From: tai@starbird.WPI.EDU (Lisa Taikitsadaporn)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.thai
Subject: Telecommunication in the Asia-Pacific region
Date: 10 Oct 1992 12:59:49 GMT
Organization: Worcester Polytechnic Institute
NNTP-Posting-Host: starbird.wpi.edu

Another somewhat old news, but I think many of us would be interested.



"TELECOM DATABASE EYED"
Govt. hoping to establish Apec facility in Bangkok

Patcharee Luengutai, Yingyord Manchuvisith,
Nophakhun Limsamarnphun
(The Nation, Sept.)

	Thailand will propose at the next meeting of the 15-country
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) group in the US that a separate
database for telecommunications and related activities be established in
Bangkok to promote the exchange of information and data in this field.

	A senior official responsible for telecom affairs said the
Transport and Communications Ministry will work with the Foreign Affairs
Ministry and other ministries in pusuing the plan.

	The telecom database will be separate from Apec Net, the group's
trade and investment database project located in Singapore, he said.

	"Competition among Asia-Pacific countries will intensify as each
country wants to haveits own information source to keep up with the changes
in the enviornment," he said.

	Singapore was chosen over Bangkok as the site of the Apec
secretariat earlier this month largely since Bangkok is already the seat of
several international organizations, he noted.

	The official, who is a member of the Apec working group, said the
telecom database is envisaged to cover human resources development aspects,
electronic data interchange (EDI) and teleports.

	At Apec's last meeting in Bangkok, there was no time for member
countries to consider the proposal on a separate database.

	Thai officials are planning to forward this at the March 1993
meeting in Washington D.C., he added.

	Apec consists of Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the
Philippines, Brunei, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, US,
Australia,  and New Zealand.  Information and data exchanges are seen as key
areas of cooperation.

	The grouping already has the Apec Net in Singapore where member
countries can have access to trade and investment data in the Asia-Pacific
region.

	The same official stressed that it is the first time the region has
been able to use such an integrated database project for critical
information and other related data.

	The availability of computers and telecom facilities are crucial to
the establishment of international databases like Apec Net, he stressed.

	He said Thailand will have no problem preparing for the setting up
of the envisaged telecom database as a separate entity from the Singapore
project, especially with the presence of such organizations like the
Communications Authority of Thailand.

	Databases of this kind are constantly updated once every 3 to 6
months, according to him.

	Thailand wanted to be chosen as the site of the Apec secretariat. 
It was said that several member countries had supported the kingdom's bid. 
However, Singapore was eventually chosen.

	The official emphasized that the main offices of several
international aviation, fisheries and other organizations, including Escap
(UN organization for economic and social cooperation in Asia Pacific), are
already located in Bangkok.

	As for the planned telecom database, he also said that the
ministries involved will have to coordinate their efforts in order to enlist
the support of other member countries in the next Apec meeting.