Online/Offline:Phuket WiMax trial

[ManchesterUK]

Hi

I just wanted to ask a somewhat strange question... what is Bangkok / Thailands phone infrastrucure like?

I have heard rumours when there is a storm, which I believe is common at the moment, the landline and mobile phone lines go down (vodafone etc)

Is this the case or just an urban myth?

Thanks for your help

[GWR]

The Fixed-Line Networks have done an excellent job of promoting the use of mobiles. With the Mobile Phone Baron in charge, how could we ever expect it to be any different?

[jpatokal]

Dunno about fixed lines, but having worked with two of Thailand's mobile operators I can tell you that they're fairly well run operations (as far as technical things go, I won't touch the politics). I've roamed the country a fair bit and haven't yet managed to find a place where I can't get a decent signal on at least one of the networks.

[White Nancy]

Yup, have to agree with jpatokal on this one, I've had mobile signal even during storms and whilst in some pretty remote places. Can't comment on the land-lines though.

WN

[airlana]

Ha, nothing could be as bad as the 1970's.

Land phones were for the rich and influencial.

Telexes were a status symbol

Faxes were something for inventors to play with

Mobile phones were only read about in sci fi magazines

Waiting lists for phones and telexes upwards of 4 years

However, I must confess how fast things moved after a meeting at the
local rice soup shop with 'gentlemen' in brown uniforms and the appropriate
brown paper bag donation.

Ah yes, the good old days

airlana
.

[The Enforcer!]

The only 'real' problem is that the network has limited ADSL nodes and if you are on a number in a 'full area' (like the part of the CBD I live in) you cannot get ADSL!

Neither phone networks can supply this where I live - so I am stuck with 48 kbps. When it rains there is not usually a problem with the phones ... only the power in my condo!

UBC, however, the major cable TV operator frequently goes down either when you are in a storm or if there is storm at ther main base!

The Enforcer!

[Hitesh]

the only problem i have had when it rains is with ubc satellite reception.
i switched to cable.

[The Enforcer!]

the only problem i have had when it rains is with ubc satellite reception.
i switched to cable.
We tried this ... little difference!

The Enforcer!

[ncr]

Anyone have an idea why some 90% of Thai people have Nokia cellphones?

Did the Thai government strike a barter deal with Finland (chicken for mobile phones)? :D :D :D

It is almost a monopoly, a dominance only rivalled by Toyota on the automobile market, but not quite (I'd estimate that 98% of cars are Japanese, and of those 60% are Toyota).

A question for you, Jpatokal (for various reasons)? :)

[Hitesh]

i would say its because of good marketing and because nokia phones are idiot-proof.
they've also had Thai language menus for some time now.

[GWR]

Brought to you by the Gov's Energy Planning Policy Office. This version seems to have been updated this very day, although I expect there are plenty of deadlinks in it:-

http://www.eppo.go.th/index_thaigov.html

[The Enforcer!]

Brought to you by the Gov's Energy Planning Policy Office. This version seems to have been updated this very day, although I expect there are plenty of deadlinks in it:-

http://www.eppo.go.th/index_thaigov.html
It's a great source of info but as you say many links are dead, and quite often the Thai page will work but the English page will not.

The Enforcer!

[GWR]

Difficult to verify that these bloggers actually are actually the same people we read here; but there do seem to be some similarities of opinion:-

http://bangkokpundit.blogspot.com/

[GWR]

Khun Tomv provided this one himself:-

http://sanpaworn.vissaventure.com/?id=207

[GWR]

Never been really all that taken with blogs myself. That's probably because I'm already too hold old to care a damn whether anyone appreciates my ideas & skills. Past experience already tells me they don't; otherwise I wouldn't be employed in the current 'crap hole'.

I'm also at a bit of a loss to say what blogs are all about; although my current reading material leads me to suspect that they are a contemporary form of exhibitionism for one's genetic 'good points'.

Question to active Bloggers: Are you dispersing your genes over a wider area as a result of the opposite sex being attracted to your blogs?;)

[GWR]

I've always thought this has 'bloglike' qualities:-

http://angkor.com/cityrain/

Why not add links to yer own here?

[GWR]

Crops on almost all bangkok-related webstuff, sooner or later:-

http://friskodude.blogspot.com/

[admin]

Friskodude is Carl Parkes, the author of the "Southeast Asia Handbook." He was in Bangkok last year and we met. Next time he's here we will have to have a 2Bangkok gathering.

[The Enforcer!]

A group of Farang were in conversation with me the other evening and very insistent that all owners of a Mobile phone must register with the police by end of February or the number will be deleted.

Is this true, or is someone extracting the urine?

The Enforcer!

[LindaN]

Invitiation

Date: 19 March 2006 1pm-5pm (Timetable to be finalised depending on number of registered people)

Where: Thammasat School of Journalism (map at http://www.sf-day.org/wiki/index.php?title=Bloggers_Meeting_Bangkok)

Register: bloggersmeeting@gmail.com

Do you have a blog? Then show it

You dont know what a blog is? Come and find out

You know what a blog is but never bother setting one up? come and do it with us today, you may get some support

Lots of other reasons to join ... things develop fast in the bloggers universe and one day a blog may save your life!

