Tercera_Edad

So no second or maybe even third VoIP shop in Pattaya? And no-one interested in knowing where 'my' shop is? Not everyone is in a position to use Mytello or Line, I would think.

Skype was very practical, in fact irreplaceable. And to my knowledge, there actually isn't a replacement, although some providers claim to come close. Yet I'm ready to go with the times and adapt my phone habits accordingly. With one exception where it can't really be done - wonder if you know this situation too?: We need to contact a business abroad that is (as is nowadays unavoidable) hiding behind a hotline, and after calling them you need to first beat a lengthy voice menu, then try to reach a human that feels 'responsible', and that you can communicate with - not always easy, and often time (money) consuming. Oh, and did I mention nerve-wrecking? Anyhow, I don't want to spend 'serious money' during this phase, so the idea was to find a shop that (also) offers VoIP. By coincidence, I actually found one, but they didn't seem to have many customers, so I wonder if they will survive? Would any other such shops be known to you?

bamnutsak: Obviously, I don't know who you are, but what you said and how you said it gave me the impression that you might be more than another participant in this forum - maybe even some kind of official insider. Which could also mean that you can see the issue from both sides ('east & west' - cultural term). As I see it, what we have with NBTC is classic official thai (asian) thinking/acting. A country that tries to approach first-world status should understand that, while traditions should and can not be totally discarded, excesses are a millstone around one's neck. What we're going through with NBTC's mobile phone rules (national 'list' in contradiction to global rules, and what follows from it), and the way they handle it at the expense of normal users (thus not the criminals they pretend to aim at), could indicate just that. The idea would be to suggest them to grasp this situation as an opportunity to learn some of the things they don't know yet but should - like replacing their traditional authoritarian rules (as they interprete them), made worse by their paramount tendency to 'avoid losing face' (which, by the way, they actually have lost the moment they started lying, then repeating to [mix of] lie/remain silent, and in an authoritarian way), but with what would be considered in accordance with the rule of law? What about sending a few western observers to weed out their outdated traditions and help them reach the year 2026? I really would not want to lose already my second phone (exactly the same thing happened 2 1/2 years ago), just because those people consider their evil ways so important (to be preserved into eternity) that any other options have no chance of ever getting considered.

Rushing to conclusions?

Networking? No, but tethering: With my Doro 7010, I can access the internet with my laptop (when no wifi available) via the phone's 4G modem - the two connected via fx BT. I didn't want android but this function, so with a limited selection available on the market (at the time of purchase), this is one of the few that will deliver. In a nutshell: It's a standard 4G phone, thus a slave of the network like most others; thus no 'extras' that would allow it to bypass the network. If this is what the oversuspicious state assumes? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doro_(company) Sometimes I can't help thinking that the GSMA (or whoever can do it) should block Thailand (and thus its networks) from participating in this system for a few days. That might help them to reach some new insights and consequently a more cooperative attitude.

...or having it sent - should be the same thing. Except: Here it isn't Has anyone made some personal experience of their own? We need to insert a short preface, to make sure as possible that we are aware of a few facts, such that we can actually talk about the same issue. So: Europe developped the GSM (or 2G = second generation) system late in the '80s, followed by UMTS - 3G, then LTE / 4G. So it's a standards body there (ETSI in this case) taking the lead, assisted by the industry, to make sure things will be as expected by all players, and truly compatible, thus technically and legally interoperable. This system has been incredibly successful the world over, today being used in virtually all countries of the world. In practice, it also means for you you can buy an appliance whereever you wish to, and you can use it whereever you want to. And right from the beginning, we have got a more and more global situation in this field, ie one where former national rules no longer really apply. If we largely agree here, we should be in a position to deal with the issue as indicated above. Throughout global travels, I've made the experience that carrying such a phone across the border is no problem at all. They won't even ask any questions. Even the few times I had one sent through the postal service, it caused no customs problems. The same seems to be true for Thailand - except, only for the first half: Carrying a phone over the border at the airport is unproblematic. Which it should be, because with around 160'000 daily pax at BKK alone, of which 3/4 have a phone = 120'000 phones, anything else would be unfeasable. But that doesn't keep thai officialdom - NBTC and those acting on behalf ot them - from treating the odd single phone sent via mail/courier as if it were a threat to national security. They insist on you applying for an import licence, for which to obtain you must make sure that your phone is listed in an official 'list' of theirs. If it isn't contained there, then there's no way. Again - while the same phone is carried over the border in its thousands next to them, but never mind. Of course, to assume that the list is not complete, or that a national list to judge a global system is a contradiction in itself, is per se not a valid argument in a system like the one in Thailand. Has anyone managed to overcome this hurdle?

