Beware Of Deplorable True Internet

[Guest Reimar]

The following NOT loacal connection but International:

True to Singapore:

True to Mumbai:

True to Los Angeles:

On the last one you have to keep in mind that this connection goes via Taiwan ond there is still a problem with the cable.

For the last few days it's just in the evening fro 5 pm until midnight that the speed drops. Later this day I'll have a short meeting with one of TRUE's engneers and may I'll get some (old)"New's"!

Cheers.

[griser]

The following NOT loacal connection but International:

True to Singapore:

True to Mumbai:

True to Los Angeles:

On the last one you have to keep in mind that this connection goes via Taiwan ond there is still a problem with the cable.

For the last few days it's just in the evening fro 5 pm until midnight that the speed drops. Later this day I'll have a short meeting with one of TRUE's engneers

and may I'll get some (old)"New's"!

Cheers.

Again these results mean nothing. The bulk of folks complaining are talking about the 6:00 pm to 1:00 Am timeslot (peaktime)

I think almost everyone can get these results at 10:00 am Bangkok time

Lets see results on that same line at 8:00 pm bangkok time..

I for example get 900 KBPS at around 10:00 am, At 8:00 PM however it drops to 45 KBPS

Greg

Edited January 31, 2008 by griser

[griser]

If you call the true High speed internet customer service line now, You get a recording saying that CAT telecom has a fault and it is affecting all internet traffic in thailand..

Finally they admit it.

Greg

Edited January 31, 2008 by griser

[Guest Reimar]

There is it!

As I wrote before it's NOT TRUE but the international Gateway and that is managed by TOT/CAT.

Everybody knows already a long time that TOT and CAT is crap. Just need to search the forum for related topics! But now it seems to be that everybody is complaining bout the service from TRUE which is much more bad!

That is everything but NOT true! Sure nothing is perfect special not with the Internet Service in Thailand. But to go against TRUE this way, isn't correct.

It is right that the speed drops from 5 pm till midnight but at the same time I was downloading last night (app. 9-11 pm) a few huge files from MS with an download speed from 220-240 kByte/s on 2560 kbps connection and that isn't bad! TYhis experiences I've over the last few weeks already. It need some time to get connected to the website but if conneted, it works quite ok. Seems to be that is affesting HTML and related traffic only but Data transfer works fine.

By the way, the upload to the TV Server at the same time was 50+ kByte/s on 512 kbps upload!

Final the result is quite good and it's quite difficult to get an better result with my connection. From my site I can't really complain against TRUE!

Cheers.

[dttk0009]

The problem I have with True is not so much the speed, but the reliability and consistency it offers. For the most part, I'll be honest, I'm happy with the service, but what ticks me off is when for some unknown reason my internet stops working, or slows down to 1.2kb/s downloads, while my friends claim everything is fine. It doesn't make sense to me. It just frustrates me even more when I call for assistance and they ask me to do a local speed test and restart my modem. When True delivers, it delivers well. The problem is, it doesn't deliver consistently. Not even close to, sadly.

[MaxLee]

Yes, I read somewhere in the Internet that the real problem for Thaland's Internet problems is the CAT and that "they are just like every other government organization: "FAT and LAZY"

and in that same online article, one of the user commented."This so called Highspeed Internet in Thailand is nothing more than souped up Dial-up connection"

Too bad I cannot show that article anymore....

[Guest Reimar]

The problem I have with True is not so much the speed, but the reliability and consistency it offers. For the most part, I'll be honest, I'm happy with the service, but what ticks me off is when for some unknown reason my internet stops working, or slows down to 1.2kb/s downloads, while my friends claim everything is fine. It doesn't make sense to me. It just frustrates me even more when I call for assistance and they ask me to do a local speed test and restart my modem. When True delivers, it delivers well. The problem is, it doesn't deliver consistently. Not even close to, sadly.

I do understand your frustration very well.

I wrote sometimes before that I had get an problem and finally was found that there was an Internet cafe in my Moban wich was using most of the Bandwith because of using a "normal" public account for their business. Informed TRUE about it and viola they changed that connection to SME and since than it's fine.

An other point may is and that's why their service ask you for to restart the modem, if your modem gets to hot, it will get problems to handle the internal chache. With restarting of the modem this chache will be cleared. I use for a long time a small Fan pointed direct to the modem for cooling, and since many other problems are gone. May you try this solution!

