the regulatory agency has the benefit of being guided by an inter-ministerial National Broadband Committee. At last, the PM, the Foreign Minister and the ICT Ministry are all on the same page. Let them go behind closed doors and emerge a coherent framework for how public and private operators can combine their separate strengths to make broadband affordable, usable and empowering for all Thais.
The S word (sufficiency economy): NBTC is not limited to the conventional functions of regulation, such as “creating a competitive environment” or “extending access.” Hidden deep in the legal language is a surprising phrase: NBTC must further the King’s ethical concept of “sufficiency economy.” Other than tiny Bhutan, Thailand will be the only telecommunications regulator which is driven by such an ethical mandate. Once it is clear to NBTC that the purpose of broadband is to “unlock human development,” all other decisions can flow from that mandate.
To turn these three factors in a vibrant plan of regulatory innovation, researchers must look beyond competing interests to provide answer to these six questions:
1) What are the benefits – and the harm – that broadband can bring to the nation? Thailand needs its own answer to this question, not one borrowed from South Korea or the World Bank.
2) What in fact is the optimal role for 3G, Wimax, Fiber and Satellites? How should they complement each other?
3) How should spectrum and “universal service” taxation policies be altered to force mobile supply chains to innovate produce “data services” that bring wealth and learning (not just entertainment) to Thais who earn less than 12,000 baht per month?
4) How should NBTC and the government pool their efforts, combining “sticks” (of regulation) with “carrots” (of government subsidy) so markets empower Thai youth rather than addict them.
The answers to these questions are not readily available through any survey of “international best practices.” They must come from the best thinking of the best Thai researchers drawing upon the best data. Furthermore, all the answers cannot be found among the engineering and computer science faculties of Thai universities. Researchers in non-technological disciplines (economics, management, anthropology, communications, political science, even philosophy) must join in. Also, the whole spectrum of cabinet ministries, ranging from agriculture to tourism, must join, drawing the Ministry of Science and Technology as their aggregator. Once they find their core research questions, these researchers can engage and challenge the thinking of the so-called Thought Leaders who are conceiving next-generation technologies in the big international labs of the West, Japan, China and India. With the help of these researchers, NBTC would able to anticipate and absorb worldwide innovations which will double bandwidth’s power every year through the 21st century.
Can this research campaign happen? Yes!
Luckily the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), chaired by the Prime Minister, which oversees the research needs of the nation, has stepped forward at this crucial time. NRCT will join with Chulalongkorn’s Digital Divide Institute and a coalition of other universities on October 29 to announce a research coalition that aims to prepare the NBTC for the tasks ahead. They will offer the vision that may not only shape the direction of the new regulatory body, but the future of Thailand itself.
Craig Warren Smith is Senior Advisor at University of Washington Human Interface Technology Laboratory, and Chairman, Digital Divide Institute of Chulalongkorn University (DigitalDivide.org). Prof Smith may be contacted atcraigwarrensmith@hotmail.com
Center for Science, Technology, and Society 