Wireless 'net: Gprs Evdo Edge... Is There A Faq?

[Lkind]

I'm looking for a FAQ or roundup of wireless mobile Internet access options in Thailand.

I've seen this topic addressed in other posts but only as a side-topic, so hopefully someone will be willing to clue me in.

I'm hoping to learn about...

Technologies:

-EDGE? GPRS? EVDO? What are the techs and what are their relative strengths/weaknesses? I'm looking for something that will work in a rural area, but hopefully not sacrificing too much speed (and I also know that is about as likely as me buying a winning lottery ticket).

-Hardware. Can the various PCMCIA modems be used on different networks/providers or am I locked into one when I buy the modem? Where is the best place to buy this item in Bangkok?

Companies:

-What are my options for different carriers? I'm assuming this is probably the same question as asking about the different systems above.

Thanks in advance for any answers or referrals to places where I can learn this information. This forum rocks!

[sfokevin]

these guys have a good summary:

http://www.edgethailand.com/information.ph...9f57b806dca2f7f

Also try using the forum search function - start with a search of "GPRS"...

Edited December 17, 2007 by sfokevin

[monty]

Not that many options over here, so not to hard to give an overview! Let's try...

There are two mobile phone systems in use in Thailand, namely the GSM networks, operated by 3 main companies (AIS, Dtac, True), and the CDMA network operated by two, kind of confusing interconnected companies (Hutch and CAT).

The GSM system offers GPRS access, with speeds of up to 48 kbps. Both AIS and Dtac cover pretty much complete Thailand, meaning that with this system you'll have connectivity virtually all over the country, albeit often at slow speeds.

The advantage is that in area's where the network is upgraded to have faster Edge capability, your modem (if Edge capable) will seamlessly switch to the faster system. Edge offers speeds up to 230 something kbps. If outside Edge coverage, it'll just fall back to gprs speeds.

Not sure of the True coverage...

On the GSM network you can use your mobile phone as a modem (different ways of connecting,depending on brand and model), or you can buy a dedicated modem, either of the USB variety, or a PCMCIA card (the so-called aircards). You just pop in the sim card and connect. The hardware is not coupled to the providers, so any sim card will do.

Practically this system works reasonably well, regular gprs is OK as an emergency back-up, or getting that e-mail sent when in remote locations, Edge is practical as a main means of internet access, but to keep things moving along it is advised to make the best use of ad blockers and the works to speed things a bit up...It's not fast but quite a bit better then dial-up...

The other system is the CDMA network, which also offers a slow variety (called 1X) and a faster version called EV-DO.

The 1X system offers speeds of up to 150 kbps, while the EV-DO system allows for speeds theoretically up to 2.4 Mbps. Practically they are between 300 and 600 kbps... The last one can be considered proper internet speeds.

Unfortunately, the cdma network is split between CAT and Hutch. CAT covers some 40 something provinces, with Hutch the remaining 20 something provinces. Although they have a roaming contract for voice operation (so your cdma phone works nationwide), they do not have such an agreement for data services.

Which means you'll have to decide which operator to go with depending on your location!

CAT is expanding EV-DO capability quite aggresive, while Hutch seems to be on the slow side.

Also, the EV-DO modems are locked to the provider, so it is not possible to pop in a Hutch sim when in Hutch coverage, and a CAT sim when in CAT coverage. You'll need two modems!!!

In general, on all of these wireless technologies, latency is high and upload speeds are slow, so they do not work well for voice applications.

[Thanh-BKK]

Also, the EV-DO modems are locked to the provider, so it is not possible to pop in a Hutch sim when in Hutch coverage, and a CAT sim when in CAT coverage. You'll need two modems!!!

Hi

Where does THAT bit of information come from? Have you TRIED it? Because in case they both have SIM cards in first place then the aircard doesn't care and works with either SIM. The user just needs the apropriate login details for either network, CAT or Hutch.

What i do NOT know however is if the CDMA aircards here do support SIM cards or if they need to be programmed like CDMA phones in most of the CDMA world (only China, Thailand and Indonesia use SIM cards for CDMA!) If that is the case, yes, you'd need a separate modem/aircard for either provider as they are likely unwilling to re-program them for you to use.

