The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) board members have voted towards the development of a three.8 billion baht telehealth challenge, citing misalignment with the objectives of the Universal Service Obligation (USO) project price range.
The majority of board members argued that the USO project’s focus should be on supporting telecom community set up and enlargement to bridge the digital divide, whereas the telehealth venture primarily invests in IT systems corresponding to cloud server methods.
At Now ’s third meeting, four members voted to scrap the venture, while three, including NBTC chairman Dr Sarana Boonbaichaiyapruck, supported it. The majority emphasised that they were not blocking helpful tasks but highlighted the telehealth proposal’s deviation from the USO coverage. They also expressed concerns about potential authorized dangers for the board if the project were approved.
Instead, the board members have asked administration to think about different tasks associated to the public health system, similar to increasing telecom networks in sub-districts to support hospitals in border areas. The NBTC had piloted the telehealth venture two years ago in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, spending over one hundred million baht on a pilot targeted on subsidising telecom infrastructure and 5G networks..