Internet Connectin In Cm

[45louise]

Where should I live to get FASTEST internet connection in Chiang-mai?

anyone know where is ADSL and Cable Hubs located in CM?

[BlissfullyIgnorant]

I know there's been talk of some areas being slightly better than others, but what's good today may not be tomorrow - the only guaranteed way to get the best possible service is to get yourself onto a premium plan with a lower share ratio.

Check out the "medium business" plans here for some ideas: http://www.ji-net.com/home/

[heybruce]

I know there's been talk of some areas being slightly better than others, but what's good today may not be tomorrow - the only guaranteed way to get the best possible service is to get yourself onto a premium plan with a lower share ratio.

Check out the "medium business" plans here for some ideas: http://www.ji-net.com/home/

Does a premium plan give any noticeable improvement in service? Is there any place I can go for information in English? I could figure out price from the website, but have no idea where to go if I want to set up a plan or simply get more information.

[noise]

I know there's been talk of some areas being slightly better than others, but what's good today may not be tomorrow - the only guaranteed way to get the best possible service is to get yourself onto a premium plan with a lower share ratio.

Check out the "medium business" plans here for some ideas: http://www.ji-net.com/home/

Does a premium plan give any noticeable improvement in service? Is there any place I can go for information in English? I could figure out price from the website, but have no idea where to go if I want to set up a plan or simply get more information.

I went to the web site and found, in the upper right hand corner, small English and Thai flags. Clicking on the English flag brought up all the info in English. I skimmed through the info and went to promotions where it seems JI-net is offering 1024 MB/512 MB for 690 baht/month via TOT. TOT currently has that for 500 baht/month direct, not via some interface to a 3rd party. I have been using TOT ADSL with my own modem (bought at Pantip Plaza), and I opted for the higher rate program of 1.5 MB at 700 baht/month. Only had a few minor outages over the last year; some minor degradation when students home from school and usage is up.

So, based on a one time skimming of the info, I think I would recommend TOT ADSL over JI-net.

[meadish_sweetball]

Packages under 1000 baht will invariably have very high contention ratios. (This means how many people are sharing the same bandwidth with you). This is because CAT is controlling Thailand's main international gateway and hence, most of the international bandwidth. The ISPs lease international bandwidth from CAT.

There is no profit in reserving the entire international bandwidth advertised for one single customer. In fact, if an ISP did that, they would lose lots of money - the leasing cost for say 1024/512 international bandwidth is much higher than just 1000 baht.

Some people will be lucky enough to be located close to the ADSL exchange, and more importantly, having line partners who are not heavy users. If you fulfill those criteria, a cheap connection can be as efficient as a premium package. But it is difficult to research in advance. You can ask your neighbours what they use, and if they are happy with it. Chances are your results will be similar to theirs.

I had a sweet deal with True cable internet when they first started out here in Chiang Mai. No outages, fantastic speeds, way faster than everyone on ADSL in Chiang Mai at the time. Subsequently I recommended True cable modem to everyone who was in their coverage area.

Now that network seems to be as bad as the cheap ADSL packages.

So I fully agree with Blissfully Ignorant, if you want reliable, fast internet, get a premium package and be prepared to pay for it.

The one that advertises the most bandwidth for the lowest price is typically NOT the one to get - as explained, this means the contention ratio is very high, and you need a great deal of luck to get anything even close to what they advertise.

It's not that it is not possible, but that is just very unlikely that you will be the lucky one.

[heybruce]

Packages under 1000 baht will invariably have very high contention ratios. (This means how many people are sharing the same bandwidth with you). This is because CAT is controlling Thailand's main international gateway and hence, most of the international bandwidth. The ISPs lease international bandwidth from CAT.

There is no profit in reserving the entire international bandwidth advertised for one single customer. In fact, if an ISP did that, they would lose lots of money - the leasing cost for say 1024/512 international bandwidth is much higher than just 1000 baht.

Some people will be lucky enough to be located close to the ADSL exchange, and more importantly, having line partners who are not heavy users. If you fulfill those criteria, a cheap connection can be as efficient as a premium package. But it is difficult to research in advance. You can ask your neighbours what they use, and if they are happy with it. Chances are your results will be similar to theirs.

