"Room for Life" launched in Korat

Room For Life Launching
(16th August 2005)

Sat-Ed Co. Ltd, a subsidiary company of Sat-Ed Singapore www.sat-ed.com announces the launch of the first of 75 "Room For Life" Learning Centres in cooperation with the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC) and the University of Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC).

"The Room for Life' will be a meeting place that will provide all Thai people, from school students to business people, equal access to the best education Thailand has to offer, regardless of where they are in Thailand for a small nominal charge." said Sat-Ed CEO John Hawker. "Life long learning, which has always been an unfulfilled goal in Thailand is now available with content suitable for both students and business people alike.

Located at or near TCC sites, the "Room for Life" facilities will provide the best distance learning available, launching initially with the UTCC Accountancy Department program. "Khun Nong Noi, the Accounting Dean along with the entire team at UTCC have been very forward thinking in their plans to provide access to training courses to anyone who wants to continue or improve their education.

Using state-of--the-art delivery systems, from the Canadian company International Datacasting Corporation (IDC) , and the newly launched iPSTAR satellite, students can access high speed Video on Demand, and utilize the Internet based Learning Management System (LMS) either at the first "Room for Life" in Korat or at home. Situated at the Korat Chamber of Commerce building, students can either access the LMS through any of the available 20 Personal Computers or the Interactive IPTV program on a normal television set. The sites are very different from Internet Cafes in that there will be no video games, and the site will be very conducive to learning. "It will be a true Digital Library, a place people can come, access digital content, in a quiet, serious atmosphere of learning" added Hawker.

Hawker continued by saying "The technology uses IPTV, Internet Protocol Television, which Sat-Ed has introduced to many of the leading broadband companies in Thailand, however, this is the first time that IPTV and broadband Internet technology have been combined to provide Video Education on Demand."

"We believe our Sat-Ed system to be unique; it is the first time anyone has provided Digital Content at a Learning Centre that can be accessed by both the TV and a PC." Hawker said. "This is very important distinction, as many people still do not know how to use a PC, but that should NOT stop them from accessing the very best educational content available, which Sat-Ed and it's content partners will provide".

The Korat site is the first of a planned 75 sites working with Thai Chambers of Commerce throughout the country and the learning facilities will be expanded to hundreds of sites in villages all over Thailand.

"Our plan is to make "Room for Life" a small business opportunity in the villages, towns and cities across the nation. Using the iPSTAR satellite will enable people to access, both broadband Internet and interactive Educational TV content simultaneously for the first time in the world." Hawker announced.

Also at the launch was the Canadian Charge' d'Affaires Mr. Roger Be'langer who praised International Datacasting, the Canadian company that has provided a large part of the system and technology. Mr. Be'langer said "This is another great example of a Canadian company providing appropriate and appreciated technology to assist the development of education. We understand that International Datacasting has provided similar technology to South America, China and Korea, and we are thrilled to see them here demonstrating once again how they are at the forefront of technology advances ."

Mr Gary Carter, CTO of International Datacasting, by phone from Canada said , "We are very pleased to see the inaugural launch of the Sat-Ed platform for providing educational access across Thailand.. We must also thank the Canadian Government and CIDA, who have kindly assisted us to develop these overseas markets for Canada."

The next stage of the "Room for Life" program will be to establish a site in Sakon Nakorn, where local farmers, school children and other villagers will be able to learn about new job creation and educational opportunities. The village of Nong Pa has already requested that their children be able to access PC and English training through their new facilities. "By using iPSTAR to forward our content to the site, people in villages like Nong Pa, who are currently without telephones or Internet access, will be able to access educational IPTV, at broadband speeds faster than those provided in urban centres like Bangkok." Hawker said. "Using a simple remote control, farmers who may have no prior computer experience can undertake lessons on topics such as better farming techniques and alternative cash crops. This new knowledge will enable them to earn better incomes and improve their quality of life.

Sat-Ed plans to roll out the "Rooms for Life" program in Cambodia, Malaysia, Laos, Indonesia and the Philippines this year. The successful launch of iPSTAR brings with it, for the first time, a great opportunity for people, regardless of where they are in Asia, to access the best possible educational content available. With Sat-Ed's "Rooms for Life", the local community will own the "Room for Life" so that revenue generated from PC usage and course fee's from the centre, will stay within the community. Of course, the greatest profit of all is the wealth of knowledge!