PHUKET is fast evolving into an information and communications technology centre with new innovations being used by the private and public sector in places such as Bangla road in Patong.

An LED TV screen displaying 24 hour live news, promotions and advertisements above the Absolute Bangla suites on Bangla Road, Patong, is a sign that Phuket?s ICT capability has come a long way fast.

Thousands of tourists pass by the screen while the information, promotions, and BBC news feeds are controlled ?live? by two digital programmers, in an office 10 kilometres away in Chalong.

Mediacake.net managing directors Neil Skeldon and Dan Morton are the first foreigners on Phuket to implement digital signage software into live feeds for Phuket businesses.

Mr Skeldon said the digital signage could help solve the problems associated with billboards on Phuket.

?Maybe Phuket?s ITC private and public bodies could join forces to remedy the situation?, he said.

There has been a lot of criticism lately both from tourists and high ranking officials in Phuket and Bangkok calling for a cutback on billboard signage.

Thailand?s Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Phuket ?failed the test?, with the number of billboards blighting roadsides on the island.

Last month, Kathu Tambon Municipality staff began removing the 20-metre billboards lining the road from Tesco lotus to Kathu and over Patong hill.

Not all of the billboards have been removed, but the number has been reduced.

Kathu district mayor, Chaianan Sutthikun said drivers didn?t need any distractions on the notorious Patong hill.

The billboards were previously owned by the Kathu Municipality which rented them for three months at a time to advertisers.

These contracts will now not be renewed.

?Live feed? digital signage software could solve some of the problems, and is already being used in Bangkok, Singapore, London and other major cities around the world.

Digital signs are in place at Siam Paragon in Bangkok, they show timetable information at Kings Cross station in London, and there are screens in Time Square in New York, all controlled by digital signage technology.

Piyanoot Hongsyok, from one of Phuket?s most revered families is hopeful Phuket can challenge Singapore and Hong Kong as a ICT powerhouse.

?Software and ICT should be looked upon as a value-creation industry for Phuket,? she said.

?Operating costs are low, it?s very flexible, there?s no need for high-cost energy for transport, and delivery of services is instantaneous worldwide.

?The business is also environmentally friendly.?

The development of Phuket?s ITC services is making headway.

Digital signage is being used by private and public bodies on Phuket and major service providers Cat telecom, TOT, and TT&T have allocated funds to provide networks of fibre-optic cables around Phuket.

There are currently more than 8000 ADSL ports island-wide, and a new CDMA system is underway that will enhance Phuket?s wireless capacity.

Khun Piyanoot said these measures would send a message to the rest of the world that Phuket was serious about modern technology.

The six million tourists who arrive in Phuket each year on 120 daily flights, bring in an estimated 80 billion baht in tourist revenue for the province, and more and more of those tourists plan and book their holidays on the internet.

Phuket?s first cyber caf? opened in Kata in October 1996.

The owners installed Pentium computers with 28.8 modems and charged customers 160 baht an hour to use them. Print-outs cost between 30 and 40 baht per page.

Floppy discs were the norm and the owner envisioned that one day the service would be free for his regular customers.

Today the number of free Wi-Fi caf??s, bars, restaurants and hotels is increasing daily and 60 baht an hour for internet service is considered acceptable.

Today on Phuket the ?cyber cafe? has evolved, and tourists can access the internet free in hotel lobbies, from a booth at the airport, or from their telephone.

The format has changed but the demand has grown.

The concept of cybercafes was first invented in 1994 by Ivan Pope, a graduate from the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London.

Pope also founded the first internet magazines, World Wide Web newsletters and in 1996, he started the domain name industry.