And the exact time is ...
 

And the exact time is ...


All public and official clocks in Thailand will be reset to a standard time on Aug 23, ensuring people across the country all hear the national anthem at exactly the same time.

The standard time will be determined by the Hydrographic Department, part of the navy, and enforced throughout the country.

The public will be able to tune in to FM radio stations for official time announcements, at 8am and 6pm.

Pian Totarong, director of the National Institute of Metrology, which governs national measurement standards, said at present the country has no standard time. This meant the playing of the national anthem differed among provinces.

The Science and Technology Ministry will require all telecommunications operators, visual and audio broadcasters, computer networks and internet cafes to follow the standard time.

Violators could be fined between 100,000 and 500,000 baht, said Mr Pian.

He said the clock reset would benefit agencies where precision counts, particularly those working in security, public health, scientific research and satellite technology.

Bangkok Post

How significant are the current differences? a matter of seconds or longer?

TCB is about 4 minutes behind the rest of the world at the moment. http://www.thailandqa.com/forum/imag...es/biggrin.png I think where time would be most critical is with automated computer systems such as rail, air traffic control, and similar real time programs.

Maybe they should start with a task slightly easier by getting the TV channels broadcasting the anthem at the same time. The same goes for the radio. Many local communities and government buildings just turn on the radio for the countdown before 8 a.m. We used to do it at school. It was never in synch with the radio broadcast we could hear from the community behind the school.

It might be just a way to create more jobs and generate more revenue. And the public could get involved too, reporting violations to the local time police.

True Richard, there seems to be several seconds difference between the various radio and TV stations when broadcasting the National Anthem up to 30 seconds in some cases I would say.

Must admit I was rather surprised that this problem with time had not been rectified before now-brings a whole new understanding to certain areas of "Mai pen rai"!http://www.thailandqa.com/forum/imag...es/biggrin.png