Sim For Gprs/edge

[milli]

Hi folks... gosh... as a regular visitor to Thailand... what a useful site this IS! Can't believe I haven't found it before.

My next visit to Thailand is in a few weeks time and as I now have a nice, new (little) laptop, I'm hoping I can use my (unlocked) nokia phone as a modem (where wifi doesn't exist... and hopefully some kind of phone connection does!) I've been advised that the cheapest way to do this is to buy a local (ie. Thai) SIM card - the names DTAC and AIS have been mentioned to me... but what I really need to understand is whether I need to buy a special kind of SIM for data or perhaps need to activate it somehow once it's in my possession...

I hope this hasn't been asked before... I did a search and couldn't find anything but of course if it has, would be grateful if someone could point me in the right direction.

With very many thanks in advance for any assistance you can offer.

milli

[sbk]

A regular SIM card will do, but you need to call the provider and activate internet usage. AIS has a deal 20 hours a month for 100 baht. You can cancel anytime. I am sure DTAC offers something similar. To activate you just call their call center after you've inserted your sim and topped up your phone.

[Tywais]

A regular SIM card will do, but you need to call the provider and activate internet usage. AIS has a deal 20 hours a month for 100 baht. You can cancel anytime. I am sure DTAC offers something similar. To activate you just call their call center after you've inserted your sim and topped up your phone.

DTAC has 7 days unlimited time for 269 baht + VAT. Same as AIS, just contact the call center to activate (with your card topped up enough to cover the charges).

[milli]

A regular SIM card will do, but you need to call the provider and activate internet usage. AIS has a deal 20 hours a month for 100 baht. You can cancel anytime. I am sure DTAC offers something similar. To activate you just call their call center after you've inserted your sim and topped up your phone.

DTAC has 7 days unlimited time for 269 baht + VAT. Same as AIS, just contact the call center to activate (with your card topped up enough to cover the charges).

Thanks guys that sounds easy enough. So here's the (maybe stupid) question but how does payment on the cards actually work ie. can I just, say, buy a card at Suvarnabhumi and tell them how much I want to put on it? Or do I have to register a credit card number or something? (I don't want to sign up to a long term contract, what I really want is what is commonly called Pay As You Go in the UK but I think is called PrePay in Thailand. Is that correct?)

Also how will I know what call center number to phone? I assume that's provided with the card?

With very many thanks again for any insight...

milli

[geoffphuket]

Buy the Sim card first - it'll probably have a small 'start' balance to get you going. Then buy top up cards, available everywhere

[Tywais]

Also how will I know what call center number to phone? I assume that's provided with the card?

For DTAC call 1678. You will get a message to press a number for English. Then just tell them you want 7 days unlimited GPRS. They ask a couple of questions and in a few seconds you will receive an SMS message showing it. That reminds me, for DTAC you will need to activate SMS to use it (no extra charge for activation). Not sure, but maybe the same number above will work for that also.

If you buy the card at the AIS or DTAC shop, just have the sells person help you with it.

[siam58]

I also want to connect to the Internet in Thailand via GPRS (mobile phone connected via USB to Notebook).

I have a Thai SIM card (1-2-Call) in my Motorola V525 which is connected to my Notebook (having Windows Vista installed). How do I setup the Internet connection for the handset and for the computer? Where do I get the configuration settings for AIS GPRS?

[ballbreaker]

I also want to connect to the Internet in Thailand via GPRS (mobile phone connected via USB to Notebook).

I have a Thai SIM card (1-2-Call) in my Motorola V525 which is connected to my Notebook (having Windows Vista installed). How do I setup the Internet connection for the handset and for the computer? Where do I get the configuration settings for AIS GPRS?

You should have a software disk that came with phone. Following instructions to install software on PC and it should guide you through.

[lomatopo]

I also want to connect to the Internet in Thailand via GPRS (mobile phone connected via USB to Notebook).

I have a Thai SIM card (1-2-Call) in my Motorola V525 which is connected to my Notebook (having Windows Vista installed). How do I setup the Internet connection for the handset and for the computer? Where do I get the configuration settings for AIS GPRS?

Simply put, your phone acts as a dial-up modem. You would "dial" *99#, no username or password required as this is done the CPID.

You need to 'connect' the phone to the PC (Bluetooth or USB data cable), then get the PC to recognize the phone as a modem, then set-up a connection using the *99# dial-string.

Be aware that that model has pretty limited data capabilities, GPRS only (no EDGE) and a max. speed of 48 bps.

You can pay 1 baht/min on the fly or subscribe to a monthly package.

AIS/One-2Call call centre is 1175, press 2 for an English-speaking agent.

Data connectivity charges are deducted from your pre-paid balance.

[siam58]

Simply put, your phone acts as a dial-up modem. You would "dial" *99#, no username or password required as this is done the CPID.

You need to 'connect' the phone to the PC (Bluetooth or USB data cable), then get the PC to recognize the phone as a modem, then set-up a connection using the *99# dial-string.

Be aware that that model has pretty limited data capabilities, GPRS only (no EDGE) and a max. speed of 48 bps.

You can pay 1 baht/min on the fly or subscribe to a monthly package.

AIS/One-2Call call centre is 1175, press 2 for an English-speaking agent.

Data connectivity charges are deducted from your pre-paid balance.

Thanks for the info. In the meantime, I got step-by-step instructions for setting up the mobile handset and the PC from AIS customer support itself by email. They respond within 24 hours! I have still to try if this setup really works.

AIS customer support also writes: "If you use it in Germany it will be 1.50baht/KB" So there is no time-based billing abroad? (This is only for test purposes testing the setup in Germany first.) My Thai SIM card is already activated for international roaming so I can receive calls to the mobile Thai number.

Are there only time-based billing plans in Thailand, no volume-based ones?