Thai PM guarantees careful spending on 4G licence fees

BANGKOK, December 23 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha says although the state has obtained huge sums of 4G mobile phone licence fees, his government must spend the money carefully because licensees would pay in installments. The prime minister told journalists on Wednesday that he is happy with the licence fees settled at the recent auction, acknowledging that the state earned well and his government would spend it on projects which would benefit the public the most. “It is not that 200 billion baht would be paid in a lump sum and we could spend it on a railway project right away. They will pay in installments. The fees from the auction are about 200 billion baht. I must thank the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC),” the prime minister stated. The Thai premier announced that his government plans to expand wi-fi service to all about 30,000 villages throughout the country within next year to provide people with better communication channels and education. According to the Thai premier, his government is also promoting digital economy and compiling basic information of people to ensure efficient public policy-making. (TNA)