People are upset that Bill Gates mistook Thailand's exposed phone cables for 'power stealing'
Over the weekend, Bill Gates posted a picture of tangled cables hanging from a power pole in Thailand -- a common sight in many cities across the country -- singling it out as an example of people illegally stealing power from the grid there.
Together with the photo, he wrote:
You May Also Like
LIVE WIRES
Due to faulty infrastructure, many urban areas suffer from frequent blackouts and power cuts, and the electrical grid often doesn’t serve the people who need it most.
I’ve visited many cities filled with tangled wires such as those in this photo from Thailand, where people have illegally tapped into the grid on their own to get the power they need—at great personal risk.
Unfortunately, the billionaire philanthropist's post on Facebook rubbed many people the wrong way, with both Thais and foreigners pointing out in the comments that his caption was wrong.
The main beef most people had was that the tangled cables aren't electrical wires. Most of them are low voltage telecommunications wires for phone lines and cable TV, and ended up looking this way over the years due to independent phone companies haphazardly draping their wires to new homes as and when subscribers signed up.
Some were also offended by his suggestion that there was power stealing, and pointed out that the practice is rare in Thailand:
The Microsoft co-founder has been working to further clean energy research, and move beyond fossil fuels. He also posted the photo, with the same caption in a photo essay on his blog:
Thailand's unsightly cabling has been an ongoing subject of debate for the metropolitan government.
Over the years, the concrete poles have collapsed under the weight of the cables supported, and some that get knocked over during traffic accidents end up wiping out the power and utilities for blocks of buildings connected to them.
But transitioning from aboveground to underground cabling has been a slow and costly process for Thai cities.
The Bangkok metropolitan electricity authority has reportedly started laying power lines and cables underground since 2011, but works have required tens of billions of baht (10 billion baht = $283 million), and the public sector has had to consider joint investment from private firms.
[h/t Coconuts Bangkok]
Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Victoria Ho is Mashable's Asia Editor, based in Singapore. She previously reported on news and tech at The Business Times, TechCrunch and ZDNet. When she isn't writing, she's making music with her band
