lomatopo

It looks like Ready are an MVNO for T-Mo. Should be OK for voice, text and at least 2G. 3G would depend on location. Assume you have factory-unlocked iPhone?

FWIW I use CAT/TrueMove H 3G, especially in those areas where they are the only 3G provider.

I almost always recommend CAT/TrueMove H first for visitors because they have the most coverage and the fewest customers.

I do not work for, nor have I ever worked for, DTAC or AIS.

All of my ThaiVisa posts come from a True (On-Line) IP address.

My comments re: T-Mo, DTAC, AIS and TrueMove H were more about speed performance. I typically get 3 Mbps/500 Kbps with TrueMove H 3G, with the others ~15 Mbps. Hence my ranking.

I don't consider this to be "Thai-bashing" anymore than the OP's initial post was "American-bashing"? Or his subsequent comments were "Norway-bashing"?

Like it or not, a Thai company is doing a good job and delivering what they promise, Dtac (Norway) and AIS (Singapore) can learn something from them!

TrueMove continues its six year unbroken streak of losing money, so one could argue that they may not be doing such a good job? Meanwhile AIS and DTAC continued their run of profitable quarters. Once TrueMove deals with their debt issue via the planned "infrastructure" fund, and ditches their ~ 18 millions legacy customers, they should, finally, be able to become profitable?

from the news:

True’s losses widen in Q2

I would guess there is currency exchange's near by on the 1st level that will be open.

Even though you are not checking/claiming any baggage you will still have to walk through the baggage claim area, as you make your way from Arriving Immigration to Customs. There will be currency exchange booths open in the baggage claim area when you arrive ~ 23:00 on DL.

There are probably a few hundred people short-timing it land-side at SBIA/BKK on any given evening, so you will not be alone. You could probably use Google to find the "secret spots" within the airport? Also, some people use a relatively inexpensive hotel nearby, if only to get refreshed after the 20+ hour journey, and to catch a little sleep.

The CIP lounge(s), is, as far as I know, in the international transit area, so not really an option for an I/D connection?

Thai women are smarter than the men. In most family businesses, it's the lady that controls the purse strings.

My personal observation..

This is de riguer in Matriarchal societies, like that here in Thailand - so not related to innate intelligence.

Did you ask your GF to divide 5 into 2, in Thai? Did she understand your question? I think they must learn fractions here in, what, M3?

If a Thai person asked me to divide five into two, in Thai, I would fail. Am I ignorant?

Thai students start to learn fractions on P-4.

Sent from my i-mobile IQ 6 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Oops, I meant P-3, not M-3.

There is a slim chance that 100 baht domestic PSC might be collected, assuming it wasn't paid on the original itinerary, if using the land-side check-in, vs. the mid-field transfer counter. I might try to get my BKK-USM boarding card at the transfer counter, then exit out? A few years ago, some carriers were collecting the 700 baht int'l PSC for people who exited at BKK, on an int'l connection. Lately, with so many automated check-in procedures, it can be challenging to collect this if it wasn't part of the original ticket.

A few years ago that would have been impossible in the US .

Meh. There have been relatively cost-effective pre-paid GSM voice services in the U.S. for the past ~ 10 years.

Mobile data is, of course, a bit more recent, but certainly available over the last ~ 5 years.

Probably moot as your SGS3 has only been in the market since what, 15 months ago?

Did you ask your GF to divide 5 into 2, in Thai? Did she understand your question? I think they must learn fractions here in, what, M3?

If a Thai person asked me to divide five into two, in Thai, I would fail. Am I ignorant?

Customs and Immigration may be done at the final airport in some cases.

Customs, yes, if at one of the six (6) eligible domestic airports. Arriving Immigration, no, that must be done at BKK.

In the U.S. we pay for both incoming and outgoing calls; here in Thailand we only pay for outgoing calls.

StraightTalk is part of TracFone (which is part of the Carlos Slim empire). TracFone is an MVNO for CDMA providers Sprint and Verizon. There are other Sprint and Verizon MVNOs.

Like many things here in Thailand, telecomms are quasi-government subsidized/price controlled, and competitively priced to address the market. Hard to compare, easy to contrast.

I believe your DTAC plan is heavily promoted/subsidized and linked to a 21,900 hardware purchase. An apple-apple comparison might be more like 899/999 baht,before 7% VAT?

I initially signed up to their 3g 2100 network (the "new"). The service was unusable at jomtien. Speed was slow as hell. Lots of calls to their call centre, tried different settongs, nothing helped. Switched to their "old" 3g net (900 band) and its working. My impression is that the 3g 2100 net is still work in progress here.

This seems odd. As an AIS/2100 customer you should be able to roam onto the legacy AIS/900 MHz GSM and 3G network, when/if you do not have AIS/2100 MHz coverage.

Suspect any number of issues: SIM, plan, provisioning, configuration contributed to your problem(s)? For those considering switching to AIS/2100, either from within AIS or from another service provider, I would suggest getting a new pre-paid AIS/2100 Freedom 3G SIM and trying out a daily or weekly plan. If it works acceptably then port out/in, if you want/need to keep your existing number. From within AIS, any full service shop should be able to port, even to an existing new pre-paid SIM.

