bigfarang

The internet provisions in Thailand are woefully inadequate, whether we are talking about connection technology, bandwidth or price. The price per MB at wholesale level is ludicrous in comparision to most other developing nations(70 000baht per month for a 512k leased line ISP charges). The monopoly CAT enjoys means that all ISP must route through Bang Rak (BKK) and pay a considerable premium to the CAT as a result. This adds thousands of baht per MB to any service providers bill. I have worked with Pacific Internet after giving True/TA the boot over a year ago (True are technically incompetent to the point of embarassement) and can recommend these guys if quality is what you're looking for...but the bandwidth is NOT cheap. My private 300kb connection running over ADSL from a Pacific Net leased line costs me 6000baht per month. But the bandwidth is consistent, with actual real world download speeds averaging 30kb per second.

155mb pipe from Phuket to BKK will support more users than has been suggested by other posters here, but it is still too little too late. An average 256k connection actually requires around 10% (25k) of the theoretical maximum to function properly. But even using this analysis it is patently obvious that 155mb will not meet current demand; particularly during periods of intensive use.

The real future (without CAT?) will be fibre optic connections. The tradegy here is that BKK and even the provinces already have thousands of km of fibre installed, in this sense they are way ahead of the UK etc. but it is not being used because of ignorance. They simply don't understand how to make it function profitably, so it remains unused whilst most people struggle with dial-up or ADSL over the existing PSTN.

As for VOIP - don't even go there! Ping times and packet loss make it non-viable for anything other than phoning friends and family. The CAT's got all the cream on this one.

Let them have their fun, without consideration or analysis of the consequences, it is only consistent with every other activity in the country. Moreover, let the politicians rant and rave unrealistic nonesense given that this is totally consistent with their every action in this country. And more fool us for bothering to even discuss this issue...especially myself.

When I first came to Tland as a backpacker, I had people offering to buy my passport in return for 50K THB (5 years ago on Khao San), later on people offered me UN driving licenses, more recently I have had offers for Belgian and French passports. Please understand I did not solicite such offers. So from personal experience I would have to agree that BKK is a hub of sorts. But like any hub it may be the convenience offered by the locale, rather than anything specific to Thailand that makes this so. Afterall this place is famous for fakes, copies and other nefarious activities...so what better place to set-up shop as a forger. Moreover these people have been fairly open about their activities - otherwise I would never have solicited in the first place.

Seems to be one more reason to clean up BKK, kick out as many dodgy types as poss and tighten visa regulations. Busting those guys at the airport was obviously done for sensationalism, but good luck to the authorities as newspaper inches count more than quiet enforcement if your're trying to re-invent BKK's image.