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Presentation
The SchoolNet Project--Thailand@1509

Dr. Pituma Panthawi
Researcher, National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, Thailand

In Thailand there are 18 commercial Internet service providers and four non-commercial Internet service providers. In addition there are two exchanges, one operated by NECTEC and the other by the Communication Authority of Thailand. There were an estimated 2.3 million Internet users as of January 2001, which represents only 3% of the population.

There has been a tremendous growth in international bandwidth in Thailand, but most of the Internet use takes place in the city of Bangkok (55%) and its suburbs (14%), which demonstrates that the digital divide caused by geography is acute in Thailand.

The SchoolNet in Thailand was a project begun in 1995 to provide free Internet access to public secondary schools throughout the country. Fifty schools were included in the pilot project, but an initial problem arose due to the fact that when a school wanted to gain access, they had to pay for the long distance call to Bangkok to log onto the Internet, a crippling expense.

The SchoolNet Project was supplemented in 1996 by a project christened Kanchanapisek, a website containing information about His Majesty the King of Thailand in commemoration of His Majesty's 50th anniversary of accession to the throne. The Kanchanapisek project was then merged with the SchoolNet project, enabling schools to log on to the Internet by dialing 1509, without having to pay for long distance calls or pay an Internet service provider. Hence from 1996, the SchoolNet project has flourished, with 2,212 schools now enjoying free Internet access and local access connection fees as of March 2001. It aims to achieve an online figure of 5,000 schools by the middle of 2002.

Members of SchoolNet are concentrated in Bangkok, but are widely spread around the country, helping to diffuse Internet throughout the country and lessen the problem of digital divide according to location. However, NECTEC realizes that providing free access alone does not solve all problems, because the content of the SchoolNet project is still problematic, due to the fact that much Internet content is available only in English. This issue has led to the Content Development Project to create a digital library in the Thai language. In addition, there is an annual Internet training camp for secondary school children, where children are taught how to create websites and place information on the Internet, rather that just using and consuming information provided on the Internet.

Thailand has joined the GLOBE Program, which offers the chance for international exchange. In addition there are regional training centers, offering training for potential trainers in 40 institutions around the country. Another program is the SchoolNet Volunteer Program, in which volunteers offer trouble-shooting support for schools with technical problems.

The key players in the SchoolNet Project are: NECTEC, which designs, maintains and operates the network and the central computer; the Ministry of Education, which selects schools and coordinates support; and the Telephone Organization of Thailand, which sponsors the domestic bandwidth. The Communication Authority of Thailand donates international bandwidth.

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