Invitiation (Thai)

ผมอยากจะใคร่ขอเรียนเชิญท่านชาว Bloggers ผู้มกหมุ่นอยู่กับการ Blogging จนได้เป็นอัฉริยะแห่งการ Blog มาร่วมในการประชุมครั้งสำคัญ อันจะเป็นบันทึกประวัติศาสตร์ครั้งสำคัญ ในวันอาทิตย์ที่ 19 มีนาคม 2549 -

เวลา 13.00 น. - ณ มหาวิทยาลัยธรรมศาสตร์ ท่าพระจันทร์ ในงาน BLOGCON THAILAND 2006


ซึ่งเราจะรวบรวมท่านจอมยุทธทั้งหลาย จากทั่วพิภพอาณาจักรแห่งการ Blog

(ซึ่งไม่ว่าท่านจะเป็นใครก็ตามที่เขียน Blogซึ่งมีความถนัดด้านไหนๆก็ตาม...ท่าน ก็สามารถเข้าร่วมงานนี้ได้...สบม..สบายมากๆ+++)

วัตถุประสงค์หลัก: ก็เพื่อให้ท่านที่เขียน Blog เก่งๆได้พูดคุย แลกเปลี่ยนความเห็น และศึกษาเทคนิคการ เขียน Blog จากอาจารย์ที่บินมาจากต่างประเทศ คุณพาโอล่า ไดไมโอ เพื่อมาศึกษาวิจัยแลกเปลี่ยนการเขียน Blog ของคนไทย กับการนำเสนอตัวอย่าง Blog สุดยอดของต่างประเทศ :- )))


ท่านที่สนใจสามารถที่จะลงทะเบียนเข้าร่วมงาน โปรดเขียนเข้ามาจองที่นั่งได้ที่ bloggersmeeting@gmail.com

ขอบคุณครับ ผู้จัดงาน

ป.ล.- ท่านใดที่เริ่มเขียน Blog และอยากจะเข้าร่วมงานก็เชิญได้ครับ ยินดีเป็น

[The Enforcer!]

Is it still happening that all mobile phones numbers will gain an '8' digit after the '0' from 01.06.06 or has it been postponed?

The Enforcer!

[mdechgan]

Are all the seven digit numbers used yet?

01 - all used upped for monthly cell phone subscribers
02 - Bangkok land lines
03 - upcountry land lines, neighboring Bangkok
04 - up country land lines
05 - ??
06 - used upped for refill phone lines
07 - in use now, possibly filling up
08 - ???
09 - all used upped for 1-2-call and refill phone sims

[Wisarut]

01 ->Mobile Phone
02 -> BKK
03 -> Phone in Central/Eastern region (outside BKK)
04 -> Phone for Isan region
05 -> Phone for Northern region ... and now they have mobile phone MIXED in this set of phone number
06 -> Mobile phone
07 -> Phoen for Soputehrn region and Mobile Phone
08 -> Mobile Phone and Toll Free (088 - xxx-xxx)

So they are all filled up :p
09 -> Mobile Phone

[The Enforcer!]

May be I am not being clear enough. It was announced that all mobile phones would go ten digit ... i.e '0 1xxx xxxx' or '0 7xxx xxxx' will become '08 1xxx xxxx' or '08 7xxx xxxx'.

Now there is no news about this.

The Enforcer!

[ncr]

Already mentioned on the frontpage:

All mobile phones in Thailand to have 10-digit numbers in September (http://etna.mcot.net/query.php?nid=22652)

BANGKOK, June 16 (TNA) - Holders of all mobile phones in Thailand will have their numbers adjusted to become 10-digit ones in September, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) announced here on Friday. An NTC expert, Mr. Direk Charoenphol, told TNA that NTC had ordered all service providers to turn all domestic mobile phones, both previously and newly registered, to be the 10-digit phones from September 1, 2006.

"Under the plan, which will result in sufficient numbers to be offered to increasing mobile phone holders over the next 30 years, the number '8' will be added after '0' of each number," he noted. "This means that the existing number, '09-1234567', for example, will become '089-1234567' then", he revealed.

All local moblie phone service providers will launch the 10-digit phone service on a trial basis in July. [what does that mean? is it possible to use either the old or the new number then?] All of them will have to bear all investment and incurring costs in launching the new service, including those on public relations of the initiative, according to the NTC expert.

"NTC is assessing impacts caused by the change on the Thai economy, most of them are belived to be positive," he said. [:confused: ] The kingdom's basis phone services will remain at 9-digit ones as long as there will be no problem of insufficient numbers to be offered to new users.

It is projected that mobile phone holders in Thailand will increase to around 70 per cent of the country's total population over the next 30 years. [duh.... and what's the percentage right now? useful statistic...]

[jpatokal]

All local moblie phone service providers will launch the 10-digit phone service on a trial basis in July. [what does that mean? is it possible to use either the old or the new number then?]
Operators will start testing 10-digit numbers in July. The actual conversion of all numbers to the new format will happen after the tests have passed.

It is projected that mobile phone holders in Thailand will increase to around 70 per cent of the country's total population over the next 30 years. [duh.... and what's the percentage right now? useful statistic...]
Around 30%, but still growing fast. (It was only 7% in 2001.)

[ncr]

Thanks for the clarification, jpatokal. Ask the expert, I say! ;)

(Would have thought it's much more than 30% already..... well, come to think about it, if you live in Bangkok you might get a somewhat wrong impression. Are there any stats for BKK vs. the countryside.....?)

