April 24, 2021 – Mr. Chaiwut Thanakhamanusorn, Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES) and Ms. Atcharin Pattanapanchai, DES permanent secretary visited a field hospital and inspected its internet connection with Mr. Sharad Mehrotra, Chief Executive Officer, Mr.Marcus Adaktusson, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, and Mr.Prathet Tankuranun, Chief Technology Officer at Total Access Communication PLC or dtac.
The executives from dtac jointly confirmed the readiness of the high-speed internet and free wi-fi in the field hospital area to support the patients, medical and frontline personnel handling the COVID-19 situation. To ensure reliable coverage, selected field hospital locations are monitored for network quality, and to improve user experience, mobile cell sites and additional base stations are installed, as well as optimizing network parameters.
dtac will deploy free wi-fi in field hospitals using dtac@Home box set – an easy-to-install box set system that requires no cable installation. dtac@Home is a fixed wireless broadband system providing free Wi-Fi to support the efforts of medical and non-medical personnel working to contain the COVID-19 situation, as well as being accessible to patients.
Dr. Supaporn Kornluck, Deputy Director of the Medical Service Department, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), said, “For COVID-19 patients, closely monitoring their symptoms is crucial. Doctors need to know of patients’ temperature, blood pressure, blood oxygen level in conjunction with other conditions regularly each day to determine the proper treatment. However, due to the need for social distancing to reduce touch and the inadvertent spread of the disease, doctors will not meet the patients directly in person. This is where video conferencing plays become essential in enabling field hospital medical teams to “see” their patients remotely. Internet connectivity plays a crucial role in bridging the gap in access to patients, making treatment and monitoring more efficient. Moreover, the doctors, nurses, all the personnel, including the patients in the field hospitals can use the internet to connect to their families or access apps for other productivities.”
dtac is committed to connecting people to what matters most and helps build a resilient Thai society through the use of high-speed internet, and to support mobile use for all in any situation.