Cheers.

[Zoogle]

I agree with Reimar it's not in all areas. I live on Soi Thonglor and i very rarely have speed problems with True internet.

Cheers, Rick

Thats because all the big wigs live there....

Whilst wealthier people may live around the area, I don't agree with Bangkokrick.

I live in the Thonglor area (actually Sukhumvit 53) and my True 1MB connection blows. I've been pratically unable to use it for the last couple of weeks when I get home from work. Seems to pick up slightly after 12am though. As I mentioned in another post somewhere, it's almost as if True are actively monitoring passive/active connections. If I leave mine connected and go away for an hour or so and come back it's crap. If I sit there and continually bully it into opening more than one international website it picks up somewhat.

It is very odd though and I do believe True are tinkering around with something as recently it seems to be very up and down.

[Guest Reimar]

One thing I've mentioned in serveral post: NOT use a TRUE Modem/Router.

The reason very easy. True has modified the Firmware on it's Modem/Router's and this modification you can't roll back. The effect is that you need to use the software which is coming with that Modem/Router's and you can connect with that PC to which the Modem/Router is connected only because you have to logon manually. It works like an Dialup Modem. If you use the so named High Speed Navigator is even more bad.

So my advice was and still is: use an virgin but NOT a TRUE Modem.

The use of an NOT TRUE Modem has the advantage that you just need to program one time your settings and after that you're connectd at the same moment (within 1 - 2 minutes) after switch on the modem. You can also use the modem on an network connected to an switch and connect as much computer as you want or use an Modem/Router with 4 ports.

All of our customers with TRUE modem in use was having a lot problems and we had changed all of thet modems. After the problems was much less.

Cheers.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

All I can add with that TRUE Customer services were particularly unhelpful, until I contacted their MD. A change of tone and speedy resolution was reached.

Why waste your time with powerless bods in Customer Services/Contact? Their forte is languages, not action.

Why don't you post His contact info so we can all get some resolution... Or some Pay-back ???

What goes around...

CS

I did consider it, but as I received speedy resolution to my problem, I felt it unfair to publish his contact details on a public forum.

Plus, as Reimar mentions, it might not be the fault of TRUE.

I can tell you his name is Mr. Thiti Nantapatsiri. The rest you may be able to find for yourself.

[Dissolution]

Hi Reimar, you mentioned something about an internet cafe in your moobahn hogging bandwidth...

There is, in fact, an internet cafe in my condo complex. Could this be affecting me? Would my switching to an SME package solve my problems?

So basically:

1. Change to SME package

2. Buy new generic ADSL modem

To finally play WoW?

Back in Singapore, I'd get 100-200ms on a lousy 512kbps connection. Over here, with a 3mbps connection, I'm getting 500-800ms, and some months 1000-1500ms. The last few days have been insane, with 4000-7000ms.

This is driving me nuts.

[Guest Reimar]

Hi Reimar, you mentioned something about an internet cafe in your moobahn hogging bandwidth...

There is, in fact, an internet cafe in my condo complex. Could this be affecting me? Would my switching to an SME package solve my problems?

So basically:

1. Change to SME package

2. Buy new generic ADSL modem

To finally play WoW?

Back in Singapore, I'd get 100-200ms on a lousy 512kbps connection. Over here, with a 3mbps connection, I'm getting 500-800ms, and some months 1000-1500ms. The last few days have been insane, with 4000-7000ms.

This is driving me nuts.

First at all is the Modem: buy an new one and program to your really need.

Second is your PAckage: normal Public accounts having an sharing 1 to 50 while SME has 1 to 20 and Corporate is 1 to 1.

But you could also check with CAT for GSHDSL and they having a sharing from 1 to 5 max on the same pipe but you get mainly 1 to 1! That connection is a cable connection and CAT gives the required Modem as well.

But in the moment is an problem with the international connection for all in Thailand!

Cheers.

[AlexLah]

Have True and no problems here.

Surfing the net smoothly.

Can watch TV and movies, no probs.

[toptuan]

For the people who need a good connection, I can say one thing. Get a ToT and a True line get on both ADSL and by magic you have always a relative good connection....

ToT 1024/512 cost 590 Bht

True 1024/512 cost 599 Bht...

