Bangkok--19 Jun--DTAC dtac and Chiang Mai University launch the sp@ce project to study the behaviors of mobile Internet users and organize a mobile application contest to prepare for 3G dtac and Chiang Mai University launch a technological cooperation project for students to build on their knowledge outside classes through “mobile Internet” with the 30,000 EDGE/GPRS-supporting SIM cards that dtac distributes for free-of-charge uses within the compounds of the university for one year. Besides, the company is organizing a mobile application contest with prizes in the form of scholarships worth altogether over 800,000 baht. This is to pave the way for 3G services in the near future. Amarit Sukhavanij, Senior Vice President and Head of Next dtac Division of Total Access Communication Public Company Limited, says the sp@ce Project that dtac and Chiang Mai University jointly develop is a one-year cooperation project on mobile Internet technology. The project consists of two subprojects: the sp@ce Mobile Free Internet Access project and the sp@ce Mobile Internet Application Contest. Under the sp@ce Mobile Free Internet Access project, the company is distributing 30,000 SIM cards in both postpaid and prepaid systems to students, lecturers and staff members of the university so that they can connect to the Internet and download data via mobile phones and air cards through the EDGE/GPRS network of dtac free of charge within the compounds of the university and its Suan Dok campus for one year, today until May 31, 2009. In the meantime, the company is inviting students, lecturers and staff members of the university who already have dtac numbers to register for the project and become eligible for the free Internet connection through the EDGE/GPRS network of dtac. “The project not only enables students and staff of the university to connect to and make use of mobile Internet anywhere and anytime through the EDGE/GPRS network of dtac, but also gives chances to serious study on the forms and behaviors of Internet uses by the targeted groups of different ages to prepare for the launch of mobile broadband Internet services in the near future,” Amarit says. dtac has expanded the capacity of the total 17 cell sites that cover Chiang Mai University and its Suan Dok campus to support increasing data transmission through the network. Amarit says that on the same occasion dtac is organizing the sp@ce Mobile Internet Application Contest for students of Chiang Mai University to compete in developing mobile applications. The contest is welcoming teams of 2-4 contenders and dtac expects 150 teams to enter the contest. There are three categories of the competition: Mobile Social Networking applications that focus on building mobile phone-based communities, On Device Internet Portal applications that enable mobile phone users to personalize menus to meet their application demands, and Free Style applications that reflect developers’ creativities and can be the localized applications that suit the needs of Chiang Mai province or the region or the applications developed with Flash on mobile tools. “Although we can import a variety of applications, it is highly important to develop the applications that can perfectly meet the needs of Thai people, especially the applications that serve local demands. Besides, the contest is a preparation of dtac to launch its 3G mobile phone services in the near future. The applications that win the first prizes can be developed further for commercial uses and the teams that develop them have the right to be content partners of dtac,” Amarit says. dtac has opened its sp@ce Zone on the first floor of the College of Arts, Media and Technology in the university where students and university staff members can register and receive the free SIM cards and contestants can register for the mobile application competition. The sp@ce Zone also functions as the testing lab where teams of contestants can always test their applications with mobile phones that run different operating systems namely Symbian, Java and Windows. According to Amarit, dtac and the university field three experts each to form the referee committee. In the first round of the competition, the panel will select 30 qualified teams for their creativity and the potential to use their applications commercially. Each of the first-round qualifiers’ teams will receive a 5,000-baht scholarship. In the second round, the referee committee will select 15 teams, each of which will receive a 25,000-baht scholarship. In the third and final round, the committee will announce the winning teams of the three categories. Each of these teams will receive a 50,000-baht scholarship. There will also be the Popular Vote prizes in the forms of mobile phones for the members of the team that gains the highest vote. The vote can be done by two ways: sending votes via mobile phones to a particular number and casting votes at www.gooodspace.com. Those interested in the competition can file their application development ideas from today until July 31, 2008. dtac will organize training sessions to teach contestants on development knowledge and businesslike visions. The referee committee will announce the first-round qualifiers’ teams on August 8, organize an intensive training camp on August 23 and 24, and announce the second-round qualifiers on November 25 and the winning teams on March 7 next year. Associate Professor Theera Visitpanich, Vice President for Student Development and Alumni Affairs of Chiang Mai University, says the university has been focusing on researches, the production of capable graduates with academic excellence, good management and the acquisition of resources for the sake of its independence. It supports the development of infrastructure essential for teaching, learning processes and consistent research. As the Internet plays important roles in educational services, the management of the university believes that the cooperation project with dtac will lead to the improvement of teaching techniques and Internet-based learning materials. “The working group will analyze data gathered from the mobile Internet uses to find out how mobile Internet is applied and, together with the results of other researches, it will develop better curricula in the future. This will justify the status of the university as the first university in the region that was established in line with the government policy and the intention of people in the north to be the center of high-level academia and vocation to contribute to the region and the whole nation,” Associate Professor Theera says. Media Relations Division - dtac Matchima 081-655-2173 Ponnana 081-623-9895 Songkram 081-550-2563 Suchalee 081-710-9879 Siriporn 081-612-9809 Pimpakarn 081-614-9828 Tasanee 081-658-6560