Phone internet access

[banglay]

Hello too All.

 

At the moment I have a unlimited monthly internet connection to my home and run  a smart phone on a top up pay you go  (expensive when using internet)

I am now thinking of cancelling the internet to my home and using my smart phone (tethered to my PC) as my main source of internet (unlimited) .

 

I would be interested in hear and getting advice from anyone who has gone this way for their internet in the Pattaya area.I will need a minimum of 5Mbps so I can stream live TV 

 

questions .

1...Which provider do you use

2...What plan are you  on

3...What download/upload speed do you get.

4...How reliable is it ?

5... Cost per week or month ?

 

Mods please leave in Pattaya forum I live in this area and not interest in other areas.

 

Thank you in advance :-)

[Rimmer]

OK will leave in Pattaya Forum,  Should you find the replies are not enough or need more information we can always move to mobile devices for you later  

[johng]

I recently got this Dtac SIM  from their shop on 3rd floor Central Festival the Beach

 

1899 baht  for 1 year 2Mbps unlimited internet     over this weekend it rained and my ToT

ADSL went down     Dtac SIM worked fine.

 

They have 1Mbps and 4Mbps ( maybe faster options too)

[johng]

3 hours ago, banglay said:

I will need a minimum of 5Mbps so I can stream live TV 

I just saw that bit...I think your asking quite a bit from a mobile service 5Mbps video streaming is very bandwidth intensive....it wont be cheap

[KneeDeep]

AIS 6 Mbps over six months 1926 baht incl. Equalling 321 baht per month

AIS 6 Mbps over twelve months  3745 incl.  Equalling 312.1 baht per month.

 

Buy a day package to test the availability at your location.

 

 

[johng]

13 minutes ago, KneeDeep said:

AIS 6 Mbps over six months

Is that  "post paid"  or "pre paid"  ?

[banglay]

38 minutes ago, johng said:

I recently got this Dtac SIM  from their shop on 3rd floor Central Festival the Beach

 

1899 baht  for 1 year 2Mbps unlimited internet     over this weekend it rained and my ToT

ADSL went down     Dtac SIM worked fine.

 

They have 1Mbps and 4Mbps ( maybe faster options too)

I am with ToT and my ADSL went down Friday afternoon in the storm and it's still not back on .Been told it might be off for a few more days yet ....that's one reason I thinking of changing over ...I have 2 smart phones one Dtac and the other 1 2 call . both still working  Dtac 3G pinging at 5+ Mbps  & 1 2 call 4G at 14+ Mbps (but it burns up the credits at a stupid rate )

[KhunBENQ]

38 minutes ago, KneeDeep said:

AIS 6 Mbps over six months 1926 baht incl. Equalling 321 baht per month

AIS 6 Mbps over twelve months  3745 incl.  Equalling 312.1 baht per month.

 

Buy a day package to test the availability at your location.

 

 

That sounds very reasonable.

6 Mbit/s should be enough for usual streaming purposes.

At least 720p youtube, maybe even 1080p (not sure).

As has already been asked: possible on prepaid?

 

Edited April 30, 2018 by KhunBENQ

[johng]

I am with ToT and my ADSL went down Friday afternoon in the storm and it's still not back on .Been told it might be off for a few more days yet ....that's one reason I thinking of changing over ...I have 2 smart phones one Dtac and the other 1 2 call . both still working  Dtac 3G pinging at 5+ Mbps  & 1 2 call 4G at 14+ Mbps (but it burns up the credits at a stupid rate )

Sounds like maybe something got struck by lightning...lucky for me I went to my local ToT office this morning and told them my line was down all weekend...a couple of hours latter it was back up again...they called me and tried to convince me to "go fiber" I said maybe next time.

The Dtac SIM is a one off pre paid unlimited internet for 1 year SIM..only had it a few days but so far so good.

[KittenKong]

I find that True unlimited 4Mbs 4G is fine for video streaming. They do a yearly package for 2500B+VAT or around 2000B all-in if you buy the SIM on Lazada. Both prepaid of course.
Most Thai providers seem to have something similar, but none seem to advertise it much if at all, especially in English. Even their shops dont seem to know much about it and have to trawl through masses of flyers to find the offer. Strange.

[KittenKong]

they called me and tried to convince me to "go fiber" I said maybe next time.