For the cost you not have leave it....

Really?

I have the TOT 1024/512 package.

Results: For the past month, my average download speed has been 106.9kb/sec. (upload: 48.6kb/sec). 10% of advertised speed. Absolute trash.

[absolutelyBangkok]

If you call the true High speed internet customer service line now, You get a recording saying that CAT telecom has a fault and it is affecting all internet traffic in thailand..

Finally they admit it.

Greg

Admit what? Don't fall for this, it's another cheap excuse!!

Get Khun Noppanpan on the phone, she's a kind of station manager. She'll confess that they don't have enough bandwith.

The problem is True and True alone. They did not plan early enough to apply for enough bandwith.

Let's hope there's at least a hint of repercussion against the the responsible ones, at least a slightly hot seat.

But you have to call them and call them and ask for the supervisors.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Maybe an email address can be coaxed out of me for the really frustrated.....

[spot]

Maybe an email address can be coaxed out of me for the really frustrated.....

Yeah please...

I'm really frustrated.

[absolutelyBangkok]

Last eve wasn't too bad - fingers crossed.

[Deksan]

I m sorry but TRUE blaming CAT for their internet issue is a bit easy, for the following reason :

1) True has is on Internet Gateway 1650 Mbps / 680 Mbps / 1650 Mbps = 3980 Mbps

2) They use the fact that they have their own internet gateway as a plus (http://www.trueinternet.co.th/networkstatus/index.htm) as they are comparing their IIG and CAT internet speed / delay

3) Even they have their own IIG they use CAT to access the net ( 800 / 620 / 620 + 800 / 800 ) = 3640 Mbps

Well I m sorry but when you pay every months for a mercedes bens (1), why would you use the neighbour old toyota (3) ?

After some checking, I think some ppl are routed through CAT -> slow access, some ppl are routed through their own IIG (TIG).

Maybe the SME / Corporate go through the True - IIG and the basic users go through CAT.

Now I dont have a SME or corporate package so i ll check which link way i m using to go to the following website :

Traceroute from my home (I m taking the first hop that is not inside true network for me it s hop 10-11 after 61.91.210.1-202.47.254.25)

www.google.com ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.130 or 202.47.253.146)

www.microsoft.com ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.150)

www.worldofwarcraft.com ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.148)

www.free.fr ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.138)

ftp.kernel.org ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.130)

www.orange.co.uk ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.134)

www.singtel.sg ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.130)

www.hotmail.com ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.146)

Now the same thing using the traceroute on true website http://speedtest.trueinternet.co.th/speedtest/php-trace.php

www.google.com ---> TRUEINTERNETGATEWAY = (122.144.28.254)

www.microsoft.com ---> TRUEINTERNETGATEWAY = (122.144.28.246)

www.worldofwarcraft.com ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.148)

www.free.fr ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.150)

ftp.kernel.org ---> TIG-US-WAN = (122.144.26.222)

www.orange.co.uk ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.148)

www.singtel.sg ---> TIG-SG-WAN = (122.144.26.218)

www.hotmail.com ---> TIG-SG-WAN = (122.144.26.210)

So basicly it seems that all my traffic use the CAT network which should be worse than the TIG network as every other ISP's user are usually complaining. I d be interested to see what you get reimar doing the same traceroute as i did as u have a SME package and you seems to have no internet issue at all.

[Guest Reimar]

I m sorry but TRUE blaming CAT for their internet issue is a bit easy, for the following reason :

1) True has is on Internet Gateway 1650 Mbps / 680 Mbps / 1650 Mbps = 3980 Mbps

2) They use the fact that they have their own internet gateway as a plus (http://www.trueinternet.co.th/networkstatus/index.htm) as they are comparing their IIG and CAT internet speed / delay

3) Even they have their own IIG they use CAT to access the net ( 800 / 620 / 620 + 800 / 800 ) = 3640 Mbps

Well I m sorry but when you pay every months for a mercedes bens (1), why would you use the neighbour old toyota (3) ?

After some checking, I think some ppl are routed through CAT -> slow access, some ppl are routed through their own IIG (TIG).

Maybe the SME / Corporate go through the True - IIG and the basic users go through CAT.

