MEA - Metropolitan Electricity Authority in Thailand
The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA), a Thai state enterprise, uses a TETRA system for communications in Bangkok. Airbus reseller DRC implemented the system in 2011.
The first TETRA system in Bangkok
The Metropolitan Electricity Authority (MEA) (Thai: การไฟฟ้านครหลวง) is a Thai state enterprise under the Ministry of Interior.
In 2011, MEA signed a contract with the telecommunication system integrator DRC (Digital Research and Consulting Company Limited) on the provision of a digital radio communication solution.
The objective was to improve secure communications at MEA. This was achieved by replacing the old analogue radio system with the digital TETRA system delivered by Airbus.
The MEA's TETRA system provides both voice and data services throughout its operating area in the provinces of Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakarn.
The TETRA system also has interfaces to other systems, such as the Private Automatic Branch eXchange (PABX) system, the MEA Information Technology System and other communication networks.
This has been a very important project for Airbus as this was its first TETRA system to be deployed in Bangkok.
A project completed ahead of time
Airbus has supplied one TETRA switch, 17 TB3 TETRA base stations, 13 dispatcher workstations, 500 TETRA handheld radios and 1,250 TETRA mobile radios to the Metropolitan Electricity Authority.
A TETRA Connectivity Server has also been delivered, making it possible to integrate value-adding applications into the radio communication system. Automatic vehicle location, voice recording and picture transmission are some of the applications supported by the TETRA network.
The project was completed ahead of schedule, in just 18 months.