Pattaya gets B50m CCTV improvement

Pattaya gets B50m CCTV improvement

Cameras go WiFi as old cables turfed out

Pattaya City is spending 50 million baht on a wireless connection for its CCTV cameras. (Bangkok Post photo)
Pattaya City is spending 50 million baht on a wireless connection for its CCTV cameras. (Bangkok Post photo)

Pattaya City is spending 50 million baht on a wireless connection for its CCTV cameras that keep breaking down, according to the city's mayor, Sonthaya Kunplome.

The wireless network, which is being laid by a private contractor, is intended to solve the frequent malfunction of the 2,000-plus overhead cameras mounted in the seaside town.

Mr Sonthaya said the connection needed to be repaired quickly as it would compromise the city's crime-fighting efforts, particularly in security blindspots. The cost would come from the current fiscal year budget.

The mayor said most of the CCTVs blacked out frequently due to electrical short-circuits. Moreover, the fibre optic cables linking the cameras with the central control room were found to have been in use for many years and also led to fires breaking out on the poles holding the devices.

The Provincial Electricity Authority is also taking Pattaya's power lines underground to improve the landscape, so while that work is under way, the city has taken the opportunity to repair the faulty underground cables.

He added once the wireless CCTV network is up and running next year, the new system would accommodate tourism apps, which the city plans to introduce.

The WiFi cameras will be progressively rolled out and a company will be given incentives to run the new system on behalf of the city.

Pattaya expects to add 1,000 more CCTV cameras from next year.

The mayor said they were considered crucial tools for crime investigation in a city usually packed with local and foreign tourists.

The footage produced by the cameras is often key evidence in court in court trials.

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