Below are specific sectoral strategies to achieve the ICT policy objectives:

e-Government

Public sector IT development will primarily focus on back office and front office development with the aim of promoting good governance. Back office development refers to the integration of IT into management of inventory, human resources, record-keeping, finance, and budgetary works. Front office development refers to the provision of citizen services by electronic means, with an ultimate goal of providing 100 percent of services electronically by 2010.

e-Commerce

This policy area intends to promote the use of e-commerce as a business tool in order to increase the competitiveness of Thai entrepreneurs. E-commerce will target trade and services, domestic consumption, and export, focusing particularly on national interests. This will be achieved by establishing a proactive foreign policy; raising awareness of e-commerce activities; streamlining the legislation needed to increase confidence in electronic systems; developing security and payment systems; creating a data management system; promoting subject matter experts; and developing human resources targeted on e-commerce.

e-Industry

The e-Industry initiative aims to develop Thailand’s knowledge-based industries by promoting and developing private sector information technology production and applications by 2010. This will be achieved by implementing a Thailand Exchange; using IT to support industrial development; establishing a Marketing Intelligence Center; promoting Thai IT industry development; encouraging IT literacy in the industrial sector; promoting research and development of the manufacturing industry base; supporting IT applications in subject matter expert development; and supporting IT applications for agricultural sector development.

e-Education

The e-Education policy focuses on developing Thailand’s human resources in order to support the “development of a Knowledge-Based Society.” This will be achieved by creating a management system for IT policy and the administration of education; developing an information infrastructure specific to education that is equally accessible to all; promoting the development of human resources in support of IT; rapidly developing and providing relevant IT knowledge and content; and rendering educational information and knowledge more accessible.

e-Society

This policy thrust focuses on promoting an improved quality of life and developing a Knowledge-Based Society by bridging the digital divide within Thai society. This will be achieved by developing an information infrastructure equally accessible to all; developing human resources skilled in IT; augmenting educational capacity to promote learning within society; creating and supporting opportunities to bridge the digital divide; developing IT systems to support learning communities; using IT to improve the quality of life through dissemination of and providing access to information; and creating a society through IT support of civil society initiatives.

The success of the five policy areas outlined above depends largely upon the supporting industries. The capabilities of the domestic IT industry must be enhanced to ensure its preparation for responding to demands for IT services and products.