(Bangkok,
25 May, 2017) Telenor Group’s President and CEO Sigve Brekke today met
with the Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, reaffirming the
company’s commitment to support
the digital development of the country and the vision of Thailand 4.0.
“As
part of our commitment to providing mobile internet and digital
services for all, we acknowledge the government’s high ambitions for
digital development and continue to support
the vision of Thailand 4.0. We view the establishing of a dedicated
Ministry for Digital Economy and Societies as an important step towards
realizing the government’s agenda,” said Sigve Brekke, President and CEO
of Telenor Group.
This
year, Telenor Group marks 17 years of business operations in Thailand.
Over the years, the Oslo-based company has made significant
contributions to the Thai economy through
its strategic business partner, dtac.
According to a recent study by KPMG, dtac’s
roll-out of 3G and 4G services in 2011-2015 contributed up to THB 1.3
trillion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), through
socioeconomic benefits from mobile internet services. The same report
projected that dtac’s operations in Thailand had generated more than 170,000 direct and indirect jobs. dtac’s mobile network today covers 95% of Thai population, while 4G coverage is up
to 78%.
Telenor Group and dtac
have committed to supporting the Government’s vision of Thailand 4.0,
focusing on digital entrepreneurship, digital inclusion and digital
literacy:
·
By actively engaging in the startup ecosystem, through the dtac accelerate program, dtac aims to foster a healthy startup climate and create 30,000 jobs by 2020.
·
By introducing new services aimed at specific segments of the population, dtac supports the ambition to reduce inequalities through digital inclusion. As an example,
dtac together with Department of Agricultural
Extension had initiated the Smart Farmer program, with the ambition of
empowering 100,000 young farmers to digitize their value chain by 2020.
·
By providing mobile connectivity to all segments of society and providing education on the benefits of internet, dtac supports the efforts to reduce digital illiteracy
across Thailand. Through its Net Arsa program, dtac aims to groom 1 million digital trainers by 2018.
Furthermore, dtac
and Telenor Group has expressed support of public-private partnerships
as a means to ensure access to digital infrastructure across the nation
while preparing
for future spectrum needs to cater for increased data usage. Earlier
this year, dtac signed a memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) with four ministries to promote the use of digital
technology across several segments such as cooperatives, farmers, SMEs
and startups.