The saga drags on

       The National Telecommunications Communications (NTC) finally confirmed that a lot of people have a lot of interest in thirdgeneration (3G) yuppiephone service,and not very many of them have kind thoughts about the regulators; about 1,000 people from the phone companies,financial advisers and phone suppliers showed up for what the NTC would be the one and only public hearing on its plans to auction and regulate 3G services;not so fast, said the private business leaders, such as Athueck Asvanont, who is chairman of vice at True Move ; he explained to the NTC that the constitution (Article 84-1) bans the government from competing with telecoms firms,and what are AIS (of Shingapore) and DTAC (of Norway) but foreign state companies?; then the lawyers took a crack at the commission, explaining that it is actually illegal for the NTC to get involved in 3G, because it is a matter for the National Broadcasting Commission, which doesn't exist yet - and any action by the NTC could be overturned by a court decision, sinking 3G even further behind high technology countries like Laos and Cambodia.
       For those who missed it, lawyer Wirot Poonsuwan wrote an excellent review in a certain daily newspaper of the dogand-pony show known as 3G licensing and operation; it is online at www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/24707.
       The Energy Ministry announced field tests on biodiesel B10 fuel will soon begin, supervised by PTT and the ministry's own Department of Energy Business; if everything goes as expected,the new fuel could win approval as soon as early next year; B10 is 90 percent regular diesel and 10 percent methyl ester, produced from palm.
       Your CAT Telecom is no longer a long-distance telephone company, it is an "integrated wireless services provider"; so says your CAT president Jirayuth Roongsrithong, who figures the state enterprise can boost income by spreading out a bit here, tweaking a bit there, and reap the benefits of broadband Internet; but what CAT really is waiting for is issuing licences for thirdgeneration phones, because broadband services will really grow, then; Mr Jirayuth predicted CAT will gross 52 billion baht by the end of the year, even though international call income is certain to slide again.
       The Metropolitan Electricity Authority slogged along on its lonely quest to bury power lines in Bangkok; all it has to do is to coordinate with City Hall, telecoms firms and mass-transit operators; MEA governor Pornthape Thunyapongchai noted the "poor city development plan" of previous Bangkok administrators; for now, the only underground power lines are around the Grand Palace and along Silom Road;the MEA is trying to herd the cats into a 3-billion-baht plan to bury wires along Phaya Thai, Sukhumvit and Phahon Yothin, and their sois.
       Taiwanese smartphone maker HTC Corp said flatly it would capture a quarter of the Thai smartphone market volume and value - by New Year's Eve; country manager Nattawat Woranopakul figured it would be easy to sell about 100,000 of the phones Thais will buy this year, and grow HTC revenues by 20 percent to 1.8 billion baht; overall,he expects Thais to buy 10 million yuppiephones for 27.9 billion baht - a huge drop from the record 47.3 billion baht in 2006; part of the reason for the drop is falling phone prices, with the cost of smartphones this year alone dropping from a 2008 average of 16,000 to 12,000 baht.
       The company formerly known as Philips of Holland, now called China Electronics Corp (CEC) of Shenzhen,vowed to make a comeback in the Thailand yuppiephone market and get into the world Top 5 again by 2014; Philip Lee, who handles overseas affairs for CEC subsidiary Shenzhen Sang Fei Con-sumer Communications, predicted confidently he would double sales in Thailand and globally this year, selling six million phones in total; Philips sold the phone business to the Chinese firm in 2007.
       Entertainment giant GMM Grammy signed a deal with Chunghwa Telecom of Taiwan to provide Thai and other Asian workers to download music from the Internet trough their phones; managing director Surachai Sensri of GMM International was so devastated by all that homesickness by the 350,000 immigrant workers in Taiwan that he decided to cash in on it with music from the homeland; the exclusive deal allows Grammy to provide a "buffet service"of continuous music for the equivalent of 52 baht a month, and Grammy also expects to get streaming rights to Vietnamese and Philippines music for the service.
       Thailand crunched the numbers on a single production base for the electrical and electronics industry in Southeast Asia - and gave a big smile; eliminating all import tariffs and facilitating trade with the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta)will give a big boost to the Thai industry;Charuek Hengrasmee, president of the Electrical and Electronics Institute, and Katiya Greigarn, chairman of the Electrical, Electronics Industry Club at the Federation of Thai Industries, noted the currently strong position of Thailand in the making of hard drives and electrical appliances - air conditioners,refrigerators and microwaves, say and figured that in international eyes,Thailand will be "the manufacturing centre of the region."

