Bangkok—
On May 3rd, 2024, The Thai National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) and the Thai Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) proceeded to reorganize and install communication cables into conduits to improve scenery and reduce accidents in the Bangkok metropolitan area.
Aerial communication cables on electric poles were a big issue in Thailand, especially in cities and suburbs, as they could potentially cause accidents such as fires and cables falling onto the road. Due to these concerns, the NBTC then coordinated with private companies in each province and the MEA to reorganize and install communication cables into conduits.
However, installation of underground communication cables into the conduits cost 10 times more, and without support from the Thai government, it was difficult for many private companies to comply with the request.
Therefore, the NBTC, most of the time, joined forces with the MEA when there was a plan to dispose of electricity poles, and then communication cables would be installed into the conduits.
Meanwhile, the NBTC would reorganize the communication cables above the ground including surveying inactive cables or not-in-service cables by disposing them.
The new communication cables needed to be authorized by NBTC under the policy called “Single Last Mile” which used a joint communication cable per village.
The 2024 plan for organizing and installing communication cables into conduits in the Bangkok metropolitan by NBTC included reorganizing communication cables on 151 routes with a total distance of 440.21 kilometers and installing communication cables into conduits on 32 routes with a total distance of 67.02 kilometers.
According to Thai national media, the National Telecom (NT) Public Co., Ltd., previously attempted to install its communication cables into conduits across Thailand to boost internet speed. However, the plan was aborted as the rental price was 10 times higher than above-ground cable installations.
According to Thai national media, the MEA planned to change overall from an aerial electrical cable system to an underground electrical cable in the Bangkok metropolitan area with a total distance of 236.1 kilometers. It was estimated that the project would be complete within 2027.
In somewhat related news, however, the conduit wells used to store electrical cables also made the news in Bangkok today when a man fell to his death after a plywood cover on a ten meter deep well gave way, as we reported here.
This article originally appeared on our sister website The Pattaya News.