There's lots of misleading info out there about the cooperation between the two - CAT's website states that Hutch phones will NOT work with CAT SIM cards, which is plain BS - they DO work just fine. Hutch's website states that CDMA/SIM phones from overseas will not work on Hutch because "the systems seems same but is actually different". BS as well - i OWN a phone bought in Indonesia (pre-paid "Telkom Flexi") and it works just fine on Hutch with a Hutch SIM in it. I once confronted a sales rep in a Hutch shop with that very question - "Hello, i have brought a phone from Indonesia, could i use it on Hutch?" and when i received my "Sorry sir, that is completely impossible" answer i pulled it out of my pocket and demonstrated sending a SMS, making a call, receiving a call and receiving a SMS on it (i had three phones with me) and she went like "..... oh.... never see.... oh... sorry no speak english". They just want to protect themselves from evils like me who could (and soon will!) buy cheap CDMA phones in China, ship them here and sell them to Hutch users fed up with castrated software, missing features etc.

To the OP: Each system has it's advantages and disadvantages. Hutch and CAT both have a BIG advantage in rural areas (if there is network coverage to begin with!!) - the signal is in the 800 MHz band and hence travels further and stronger than any GSM signal (the lower the frequency, the better the penetration). Also either provider has only a small number of users compared to the GSM networks, so you may have a better signal at any time and it's clearer, and less chance for it to drop due to "cell overcrowding". This is the main reason why Hutch has better call quality than ANY of the GSM providers (as does CAT on which i'm roaming during stays at Chiang Mai, always clear as a bell and i have yet to get the first call dropped in over four years of using it). CDMA 2000-1x has stable connections to the internet already, sure not blazing fast but therefor easy to setup - most Hutch phones have data capability, get the USB cable and let Hutch enable "MBI" for you (Mobile Broadband Internet, there are various plans available, even pre-paid), then you just have to install the modem driver for your phone model (can be downloaded from Hutch's website), create a new dialup connection using that modem, dialup number is *777, no username/password, and there you go at 153 kb/s. As there is no EV-DO-able handset available in Thailand yet you would need the aircard for that (or the USB-modem).

As for GSM, again in rural areas AIS (or 1-2-call which is AIS too) would be the best - it's frequency is 900 MHz. Expect speeds around the same as dialup - actually 20 kilometers outside Chiang Mai it's like a VERY SLOW dialup, but if you are in an area that serves EDGE it goes about the same speed as Hutch. Yet those connections (experience in Bangkok only with EDGE) drop rather often (it still shows you as "connected" but no data transfer happens). My boss uses a dedicated aircard in his Laptop and he has always slow and dropping connections throughout Bangkok, but he said in Hua Hin it worked perfectly and very fast, so maybe the network is just too crowded in BKK. AIS has the most users of all mobile networks in Thailand.

D-TAC and TRUE both use the 1.800 MHz band and may be spotty in rural areas - generally the network quality specially for D-TAC is rather good, yet internet access with it (EDGE nationwide!) can be a matter of luck - 20 kilometers outside Chiang Mai it works for a couple of hours, the disappears for the rest of the day The signal strength is always good there so that's no issue, just the data connection is spotty.

No real experience with TRUE on GPRS or EDGE - the same spot 20 kilometers outside of Chiang Mai TRUE has zero coverage, i need to walk about a kilometer out into the rice fields to get network. Hence not tested. In Bangkok it did work flawless, the connection speed was like a good dialup connection (no idea if they have EDGE but it was definitely no EDGE speed, and yes, the phone used supports EDGE).

If you are going for GSM, a single aircard will do - get one that supports EDGE and you can use SIM's of any provider. Remember that a GSM aircard will NOT work for Hutch and CAT! Only AIS, D-TAC and True.

Best regards....

Thanh

Edited December 18, 2007 by Thanh-BKK

[Lkind]

Thanks so much for the excellent and informative replies!

It seems like Hutch or CAT are my best bets (mostly due to the speed advantage)... with one catch, of course. The major usage of data services will be split between Bangkok and Nakohn Ratchasima - right on the boundary of Hutch's and CAT's networks! I think the next step is to research what modems are available and whether they allow SIM card swapping. If there are any experts on the subject... your advice would be most welcome!

Thanks again for the detailed responses.

[nikster]

Thanh - might very well be that Hutch/CAT simply don't want to make any guarantees about equipment from other providers on their network. Probably because the CDMA standards are not very well established and highly confusing, unlike GSM which just works.

Hutch/CAT data roaming will hopefully be resolved sometime soon. It's inconceivable how this can not work given that the two companies are in a tight alliance. I use EV-DO as backup to my DSL and on the road - it's definitely slower than DSL, forget about VOIP b/c the upload data rate is simply too low - but it's saved me many times.

You'll also do things you never thought you would, like getting some time sensitive work done from the back of a tuk tuk...