PM puts Grandma on a Hai

       Wearing a brown sarong, dark blue long-sleeved shirt and white flowers in her hair, Hai Khanjantha knew yesterday was her happiest day.
       Grandma Hai was up early in the morning to prepare for her meeting with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who travelled from Bangkok to hand over a compensation cheque for 1.2 million baht to her.
       In return, she gave an unfinished bamboo basket to the prime minister, saying it represented the many problems of the poor still to be addressed by his government.
       "I have waited for this happy moment for 32 years. I will pay off my 400,000 baht debt and spend the rest buying land for my children," she said after receiving the cheque.
       Grandma Hai has 10 children, 60 grandchildren and 25 greatgrandchildren.
       The handover ceremony was held before hundreds of northeastern farmers at a learning centre in Phibun Mangsahan district of this northeastern province.The centre is also the northeastern head office of the Assembly of the Poor.
       A member of the assembly, Mrs Hai is one of the three farmers to whom the cabinet last month approved a grant of 4.9 million baht compensation after they had fought to reclaim their 61-rai submerged paddy fields from construction of the Huay La Ha reservoir at Na Tan village at Phibun Mangsahan district.
       The other two are her late husband,Fong, and her late elder brother-in-law Sua Pankham.
       The reservoir was built when Gen Prem Tinsulanonda was prime minister.The government did not seek her consent or ask how the farmers were likely to be affected. After construction, the land was submerged immediately, which resulted in them being unable to grow rice for nearly three decades.
       Mrs Hai said she and the other farmers had asked many government agencies for help but no one offered a solution.
       "I lost tears to the land battle. It is such a painful memory. I don't want to see other people facing the same problem," she said.
       After being ignored, Grandma Hai dug a hole in the crest of the reservoir to reclaim her submerged land.
       She regained her paddy in 2004 when the Thaksin Shinawatra government intervened and demanded state agencies look into her case.
       They concluded that she had never given her consent for the dam and should be compensated."Even though my family have now been paid, we will not let our brothers and sisters in the Assembly of the Poor fight alone," she said.
       Petch, 36, Mrs Hai's daughter, who received the 1.3 million baht cheque on behalf of her late father, said she fought with her mother to reclaim the land when she was aged only four, and knew just how much her mother had struggled during that difficult time.
       "Our family relied on the paddy as its main source of income but when the paddy fields were inundated we did not know what to do," said Mrs Petch, who quit school at Mathayom 3(Grade 9)because her mother had no money to support her.
       The mother of two children said she intended to put some money aside for the education of her children.
       The prime minister also pledged to help the other 16 farmers affected by construction of the Huay La Ha reservoir.

BMA cleared of negligence in BTS dispute

       The Administrative Court has cleared the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and three other defendants of any responsibility in not providing suitable facilities for disabled people at skytrain stations.
       The case went to court in September 2007 when Suporntham Mongkolsawat,the secretary-general of the Council of Disabled People of Thailand, and two others filed a lawsuit naming the BMA,the Bangkok governor, the chief of the Civil Service Commission which comes under the BMA and Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc as defendants.
       The four were accused of neglecting their duty by not setting up proper facilities for disabled people, such as lifts and ramps, and providing other facilities.
       The BMA granted the concession to run the skytrain to BTS.
       Hundreds of disabled people attended the court yesterday to hear the verdict.
       The court ruled that although the Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons Act was enacted in 1991, a year before construction work began on the skytrain, there was no regulation at the time demanding that special facilities be installed for disabled people in buildings, public places and the transport sector.
       The Interior Ministry issued the appropriate regulation after the con-struction of the skytrain had begun.
       The court said the BMA fulfilled its duty later by installing elevators for disabled people at five of the most crowded stations -Asok, Onnuj,Chong Nonsi, Mor Chit and Siam Square - in 1999.
       This showed the BMA was not neglecting its duty, the court said.
       Mr Suporntham said he would lodge an appeal against the Administrative Court ruling with the Supreme Administrative Court on behalf of all networks for disabled people.
       The fight was to ensure equality for disabled people and to encourage government agencies and the private sector to pay more attention to the problems of the underprivileged, the elderly,children and pregnant women, he said.
       Mr Suporntham said even though there were many programmes to help disabled people, they were of no use if disabled people were unable to venture out of their homes because of poor facilities.
       All networks of disabled people would be asked to conduct a survey and circulate pictures of public places lacking in suitable facilities, he said.
       "All humans are born free but the disabled are being deprived of their freedom by a disabled-unfriendly environment," he said."To use the BTS is more difficult than taking a plane and flying overseas these days."
       Udomchok Churut, president of the Independent Living Pilot Project in Thailand, a non-governmental organisation supporting disabled people, said five disabled-friendly stations were not enough to help disabled people use the entire skytrain network.

