777 work-from-home applicants getting DES help

A total of 777 government agencies and state enterprises have qualified for the Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry’s assistance programme to support officials working from home by offering free downloadable work platforms and free internet access during the pandemic.

These state entities are among 865 organisations encompassing 682,152 users that applied for the three-month scheme, said Vunnaporn Devahastin, secretary-general of National Digital Economy and Society Committee.

The scheme does not include academic institutes, schools or universities as they have already been granted special assistance. The application period ended on Tuesday.

The government is working with four digital platform providers and six telecom operators on the scheme.

The four digital platform providers are Google Thailand, Microsoft Thailand, Line Thailand and Cisco Thailand, while the six telecom operators are Advanced Info Service, True Move H Universal Communication, Total Access Communication, TOT, CAT Telecom and 3BB.

Some departments under the DES Ministry practised working from home before the cabinet resolution, said Ms Vunnaporn.

Another 69 organisations contacted digital platform providers directly to use their systems, she said, with 22 reaching out to Microsoft and 47 to Cisco.

Under the assistance, state officials can download Microsoft Team, Webex by Cisco, Hangouts by Google and Line for online meetings and e-documents.

The six telecom operators are providing free internet connections for three months via fixed and mobile broadband.

Regarding concerns about high traffic, Ms Vunnaporn said Microsoft plans to improve the system to cater to users.

In addition, PromptPay transactions have risen to 11 million per day in March, up from 5.7 million yearon-year, reported the central bank. The highest for daily transactions was 15 million.