Ralf001 Thanks, this seemed to work - to a degree, at least. Yet I gave it up, will stick to what I know works well and reject s-phone aficionados. topt Yours sounds like some kind of trick question. You may have read it before (different thread), and I will use the opportunity again to state, that american products (or such 'emulating' what is usual there) may be 'innovative' (manic-raging innovation, to be exact), but they simply lack the quality that excels products from certain european nations. And in this context, Skype vs Line (both some kind of messengers & co) appears like a suitable parable. - I will return to my work now, won't follow this thread, not least because I'm not notified of new posts.

That might be the case - or it might not. I would actually have preferred to meet someone who himself has gone through this situation. But it doesn't seem to be my lucky day. And that day started the moment the new owners chose to shut down Skype, which was simply perfect...

...a 'smartphone' required for that - and quite consciously don't want one .) Is this setting known to any of the honoured forum members? I read that it would be sufficient to do the registration using an s-phone, from then on rely on the laptop: https://help.line.me/line/desktop/?contentId=50001182 (pls copy/paste, can't see how to produce with reasonable time effort a clickable link) This poses the question if a combination of my data and someone else's phone number is practically doable? Of course, one does not want to henceforth become some kind of 'digital twin' - the phone owner receiving messages directed to me. Another option could be to use a SIM of mine for this process in his phone, but who could be willing to perform a 10-min SIM swap? Would there be a realistic workaround, and what could it consist of?

So: It's still possible, although not quite what it used to be - yet possibly an interesting alternative for those who dispose of nothing better https://nc.ntplc.co.th/cat/category/282/294/CAT+|+phonenet+thaicard?lang=en_EN I won't follow up here, think those interested now have what it takes to find the rest - bye!

Thanks topt, will try to evaluate later. Spontaneous reaction from the experience already gathered: not too confident. It just isn't european quality Briggsy: I did. You could re-read the OP, while in general concentrating and following the logic - that could have been absent during the first round That said, you all focus on (alleged) alternatives to Skype, but my starting point were the services by CAT - and possibly others. No news about that?

Since Skype has ceased to function, people are (or should be) in dear need of an alternative - thus access to VoIP for calls to phones anywhere in the world. Did you get it? Most 'alternatives' touted do not offer this feature, or severely restricted. This was european no-nonsense 'kvalitet' again, against (sorry, must say) american bling-bling trash quality. Why is it important? If you ever tried to call the hotline drones at a business back home (thanks to everyone following the 'american role model', this is now your only option - and it will get worse, prepare for the real robots), your cavalcade starts with the phone menu answering - that's the moment the counting starts. Assumed you're lucky, once you fifteen minutes later reach a (would-be) human, how much have you paid for nerve-wrecking, unmutable on-hold music? Using Skype, this phase could be lived through with reasonable ease - including lowering the volume. I came to remember that, many years ago, CAT used to offer walk-in customers a service to make international phone calls for rather economic fees. Is this still the case today? Or what alternatives might there be? I would think of some cybercafés or business places that offer such a service via landline phones, or via some VoIP provider. I don't have to emphasise that mobile calls are far too expensive for lengthy foreign hotline calls? Any ideas? And I won't apologise to american readers taking offence. You lot have a much higher responsibility in how this hectic global 'innovation' shtick keeps running than you seem to have realised - so letting some justified steam off, that you are invited to take constructively .) PS Whatever happened to customer rights and their advocates?

That was all quite interesting, thank you. Even the dozen green bananas I bought last thursday seem to be under the impression: Today I found that the first one is turning yellow - no, I haven't quite given up on them yet .)

Crossy That sounds like an interesting alternative. Upnotover Duely noted, but I'm not prepared to suffer that much for a few bananas.

