The National Electronics and Computer Technology Center (NECTEC), as the affiliate member of Asia-Pacific Telecommunity (APT), participated in the 15th APT Telecommunication & ICT Development Forum (ADF-15) held in Colombo, Sri Lanka from 11 – 13 June 2018.
Ms. Areewan Haorangsi, Secretary General of APT, Mr. Austin Fernando, Secretary to the President and Chairman of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), Ms. Tepua Hunter, Vice Chairman of ADF and Mr. Shamal Jayatilake, Director General of TRCSL presided over the opening ceremony on 11 June 2018. Over 150 foreign, local participants comprising of APT members, international organizations including Asian Development Bank (ADB), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and International Telecommunication Union (ITU) also attended the event.
During the meeting, representatives from each APT member were invited to present the progress of ICT development in their country, including three representatives from Thailand. First presentation began by Ms. Autsanee Suwannarat, Foreign Relations Officer, Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, highlighting on the status of “Thailand Broadband Development and Net Pracharat”, a flagship project towards Thailand 4.0 initiative. Other presentations from Thailand were “Communication Network for Dam Safety Remote Monitoring System in Disaster Scenario” by Dr. Rangsarit Vanijjiratikhan, Researcher from Advanced Automation and Electronics Research Unit, NECTEC and “Uttaradit FS Pilot Test for Sustainable and Regional Cooperative Flood and Disaster Prevention System by New Sensing Solution System” by Ms. Sumalee Phungkham, Hydrologist, National Disaster Warning Center.
The meeting took note of the outcome from Thailand. All speakers received positive feedback and favorable comments from ADF-15 participants as their projects showed practical use cases for the development of telecommunication and ICT infrastructure which is a major challenge for many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. This projects marked major achievements of APT International Collaborative Research funded by the extra budgetary contribution from Japan. The APT Telecommunication & ICT Development Forum has been established as a special platform to address the development issues for Asia-Pacific with special attention on rural areas and ICT development. Various topics related to the achievements of APT projects funded by the Extra Budgetary Contributions from Japan (EBC-J) and Republic of Korea (EBC-K), and a discussion on national broadband plan, equitable and universal ICT services, affordable and sustainable connectivity were also addressed at ADF-15. The main focus of this year topic was on Connectivity and Innovation.
For more information on ADF-15, please visit https://www.apt.int/2018-ADF-15