[jpatokal]

(Would have thought it's much more than 30% already..... well, come to think about it, if you live in Bangkok you might get a somewhat wrong impression.)
It's surprisingly difficult to get accurate stats on this. In prepaid-heavy countries like Thailand, the number of prepaid SIM cards sold will be far larger than the number of actual phone users, esp. if there's some promotion that makes it cheaper to get a new SIM than to top-up your existing one. Operators are also reluctant to release timely data to the public, because that could help their competitors judge how their marketing is doing...

[GWR]

Don't say I didn't warn you: -
Chuwit, Thai Rak Thai lawyer summoned by Criminal Court



The Criminal Court Friday issued an order for former Chat Thai MP Chuwit Kamolvisit and a lawyer of Thai Rak Thai Party to be questioned regarding to their actions deemed as contempt of court.

Criminal Court chief justice Amnuay Thantara said Chuwit would be questioned why he had acted in a way that led to turmoil inside the court's compound.

Amnuay said the fact that Chuwit carried foods and drinks for the former EC commissioners after they got jail sentence, led to a quarrel with the EC supporters and caused turmoil in the court's compound.

Amnuay said Thana Benjathikul, a lawyer of Thai Rak Thai leader Thaksin Shinawatra, had strongly criticised the verdict against the EC and criticised the court's decision to deny bail against the former commissioners.

Amnuay said Thana would be questioned as to whether he had seen the verdict and the court's order.

The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30009841


Criminal Court asked police to trace those post criticism against court on Web boards

The Criminal Court has asked the Crime Suppression Division to trace the identities of those who had posted strong criticisms against the court on Web boards.

Than Boonyatulanon, secretary to the Criminal Court chief justice, said he asked CSD commander Pol Maj Gen Winai Thongsong to trace the IP addresses and find who were the ones who post the comments against the court after the court found the three election commissions guilty.

The Nation
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30009841

[The Enforcer!]

Come on guys ...someone must know the definitive answer ...

Bangkok Post and The Nation both say one must go to the shops to get your SIM card upgraded whilst ThaiVisa says that it not so!

On http://203.150.230.125/activities/10digit/how.html, I can see how to upgrade the Text Message facility (the Thai is easy here) but I cannot understand the front page (or rather it confuses me).

It seems to say that I can either change all my phone numbers myself, or use a Text program or go to a shop. It then asks me for my phone make but it does not have my model number!

Anyone help?

The Enforcer!

[jpatokal]

No, you don't need to upgrade your SIM. (sigh) You can change the numbers yourself, or you can get a program that will do it for you.

[GWR]

The Foreign Ministry today launched a website in English and Arabic, covering a issues such as the practice of Islam in Thailand and areas where there is room for cooperation between Thailand and Muslim/Arab countries. The opening page of the site is worth checking on its own: -

www.Thai2Arab.com


The website also points out that Thailand has set up Islamic banks and numerous Halal food production lines. I note, however, that this link is inoperative: -

http://www.halalthailand.com/

[GWR]

I continue to have a lot of timeouts when I access this forum or retrieve email. Am I alone in having these problems? Yesterday was a bad day for time outs: -

Repairs to quake-hit Asia Internet cables delayed again

HONG KONG, Jan 29, 2007 (AFP) - Hong Kong's telecom regulator said Monday bad weather had again delayed full repairs to undersea cables damaged last year by an earthquake, which badly disrupted Internet access in parts of Asia.

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority (OFTA) said most of the seven submarine cables, damaged by a powerful 7.1-magnitude tremor off Taiwan on December 26, have now been fixed but that one will take longer than estimated.

Repair work will be completed at the end of February, instead of mid-February as had been anticipated earlier.

"The repair work of one section of a cable will now complete by the end of next month," said OFTA Director General Au Man-ho. "Bad weather, technical problems and other reasons are causing the delay."

However, he said Internet providers had diverted Web traffic and that the delay was not having a significant impact on Internet services in Hong Kong.

"According to our reports from the providers, all services have largely been resumed back to normal -- it's approaching 100 per cent," he said.

Au said a new warning system will be set up next month to alert the public if a similar Internet breakdown occurs again.

The Boxing Day earthquake snapped several international telecom cables, sparking widespread communication disruption in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and elsewhere.

Problems also occurred as far away as Australia.

The earthquake left two people dead and at least 42 injured in Taiwan.


Agence France Presse



http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/01/29/headlines/headlines_30025400.php

[Scuba22]

My True DSL at home was giving me "access denied" messages last weekend when trying to get to overseas sites. It said something about a license being expired. But I could access the sites from my office network, and by Sunday I could get to other sites with no problem.

[mdechgan]

Hey guys,

I need some info from the board.

How do you guys call internationally?

I heard there were some plans which I don't know which is the best.

Dial:

001
006
007
008
009

Which should I use?

Which should I use for a (True) landline and which should I use for (AIS) mobile? If dialing mobile would I get charged for airtime + long distance?

I usually call the U.S.A., sometimes China.

[GWR]

17 May 2007
NECTEC has yet decided to resume “One Laptop per Child”
The Minister of Science and Technology discloses that the National Electronics and Computer Technology (NECTEC) has yet decided to resume the “One Laptop per Child” project.

