Half of Thai households to receive digital TV coupons by end of 2014

BANGKOK, August 2 (TNA) - Thailand's media regulator, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) says it will begin distributing digital TV subsidy coupons in September 2014, expecting that about 50 per cent of Thai households should receive the coupons by the end of this year. NBTC Secretary-General Thakorn Tanthasit told journalists on Saturday that the coupons distribution will begin in Bangkok and its surrounding provinces, as well as Chiang Mai, Songkhla and Khon Kaen Provinces. Thakorn noted that the distribution will later extend to cover other provinces, where the TV digital network is in place. Thakorn acknowledged the distribution will begin as soon as the ruling National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) gives a green light to the NBTC TV subsidy coupons. The Thai media regulator decided last month to fix the coupons at 690 baht each to encourage people to buy DVB-T2 set-top boxes or new digital TV sets to help them switch to the digital TV watch. The coupon will be distributed to households via mail, with measures to be implemented to identify the owner of each coupon and when and which shop each household owner uses it to buy the product. The NBTC secretary-general was speaking at a festival to mark Thailand’s National Communication Day on August 2. The three-day festival, which runs through August 4, was jointly organized by the NBTC and other media operators in the country. MCOT Public Company Limited (MCOT), a most established Thai media firm and the operator of Thai News Agency (TNA), also joins the event, aimed to honor His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s distinctive contribution to Thailand's development of the communication sector and to promote public knowledge on the country's TV and radio broadcasting, as well as telecommunication operations. (TNA)