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Most use Net for e-mail, data
The Nation, Published on March 24, 2005

Despite the government’s ongoing push to expand broadband usage, which promises access to a variety of multimedia content, most Thais use the Internet for information searches and e-mail, according to a new survey.

According to the 6th annual online survey conducted by the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) last November and December, 30.5 per cent of 10,525 local Internet users surveyed use the Web mainly for information searches.

Another 29.2 per cent of respondents said they used the Internet to send and receive e-mail. This year’s survey results are similar to last year’s.

Online chat gained in popularity with an increase from 7.1 per cent to 9.1 per cent this year while online news lost ground, with only 9 per cent of respondents saying they read news.

Only 19 per cent of those surveyed said they use high-speed broadband Internet, a dramatic increase from only 1.6 per cent last year.

Low broadband prices, the result of government prodding and fierce competition, are the main reason for the increase, Nectec said.

Industry analysts estimated late last year that there were about 250,000 broadband Internet users in Thailand, while the National Statistical Office estimated that about 6.99 million people were Internet users.

The popularity of online games – which boomed in 2003 – slowed, based on the survey.

Only 3.9 per cent of respondents said they played the games, compared with 5.8 per cent last year.

Broadband users that participated in the survey seem to enjoy certain benefits of the technology’s high speed and access to multimedia content.

About half of the respondents to the survey who use broadband Internet said they either downloaded software, listened to music or watched movies online, while about 83 per cent of them said they used it for e-mail, chat and online news.

About 30 per cent of all respondents to the Nectec survey said they had bought goods and services online, while only 20 per cent did last year.

Thaweesak Koanantakool, director of Nectec, said the survey showed that the government’s push has increased the number of broadband users, but the challenge lies in how to create local content and applications that are suitable for high-speed technology.

The director said Nectec expected the number of Internet users to rise to more than 8.4 million this year.

Phermsak Lilakul

The Nation