Minister of Science and Technology Yongyuth Yutthawong voices support to the “One Laptop per Child” project which is aimed to provide a 100-U.S.-dollar notebook computer for each child. However, Dr.Yongyuth says the project is still under experiment. The notebook computers require open-source software which has not been developed seriously in Thailand.

The “One Laptop per Child” project was initiated by Nicholas Negroponte, a computer scientist of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab. The project is now manufacturing four million notebook computers for children in Brazil and India.

Dr Yongyuth dismisses rumors that the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has halted the project as it was introduced to Thailand by the Thaksin Administration. However, he says the ICT ministry has yet officially decided to have NECTEC implement the project.

http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/previewnews.php?news_id=255005170004

Related thread:

http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=10721&postcount=31

[GWR]

To the people of Thailand

I have been freely offered this opportunity to speak to you,which I have gratefully accepted.

Firstly, I would like to offer my sincere apologies for my actions and to having caused the problems I have here in Thailand.

Of course I now realise that my actions were very wrong and I did not wish to commit any crime here in Thailand.

I now recognize that what I did was very misguided, a silly idea that I took to far .I would like to stress that it was never my intention to cause anybody any harm or hurt,and as I was working alone it was impossible for me to do so.

Lastly,I would like to apologize to Tesco Plc and it's staff for the distress that this must have caused and to the members of the Royal Thai and British police forces for wasting their time and resources.

I thank you again for this opportunity to offer my sincere apologies

Alex Winstone


http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06/08/headlines/headlines_30036369.php

[GWR]

Also see previous post:

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06/08/p1news/images/30036387-01_thumb2.jpg
[photo: Alexander Winstone, 36, looks during a press conference in Bangkok on Friday. He was charged after sending e-mail messages to Tesco superstore in UK, demanding two million pounds (Bt136 million). He threatened to poison food in Tesco in UK if his demand was not met.//Photo by Wanchai Kraisornkhajit]

Briton charged of blackmailing Tesco issues apology

A British man has confessed Friday that he tried to blackmail the superstore giant Tesco in Britain via e-mails sent from an internet caf้e in Soi Nana, Bangkok.

Alexander Winstone, 36, mumbled an apology at a press conference and issued a statement that described his actions as "very misguided, a silly idea that I took too far."

In his e-mail sent to Tesco superstore in UK mid of last month, he threatened to poison food in Tesco's UKtores unless he was paid 2 million pounds (Bt136 million).

In cooperating with Thai police, UK's Scotland Yard traced to an internet cafe in Soi Nana.

Deputy national police chief Gen Issaraphan Sanitwong na-Ayutthaya said police will put Winstone on trial for attempted attempted extortion if the British authorities do not ask for his extradition.

Video footage from the cafe's security camera showed that the only customer at the time the e-mails were sent was a large Caucasian male wearing a white t-shirt and glasses. The emails were signed "John Smith."

Scotland Yard detectives flew to Thailand to assist the Thai police and they were able to confront Winstone outside the cafe after he repeated the threat on Wednesday. He initially denied any wrongdoing.

Winstone's printed statement said that "it was never my intention to cause anybody any harm or hurt and, as I was working alone, it was impossible for me to do so."

The statement also offered an apology to Tesco, its staff for any distress he may have caused and to the British and Thai police forces for wasting their time and resources.

Winstone said he came to Thailand in April to look for business opportunity

Winstone said that he was in Thailand investigating business opportunities since moving to Bangkok in April.

Similar threats have been made against Tesco stores in China and in the UK in the past.



http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06/08/headlines/headlines_30036369.php

[GWR]

Brit arrested for threats to Tesco
Man nabbed at Internet cafe after e-mailing seventh demand

The hunt by British and Thai police for a blackmailer who threatened to poison food in a Tesco outlet if he was not given 2 million pounds sterling (Bt137 million) ended with the arrest of a British man, who said he needed the money to get a business started in Bangkok.

Alexander John Winstone, 36, said he had no accomplice.

Married to a Thai woman, the Briton said he simply wanted to settle down in Thailand and open an Internet cafe near the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre.

Winstone said he felt the giant retailer would have no problem paying the money because it was a very profitable business.

"Of course, I now realise that my actions were very wrong," Winstone said in a letter he wrote after his arrest.

He was nabbed at 8pm on Thursday just as he walked out of an Internet cafe in Soi Nana after he sent the seventh blackmail e-mail to a top executive of Tesco.

In it he threatened to poison food sold in the chain's outlet and then tell British media about the poisoning incident if he was not given 2 million pounds. The e-mail also stated how the Tesco should pay the money via Internet banking.

"I now recognise that what I did was very misguided, a silly idea that I took too far. I would like to stress that it was never my intention to cause anybody any harm or hurt, and as I was working alone it was impossible for me to do so," a part of Winstone's letter said.

He also offered his apologies to the people of Thailand, Tesco and the Royal Thai and British police forces.

Thai police announced the arrest of Winstone yesterday.

"The threat involves a large amount of money. It has been big news in Britain," Deputy National Police Commissioner General Issaraphan Sanitwong na Ayutthaya said.

