Assessing the Economic Role and Competitiveness of Thailand’s Telecommunications Industry
Keywords:
Competitiveness, Social Accounting Matrix (SAM), Telecommunications IndustryAbstract
This article aims to (1) assess the economic role of Thailand’s telecommunications industry through the Thailand Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) for 2021, updated to reflect the overall economic structure in 2024, and (2) evaluate and compare the competitiveness of Thailand’s telecommunications industry with eight Asian economies, namely Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, China, Japan, and South Korea. This study adopts a mixed-methods approach. The quantitative analysis employs a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM), while the qualitative analysis utilizes a scoring-based prioritization technique to assess competitiveness across various dimensions. The results of the study indicate that: (1) In Thailand’s telecommunications industry, the construction of buildings and communication systems sector recorded output, value-added, and income multipliers of 3.83, 1.39, and 1.27, respectively. Meanwhile, the postal, telegraph, telephone, and communication services sector recorded corresponding multipliers of 3.84, 1.52, and 1.36, respectively. The postal, telegraph, telephone, and communication services sector demonstrates slightly higher multiplier effects in all categories due to its stronger intersectoral linkages, particularly forward linkages, while the construction sector relies heavily on imported intermediate inputs. (2) Overall, the telecommunications industry represents a competitive strength for Thailand, with 6 out of 7 competitiveness dimensions identified as strengths: ICT usage, digital divide reduction, cybersecurity, B2C e-commerce, e-government, and digital skills. The remaining dimension—access to services—emerges as a weakness, particularly concerning fixed-line subscriptions and international bandwidth capacity.
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