Dont put it off. Fibre is intrinsically much more reliable than xDSL, but you do need to be sure that it really is fibre to the home and not just some sort of VDSL which is widely sold as "fibre" here.

[johng]

3 hours ago, KittenKong said:

Fibre is intrinsically much more reliable than xDSL, but you do need to be sure that it really is fibre to the home

My next door neighbor has it...yes fiber all the way to the converter in his apartment, however he complains it is slower than the  1Mbps WiFi that I let him share from my router ( don't know how that's possible but that's what he says)...that plus the not being able to put the fiber modem into Bridge ( Bit) mode..well maybe if they feel like letting you  use your own router I'm a bit reluctant to change something that works ok...ish, especially if I can't use my own router.

[KneeDeep]

8 hours ago, johng said:

Is that  "post paid"  or "pre paid"  ?

 

Prepaid. 

[KneeDeep]

*777*7283# for 6 Mbps 6 month package. 1926 baht inclusive.

*777*7284# for 6 Mbps 12 month package. 3745 baht inclusive.

 

Exclusive for Thaivisa 

 

 

[KneeDeep]

If you prefer a click-through;

 

http://m.ais.co.th/GAHPdw4FP for six month 6 Mbps package.

 

http://m.ais.co.th/j7HJd1oio for twelve month 6 Mbps package.

[KneeDeep]

8 hours ago, banglay said:

I am with ToT and my ADSL went down Friday afternoon in the storm and it's still not back on .Been told it might be off for a few more days yet ....that's one reason I thinking of changing over ...I have 2 smart phones one Dtac and the other 1 2 call . both still working  Dtac 3G pinging at 5+ Mbps  & 1 2 call 4G at 14+ Mbps (but it burns up the credits at a stupid rate )

 

Why not purchase a package? 

15 GB full speed over 7 days for 160.50 baht; https://m.ais.co.th/BBHzgKVu8

or a 6 Mbps unlimited data pack for a week for 202.23 baht; http://m.ais.co.th/j7HqAm8io

[KittenKong]

My next door neighbor has it...yes fiber all the way to the converter in his apartment, however he complains it is slower than the 1Mbps WiFi that I let him share from my router ( don't know how that's possible but that's what he says)

Then I would say that either he has a fault on the line or he has chosen a particularly slow provider.

But neither will alter the question of reliability, which was my comment. Fibre does not suffer in storms etc. in the same way that copper wires do.

[johng]

Then I would say that either he has a fault on the line or he has chosen a particularly slow provider.

 

Unfortunately we have

( the model T Ford ) choice of internet provider in this building ,any provider as long as its ToT

 

I agree that fiber should be more reliable and certainly faster..however I'm not so sure about the "storm resilience"

as half the equipment is mounted in metal boxes fixed to the electricity pylons and the local "exchange" is packed into an old ToT telephone booth guarded night and day by the motorcycle taxi gang,some soi dogs and mysterious meat on a stick vendors.

[emoji1] [emoji14]

 

[KittenKong]

I agree that fiber should be more reliable and certainly faster..however I'm not so sure about the "storm resilience"

Copper wires require a good electrical connection to work. They are very prone to corrosion and water damage, and they can conduct electricity from lightning strikes over large distances and that electricity can damage other switching equipment or even your modem.
Fibre on the other hand is inert and does not conduct electricity. It can work for years underwater and does not corrode. This is what makes it more reliable, and it is not surprising that it is used for transoceanic communication links.

Yes, of course fibre can be damaged by someone with a shovel, or by a vehicle hitting a junction box, or by a hungry rat, but it wont be damaged by normal day-to-day conditions in the way that copper invariably is. When left undisturbed fibre, and fibre connections, could in theory work indefinitely, even in damp conditions. You will never get that from regular metal phone cables. About the only thing that fibre is sensitive to in the domestic setting is accidental kinking, which should be avoided. But even if fibre does get kinked it can be repaired quite easily with the correct equipment, and the repair should be good for decades. So it's worth having if you can get it, especially as here the price is generally the same for fibre or VDSL.

[banglay]

Update :-   I have just paid for a unlimited internet (Dtac ) at 1Mbps  100 baht for 5 days ...just to see what I can stream etc and the very lowest end Mbps....quite surprised  Youtube streamed and was at a good quality ....streamed live TV from the UK and again good quality and no buffering ....tried KODI but to slow of a bandwidth to work ....

Next I'll try 5Mbps  and keep going up until I find what works best for me .

