“Prasert”, Minister of Digital Economy, confirms that internet and telephone signals in flooded areas are almost 100% ready for use. A new app, Help T, has been launched to provide local warnings. As for SMS, it is currently being drafted by the Prime Minister’s Office.
At 07.35 am, Mr. Prasert Jantarawongthong, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Economy and Society, mentioned the issue of internet and telephone signal problems in flooded areas. He said that at first, the flash flood damaged telephone signal towers, causing problems with internet signals. He has coordinated with the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) and all operators. It should be back to normal now. In the beginning, people had problems with electricity. Today, the electricity has returned to normal. Almost 100% of devices can be used.
However, the Meteorological Department and the National Telecommunications Public Company Limited have been ordered to coordinate with the NBTC, which the Ministry of
Digital Economy has a new application called Help T (Help with flooding) developed to allow local organizations to warn of flooding. For example, if water flows from a farm, there will be a notification system to inform about where the water is, which will help the public receive information more quickly. Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has ordered to monitor information 24 hours a day.
Mr. Prasert also mentioned the emergency warning system (Cell Broadcast Service) which has 2 systems: CBE and CBC. CBE, Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) is the agency that manages and collects information. Previously, the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Digital Economy had overlapping budgets of 400 million baht each. Now, it has been adjusted. DDPM has a budget of 400 million baht while the Ministry of Digital Economy has a budget of 90 million baht. The second part, CBC, is news distribution. 3-4 mobile phone companies will do it. We have tested the system with NT True and AIS. The s
ystem is ready. It will send SMS to the area where the incident occurred and can notify people in the area. The Ministry of Digital Economy is the one who connects both systems.
However, this size is currently being drafted as a warning announcement, an announcement from the Prime Minister’s Office, stating the level of severity of the threat, and who will be the one to announce or have the authority to order it. When the draft is complete, it will be able to be integrated with the system properly.
Source: Thai News Agency