Mitihoon – True Corporation Unveils Data Insight into Thai Communication Behavior During Flood Crisis, with Voice Traffic Surging Over 600%
Heavy rainfall and severe flooding disrupted daily life across multiple areas, changing not only everyday routines and travel but also how people communicate. True Corporation has unveiled True Data Insight, analyzing usage data across the TRUE 5G network and True Online during the severe flooding in the final week of September 2026. The analysis reveals several notable shifts in communication behavior, particularly a significant rise in voice calls for direct communication during the crisis, even though people typically rely more heavily on data services in their daily lives. Other notable patterns include increased transmission of data from flood-affected areas to the online world, as well as higher usage of communication apps and home internet services across several locations.
The data provides an insightful picture of how communications evolve when people face unexpected situations. Rather than becoming less important, communications take on an even greater role and become more purpose-driven. True is using these insights to better understand changing usage patterns and inform the continuous development and management of its network, enabling it to respond more effectively to customers’ communication needs.
When Crisis Strikes, Voice Calls See an Immediate Surge in Usage
Voice traffic data on September 26, 2026, compared with the previous week, showed a significant increase across Bangkok and its surrounding provinces. Voice traffic increased by 60% in Pathum Thani, 58% in Bangkok, 58% in Samut Prakan and 51% in Nonthaburi, while Chonburi recorded an increase of 29%.
The pattern became even more pronounced when focusing on flood-affected communities. Voice traffic at the Rom Klao Housing Community increased by 222%, while the Khlong Chan Housing Community recorded an increase of 169%.
The most notable figures emerged during the peak usage period between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. on September 26, when voice traffic at the Rom Klao Housing Community surged by 632%, while Khlong Chan Housing Community recorded an increase of 311%, compared with the same period in the previous week.
This behavior reflects the continuing importance of voice calls in urgent situations, when people need to directly and immediately contact family members and those close to them, or coordinate assistance with relevant agencies.
Uploads Surge Faster Than Downloads as People in Affected Areas Send More Data Out
Another notable signal can be seen in mobile data usage. What surged on the TRUE 5G network was not only the amount of data received, or downloaded, but also uploads, as people transmitted more data from their mobile devices to the network.
Average data from September 25–26, 2026 showed that uploads at the Rom Klao Housing Community increased by 61%, compared with a 4% increase in downloads. At the Khlong Chan Housing Community, uploads increased by 44%, compared with a 6% increase in downloads.
The difference became even more pronounced during peak usage periods. At the Rom Klao Housing Community between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m., uploads surged by 178%, compared with a 28% increase in downloads. At the Khlong Chan Housing Community between 8:00 and 9:00 p.m., uploads increased by 94%, compared with a 30% increase in downloads.
These figures offer another notable perspective, as uploads are associated with activities in which users “send” data from their devices, whether by sending photos, videos and files, making video calls, or posting and sharing information. The data therefore indicates that during the crisis, mobile phones served not only as a means of receiving information, but also as tools for sending images and video clips of actual conditions on the ground to people around them and to the online world.
LINE Ranks No. 1 Among Communication Apps During Flood Week
An analysis of mobile app traffic found that LINE recorded the highest increase at 22%, followed by Messenger at 13%, Facebook at 10%, Netflix at 9% and FaceTime at 8%.
Home Internet Usage Also Rises, with Clear Increases in Flood-Affected Areas
Data from True Online provides another perspective on digital behavior during the flooding. Among regions affected by the floods, the East recorded an 8% increase in home internet usage, the highest overall increase among the regions. At the provincial level, Trat recorded an increase of 21%. Bangkok and its surrounding provinces recorded a 5% increase, with Bangkok posting the highest increase within the group at 5%. The Central-West region increased by 3%, with Ratchaburi recording the highest increase at 6%.
Expanding the analysis to other regions that were not among the main areas affected by this flooding showed that home internet usage also increased, but at lower levels. The Northeast recorded an average increase of 1%, with Ubon Ratchathani posting the highest increase at 6%. The South increased by 0.6%, with Narathiwat recording the highest increase at 2%, while the North remained unchanged on average at 0%, with Phitsanulok recording the highest increase at 1%.
Looking at the two groups of regions together reveals a notable difference in usage behavior. Regions among the main flood-affected areas recorded higher overall growth in home internet usage than other regions during the same period, particularly the East, Bangkok and its surrounding provinces, and the Central-West. This indicates that changes in digital behavior during the flooding were not limited to the mobile network, but were also evident in fixed broadband usage in affected areas. The True Online data was collected as of September 26, 2026, compared with the reference period in the previous week (Week-over-Week: WoW).
Bringing these data points together, True Data Insight highlights three notable communication behaviors:
- Voice calls are a preferred means of communication during emergency situations. This can be seen in the sharp increase in voice traffic, particularly in flood-affected areas.
- Users are not only receiving information but are also sending data out from affected areas. Upload traffic increased several times more than download traffic in Rom Klao and Khlong Chan, reflecting the role of 5G and 4G in transmitting photos, videos, messages and information from actual situations on the ground.
- Those who remain connected are using applications more intensively. Traffic on communication apps such as LINE and Messenger increased even as the overall number of users declined in some areas.
Across all dimensions, True Data Insight shows that communications during a disaster are not simply about higher usage volumes. They also reflect simultaneous shifts in communication behavior across multiple services: voice traffic rising rapidly in flood-affected areas, uploads growing significantly faster than downloads, communication app traffic increasing even as user numbers declined in some areas, and home internet usage showing particularly clear increases across the main affected areas.
True Corporation is incorporating these insights into communication behavior during emergency situations as another important component in understanding how usage patterns change during a crisis. The insights will contribute to the company’s ongoing network planning and management, enabling network operations to respond as effectively as possible to people’s communication needs when unexpected situations arise.
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