Rapid Assessment for Resilient Recovery and ... - GFDRR

It is estimated that Thailand has about 200 AM radio stations and more than 300 FM
stations. The Public Relations Department (PRD) operates the national television (Channel
11) and radio networks, being the biggest national radio operator and owns 144 radio
stations, (87 FM and 57 AM) in 60 provinces. The total revenues were THB 478.98 million
in 2009, and THB 476.61 million in 2010, with estimates for 2011 at THB 563.85 million.
The time rental of radio and TV are the main revenues (67 percent in 2010). Community
radio stations operated with low-power transmitters have proliferated in the last few years
and it is estimated that around 7,500 unlicensed community radio stations operate in
Thailand. The advertisement revenue of licensed radio (excluding community radio) in
2010 was THB 5 billion.
The postal service industry in Thailand is classified into domestic and international services.
Thailand Post Co, Ltd. (Thailand Post) covers around 80 percent of domestic postal service
activities. For international postal service, DHL (52 percent) and FedEx (28 percent) are
the main players. Other postal companies including Thailand Post, UPS and TNT share
the remaining 20 percent of international postal service activities.
Thailand Post operates 16 mail centers and six bulk posting centers. The number of post
offices has increased gradually to 1,162 offices in 2011. In addition, there are 28 mobile
post offices as of 31 August 2011. According to the Universal Postal Union, one permanent
office serves approximately 14,000 inhabitants. Thailand Post’s revenue from postal
service is around THB 13 billion per year. More than three-fourths of revenue of the postal
service comes from domestic mail. Revenue from international mail accounts for slightly
more than 15 percent and the rest is from postal financial services. The share in revenue
of domestic mail has gone up from 76.3 percent in 2008 to nearly 80 percent in 2011. For
the international mail and postal financial services segment, the figures have been
constantly lower both in sales volume and monetary value.
Damage and Losses
Damage
The main causes of telecommunications disruption due to the extensive flooding in
Thailand are physical water damage and electrical power disruptions. The landline
communications systems operated by public service providers have been severely
affected in urban areas. These include the cables and leased lines connecting the flooded
industrial estates in the lower parts of central Thailand. Until the date of this reporting, the
leased line sites of these industrial estates, which are still flooded, are still out of function.
The service providers estimated between three and six months of service disruption in the
industrial estates before the flood recedes and business could resume. Estimated damage
to landline communications, which include the leased line data networks and the voice and
data line networks, amounted to THB 553.95 million.
The National Broadcast and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) reported that 398
base stations and cell sites were damaged/cannot be operated as of 1 November 2011,
out of which 97 cell sites were due to electricity disruptions. The cell sites were located in
Bangkok and the provinces of Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Ayuthaya, Nakhon Sawan,
Nakhon Phatom, Uthai Thani, Lop Buri, Singburi and Saraburi. More than 80 percent of the
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