International Fiber Speeds: 3BB Vs. Competitors etc.

[ElephantEgo]

Hi I am in Phuket with the 3bb Package at 700 THB. I noticed my connection is slower than when I was living in my previous house with the same package, in the same town (right next to the university).

 

Therefore I am hoping to upgrade and get a faster speed. However I called 3BB to ask, and they said that the speeds of upgraded packages are only guaranteed speeds for WITHIN Thailand. They NO LONGER offer higher international speed packages (they used to).

 

I asked if an upgrade would add to the speed globally, they said "a little" bit which basically means nothing? And 99% of the websites and servers I visit are hosted outside of Thailand. So I guess there is little point in upgrading?

Do any alternative BB providers offer good or guaranteed international speeds? Anyone have experience with comparing Fiber speeds in Phuket among providers? Or any good insights into this situation?

[bearpolar]

I've tried most over the years in phuket and have had bad experience with all of them except 3bb.

 

outside thailand stuff only.

 

 

bad speeds today because friday i guess. That's the 200/200 plan.. for some reason im uncapped.

 

if i had to switch i'd probably get AIS, its not bad and ToT is total aids.

Edited September 6, 2019 by bearpolar

[ElephantEgo]

This is confusing! I Pay 750 per month which means I guess I am on the same package of you for 200/200 speeds but look how slow my connection is:

 

International Tests:

 

Thailand test fromm 3bb Website:

https://speedtest.3bb.co.th/

 

I also thought 3BB is a great option among ISP's here but now I am a bit confused.... I guess my best option is to upgrade my package and then test again?

[bearpolar]

Upgrading doesnt change the infrastructure from your house.

 

if you get 200/200 on 3bb then theres nothing wrong and it's just the international link. Some days it's pretty bad but most days its fine.

 

Also your testmynet is in texas, the server sucks. i got 21 download and 51 upload(i had 100 but it slowed down for the last 1mb)

i just did the japan test and got 

 257.2 Mbps

 176.2 Mbps

 

https://testvitesse.videotron.ca/index-en.html

 

that one is really good for the download, it's always going to have a lot of BW and it's pretty much the worst routing in the world to get to. If you get slow speeds there, its your wifi/computer not keeping up. You should get 50-70mbps if you are in good shape.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

18 hours ago, JakeR said:

I asked if an upgrade would add to the speed globally, they said "a little" bit which basically means nothing? And 99% of the websites and servers I visit are hosted outside of Thailand. So I guess there is little point in upgrading?

 

I did a lot of testing on that exact same point earlier this year with my 3BB fiber connection at home in BKK....  Because, the vast majority of my internet use also is international and/or back to my home country in the U.S.

 

Tested the 500 Mbps plan I originally had against a variety of different speed tests and connections back to the U.S.  Then downgraded my 3BB service to their 200 Mbps fiber service, and ran exactly the same array of tests at the same time of the day...

 

Result: absolutely no meaningful difference between the 200 and 500 Mbps 3BB plans for regular browsing and downloading and streaming connections to the U.S. (The one area that I did not test in those comparisons was multi-thread torrenting, since I don't really do any of that).

 

Also, be aware, that to really test what the actual capacity of your internet connection is, you need to be using an ethernet connection to your router instead of wifi. Because, even with a fast AC wifi standard connection, there's automatically going to be a dropoff in speed compared to Gigabit ethernet. 

 

And for your ethernet connection, you want to make sure the router and PC connections are both Gigabit instead of regular LAN (100 Mbps) connections. Otherwise, again, any LAN element in your hardware chain would slow down your fiber connection.

Edited September 7, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Pib]

I have an AIS 300Mb plan.  Periodically they will send me a one day free upgrade to 1000Mb speed which sometimes I take advantage of.  When I do international speed testing comparing the 300Mb and 1000Mb plan the speed difference is nothing to a maybe just a few percent higher international.   

 

Like say I was getting 150Mb to foreign location XYZ under the 300Mb plan....on the 1000Mb plan to the same foreign location XYZ it would be the same 150Mb speed or maybe just a little more like around 160Mb which is not even be noticeable to most internet/computer usage tasks....and definitely not worth the monthly plan cost increase.

[KhunBENQ]

14 minutes ago, Pib said:

it would be the same 150Mb speed or maybe just a little more like around 160Mb which is not even be noticeable to most internet/computer usage tasks....and definitely not worth the monthly plan cost increase.

Someone had to say it.

I am fed up about this unreal "slow" internet threads.

I have a 100/100 plan and no idea what I could win with a higher plan.