If you can depends on your nationality as that determines if you will need a visa to leave the transit area or not.

If a UK national you should have no problems, just need your passport, arrival/departure card and boarding card. But check with ground staff at the airport first.

The OP's final destination is USM/Koh Samui; as this is a domestic location he will have to leave the transit area at some point.

If he doesn't have a valid visa, or is not eligible for a tourist visa exemption, he would probably be denied boarding in the U.K.

Seems stupid of Thai air that they are selling tickets that that include a transit with immigration, collecting luggage, Checking in, Passport control with only 90 minutes between flights.

Airlines set MCTs for various types of connections: I/D, D/I, etc. based on reasonable and historical patterns. MCTs are neither intelligent or stupid, they are what they are, usually measured in minutes. If the connection time is equal to or more than the published MCT then the itinerary can be ticketed. If it is less than the MCT then the ticket cannot be issued.

I think TG has a 75 minute MCT for I/D at SBIA/BKK, and with a flight later in the day they can accommodate mis-connects. Obviously the passenger could simply ticket the later flight, so net-net, nothing ends up being stupid.

I might familiarize myself with the layout of the airport and the various procedures. At Immigration, assuming long queues are encountered, I might seek out a TG official to assist in expediting clearing Immigration.

I see no reason why you cannot go land-side at BKK to meet your friend. Normally you would clear mid-field Immigration, and proceed to Concourse A, as a CIP passenger, possibly stopping to get a boarding card at one the the transfer desks. But you could exit out after mid-field Immigration (I think), or just use the normal Arriving Immigration Hall (east, VIP, West), and exit out onto Level 2.

If you did not get a boarding card, for BKK-USM in the U.K., then you will have to check in with your carrier on Level 4, then clear security to get into the domestic air-side area/Concourse A.

http://www.suvarnabhumiairport.com/passenger_guide_transfer_inter2domestic_noBD_en.php

Can you share any details re: your itinerary? Especially any details re: carrier(s) and final domestic destination. While it is possible to interline bags through to some domestic destinations, I'm not certain you can do this with such a long 'connection'?

I am pretty sure you will have to clear Arriving Immigration, claim your checked luggage, exit through Customs, where you will be on the Arrivals or Level 2. Maybe as early as 04:30 you could proceed up to Level 4 (Departures) to check in for your domestic flight, and clear security to get into the Domestic Concourse A.

In between you could head down to Level B, where there are some eateries - not sure what the opening hours are there - or to the Magic Point Food Court on Level 1/Door 10, or to the land-side eateries on Level 3.

http://www.suvarnabhumiairport.com/passenger_guide_transfer_inter2domestic_noBD_en.php

Currency exchange services should be available; especially in the baggage claim area upon arrival.

I'm not certain you can or should stay in the international transit area, so could not avail yourself of some of the possibilities others have mentioned?

For smoking you'll have to go outside the main passenger terminal building, on level 1.

I'd like to see Comcast offered but understand there may not be a huge demand from others.

A quick search indicates that Samsung may announce the Note II at IFA in Berlin on 4 Sep. It can be challenging to determine regional, localized availability based on what appears to be a rumor of an announcement?

I'd say best case would be availability here in Thailand of localized product within 60 - 90 days? Not sure which CPU, maybe look at the history with the Note and Note II, to see what the regional variants were with regard to embedded technology?

I return to the U.S quite often, maybe every 60 days or so. I continue to use T-Mobile pre-paid, since I only stay for a few days I susbcribe to a $3/day unlimited voice, text and data plan. I get 3G from T-Mo on re-farmed AT&T spectrum (1900 MHz). For me it works really well. If I were staying longer I would probably get service from StraightTalk ($ 45/ month, unlimited voice, text and 2 GB of 3G, month to month, on AT&T or T-Mo).

For me T-Mo 3G service in the U.S. is equivalent to DTAC and AIS (2100) and a lot better than TrueMove H.

Well honestly, other than a buffet or prix fixe, most people do pay different prices for their meals. I mean, isn't that why they have a menu? With different prices for different items, sometimes based on cost?

Some airlines, like LCCs. do operate on the "buffet" model. Many/most offer discounts for children.

Not sure what the point here is, other than to say that you've just discovered that airline pricing is somewhat unique, with the same perishable commodity, an Economy seat, having as many as 15 different prices. Some, but not all, of the price differences can be explained with the actual content, while others are a bit more challenging to explain.

Yes, given the recent changes giving Thais 15 days in Japan without a visa, the massive number of cheap fares, the number of tour operators/consolidators and the decent number of winter resorts, Japan seems like the ideal destination.

Attention Women: Don’t Date an NSA Analyst

Billions of dollars in super-secret, extraordinarily complex equipment designed to intercept and store all kinds of communications — and some NSA analysts couldn’t resist using it to spy on their girlfriends.

http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/08/24/attention-women-dont-date-an-nsa-analyst/