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Thai Government adds wireless to its ID card "to encourage use" of RFID

Twenty six million Thai ID cards will go wireless next year, as the ministry of information and communications technology announced today that there will be a two-year pilot project to develop wireless applications.

According to The Nation Minister Sora-at Klinpratoom said that "heightened demands for security" were the inspiration, but also suggested that this project might prime the pump by getting technology prices down.

The paper quoted Manoo Ordeedolchest, president of the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) as saying that "due to the boom of RFID technology throughout Southeast Asia, Sipa is working with both government and private sectors to roll out a pilot project to promote the wider use of RFID in logistics."

Apparently, local businesses are afraid of adopting RFID, because of the incremental cost. If Government-sponsored applications can teach consumers to use the cards, and get manufacture into high volume, the argument goes, then this relatively poor market may be able to "trickle down" the wireless system into local retail.

See also these tags: RFID, ID Cards