I had a sweet deal with True cable internet when they first started out here in Chiang Mai. No outages, fantastic speeds, way faster than everyone on ADSL in Chiang Mai at the time. Subsequently I recommended True cable modem to everyone who was in their coverage area.

Now that network seems to be as bad as the cheap ADSL packages.

So I fully agree with Blissfully Ignorant, if you want reliable, fast internet, get a premium package and be prepared to pay for it.

The one that advertises the most bandwidth for the lowest price is typically NOT the one to get - as explained, this means the contention ratio is very high, and you need a great deal of luck to get anything even close to what they advertise.

It's not that it is not possible, but that is just very unlikely that you will be the lucky one.

Who is CAT, and can we beat the crap out of him?

Also, I think it's worthwhile to distinguish between types of users. If you just need the internet to view webpages and send e-mail, all the ISP choices in Chiang Mai will do the job most of the time.

If you want to download large files and need speed, or use internet services such as Skype which require a stable connection that doesn't disconnect and reconnect every minute (sometimes serveral times a minute), the internet in Chaing Mai is frustrating. Speed and stability are unpredictable, and are predictably bad during school holidays. I don't blame the school kids for this, I blame the ISP's that oversell their services and apparently are making no effort to increase capacity.

Finally, if you want true high speed, stable internet suitable for watching internet TV, you need to leave Thailand.

Perhaps when people state how good or bad their service is, they could also explain what kind of user they are.

[heybruce]

I know there's been talk of some areas being slightly better than others, but what's good today may not be tomorrow - the only guaranteed way to get the best possible service is to get yourself onto a premium plan with a lower share ratio.

Check out the "medium business" plans here for some ideas: http://www.ji-net.com/home/

Does anyone know if I can get a premium plan directly through TT&T? Any experiences with it? I checked the TT&T website, but even after clicking on the U.S. flag on top all the information, other than button lables, was still in Thai. I've already tried calling TT&T customer service, their English is also lacking. Unfortunately I haven't put as much effort into learing Thai as I should have.

[Fraktalkid]

TT&T offer 3 tiers of packages, and at the moment they're doing a special promotion for people willing to sign up for a certain amount of time (I believe it's 12 months). The special promotion looks very appealing indeed.. However, if like me you're out of the country a lot and already have a router then you don't have to sign up for a set amount of time - you setup the ADSL and then can cancel it after a few months and then set it up again when you return - the whole process takes about 20 minutes.

The three tiers of packages they offer are as follows:

Indy - For home users, has limited int'l internet bandwidth and no good for Skype etc - 1024/512 kbps connection on this package costs 1000 B / month

Premier - This is their small business package and works fine with Skype and downloading from int'l sites - 1024/512 kbps for 3400B/month (this is the package that I use)

Biz - For businesses, these package seem a rip off to me but I imagine the contention ratios must be very low - 1024/512 kbps for 15900B/month

The page (in Thai but with enough English to figure out the packages if you don't read Thai) is at http://www.maxnet.co.th/product_adsl.php

The staff at the TT&T office in Kad Suan Kaew (downstairs to Tops, walk through the Food court and bear right, office on the left) probably speak a bit of English, as I've seen them speaking English with other farang before.

[heybruce]

TT&T offer 3 tiers of packages, and at the moment they're doing a special promotion for people willing to sign up for a certain amount of time (I believe it's 12 months). The special promotion looks very appealing indeed.. However, if like me you're out of the country a lot and already have a router then you don't have to sign up for a set amount of time - you setup the ADSL and then can cancel it after a few months and then set it up again when you return - the whole process takes about 20 minutes.

The three tiers of packages they offer are as follows:

Indy - For home users, has limited int'l internet bandwidth and no good for Skype etc - 1024/512 kbps connection on this package costs 1000 B / month

Premier - This is their small business package and works fine with Skype and downloading from int'l sites - 1024/512 kbps for 3400B/month (this is the package that I use)

Biz - For businesses, these package seem a rip off to me but I imagine the contention ratios must be very low - 1024/512 kbps for 15900B/month

The page (in Thai but with enough English to figure out the packages if you don't read Thai) is at http://www.maxnet.co.th/product_adsl.php

The staff at the TT&T office in Kad Suan Kaew (downstairs to Tops, walk through the Food court and bear right, office on the left) probably speak a bit of English, as I've seen them speaking English with other farang before.

I really appreciate the reply, that is exactly the information I needed, though not the prices I was hoping for. I already have the 1000 baht Indy plan and service is uneven most of the time and terrible during school holidays. 3400 baht seems like a lot, but in checking the webpage you provided a link to, I see they have a 256 kbps premier package for 1090 baht a month. Since a stable, reliable connection is more important to me than speed, I may give that a try. Thanks again.

[lannarebirth]

I know there's been talk of some areas being slightly better than others, but what's good today may not be tomorrow - the only guaranteed way to get the best possible service is to get yourself onto a premium plan with a lower share ratio.

Check out the "medium business" plans here for some ideas: <a href="http://"http://www.ji-net.com/home/"" target="_blank"><a href="http://www.ji-net.com/home/" target="_blank">http://www.ji-net.com/home/</a></a>

Does anyone know if I can get a premium plan directly through TT&T? Any experiences with it? I checked the TT&T website, but even after clicking on the U.S. flag on top all the information, other than button lables, was still in Thai. I've already tried calling TT&T customer service, their English is also lacking. Unfortunately I haven't put as much effort into learing Thai as I should have.

I switched from TT&T "Indy" to TT&T "Premier" this past week. It is slightly better as I've only had to reboot my computer and router 3 times so far tonight, as opposed to the 20 times I had been doing. I cannot recommend it. I download VERY LITTLE, but I do have streaming data, using not very much bandwidth. Connectivity sucks to say the least. Avoid!

edit: Also there are dozens of websites I've tried that it simply will not connect to, such as CNN.com, Schwab.com, Myspace.com, Hotmail.com, Download.com, etc., etc.

Edited October 22, 2007 by lannarebirth

[heybruce]

I switched from TT&T "Indy" to TT&T "Premier" this past week. It is slightly better as I've only had to reboot my computer and router 3 times so far tonight, as opposed to the 20 times I had been doing. I cannot recommend it. I download VERY LITTLE, but I do have streaming data, using not very much bandwidth. Connectivity sucks to say the least. Avoid!

edit: Also there are dozens of websites I've tried that it simply will not connect to, such as CNN.com, Schwab.com, Myspace.com, Hotmail.com, Download.com, etc., etc.

That's not encouraging. This is a longshot, but can any techies out there tell us how much of a difference the router makes? I use a D-Link, which was the only ADSL router IT City had when I set up my service with TT&T. Would a better router make much of a difference? Any recommendations?

[lannarebirth]

I'm not sure a different router would help. I have a Belkin, as that's the only one IT City had when I bought it. Actual speed tests aren't bad. Something like 800 x 250. I could live with that if not for the other issues. Those issues are significant, continual instances of data drop out and many, many overseas internet portals (TT&T acknowledges they have Intl gateway problems, but offer no timetable or hope of remedy) are simply unavailable, including some of the worlds biggest banks and brokerages and news services.

[cmsally]

I think a lot depends on where you live, I use TT&T Indy which is 1070Bt/month, it was 1024 kbps but was doubled under their promotion.

Apart from a couple of weeks ago (when everyone was having problems), I get consistent speeds of 1700/400 and connection doesn't drop. I live right in the middle of town and have very few internet users in the immediate surrounding area.

[Dustoff]

I am with TOT, live in Ban Wang Tan and am having a terrible time with connection speeds. For at least three weeks now, the best I get internationally is just above dialup while within Thailand I am getting 1380kbs download.

I haven't been able to get through to TOT but a friend in this same village called and they told him it may be better by the end of the month. A total drag!

[meadish_sweetball]

I think a lot depends on where you live, I use TT&T Indy which is 1070Bt/month, it was 1024 kbps but was doubled under their promotion.

Apart from a couple of weeks ago (when everyone was having problems), I get consistent speeds of 1700/400 and connection doesn't drop. I live right in the middle of town and have very few internet users in the immediate surrounding area.

Do you use streaming video, Skype or other IP telephony, or download files larger than 30-40 MB?

If so, you're one of the lucky ones...