03 July 2024

Thailand’s National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC) has launched a plan to tidy up the infamous urban tangle of telecoms cables hanging all over Bangkok.

The initiative aims to organise 440.21km of cables along 151 routes in Bangkok and nearby provinces, and install cables underground in 32 routes covering over 67km.

The project will be managed by the NBTC, the Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), the report said.

National Telecom (NT), AIS (via subsidiary Advanced Wireless Network), True Corp, Interlink Telecom, United Information Highway and Symphony Communication will also take part. Each provider has been assigned specific routes for the initiative.

The tangled loops of telecoms cables decorating Bangkok have long been part of the city’s aesthetic, mainly because hanging them overhead is a faster, cheaper method of deployment. However, they’ve also long posed both an inconvenience and a safety hazard to residents. The NBTC said the project is intended to improve safety as well as aesthetics. The NBTC hopes to complete the project by the end of this year.

The NBTC and MEA will reportedly streamline the process of deploying cables underground, although they will also implement tough new regulations to manage new installations of fibre infrastructure.