Deputy Minister Nan Boonthida of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DE) expressed concern over Thailand’s communication systems and coordinated with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to strictly monitor mobile operators following a compounded 14-hour 5G SA outage at Japan’s NTT Docomo.
On 6 Nov 2026 GMT+7, Ms. Nan Boonthida Somchai, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DE), expressed deep concern over the security and stability of Thailand’s telecommunications system. She coordinated with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) to instruct all mobile network providers to intensify their monitoring of network systems and cybersecurity measures to prevent system outages or data leaks repeating the major crisis that occurred in Japan.
This action followed a severe compounded crisis in Japan’s telecom sector when NTT Docomo, one of Japan’s largest mobile providers, experienced a widespread failure of its 5G Standalone (5G SA) network nationwide from 11:18 on 5 Nov 2026 GMT+7 until engineers restored normal operations at 01:20 on 6 Nov, a disruption lasting over 14 hours.
This system failure directly affected 5G SA users, who could not make or receive calls, access high-speed internet, or send SMS as usual. However, users of 4G and other 5G types remained unaffected. NTT Docomo explained the cause as a bottleneck in the exchange system unable to handle communication volume, with no initial evidence of a cyberattack.
Nonetheless, around the same time, NTT Docomo faced another crisis with an online system intrusion potentially exposing data of approximately 300,000 customers. This parallel event underscored the critical risks in the digital economy era, showing that despite advanced communication technology, the stability and security of infrastructure remain paramount.
From an investment and industry perspective, this incident serves as a warning prompting providers worldwide, including in Thailand, to accelerate investments in cybersecurity, network anomaly detection, and robust backup infrastructure (Redundancy System) to ensure maximum readiness.
“The Ministry of DE has coordinated with the NBTC to closely supervise operators to assure the public and businesses that Thailand’s digital networks will be stable, secure, and free from repeated system outages like those abroad,” Ms. Nan Boonthida stated.