A proposal for telecom companies to assist with cable maintenance in Bangkok

Officials from Bangkok urged yesterday at a conference that telecom service providers help clean up the city’s overhead cables. The officials decided that each type of overhead wire in Thailand should be appropriately segregated before being buried. The concept was born a week after a terrible fire that destroyed a three-story shophouse was attributed to a transformer explosion. Employees of NBTC claim that some of the aforementioned telecom cables are still needed, but they must be appropriately wrapped. The meeting was presided over by interior minister Anupong Paochinda. There are many types of cables, including high voltage, low voltage, and communication cables.


The MEA calculates that the five-year cost of the plan to bury the electrical wires in Bangkok will be 48 billion baht. The fire that started in a well-known market in Bangkok’s Chinatown claimed the lives of two people. During the conversation, it was suggested that the assignment be completed in phases. This apparently happened because the transformer caught fire due to carelessness. Following the incident, the governor of Bangkok, Chadchart Sittipunt, asked for an examination into the security of more than 400 power transformers and electrical cables in the surrounding area. According to Anupong, telecommunication service providers must work together to decide how they would handle the cables and whether they can afford to finish the project.


Following the Chinatown fire last week, the owners of the retail building that caught fire threatened to sue the MEA.


On Sunday, June 24, the MEA announced that it will assume the responsibility. At the meeting were representatives from the Provincial Electrical Authority, National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, and Metropolitan Electrical Authority.