Grandma Hai wins B1.2m in damages

       Eighty-year-old grandmother Hai Khanjanta is being awarded 1.2 million baht in compensation after having fought for 30 years to reclaim her land after the construction of a dam.
       The cabinet has agreed to pay Mrs Hai, Sua Khamphan and Fong Khanjanta a combined 4.9 million baht for their opportunities lost during the dam construction.
       Mr Sua will receive 2.4 million baht and Mr Fong 1.3 million baht.
       Mrs Hai opposed the building of Huay Ra Ha dyke from the very start of the project in 1977. The dam, built to provide drinking water to Na Tan district of Ubon Ratchathani, flooded her farm at Ban Non Tan.
       She and other villagers had their land returned after former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra ordered the demolition of the dam in 2004. However, no compensation was paid to affected residents to rehabilitate their paddy fields.
       Yesterday's cabinet approval for the financial compensation did not come easily.
       PM's Office Minister Sathit Wongnongtoey said some state agencies argued that the payments would set a precedent for other groups to claim compensation.
       "Some state agencies said this case would set a precedent for other affected groups [to claim compensation from the state]," Mr Sathit said."But we don't think so because there will be no other dams that will be ordered demolished by the state."
       Mrs Hai praised the Democrat-led government for paying attention to the plight of the poor.
       She was glad the government had addressed the problems raised by the Assembly of the Poor.
       The woman, who joined the assembly to fight for her land, said past governments had ignored the problems of rural poor.
       Asked whether the amount was enough for her family, she said it was not huge as she had fought for 32 years to receive justice.
       But she insisted she would not make further demands.
       She said she would give the money to her children.

RAIL-LINK LAUNCH NOT DELAYED BY PHEU THAI COMPLAINTS, SAYS SRT

       The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) is insisting the launch of the airport-link service will not be delayed by the opposition Pheu Thai Party's complaints about the premier and the interior minister allowing conflicts of interest in the project.
       Suphoth Sublom, an SRT board director, said yesterday the project had made a lot of progress and the civil construction work was complete. The SRT is expected to officially start testing the system on December 5, which will run for three months. The service will be officially launched in April.
       On Monday, a Pheu Thai MP filed a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Commission saying that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Interior Minister Chaovarat Chanweerakul had allowed conflicts of interest in the project because Chaovarat's family members held shares in a construction company.
       Pheu Thai's Lamphun MP Sanguan Pongmanee and the party's spokesman Prompong Nopparit claimed that Chaovarat's wife and children held shares in Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction, which won the Bt408-million project contract for adding more trimmings to the rail link. The Cabinet had approved the budget on March 10.
       Chaovarat, also leader of Bhum Jai Thai Party, argued he had already declared his assets and has had nothing to do with the company for a long time now.
       Moreover, he said, since Sino-Thai was a public company, anybody could buy its shares and as his children were all adults, they could do what they wanted with their money.
       On March 10, the Cabinet approved the Transport Ministry's request for an additional Bt115 million to hire a consultant to supervise the construction of elevated paths linking the Phya Thai Skytrain station and the Petchaburi subway station to the airport-rail link at Makkasan. This is part of the connection between airport-rail link and the SRT transportation system in the city.
       It also approved Bt11 million and Bt87 million for the construction of the paths from Phya Thai station and Petchaburi subway station respectively.
       The government will cover the cost of the construction, which should be completed in 15 months.
       The Cabinet also approved the expenditure of Bt195 million for the services of an independent safety and system certification engineer for three years. The government will be responsible for this cost as well.
       The Cabinet has acknowledged the relocation of public facilities near the airport-rail link, which would cost Bt140 million. The Metropolitan Water Works Authority and the Metropolitan Electricity Authority each will be responsible for relocation costs of Bt83 million and Bt57 million, respectively.

