Thailand has announced plans to give its citizens free mobile data amid the coronavirus lockdown which has forced many people to work from home, said a government official on Tuesday.
According to Reuters, Takorn Tantasith, secretary-general of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission, disclosed that the initiative will take effect from April 10.
“Individuals can register for 10 gigabytes (GB) of mobile data each month starting April 10. The government is giving the data so the public can stay home and limit the spread of COVID,” he was quoted as saying.
A spokesman was also quoted as saying that the commission intends to compensate the country’s three mobile operators.
It however remains unknown how the commission intends to achieve this.
Total Access Communication Pcl (DTAC), the country’s third-ranked mobile operator, said the proposed measure could pose a challenge given its attendant demands.
“This is a challenge because (when) increasing capacity in areas outside the city … there are uncertainties like the duration of the heightened data use,” Sirawit Klabdee, DTAC head of investor relations, said.
On Tuesday, the southeast Asian country recorded 127 new cases of the killer virus with 10 deaths so far.
Last week, the government had declared a state of emergency and urged companies to adopt work from home policies to limit movement of people.
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