So according to the history channel (great channel, if only UBC could refrain from playing the same programs over and over and over again) there is so much fibre optic cable laid around the world that there is almost too much. That is, there is far more capacity than is being used. So what prevents Thaksin from putting together one of his three month plans to wire the country? What would it take to get fibre optic internet connections in all the major cities? How much would it cost total and how much for individual users? Is it ever going to happen here?

You are asking quite a few complex questions. Fiber is used as a transport medium in a variety of applications. I imagine there is quite a lot of fiber already in place in Thailand?

However I think you are specifically asking about FTTH, fiber to the home? While it would be great to have a 5/15/30 Mbps link to your home this still would not solve the "bottleneck" here which is international internet conenctions.

Verizon, the local telco in my home region in the U.S.A. just completed a massive FTTH deployment in record time. It was not unusual to see 10 trucks in my small neighborhood each day. They strung the fiber on telephone poles. Anyway, the service is called FiOS and it is reasonably priced.

You are asking quite a few complex questions. Fiber is used as a transport medium in a variety of applications. I imagine there is quite a lot of fiber already in place in Thailand?

However I think you are specifically asking about FTTH, fiber to the home? While it would be great to have a 5/15/30 Mbps link to your home this still would not solve the "bottleneck" here which is international internet conenctions.

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I think CMT's question encompasses both the local infrastructure and bringing the fibre optic trunk(s) in. I remember looking into this 2 years ago and finding out that there was a major fibre optic cable passing right by Thailand that could easily be accessed. The question is not one of technological capability or even cost.

Obviously the question is more a question of Mr. T not having a boy bright enough to figure out how to do this in a way that would make him more money than it would lose him. He obviously has a major interest in the current telecommunications setup in Thailand and does not want a change that will result in diminishing his income.

I can only imagine that Mr. T will soon grow tired of losing face in Thailand being very backward in the rapidly developing world of clear, high-speed telecommunications while countries like India have made incredible leaps forward in the past 5 years.

Especially when he realizes that it is losing him personally and the country in general incredible sums of income. Good, clear, fast, inexpensive communication channels are the basis of solid business development. Despite lower individual costs, I should think that his overall income would explode with the huge demand that would appear overnight for this kind of product - as would the GNP for the country as a whole.