Some updates on the PC in 30 sec instead of 60?

 

And my mobile has a max WiFi connection speed of 65 Mbit/s at 2.4 GHz and 135 Mbit/s at 5 GHz. Speedtest result at 2.4 GHz reach is below (of course).

(sure the latest high end devices might be faster)

 

The ISPs must jump for joy selling/cashing in 500+ plans to people connecting devices via WiFi

[Captain 776]

I have BBB and was paying for 100 Mbps service.

When 200 Mbps became available, I went to upgrade, they said they upgraded all the existing 100 Mbps services to 200 Mbps for the same price.

When I do a speed check, I will be anywhere from 100-240 Mbps.

For example.....if you pay for 100, you are lucky to get 80 at your house many things effect the speed.......length of cable from the source to your house, the condition of the cable, how many splices are in it, how many amplifiers are on the line..........so if you have 80% or more of the speed you are paying for......you are good.

The highest I ever saw was 247.

 

BUT.........I swear they play with the speed.

Sometimes I have been at 50-60.......I have my wife call them and they send techs out and it will then be 200 Mbps +.

Do they adjust the speed up......in the office before techs get to the house?  I have no idea.

I think........they adjust the bandwith to meet peak times.

Many people are not aware of speed test or how to do it or what the results mean and as long as it is working, no one is going to know or complain if they have the 100 they are paying for or they have 40-50.

As long as the Youtube they are watching plays thru without starting and stopping.

[ICECOOL]

CAT offer commercial packages that guarantee international bandwidth. Start 1200 baht per month. 

[ElephantEgo]

Although the offer on their website is in Thai only, I see the prices/speeds guaranteed are not too competitive.

 

Well thanks for sharing everyone, I guess I should stay on 200/200 3bb and not bother to upgrade then.  Maybe I will test my neighbor's True 1 gigabyte connection and see if its better...

[Satcommlee]

International bandwidth with a much lower sharing ratio (contention) is available at a premium.. I use it for corporate VPN and despite its high cost is rock solid and a lot better compared to non-SME package.

 

[ElephantEgo]

Thanks for sharing! Its good to know and consider....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On 9/8/2019 at 12:57 AM, Satcommlee said:

International bandwidth with a much lower sharing ratio (contention) is available at a premium.. I use it for corporate VPN and despite its high cost is rock solid and a lot better compared to non-SME package.

 

 

I looked and couldn't find any mention of SME / fixed IP plans/pricing on the 3BB website.... Do you have a link to where they're showing such info?

 

[Satcommlee]

Its an old package, was originally 30/15 Mbps or something like that 4 or 5 years ago and they kept upgrading the speed for free.

 

You are right, its  does not seem to be available on the website. Maybe talking to them will help.

 

 

 

 

[wgdanson]

On 9/7/2019 at 10:05 AM, Pib said:

Periodically they will send me a one day free upgrade to 1000Mb speed which sometimes I take advantage of. 

And do what may I ask.

[Pib]

4 hours ago, wgdanson said:

And do what may I ask.

The thrill of doing a 1Gb speedtest....the thrill of pulling up a Bangkok Post page in a half of a blink of an eye vs one blink....bragging rights....just to get a freebie...all kinds of awesome things like that.  Then after that one day of freebie 1Gb speed I fall back to my humdrum 300Mb speed....left only with the fond memories of my 24 hours on 1Gb speed.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, Pib said:

The thrill of doing a 1Gb speedtest....the thrill of pulling up a Bangkok Post page in a half of a blink of an eye vs one blink....bragging rights....just to get a freebie...all kinds of awesome things like that.  Then after that one day of freebie 1Gb speed I fall back to my humdrum 300Mb speed....left only with the fond memories of my 24 hours on 1Gb speed.

 

You should do, and post the specific screen cap results on, some 1GB international speed test results for your AIS connection, when you get those one day perks.

 

Edited September 13, 2019 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[wgdanson]

2 hours ago, Pib said:

The thrill of doing a 1Gb speedtest....the thrill of pulling up a Bangkok Post page in a half of a blink of an eye vs one blink....bragging rights....just to get a freebie...all kinds of awesome things like that.  Then after that one day of freebie 1Gb speed I fall back to my humdrum 300Mb speed....left only with the fond memories of my 24 hours on 1Gb speed.

But still only the same amount of money in Bkk Bank.   LOL

[parryhandy]

3bb international connections gone to <deleted> again for me. It had been ok for 2 months now i'm lucky to get 5mbps so my iptv is constantly freezing , sigh. 