Britain's Scotland Yard alerted Thai Police after investigations showed six blackmails had been sent from five Internet cafes in Bangkok's Soi Nana. Recordings from a closed-circuit TV system revealed Winstone had been the only customer at the Internet caf้e from which the blackmails were sent.


Both Thai and British police subsequently scoured the Soi Nana area for the man captured in the recordings.

Winstone confessed on arrest.

He was living in an apartment in Soi Nana.

Issaraphan said Winstone would face up to five years in jail if convicted.

Andy Pearce of the British Embassy in Bangkok said prosecution of Winstone would proceed in line with Thai law. He declined to comment on whether he would be deported.

Winstone completed secondary education in Britain and worked as a driver there. He bought some stocks and had some savings when he came to Thailand.

He first travelled to Thailand in 2004, since when he has made several visits to the country.

Winstone told police that he had been running out of money when he decided to resort to blackmail.

Wisit Chuanpipatpong
The Nation


http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/06/09/headlines/headlines_30036429.php

[GWR]

No idea if this move completely rules out an extradition process. The British government may actually prefer to let the Thai authorities proceed with the case. Quite a disincentive to further such 'away day' blackmail cases if the perpetrators are left to their own devices in some far-flung prison rather than enduring rehabilitation sessions in some fairly cushy 'open prison' at home:

Police will take TESCO internet extortion case to court
BANGKOK, June 9 (TNA) - Bangkok police officers on Saturday brought the Briton who confessed to sending threatening emails to retail giant Tesco executives in an attempt to extort funds from the retail giant to reenact his crime, with police expressing confidence that they will submit the case for prosecution next week.

The reenactment started at two internet cafes in Bangkok's Sukhumvit Soi 4 -- the Nana entertainment district, and he is now detained in police custody.

Alexander Winstone, 36, confessed to sending emails via the Internet to Tesco executives, threatening to poison foodstuffs on sale at branches of the giant retail company if it failed to pay extortion money of 2 million British pounds (136 million baht).

Investigators are checking his criminal record and will conclude the case before handing it over to state prosecutors next week for prosecution.

The British Embassy in Bangkok plans to seek Bt400,000 bail for the suspect on Monday. (TNA)-E004


http://etna.mcot.net/query.php?nid=29833

Perhaps bail, but maybe not extradition.

[FarangBha]

not quite the Paris Hilton, hey.

[GWR]

From what I saw yesterday evening, very different FB! I saw him reading his apology in a Thai TV news broadcast. He looked surprisingly composed for someone who had just got himself into such a tight spot. I'm almost inclined to say it was the composure of one who sees he has just one hope of being let off lightly and that he thus has to throw himself fully into the role. That said, he didn't really exhibit the contrition of the words he was reading from his own prepared script. Makes you sort of wonder if he has really got himself into some other kind of concealed fix, and that this is his attempt to remove himself from that other threat.

[ncr]

The reenactment started at two internet cafes in Bangkok's Sukhumvit Soi 4 -- the Nana entertainment district, and he is now detained in police custody.Just imagine this. So he sits in an Internet cafe, ringed by dozens of curious police officers and journalists, and explains them, "See? This is how I sent the mails." (Click.) (And then the same nonsense again in the second one???)

Truly invaluable insights. Blah......

Alexander Winstone, 36, confessed to sending emails via the Internet to Tesco executivesEmails! Via the Internet!

It cannot be true. :rolleyes:

[FarangBha]

I do find it suprising that they (Thai/UK authorities) could track someone so easily.

Did he use "AlexanderWinstone36@hotmail.com", or what??

[jpatokal]

I do find it suprising that they (Thai/UK authorities) could track someone so easily.

Did he use "AlexanderWinstone36@hotmail.com", or what??
No, but he was pretty darn stupid:

Britain's Scotland Yard alerted Thai Police after investigations showed six blackmails had been sent from five Internet cafes in Bangkok's Soi Nana. Recordings from a closed-circuit TV system revealed Winstone had been the only customer at the Internet cafe from which the blackmails were sent. ...
He was nabbed at 8pm on Thursday just as he walked out of an Internet cafe in Soi Nana after he sent the seventh blackmail e-mail to a top executive of Tesco.

Six e-mails all from the same small area (at least he had the limited sense to use different cafes...), some of them while alone and being recorded on CCTV, and then returning to send a seventh one? Catching this loser wasn't exactly rocket science.

[Yappofloyd]

^ well put Khun jpatokal, obviously not only was he not very bright but quite lazy to just use a bunch of cafes in Soi 4. He could have at least caught the skytrain to busy netcafes in Siam and silom or even taken a bus to Khaosan rd which would have made it much harder!

Of course reflecting on how stupid the guy was how did he actually think he was going to receive the money if they paid up? I can just imagine his email, "Please transfer the ransom amount to my bank account, name: Alexander Winstone, account number:....."

Just imagine this. So he sits in an Internet cafe, ringed by dozens of curious police officers and journalists, and explains them, "See? This is how I sent the mails." (Click.) (And then the same nonsense again in the second one???)

Truly invaluable insights. Blah......

Emails! Via the Internet!

It cannot be true. :rolleyes:

^very funny.:D
It is all rather absurd that such media re-enactments still continue (they are after all highly prejudicial) but it is all obviously about PR and given the Thai police probably didn't do any investigation work in this case they needed something. I can imagine some half drunk guy at one of the Soi 4 beer bars observing proceedings and wondering what was going on.