DUST-FREE ROADS PROJECT ROLLS ON WITH E-AUCTION BIDS

       The Rural Roads Department is moving ahead with the first phase of its national sealed road project by taking bids via e-auction.
       The e-auction opened on September 8. The second round will be held today and the last on September 21.
       Vicharn Kunakoolsawad, director-general of the department, said yesterday the department expects to ink agreements with the bid winners on September 23.
       The first phase covers 3,246 kilometres on 901 roads with a budget of Bt14.83 billion, including consulting fees. The work is expected to be complete in the upcoming fiscal year.
       The department will construct other phases including 1,983.5 km for Bt1 billion each in 2011 and 2012.
       "More than 700 contractors have been registered by the department. We want to allow the public to crosscheck the quality and safety of the projects," Vicharn said.
       The government initiated the dust-free road project to create about 70,517 jobs as well as to push its income distribution policy.
       It is also expected to save Bt683 million in public health spending caused by dust, Bt484 million in car maintenance costs and Bt5.67 billion per year in fuel consumption by rural people.

PLAN TO TACKLE LITTER BUGS IS A GOOD MOVE

       People who discard garbage in public places to face fines from next month; provinces should follow suit The city administration has revived a campaign against littering in public places. Since the beginning of this month, pedestrians, commuters and motorists have been warned against discarding garbage in public places. And starting on October 1, offenders will be fined Bt100 for each offence and the fine will be increased after three months, according to Deputy Bangkok Governor Thirachon Manomaipiboon.
       The Public Cleanliness and Orderliness Act of 1992 sets a maximum fine of Bt2,000 for littering on the road and Bt10,000 for throwing garbage into a waterway. There has been headlines at times when foreign tourists were fined for dropping cigarette butts on the street, but the law has rarely been enforced.
       Thirachon warned that city officials may use megaphones to humiliate litterbugs publicly. The tactic was employed when a city-wide campaign against littering was last carried out during the governorship of Bhichit Rattakul about a decade ago. Some Bt5 million in fines were collected from litterbugs at that time.
       Fining is done by officials from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's City Law Enforcement Department, who are known in Thai as "tamruat tessakit", and not by police. The "municipal police" will get half of the fines.
       Strict enforcement of the anti-littering law will initially begin at major landmarks and main thoroughfare in all 50 districts of Bangkok.
       Bangkok streets are cleaner than they were a few decades ago. In many areas, most of what is strewn on pavements is dead leaves falling from roadside trees.
       Visitors from some neighbouring countries express amazement that Bangkok's pavements are mostly free of litter. Possible explanations are that city street sweepers are efficient and most local residents are less inclined to throw garbage out. The actual reason may be one of these or both of them.
       But there are still places badly strewn with litter, namely Sanam Luang and the Victory Monument, where several thousands of people travel by, wait for buses and sell things. They are among the most littered places in the city and will be among the locations where the anti-littering law will be strictly enforced.
       While pavements are generally clean of litter, pedestrian flyovers and canals are often strewn with discarded objects. Garbage is carelessly dumped on unused land in areas deeper into lanes. The city authorities should also focus on these areas in the next stage of strict law enforcement.
       It is really difficult, if not impossible, to make a city of more than 10 million inhabitants be perfectly clean of garbage. However, at least this new campaign is a good beginning towards a cleaner Bangkok. It is an efficient way to discourage people from throwing garbage carelessly.
       Strict enforcement of the public cleanliness law should not be limited just to the capital either. Authorities in the provinces must also make use of the law to keep their public places clean.
       Citizens should also be educated about public discipline and social responsibility, at which many Thai people are poor. Such education should start at a young age and schoolchildren should be instilled with the benefit of cleanliness and orderliness, both at home and in public places.