KEY FORCES DETERMINING THE ICT POLICY DEVELOPMENT DURING RESTRUCTURINGS OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY (1990-2001) BY MS. PORNLAPUS CHAROENSAWASD A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM SEPTEMBER 2011 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT The effects of economic and political transition dominated Thailand’s economy since the 1990s; with the great change from economic and trade victory to widespread financial slump, the political crossroads in 1992 and the reform of political democracy, Thailand drew up a preliminary version of a new constitution and pledged significant political and economic improvement. In the context of the reconstitution of the Thai telecommunications policy from the beginning of 1990 to the end of 2001, this study presents the progress of restructuring Thai telecommunications industry and examines key forces determining the policy-making process of its Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). In order to investigate the role of manifold policy factors and the role of the Thai State in ICT policy formulation, the study applies political model of policy process and is based on the conceptual framework of J. P. Singh (1999)’s factors in determining the nature of the telecommunications restructuring in developing country and the State’s role in the decision-making process. While the primary impelling force for restructuring was Thailand’s ambition to become the economic centre of Southeast Asia, a vast number of secondary forces are discovered to have been involved in the restructuring of telecommunications industry and evolution of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) policy. Economic cooperation and a global liberalisation programme enforced by the WTO and the IMF have had an explicit effect on Thailand’s policymaking. Internally, in the collocation of the advanced development of parliamentary democracy and intensifying money politics, business interests became steadily stronger in ICT policy- making through the more direct political manipulation of the situation to gain some advantage at the top levels. There was also a growing impact from public interest groups and the Senate. The diversity of interests in the policy process limited the power of the State to direct policy decisions. In a system in which policy-making was plagued by political infighting among groups seeking to control the social system and the activities from which they derived private benefit, the policy-making function of the State was seriously impaired and the progress of Thai telecommunications reform and its ICT policy underwent a major crisis in consequence. The thesis seeks to answer: how the ICTs policymaking developed during the telecommunications industry reform, and the interplays among the policy forces; and what role the State played in the policy-making process. It argues that the Thai State’s weakness to create a regulatory regime to implement the ICTs policy of telecommunication liberalisation represents essentially a problem of institutional change. The thesis demonstrates that the State role in policymaking was phenomenon, and even facilitated particular group’s interest and idea, and that it was ill-suited implementation for society at large. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS When taking off on my research journey in the beginning of 2004 I did not realise what an adventurous and exciting but also demanding trip I had in front of me. Now, when I am about to land I am glad for the knowledge and experience I have gained and also for the difficulties I have overcome during the way. These have made me realise that the journey of completing the work for a thesis is not like any other journey. Definitely it is not a journey that you can do on your own. Therefore, I am very thankful to all people who have contributed to my journey and given me support during the way. Without your help I would never have made it. First of all, I would like to dedicate my work to my Grandfather and Grandmother, Yam, Mala, and Jiam who passed away during my journey of getting a PhD. With grateful thanks to my supervisor Professor Suzana Rodrigues & Professor John Child for their encouragement, help and guidance, and Dr. Joanne Duberly for your help in mentoring throughout my PhD journey. Thank you for sharing your deep knowledge and experience with me and for helping me to improve my work and develop as a person and doctoral student. Without your leadership and motivation and support I would never have come this far. I am very grateful for all the time and energy you have given to enrich my research odyssey. Many thanks also to my former and present colleagues at the Telephone Organisation of Thailand (TOT), Dr. Sully Taylor and all MIM staffs from Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, USA for their support of my documents. Thanks also to Dr. Marc Baldwin and Dr. Sarah for great copyediting work and your help in improving the English. I also gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Telephone Organisation of Thailand, TOT, and all Scholarship personnel. Special thanks to Khun Nutpapas for valuable contributions to my scholarship. Special thanks also go to all key informants of Ministry of Finance: State Enterprise Policy Office (SEPO), the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the TOT top management, Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI), National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (NECTEC), and National Information Technology Committee Secretariat (NITC) to contribute their times during the interviews, who made the case studies possible and valuable. Thanks a lot for your welcoming attitude and helpfulness and for sharing your feelings and experiences. Thank you for the joyful, inspiring and developing moments but also for the demanding experiences we have shared. Finally, but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to my family and friends for their love and support. In particular, I would like to thank my father Rom, my mother Nongyao for always being there, supporting me and believing in me. Foremost, I wish to thank my ‘Piggy’ for your love, patience, understanding and endless support. From this day, I shall promise you that your “waiting” is over. I am now looking forward to start a new journey, the journey of my life, together with you. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract Acknowledgements Table of Contents List of Tables List of Figures Abbreviations PART I: LITERATURE AND METHODOLOGY 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Research Background and Motivation 3 1.2 Research Aims and Objectives 12 1.3 Research Questions 14 1.4 Research Contributions 15 1.5 Scope of the Study 16 1.6 Research Design 18 2. Literature Review 23 2.1 Introduction 23 2.2 World System Perspective 38 2.3 Domestic Determinants 65 2.4 Theoretical Considerations 83 2.5 Research in Telecommunications Policy 97 2.6 Telecommunications Restructuring 99 2.7 Policy Models 109 2.8 A Garbage Can Model 109 2.9 Kingdon’s (1995) Political Model 111 2.10 Singh’s (1999) State Characteristics 116 2.11 Thai Policy and Institutional Framework 122 2.12 Basic Assumptions in ICT Policy Analysis 133 Concluding Remarks 137 3. Methodology 139 3.1 Introduction 139 3.2 Research Purpose 141 3.3 Research Design 141 3.4 Research Strategy 144 3.5 Data Collection 150 3.6 Data Analysis 169 3.7 Constantly Updated Data 172 3.8 Research Quality 173 Concluding Remarks 178 PART II: FINDINGS AND ANALYSES 4. Overview of Thailand’s Telecommunications 180 4.1 Introduction 180 4.2 Chronology of Regulatory Structure 181 4.3 Within the Context of Politics and Ideology 185 4.4 Thai Telecommunications Reconfigurations 204 4.5 Transformations in Thai Power Sector 205 4.6 World Telecommunications Regime 231 4.7 Liberalisation of Thai Telecommunications 246 4.8 Constitutional Amendments 250 4.9 Readjustment of 8th NESDP (1998-2001) 255 4.10 WTO: The Basic Telecommunications Agreement 257 4.11 Telecommunications Master Plan (1997-2006) 259 Concluding Remarks 261 5. The Policy Politics of Thai Telecommunications 263 5.1 Introduction 263 5.2 NECTEC and NITC 266 5.3 Politicization of NECTEC 272 5.4 Capitalists and Their Influences 277 5.5 Formation of Independent Regulatory Bodies 297 Concluding Remarks 305 6. Key Findings & Analysis 308 6.1 Introduction 308 6.2 Key Findings 314 6.3 Telecoms Environment & Institutional Policy 341 6.4 Role of Ideas 355 6.5 Policy Factors 361 6.6 Centrepiece of the Thai State 365 6.7 Future Role of the Thai State 370 6.8 Policy Recommendations 374 Concluding Remarks 379 PART III: CONCLUSIONS 7. Conclusions 381 7.1 Research Summary 381 7.2 Contributions to Knowledge 401 7.3 Theoretical Recommendations 406 7.4 Limitations of the Research 407 7.5 Recommendations for Future Research 410 Concluding Remarks 412 BIBLIOGRAPHY 415 APPENDIX A: LIST OF INTERVIEWEES 452 APPENDIX B: TABLES 456 APPENDIX C: KEY TELECOMS MILESTONES 470 APPENDIX D: FIXED-LINE CONCESSIONS 472 APPENDIX E: