Showing posts with label Consumers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Consumers. Show all posts

Thursday, July 19, 2018

#Google Thailand offers free public Wi-Fi


GOOGLE Thailand yesterday launched a series of initiatives, including free high-speed public Wi-Fi, to enable more Thai consumers and businesses to participate in the growth of the digital economy.

The initiatives were announced at the first Google for Thailand event, held in Bangkok under the theme “Leave no Thai behind”, aimed at promoting equality of digital access.

Ben King, country director of Google Thailand, said at the event that the Google’s initiatives would span across the four pillars: access, education, content and products and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“They were designed to ensure that all Thais would have opportunities and know-how to access technology and use it to build livelihoods,” he said.
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King said Thailand is rapidly growing digital economy. He showed a projection of digital economic opportunity in Thailand worth US$37 billion, while the opportunity in Southeast Asia is US$200 billion.

Moreover, Thailand is No 5 for average peak connection speed, or 106 MB per second. Ranking first is Singapore, followed by Hong Kong, South Korea, and Qatar, according to Akamai Technologies, a content delivery network and cloud service provider. 

Thailand is second for highest mobile Internet adoption in Asean, having 90 per cent of 3G/4G coverage across the country.

The event was also attended by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, who delivered a speech on the vital role that digital technology will play in achieving the government’s 20-year national strategic plan. However, he urged netizens to learn how to use the benefits of digital technology but not be used by it.

One of the highlights launched yesterday was Google Station, a high-speed public Wi-Fi programme undertaken in Thailand, in partnership with CAT Telecom, sponsored by Unilever.


 Google Station will start in 10 venues across Bangkok and in two provinces, Pichit and Loei, and will be expanded to other parts of the country in the coming months, allowing more Thais to access a free and reliable Internet connection, said Anjali Joshi, vice president of product management.

Currently, locations available for the free Wi-Fi services in Bangkok include Hualamphong train station and Megabangna shopping mall. To register, people should go to @FreeGoogleStation-CAT Wi-Fi system and enter their mobile number and name. 

Thailand is the fourth country to have Google Station, after India, Indonesia and Mexico.
King also announced the construction of the Academy Bangkok – A Google Space, a digital skills training facility at True Digital Park in Bangkok.

It will open later this year and will be a new training venue for participants of the Google Ignite programme, a two-month digital marketing training course that prepares university students for careers in Thai companies.

Google also introduced a new feature, Motorbike Mode, for Google Maps in Thailand.

Krish Vitaldevara, product lead for Google Maps, said the new feature will help Thailand’s 20 million motorcyclists to plan routes taking into account shortcuts and narrow roads that only motorbikes and scooters can take and offers more accurate travel times that reflect motorbike speed.

To support Thailand’s ever-growing YouTube community, Mukpim Anantachai, head of YouTube partnership, YouTube Thailand, said the company would relaunch the YouTube Pop-Up Space in Bangkok in November to give Thai creators access to state-of-the-art production facilities.

During the announcement, Mukpim also unveiled a new data plan in partnership with AIS. It will offer unlimited data packs at Bt59 per month for YouTube Go, an app that allows viewers in Thailand to watch and share YouTube videos even with slow or no Internet connection.

Lastly, Google Thailand announced collaboration with Siam Commercial Bank to allow SMEs to sign up and be verified for Google My Business, a free business listing on Google Search and Google Maps, through SCB personnel who will visit SMEs at their stores.

Source - TheNation




Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Chinese smartphone brands team up to fight WeChat dominance


China’s biggest smartphone vendors are getting together for a software platform offering access to apps that can provide an alternative for WeChat’s more than 1 billion users.

Huawei Technologies Co., Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi Corp. are teaming with six smaller brands for Quick App, which lets users access a range of services including mobile payments. That’s a direct challenge to the mini programs of WeChat, owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd., which lets users order food and rent bikes without ever leaving the app.


WeChat, which is available on all the major operating systems, is nearly ubiquitous in China as people use their smartphone to buy food, pay bills and send money to friends. Mini programs has further entrenched the app by making it a one-stop shop for daily essentials and helping Tencent capture more of the revenue spent by consumers.

The vendors will each have equal status in the alliance, which is designed to improve efficiency for both smartphone users and app developers, said Kaylene Hong, a spokeswoman for Xiaomi.

Source - TheJakartaPost

Thursday, August 31, 2017

Cashless society seen in three years


THE Thailand E-Payment Trade Association (TEPA) believes Thailand will go cashless within three years. E-money accounts would grow this year by 10 per cent from 40 million or about 60 per cent of the population last year and online payments by 20-30 per cent from Bt170 billion, according to TEPA.

Punnamas Vichitkulwongsa, chairman of TEPA and chief executive of Ascend Group, said the association now counts 16 e-payment service provider members, such as TrueMoney, mPay and Thai Smart Card. 

The factors driving customers to open e-money accounts to support their daily routines are the competition by banks and non-bank providers to meet the demands of customers and the potential for more customers to pay for products and services via online channels.

The association will help develop the e-payment and e-commerce industry in the country by adopting the Thai QR Code and PromptPay.


 The Thai QR Code employs a common standard for e-payments in the country. 
PromptPay services will include PromptPay e-wallet services on September 15. 
TEPA will upgrade the country’s e-payment industry to global standards and boost confidence in e-payment among Thai consumers and retailers.

E-transactions will be part of the Thailand 4.0 initiative, which will help businesses reduce operating costs, create confidence for consumers and provide greater convenience for consumers to pay for products and service fees. 

Ascend Group has 3 million active TrueMoney accounts now and expects 4 million by the end of the year. Each account-holder spends an average of Bt220 per time to buy products or services

Somwang Luangphaiboonsri, country lead at PayPal Thailand, said e-transactions continue to grow because customers have confidence to spend money via e-payment channels in the country, due to the government’s support for e-payments. 

PayPal has 210 million active accounts and 17 million active business accounts globally. It enables businesses and customers to make secure cross-border transactions while affording protection to buyers and sellers.

Source - TheNation
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