When I first moved to Bangkok in the early 1980s it was normal practice for the utility companies to string telephone wires and electrical cables from reinforced concrete poles installed by the Metropolitan Electricity Authority.
That was not too bad, because there were not too many telephones. The landlord of my rented house in central Bangkok was inordinately proud of possessing one, but modestly explained that he had spent his career working for the post office. He knew who to call.
