Taiwan's Chunghwa Telecom partners with Thailand's largest electricity provider

Taiwan's largest telecom service provider, Chunghwa Telecom, continues to expand operations overseas with a new agreement announced with Thailand's Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA).

According to the memorandum of cooperation, announced on May 12, Chunghwa Telecom will work with PEA to develop and implement smart city and smart energy projects throughout Thailand over the next 20 years. PEA is the largest electricity provider in Thailand, responsible for electricity in 74 of the country's 77 provinces.

Under the 'Smart Thailand' and 'Thailand 4.0' campaigns, the Thai government aims to develop 100 smart cities within 20 years. These smart cities will integrate 5G communication networks alongside various applications utilizing the Internet of Things (IoT) to create 21st century cities that maximize convenience and sustainability for residents and businesses.

'PEA provides crucial infrastructure for the Thai government's digital transformation strategy. PEA recognizes the excellent software and hardware strengths of Chunghwa Telecom and has a high level of interest and confidence in Chunghwa telecom's smart city solutions,' said the press release.

The first cities expected to develop the new digital infrastructure are Bangkok, Pattaya, and Chiang Mai, per the press release. As a first step, Chunghwa plans to introduce smart city solutions including smart poles and smart metering, which, integrated with Chunghwa Telecom's Smart City Operating system, can monitor motor traffic and weather conditions in a city.

The news of Chunghwa expanding operations in Thailand comes one month after a major announcement in Japan. In Mid-April, the Taiwanese telecom company received a special construction license from Tokyo, which will allow the company to bid for and engage in large scale construction projects throughout Japan.