[GWR]

Some of us were beginning to wonder if The Irrawaddy Trojan (http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bangkok/forum/showpost.php?p=17423&postcount=105) had brought the system down:

200,000 TOT broadband Internet users back online


TOT Plc has restored Internet access to some 200,000 or 50 per cent of its broadband users who were offline following an accident that caused its main fibre optic cable to be severed early Sunday morning.

An underground fibre optic cable of TOT in front of Siam at Siam Building on Rama I Road was accidentally cut off by a bulldozer early Sunday morning, causing about 200,000 or about 50 per cent of its broadband Internet users to be unable to go online for hours.

Asa Sattayayuth, acting vice president of TOT, said TOT has re-routed Internet access for the affected users and the service has been restored by nearly 100 per cent.

The service would return to completely normal before midnight, he said.

The Nation

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30050764

[GWR]

There was a snippet on last night's TV 'Royal News' that showed some bod, perhaps from Intel, showing Princess Pratheep an OLOC. But I also noticed this in the Bangkok Post today:

Notebooks for all

A Canadian company has yet another solution for bridging the world's digital divide

Story by DON SAMBANDARAKSA

A Canadian alternative to the much talked about "one hundred dollar laptop" is making the rounds of the region in the hope of winning support from governments by offering a different solution to bridge the digital divide.

Rather than one inexpensive laptop per child, the answer being presented is a somewhat more powerful computer, with zero maintenance or moving parts, which can be shared by a number of children running free and open source software.

Gerry Morgan, founder of Ink-Media and the man behind the Ink-Media Mobile Personal Computer, explained how the original idea came out of his work in architecting Schoolnet India. The key problem there was that a normal PC had a typical life span of just six months due to power fluctuations, brownouts, dust and software or operating system corruption. The answer to that question was a rugged PC with no moving parts, and one which had no rewritetable storage for the OS, which could be corrupted.

The idea was to cut maintenance costs, typically around 30 percent, down to zero. Furthermore, by basing the system on free and open source software, another significant running cost.

Gerry Morgan shows off his Ink Media budget notebook that he hopes will help bridge the digital divide. Rather than one laptop per child, it is designed so that one laptop can serve many children. — DON SAMBANDARAKSA

Years later, Morgan came up with the idea that became the Ink-Media Personal Mobile Computer. Perhaps the oddest technical feature of the tablet-style PC is the fact that it runs an ARM-based RISC CPU, the Freescale i.mx31. The key reason for choosing this RISC CPU over a conventional x86 Intel or AMD processor was battery life. Morgan explained that this CPU's power envelope of just 3.5 watts made an 8-hour use possible. The other key reason was that this particular chip had strong video and graphics capabilities, which would be needed to show videos and animations in a classroom environment.

The downside is that it does not run the vast amount of x86 software out there.

The operating system is a cut down version of Debian Linux, recompiled for the ARM architecture, complete with most of the office and communications software expected in a GNU/Linux system. The OS and applications are locked away in semi-permanent flash memory that under normal circumstances cannot be written to by the system.

"It can't get a virus, it can't slow down. The system has no hard drive, no fan. Nothing can break and it is completely maintenance free," he explained.

Morgan said that he does not believe in the one-laptop-per-child (OLPC) philosophy. Rather, he believes that computing should be as ubiquitous as pencils and that one laptop could be made to serve many children.

The architecture is different in that rather than storing data in the machine, all user data, preferences and language settings are stored in the user's SD card or USB drive. Plugging in your drive in any of these machines would then bring up a Thai language desktop with your files the way the user left it. This separation of machine and data is important to help one machine serve many people.

Morgan said that the idea of a pencil lab today would be utter absurdity, so why then do we persist with the concept of a computer lab? In his worldview, the PC should be a tool that humans use to express our thoughfulness, resourcefulness and insightfulness rather than an end in itself.

Already, Morgan is talking about extending the concept beyond education and to healthcare, homes and even small businesses in the developing world that have yet to use a computer.

"Four fifths of the world's population has yet to touch a computer. I was trying to build something to fit their needs," he said.

The open source movement features a lot in his talks. Morgan said he was touched by these people who created all this great software and gave it away for free, offering an alternative economic model to the one that has become entrenched in our collective psyche.

The PC design has many similarities with the OLPC and many differences. For instance, the screen is a conventional screen rather than the special OLPC design that works in bright light. Morgan said that two years ago, he conducted a survey right here in Thailand and everyone preferred a conventional screen with good colour rendition to one that had poor colour but was more readable in bright daylight. The Debian-based Linux OS also looks and feels more conventional and can easily be used by anyone accustomed to Windows - unlike the OLPC's altogether different human computer interface.

The wireless LAN component is a standard 802.11G unit from Marvel. "Meshing was a very interesting idea, but when you put it in a classroom, it's the equivalent of passing paper notes to all your friends. As a former teacher, would I want that? I don't think so," he said. As for the question of providing connectivity across areas that the OLPC's mesh WiFi promises, Morgan thinks that soon enough we will have WiMax that will address that need with more standard equipment.

Profits from the endeavour are channelled back into the Gerry Morgan foundation, which invests in poor regions sometimes for computers, sometimes for other basic infrastructure. The first project is a school in Uganda for around 200 AIDS orphans. The entire project is designed to be self sustaining, which means that each system is sold at a small profit in order to make the ecosystem viable and scalable.

