http://www.bangkokpost.com/tech/technews/10590/connecting-up-pattaya-city
If you think that Pattaya is just about night life, you may have to re-think. Pattaya City today is working hard in a bid to attract visitors with a new image, as a place for families, an international convention centre and a place for world-class events.
Fundamental to Pattaya City's new look is IT.
Wi-Fi Internet access is now available on Pattaya beach.
"Of course, we still maintain its entertainment venues and night-life, but we've tried to balance those with new initiatives," said Pattaya City Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome, during an exclusive interview.
"The city has run its management information system since 2005, with a backbone infrastructure network and now it is in the process of connecting a fibre optic network throughout the city, covering an area of 55 square kilometres and integrating all 18 involved organisations in the city.
"The 1Gbps fibre optic network, run on the CAT's fibre to the home (FTTH) network, will enable organisations such as schools to have high-speed Internet connections. It's like they are at the core switch of the Internet gateway," the major said.
As part of Pattaya City's security policy, Itthiphol said the City has improved its existing traffic information system by hooking it up to the wirless network.
Pattaya City Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome.
urrently, the computer system controls the traffic at all 22 intersections on Sukhumvit road in Pattaya City. The automatic vehicle counting system, embedded underground, is able to detect and count the number of vehicles on the road.
"The system is intelligent, but pretty much out-dated as it was implemented around 2005, and it can't support new software development," the IT official of Pattaya City said, noting that the new intelligent transport system would integrate the existing CCTV system with both wired and wireless networks.
"We position Pattaya as a 24-hour secure beach and an international beach for tourists, so we have started several initiatives, apart from the CCTV and traffic control system improvement," the mayor said, adding that the city would establish a special force called Thap Pa Ya 2310 to keep Pattaya safe and secure around the clock. In future, tourists would be allowed to swim at night, but other sporting activities would be not allowed.
The mayor stated that Pattaya City uses the GIS system for sea security and it had plans to use GIS and GPS for a taxation map, locating foreign labourers and unregistered citizens or those who often move their workplaces.
In a meantime, CAT has implemented a FTTH network in Pattaya City.
According to Lanjakorn Pattamasigh na Ayutthaya, project coordinator for the CAT customer service office, there would be two fibre network systems implemented on the major roads of Pattaya, an aerial air blown system on the main road and an underground air blown fibre system on Pattaya No. 2 road.
The aerial distributed fibre would be at the CAT network and at Pattaya City Hall. Based on the fibre network, the 10Gbps metro aggregation equipment would be implemented to provide communication services to users.
He noted that the FTTH solution would help Pattaya provide security services along the beach, the roads, the intersections and public areas via IP CCTV. The FTTH would also enable Pattaya to offer public health services via the hospitals, both public and private, as well as an information service for foreign tourists, together with collaboration with the Immigration Department.
Hotels, resorts and condominiums in Pattaya can provide high-speed communications for tourists and general users via CAT's FTTH.
The operation will start at the beginning of the year and finish by the end of the year. This will be the first FTTH system in Thailand. With investment of 500 million baht, the project will start in the beginning this year and finish by the end of 2009. In addition, Pattaya City, in collaboration with TOT, has offered Wi-Fi Internet access to tourists and general users to allow them to surf no matter where they are along the 4.5km beach.
It is the first such project in Thailand, and includes Pattaya beach from North Pattaya to South Pattaya beach - 3,000 metres - and from Walking street to Bali-high bay, another 1,500m. The Wi-Fi service is offered free of charge. Users can ask for a Wi-Fi card at the Pattaya piers and five Pattaya Public Information Centres, TOT and CAT offices and hotels, and a card is valid for 20 hours.
Over the New Year holiday, the 1Mbps Wi-Fi Internet access was provided free for tourists, and the mayor noted that users were downloading large video and multimedia files. In the long term, TOT will sell the Wi-Fi cards for the 1Mbps service, but 256kbps access will still be offered free.
All these initiatives were to achieve the goal of Pattaya City becoming a national conventional centre city over the next 10 years.
"We have worked together with many organisations and are co-marketing together," he said.
Each year there will be four world-class events.
"These all require IT facilities and communications," the mayor said, noting that events to be staged this year include the Tennis WTA Pattaya Open and the LPG Tour; the Pattaya Marathon in mid-year, the Vegetarian Festival in October, and the year-end will be the season for windsurfing, and jet skiing, and then the Christmas and New Year holidays. All of the information infrastructure in the city will be complete within three years.
Today, there is the database of Pattaya City, as the mayor noted, and the plan was to develop it into a one-stop service by integrating all the related divisions. Now, it is reviewing the development plan and human resource development of Pattaya City by working together with the Office of the Civil Service Commission.
"We are on route to balance Pattaya City with the concept called 'Balanced up Pattaya City' - making the city a place worth visiting for people around the world, with facilities, security, an international convention centre and good for families and sports," the mayor noted.
