15 กันยายน 2003
Internet cafes wanted as education centres
Suchalee Pongprasert
The Nation
Internet cafes country wide are set to become more than just places where people check and send e-mail, as well as play games, if the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry has its way.
The ministry plans to turn the cafes into places where people can enhance their study while taking long-distance learning courses at affordable prices.
To make this happen, the ministry plans to collaborate with the Internet Cafes Association, the Association of Thai Software Industry (ATSI) and global software manufacturers.
ICT Minister Surapong Suebwonglee said that the idea was to turn the cafes into long-distant learning centres for students of all ages.
In the plan, what the younger generation can get from the Net cafes is information and knowledge from various types of multimedia edutainment software hosted by the shops, plus the learning courses put together by tutorial schools and/or universities.
"This is something that the Net cafes can return to the community. This will give students the opportunity to enhance their knowledge at a cost they can afford," said Surapong.
As centres for distant learning, the cafes, while setting up a server to host the e-learning programs, will be hooked to the broadband network to allow the content to be transferred smoothly.
The ministry is also looking to work with different groups of businesses, such as broadband operators, content providers and software developers. The broadband network operators being asked to support the programme are TOT Corp, CAT Telecom Plc and TelecomAsia Corp.
"We can see numerous possibilities if they can set up a low-price, flat-rate connection charge. All we need is high-speed access and the 'always-on' function at a cheaper price to make sure that the users will get the content they need at an affordable price," he said.
To encourage the Internet cafes to participate, Surapong said that it might be possible for the ministry to adopt a similar policy to the way karaoke shops pay licence fees to record companies.
"Like the karaoke business, where shops pay a wholesale price while customers pay per song, we might use their pattern and let the Internet cafes pay for the needed software licences while charging their customers individually," he said.
According to ATSI, there are more than 1,000 multimedia e-learning software titles available.
The ministry plans to set up a network called the ICT Development Centre and will select Internet cafes that meet the requirements to be part of the network.
To make sure the cafes conduct their business to the proper standards, the ministry is considering giving away licences under a franchise scheme.
"Although it will be a franchise, Internet cafes won't have to pay a fee. All they need to do is follow the rules we set to charge customers," he said.
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