A picture says more than a 1000 words

Ok, thank you, will have a look. Yet I think someone who would specialise in selling cavendish bananas here, like the ones we're used to from western supermarkets, could become a millionaire - and possibly not only in THB

Hm. If you have supplies, would you be willing to sell me some? In what part of Pattaya are you?

Not a joke. It's a side effect of the local banana scene. Sometimes, bananas not only come green, but they stay that way, even after days. I keep reading that all that is needed is a bag to place them into, however it must be of paper. But who in Pattaya would sell their food stuff in paper bags? Not anyone known to me.

Well, this prophylactic reaction is probably based on the experience made these last 25 years or so, because 'everyone' seems to blindly follow the 'american role model' - which inevitably means everyone on the globe must have a phone they call 'smart', and any additional thinking (?) departs from there. Good to hear that you are apparently different. That said, I intend to take my leave of this thread now, I wouldn't expect any more exciting developments to take place here? Bye

Thanks, just saw your reply - I don't receive any notifications. I use my laptop all the time, do not need one they call 'smart' - either via wifi, or if not available, through my 4G phone's modem (tethering), as can be seen in the video quoted earlier. Presently, this arrangement serves my needs, no real need to change anything. But I'll keep your info in store, just in case

Right, I happened to find this path a few minutes after posting. Still learning, haven't developped a scientific approach yet... Thanks a lot

(I checked several GPS-related threads but couldn't find a suitable reply) I have tried to buy a GPS receiver for my laptop, by the looks something like in the annex, and went to Power Buy, but to no avail. Is there any realistic chance to get such a thing here in Pattaya at all, or is it best to just import it from a western sales source, even if it means having to go to the customs post office and pay duties?

Ok, I felt audacious and just sent USSD code *777*7503# That was the one where the SMS message mentioned earlier said (gist of it) Want 25 THB for 1.5 GB during 24 h? Press *777*7503# Few seconds later, I got back a number of commercial texts, then the one that would count (my assessment), reading 5G on-top package 25 THB You have got internet 1.5 GB valid for 24 h Excess usage will be charged as your main package Unfortunately, I forgot to check my balance prior to this operation, but if my memory feeling serves as an indication, then I would say: The 25-THB charge has been deducted from my previously available balance. My spontaneous reaction would be: That seems to make sense. I could live with that. 'Who dares wins'? That should do it for now. I will archive your second post - this one https://www.ais.th/en/consumers/package/prepaid/add-ons/home Nothing much has changed in that regard. You can just use your SIM base package which will deduct [...] - until I may no longer be happy with this new arrangement - presently it should meet my requirements. Thanks for jump starting me, it really seems I sometimes need it

[I will check your recent message {thankfully received} later, can we continue from our previous stage now that I have done work based on it?] So I just provoked the time-out situation, and after several minutes of swift 4G surfing, I received this text from AIS (minor editing for my personal reading ease): Today you have used internet for 10 baht. If you used until 49 baht you can enjoy unlimited internet until midnight. Buy internet 5G Max speed 25 baht 1.5 GB for 24 h press *777*7503# or 99 B 4 GB 7 days press *777*75502# Could we try to parse this mystery message? Today you have used internet for 10 baht: d'accord If you used until 49 baht you can enjoy unlimited internet until midnight: Huh? Buy internet 5G Max speed...: That's probably irrelevant. The rest seems to be clear; in my words: Want 25 THB for 1.5 GB during 24 h? Press *777*7503# Want 99 THB for 4.0 GB during 7 days? Press *777*75502# Finally, I do not use a 'smart' phone, but a 'feature' phone https://www.digitec.ch/de/s1/product/doro-7010-280-4096-mb-3-mpx-4g-tastenhandy-12236694 Also, I do not use the phone for surfing (would be technically possible), but only its modem, to connect my laptop via 4G to the web (so-called tethering) - the link between laptop and phone modem is established through either USB cable, or wireless (BT, or a kind of wifi). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwPb_5kbm10 Does this have impact on my ability to follow the SMS instructions? And wouldn't I have to register a credit card with the provider, to start with? Or how else am I supposed to make the payment?

Yes, I understand I will finally have to try and advance by trial & error, short of a learning alternative here. Thanks for the nudge