Cdma Internet Speed In Phuket

[geoffphuket]

I'd be interested to know if anyone else is having a poor experience with Cat Telecoms CDMA service in Cyber Paradise Phuket.

I have the USB telephone/modem option which could be half the problem. Here's the result from my latest speed test taken a few moments ago:

Download Speed: 83 kbps (10.4 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 32 kbps (4 KB/sec transfer rate)

This is a pretty average result. Often it's much worse than this, at times reducing to next to nothing.

I know that the aircard version of the service promises a much faster download speed, but is it worth the 16,000 Baht. One member reported getting a 450kbps speed in the Rawai/Nai Harn area.... I live near Thalang. I'd be interested in hearing from others before parting with my money.

Cheers in advance

geoffphuket

[monty]

Geoff, as a rule of thumb, with wireless internet running of mobile phone networks, you can expect to get anywhere from 10 to 70% of the rated speed of your device.

Many factors determine this slow average, load of the network (both voice and data), distance to the closest transmission tower etc...

So in your case you're getting a pretty good result since your device is rated for a top speed of 144kbps.

When you are upgrading to the CDMA EV-DO card from CAT, it will connect to different transmission towers, only the ones which are upgraded to the EV-DO system.

You are simply on a different system with your USB phone/modem! (the CDMA 1X 2000 system)

Since the technical top speed of the aircard on the EV-DO system is 2.4 mbps (although I recall CAT limiting this to 1 mbps) you can indeed expect averages of 400-600 kbps!

Now how long this will last will depend on how much bandwidth the CAT will allocate to that network. It's exactly the same story as with ADSL connections, your line might be 1 mbps, within Thailand you'll get a stable 850 kbps, but downloading from the US will get you only 100kbps.

Nothing to do with the technical capabilities of the ADSL system or the CDMA EV-DO network!

No guarantees!!!

[joka]

CAT has not limited my aircard speed, I get a constant speed of around 150 KB/s.

[geoffphuket]

Geoff, as a rule of thumb, with wireless internet running of mobile phone networks, you can expect to get anywhere from 10 to 70% of the rated speed of your device.

Many factors determine this slow average, load of the network (both voice and data), distance to the closest transmission tower etc...

So in your case you're getting a pretty good result since your device is rated for a top speed of 144kbps.

When you are upgrading to the CDMA EV-DO card from CAT, it will connect to different transmission towers, only the ones which are upgraded to the EV-DO system.

You are simply on a different system with your USB phone/modem! (the CDMA 1X 2000 system)

Since the technical top speed of the aircard on the EV-DO system is 2.4 mbps (although I recall CAT limiting this to 1 mbps) you can indeed expect averages of 400-600 kbps!

Now how long this will last will depend on how much bandwidth the CAT will allocate to that network. It's exactly the same story as with ADSL connections, your line might be 1 mbps, within Thailand you'll get a stable 850 kbps, but downloading from the US will get you only 100kbps.

Nothing to do with the technical capabilities of the ADSL system or the CDMA EV-DO network!

No guarantees!!!

Thanks Monty,

I didn't know they used different towers for the two CDMA systems. I guess by spending 15,990 Baht and changing to an aircard, its conceivable that I'd get an even worse service...or none at all. Pitty its not possible to try before buying.

Joka has replied saying he gets 150kbps but no mention of where he is

I was going to post my download speed for this afternoon, but I can't get the Thai Visa speedtest to open. It took an eternity to login and get this far!

Geoff

[g00dgirl]

Pitty its not possible to try before buying.

Geoff

It is possible to try it first, if you go to the CAT office in Phuket town in the morning when they open, you can take the Aircard home and try it and bring it back before 3 pm if it does not work well for you.

I reported this in my post here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...=113798&hl=

Do your speedtest at speedtest.net to the Bangkok server.

[geoffphuket]

Pitty its not possible to try before buying.

Geoff

It is possible to try it first, if you go to the CAT office in Phuket town in the morning when they open, you can take the Aircard home and try it and bring it back before 3 pm if it does not work well for you.

I reported this in my post here <a href="http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=113798&hl=" target="_blank">http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?sh...=113798&hl=</a>

Do your speedtest at speedtest.net to the Bangkok server.

Thanks I missed that thread!

Interesting to see how much you paid for the card. Cat telecom web site shows 15,990 for the Sierra 580:

http://www.contactcenter.cattelecom.com/th...nfo.asp#anchor6

Are you being billed yet for the monthly subscription?

Geoffphuket

[joka]

Hello,

The new price for the 580 aircard is 12,900. At least it is here in Nakhon si Thammarat and Surat Thani. My consistent download speed is around 150KB\s. The speedtest only clocks at 711 kb\s.