Ink Media is ready to scale up production with its partners in China as early as January but before that can happen, Morgan is travelling the world meeting governments trying to convince them of his vision and gain their commitment.

"The idea of low cost computers is a very important economic strategy and it has to become a national priority in every country. Up until now, the entire computing revolution has touched less than 20 percent of the world's population. We are about to have the second revolution, and yes, I believe the end goal can be achieved within my lifetime," he said.

Today, the Ink-Media Personal Mobile Notebook can be ordered in bulk for US$250 per unit and a desktop version - which has the same processor and internals but is to expected to be hooked up to a second hand monitor, keyboard and mouse - can be had for as little as $160.


Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/311007_Database/31Oct2007_data01.php

[GWR]

'$100 laptops' start to deliver

BangkokPost.com, with agency reports

Low-cost notebook computers once considered for mass purchase and giveaways by the Thaksin Shinawatra government are rolling off the production lines in China.

The first of the XO laptops being built at a Quanta Computer facility in Changshu are destined for Uruguay, marking a milestone for the charity group founded by Nicholas Negroponte in Massachusetts two years ago.

"Against all the naysayers ... we have developed and now manufactured the world's most advanced and greenest laptop and one designed specifically to instill a passion for learning in children," Negroponte said.

A challenge for the organization has been that governments have not backed effusive words of support with willing flows of cash to buy laptops for children inside their borders.

Mr Negroponte at one time thought he had convinced Mr Thaksin to buy one million of the small, unique notebooks in order to give them away to Thai school children, the original aim of the initiative worldwide.

But Mr Thaksin and his ministry of information and communications technology never had any strong interest in acquiring the computers, which - while cheap - are very different from the standard Windows-type computers available in Thailand.

In August of 2006, Mr Thaksin claimed that "every elementary school child will receive a computer that the government will buy for them, free of charge, instead of books, because books will be found and can be read on computers." But he was clear that this plan covered locally assembled Windows-type machines, not the laptops from the world project.

The Sept 19, 2006, military coup put paid to the last chance that the Thai government would purchase the machines. Then-ICT minister Sitthichai Pookaiyaudom, who does not use the Internet, was unimpressed with the machines.

And Education Miniser Wijit Srisa-arn was dismissive from the time he entered the military-appointed government. "The project is not urgent and not in my education reform plan in the one-year timeframe, which focuses on improving education quality for teachers and students," he said a year ago.

Nectec chairman director Thaweesak Koanantakool helped a project to test the machines in the field in Thailand only two weeks after the military coup, but by then it was clear the project was dead in the water in Thailand.

Still, as recently as February, Mr Negroponte insisted Thailand would be among "the first batch" of five countries to shell out $200 million to buy and give away a million of the computers.

With the price of the "$100 laptops" now at $200 or more, there is no chance Thailand will participate in the programme.

Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=123496

[GWR]

Wednesday, January 23, 2008
TOT broadband: 1Gbps by July

PHUKET (Nation/Gazette): TOT kicked off its project to build a new fiber-optic broadband-Internet service for Phuket with the awarding yesterday of a 136.8-million-baht network-construction contract.

“We picked Phuket as the first location to launch the service because the island has affluent consumers who can afford the premium-priced service,” said Sayan Tinsamran, TOT senior executive vice president for marketing and product development.

Under the contract, a consortium led by Italian-Thai Development and Siam Fibre Optic will install a 200-kilometer fiber network with 3,200 broadband-Internet ports.

The service will deliver voice, data and video on demand at speeds of up to 1Gbps over FTTx, or “Fiber To The x”, where “x” could be a home, buildings or any other location hooking up to the network.

Fujikura, a Japanese vendor, will supply its FTTx technology, while NTT-West Co, a Japanese telecom company, will act as project consultant.

K. Sayan said that the state enterprise had spent two years on the project’s feasibility study.

FTTx technology costs about 50,000 baht per port, more than conventional asynchronous digital subscriber line technology (ADSL). The service fee is expected to be high, but TOT will not finalize the rate until the launch date.

“We expect to break even in four years,” said K. Sayan.

The first phase will offer only voice and data; video on demand will come later.

“If the service in Phuket proves successful, FTTx will be expanded to other provinces, including Khon Kaen and Chiang Mai,” he added.

Pairoj Somsri, who heads the TOT office in Phuket, said he expects the system to be operational around the beginning of July.

Fiber-optic cables up to 20 kilometers in length will originate from the main Phuket TOT office in Phuket City as well as its two sub-branch offices in Thalang and Patong.

The network should cover most of the island, he said.

“I think it is great that Phuket was chosen to be the pilot province for this project, because this is new technology with a high investment cost,” he added.

K. Pairoj declined to estimate what prospective users would have to pay for the service once it becomes available.
http://www.phuketgazette.com/news/index.asp?id=6233

[GWR]

TELECOMMUNICATIONS WIRELESS INTERNET

UIH venture to bring WiMax to Phuket

SRISAMORN PHOOSUPHANUSORN

United Information Highway, the high-speed fibre-optic network service arm of Benchachinda Group, plans to focus on broadband this year to capitalise on growing demand for high-speed internet. UIH, the 75:25 joint venture between Benchachinda Holding Co and CAT Telecom, linked up with Intel and Motorola on Friday to introduce a WiMax trial in Phuket province, with initial downlink speeds of 10 megabits per second and uplink speeds of three megabits per second.