But I think ToT supplying my internet to my home is a thing of the past ...I will be going totally 4G ... Bye bye  WIFI router... hello smart phone connectivity for me ...

 

[Crossy]

24 minutes ago, banglay said:

But I think ToT supplying my internet to my home is a thing of the past ...I will be going totally 4G ... Bye bye  WIFI router... hello smart phone connectivity for me ...

I'll continue staggering along on my 200Mb fibre thanks 

 

Yes, it's ToT and yes, it does achieve that speed.

 

Using phone data is a great backup, but for streaming HD video?

 

[Thailand J]

On 4/30/2018 at 12:41 AM, banglay said:

I am with ToT and my ADSL went down Friday afternoon in the storm and it's still not back on .Been told it might be off for a few more days yet ....that's one reason I thinking of changing over ...I have 2 smart phones one Dtac and the other 1 2 call . both still working  Dtac 3G pinging at 5+ Mbps  & 1 2 call 4G at 14+ Mbps (but it burns up the credits at a stupid rate )

I switched from TOT ADSL to True fiber optic, I will never go back.

Now I get 50/20 Mbps. When I am away from home i get  free 4G 4Mbps on my phone. Also a TV box with mostly Thai programs in HD. All for 799B/ month.

Since installation in January, I have had no problems with internet. The TV box needed reboot not a big deal.

[KittenKong]

I have just paid for a unlimited internet (Dtac ) at 1Mbps 100 baht for 5 days ...just to see what I can stream etc and the very lowest end Mbps....quite surprised Youtube streamed and was at a good quality ....streamed live TV from the UK and again good quality and no buffering

I am surprised that TV should stream successfully from the UK at such a low bitrate. I was not able to do it on a 1Mbs True 4G package, though it works fine on their 4Mbs package.

[banglay]

20 minutes ago, Crossy said:

I'll continue staggering along on my 200Mb fibre thanks 

 

Yes, it's ToT and yes, it does achieve that speed.

 

Using phone data is a great backup, but for streaming HD video?

 

A 2 hour HD blueray movie still take 2 hours to watch  whether you have 2000 Mbps or 10 Mbps ... the only difference is you can download it is seconds ..Mine will take 10 maybe 15 minutes ...just enough time to make a pot of coffee and a sandwich .. and still the 2 hr movie take 2 hrs to watch   .unless your 200Mbps makes you superhuman with ultra fast movie watching skills   lol 

Edited May 1, 2018 by banglay

[Thailand J]

Without home internet I will sorely miss my laptop screen, window browers, the full size key board and the mouse.

 

I  would much prefer to download the movies and watch it on large screen TV.. rather not have to watch a 2 hour movie on a phone....

 

 

[banglay]

15 minutes ago, Thailand J said:

Without home internet I will sorely miss my laptop screen, window browers, the full size key board and the mouse.

 

I  would much prefer to download the movies and watch it on large screen TV.. rather not have to watch a 2 hour movie on a phone....

 

 

I watch all my movies/TV on my 52' TV and I use a 32'TV and wireless keyboard & mouse for surfing the net  and  tether my phone to my laptop to access the internet  just like you would use a router and WIFI 

[NutsMango]

A condo where I stay for couple of weeks doesn't have wifi so I bought 6Mbps from True.

 

I didn't expect much, but it is as good as any other connection I had before in Thailand. Only torrent download doesn't work.

[Thailand J]

Tethering your phone to PC/TV does give you the feel of home internet. You won't miss anything then.

 

For me I usually download multiple copies of a movie from different uploaders, mux the best video with the best audio, and play it on a media player with a 55" TV , an amp and surround sound tower speakers.

 

 

 

 

 

[Jdietz]

All these x Mbps services will have a data transfer limit though, after which they will fall back to 'unusable' speeds (enough to check your email)

So don't expect to be streaming 24/7 on these things.

Do check if they are enough for your usage.

 

[KittenKong]

All these x Mbps services will have a data transfer limit though, after which they will fall back to 'unusable' speeds (enough to check your email)

So don't expect to be streaming 24/7 on these things.

Actually the whole point of the packages that I and others mentioned is that they dont have any sort of cap apart from the speed. You get 1Mbs or 4Mbs or whatever you have paid for for the entire duration of your package which in some cases can be 12 months.

That said, there are many other packages that do have a data cap as you mention and those should be avoided.