After years of e-government initiatives and promises, the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) says it is ready to make chip-based smart cards. Itti Rittaporn, microelectronics director of Nectec, said the prototype chip-based version of an ID card, known as a contactless smart-card chip, had been prepared.
Developed by the Thailand IC Design Incubator (TIDI) organisation, the card uses an identification system based on radio frequencies to store personal data and other information.
Data such as e-signatures and information on driving licences, job titles and membership of organisations may be integrated into the chip, which may also be used as an e-purse or e-passport in the future.
Dr Itti urged the government to provide 770 million baht for the purchase of machinery for the TIDI to manufacture the microchips at the National Science Park in Rangsit, Bangkok.
He said that the organisation would probably make the cards at its Chachoengsao incubator, reducing the country's reliance on imported chip-based smart cards, costing several million baht a year.
The production cost of a locally made smart-card chip is estimated at 65 baht, compared with between 100 and 120 baht for an imported alternative.
The annual production capacity of the chips is projected at six million a year, reducing the need to import 10 million chips annually.
The incubator's initial mission was to make six-inch electronic wafer sheets. It also provides a variety of designs for integrated circuits, microelectronic controllers and applications for personal computers and cellular phones.
"We're ready to start making the smart-card chips as soon as the government approves the loan,'' Dr Itti said.
Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra gave Nectec until the end of this week to confirm whether local production of the chips is viable.
Quelle: Bangkok Post