Vichai Bencharongkul, the managing director of Benchachinda Holding, said UIH planned to spend 100 million baht to build WiMax network in Phuket for the company's first commercial province once it obtains a licence.

UIH received a three-month WiMax trial licence from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in early 2007. However, the NTC does not intend to grant licences for WiMax services until the formation of its regulatory successor, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

WiMax is a wireless digital communications system intended for wireless metropolitan area networks.

It can provide broadband wireless access within a radius of up to 50 kilometres for fixed stations, and 5-15 km for mobile stations.

Mr Vichai, also a founder and former co-CEO of mobile operator DTAC, said that he chose Phuket as the testing site as the island doesn't have full telecom infrastructure.

Also, it has high potential user demand from foreign travellers with fewer service providers. Target customers in the first stage would be corporate users, hotels and real estate companies.

The company planned to expand WiMax into high-density population in Bangkok and metropolitan areas in the second stage.

Mr Vichai said Thailand's internet penetration rate stood at only 15% with over nine million users, compared to 60% in Malaysia.

UIH, under its Bee Net brand, now has 1,000 corporate customers with 10,000 broadband base stations.

Based on research by Motorola, the number of broadband users worldwide is projected to surge to 416 million in 2010, up from 218 million in 2006.

WiMax-equipped notebooks have been forecast to rise to 194 million units in 2011, up from 131 million in 2008 and 106 million in 2007.

Mr Vichai said UIH expects revenue of 3.5 billion baht this year, up from three billion last year.

Net profit was also expected to increase by about 10% from 300 million baht last year. ''We expect broadband service to generate 10% of total revenue this year, with the remaining 90% from leased line network services.''

He added UIH was preparing to tap into multimedia content for broadband services.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/Business/25Feb2008_biz18.php

[GWR]

Saturday, March 8, 2008
WiMax tests positive, but roll-out not likely this year

PHUKET: Although the recent high-profile testing of WiMax Internet access technology aboard a sailboat off Karon proved successful, the high-speed wireless service is not likely to grace Phuket’s shores until next year, the Gazette has learned.

The WiMax tests were carried out on February 22 by broadband service provider the Benchachinda Group with its affiliate companies United Information Highway Co Ltd (UIH) and BB Broadband Co Ltd.

Benchachinda Group was formerly incorporated as UCOM Co Ltd.

The tests, conducted near Le Meridien Phuket Resort, were just the beginning of a nationwide push to introduce WiMax to Thailand.

The effort is being coordinated by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), which has awarded exclusive rights to 12 companies to provide WiMax coverage, with each company given exclusive rights in certain areas.

The Benchachinda Group has been allocated Phuket as well as the Phi Phi Islands, Koh Samui, Koh Pha-ngan and Koh Tao in Chumphon province.

UIH Product Development Director Passakorn Hongsyok yesterday told the Gazette, “During the tests, we used a PCMCIA card to act as the receiver for a notebook computer. We received the WiMax signal from a WiMax access point set up at Le Meridien. This was connected to the Internet through our own fiber-optic cable network.”

Supporting the “last mile” WiMax technology was UIH’s own fiber-optic network coupled with the nationwide DTAC network that was originally created by UIH, K. Passakorn explained.

The network comprises some 50,000 kilometers of fiber-optic cables spread throughout all 76 provinces. About a decade ago in Phuket, UIH laid a fiber-optic loop that passes through most densely-populated areas on the island.

The February 22 tests successfully connected a laptop computer to the Internet at 8 Mbps as the boat sailed about a kilometer offshore.

Sending the connection signal from the hotel was a one-watt tower, which had a range of up to three kilometers, set up specially for the trial.

Although WiMax has been used to provide Internet connections as far 30 kilometers away without line of sight, to ensure continuous coverage to an area such as Patong would likely require about four towers, K. Passakorn explained

“We would probably use 20W towers, but to determine how they would work in reality on Phuket would require testing,” he said.

“We are looking at providing blanket coverage. Once we are permitted to provide WiMax service in Phuket, we will install signal-transmission antennas to cover the whole island, ” he added.

The tower used in the trial was provided by Motorola, which will provide hardware including antennas, modems and PCMCIA cards that would be used by Benchachinda to deliver the service, if approved.

Like the other 11 companies seeking NTC approval to provide WiMax service, Benchachinda must complete its trials by the end of April.

However, it is still very early and the criteria for gaining NTC approval is still not clear, K. Passakorn explained.

In addition to trial results, Benchchinda will have to submit to the NTC a general business plan outlining what services would be offered – and at what prices.

“We’re looking at rolling out service for corporate users. We would rather not sell direct to consumers – we would prefer to use an independent marketing intermediary for that,” K. Passakorn explained.

“We will need end-user feedback before we even start to develop consumer packages,” he said.

WiMax connection packages, once available, will be provided through the group’s marketing arm, BB Broadband Co Ltd, better known as BeeNet.

Phuket, Thailand 13:54 local time (GMT +7)
http://www.phuketgazette.com/news/index.asp?id=6318