I'm on the  100/100 package because the higher packages were just as bad.This is  in Khon kaen.

Edited September 13, 2019 by parryhandy

[Pib]

2 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

 

You should do, and post the specific screen cap results on, some 1GB international speed test results for your AIS connection, when you get those one day perks.

 

No can do....those are "private" thrills.

[bearpolar]

the only reason your iptv is freezing is that routers and android boxes are very slow, so any bad day for the network and you get ufcked.

 

I do almost full speed on my VPN directly on the computer but if i put the vpn  on the router or android box, i barely get 5mbps.

 

3bb has no issues getting at least 50mbps internationally 

[Pib]

On 9/13/2019 at 6:43 PM, parryhandy said:

3bb international connections gone to <deleted> again for me. It had been ok for 2 months now i'm lucky to get 5mbps so my iptv is constantly freezing , sigh. 

I'm on the  100/100 package because the higher packages were just as bad.This is  in Khon kaen.

 

 

Just for comparison....speedtest to same London server on AIS 300/100 (wifi connection) on Saturday at 7:50pm.  I'm in Bangkok.

[bearpolar]

2 hours ago, Pib said:

 

Just for comparison....speedtest to same London server on AIS 300/100 (wifi connection) on Saturday at 7:50pm.  I'm in Bangkok.

 

3bb 10:40 pm saturday night with a storm.. worst time of the week.

 

speed varies tho, second test:

 

 

[Pib]

 
3bb 10:40 pm saturday night with a storm.. worst time of the week.
 
speed varies tho, second test:

 
 

Huge variation in your upload speed...18Mb to 440Mb. Maybe a bogus 440Mb reading unless maybe you are on some plan with a 500Mb or 1000Mb upload speed?

[RedCardinal]

On 9/7/2019 at 10:05 AM, Pib said:

I have an AIS 300Mb plan.  Periodically they will send me a one day free upgrade to 1000Mb speed which sometimes I take advantage of.  When I do international speed testing comparing the 300Mb and 1000Mb plan the speed difference is nothing to a maybe just a few percent higher international. 

What AIS router/modem combo do you have?  They offer me that upgrade all the time, so I called and asked if my equipment supported those speeds. Agent had to go away, and when returned the call said "no". Just a marketing ploy to offer you something you cant actually receive...

[Pib]

4 minutes ago, RedCardinal said:

What AIS router/modem combo do you have?  They offer me that upgrade all the time, so I called and asked if my equipment supported those speeds. Agent had to go away, and when returned the call said "no". Just a marketing ploy to offer you something you cant actually receive...

 

A Huawei HG8245H....original router given when I signed up with AIS in mid 2016.  If your router has 1Gb WAN/LAN ports (highly likely) then it will support internet plans up to 1Gb.   

[bearpolar]

5 hours ago, Pib said:

Huge variation in your upload speed...18Mb to 440Mb. Maybe a bogus 440Mb reading unless maybe you are on some plan with a 500Mb or 1000Mb upload speed?

im uncapped(200/200 3bb tho), the international link was probably freed up on the second test. ive uploaded up to 75mb/sec on torrents.

 

 

Edited September 15, 2019 by bearpolar

[RedCardinal]

On 9/15/2019 at 12:06 PM, Pib said:

If your router has 1Gb WAN/LAN ports (highly likely) then it will support internet plans up to 1Gb.   

You'd think so, but that's not the case. All routers have throughput, and few actually support such high speeds. What your lan/wan ports support is not the only determinant of throughput. My router is a Turbo piece of junk, and although it has GB ports it's internals cannot support anything over around 300Mbps.

[Pib]

54 minutes ago, RedCardinal said:

You'd think so, but that's not the case. All routers have throughput, and few actually support such high speeds. What your lan/wan ports support is not the only determinant of throughput. My router is a Turbo piece of junk, and although it has GB ports it's internals cannot support anything over around 300Mbps.

Yea....I won't argue that.  And the quality of the fiber line feed to your house (especially the power level) can make a HUGE difference in maximum speed attainable. And whether a router is being used in bridge mode can have a big impact.   So many factor can really drag down speed. 

[ElephantEgo]

Yes many factors.... I was just testing my speed on the phone vs computer and the phone got 200/200 whereas the computer got 30/70 on the 3BB Thailand test. My Network card is an Intel(R) Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 and phone a Galaxy 9 or whatever (top model).
 

What could be causing such a discrepancy? The 3BB guy said I have too many programs on my computer lol. Another computer got 100/70 or so... The 3BB guy's phone and mine blew the computers out of the water! Also the 3bb Computer was 200/200!