Now I dont have a SME or corporate package so i ll check which link way i m using to go to the following website :

Traceroute from my home (I m taking the first hop that is not inside true network for me it s hop 10-11 after 61.91.210.1-202.47.254.25)

www.google.com ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.130 or 202.47.253.146)

www.microsoft.com ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.150)

www.worldofwarcraft.com ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.148)

www.free.fr ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.138)

ftp.kernel.org ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.130)

www.orange.co.uk ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.134)

www.singtel.sg ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.130)

www.hotmail.com ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.146)

Now the same thing using the traceroute on true website http://speedtest.trueinternet.co.th/speedtest/php-trace.php

www.google.com ---> TRUEINTERNETGATEWAY = (122.144.28.254)

www.microsoft.com ---> TRUEINTERNETGATEWAY = (122.144.28.246)

www.worldofwarcraft.com ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.148)

www.free.fr ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.150)

ftp.kernel.org ---> TIG-US-WAN = (122.144.26.222)

www.orange.co.uk ---> CAT-IIGservice = (202.47.253.148)

www.singtel.sg ---> TIG-SG-WAN = (122.144.26.218)

www.hotmail.com ---> TIG-SG-WAN = (122.144.26.210)

So basicly it seems that all my traffic use the CAT network which should be worse than the TIG network as every other ISP's user are usually complaining. I d be interested to see what you get reimar doing the same traceroute as i did as u have a SME package and you seems to have no internet issue at all.

Unfortunate I do NOT have an SME account with TRUE. As I stated many times, my connection as follows: 2,560 kbps down and 512 kbps up (THB 1,230 p.month) at Samut Prakarn.

But ok, please send my your exact trace command's by PM and I'll do the same trace from here otherwise it's not the same outcome.

Thanks and Cheers.

[StrongView]

I have an SME 2.5 Mb account and also have been getting horrible speeds in the last few months. Has gotten worse in the past couple weeks. I recently moved from the Prakhanong area to Nonthaburi and there's been no change. Almost exactly the same experience (01:00 - 12:00 works fine, 12:00 - 16:00 medicore, 16:00 - 00:59: almost unusable). My wife called True ADSL support 2 weeks ago to complain and got the story that they had oversold and their int'l bandwidth was suffering. After moving to Nonthaburi, I called True ADSL support myself and complained about the same issue. The support tech told me that it was a CAT issue. I asked "so, it's been a CAT issue for the last 3 - 4 weeks?" The woman scrambled to look for an acceptable answer and told me "3 weeks ago, it was a CAT IIG issue and they fixed it. It was ok for 3 - 4 days and then broke again." I didn't think it made sense to go on and pressure her for a more truthful answer, but it has to be int'l bandwidth being oversold. You can check the status of the True network yourself HERE and it's clear CAT IIG's are all functioning as normal. It's unfortunate because up until about 3 months ago, I was very happy with my SME account. I pay 3100 Baht / month for it and though a high price, I used to get a lot out of it so the expense was justifiable. Now I'm considering changing ISP's, though with True having the most int'l bandwidth available in the country, it may not be worth it.

Edited February 3, 2008 by StrongView

[MaxLee]

Come on guys,... just like some of us already said:

This is Thailand. It doesn't make any difference whether we complain about the issue or not. What do you expect in a developing country in which the quality of living is not as qualitative as in developed Nations.

And about CAT,... as I said before, I wish I could find that online article in which someone stated that CAT is the real culprit for all our Internet problems since they are the ones with the only International Gate bandwidth.

And another thing, I just read in today's Bangkok Post Newspaper, that the weather will become more unpredictable thanever, and that includes rainstorms, Gobal Warming issues, and I have the feeling that it will affect the Internet connections as well, which leads me to a question:

Can it be that everytime we have heavy rainstorms in Thailand, the Internet connectivity is very instable??? I mean, last year for several months, before I got my new modem, it was horrible. I got disconnected from the Internet several times every few minutes. One of these days during October we finally hired a technician and he checked it. It turned out that our modem was not alright, and that the warrenty has already been expired and that that was the reason that my Internet kept disconnecting. Luckily for us, we just had to terminate our contract, start a new promotion package this 599 Baht monthly-thing and we got a new modem for free... and since then there were no problems with disconnections anymore,...

... so do you guys think that the heavy rainstorms will have an affect on the Internet connectivity of this country?... What are your opinions and experiences about this issue.

thanks in advance for your attention....

[jeffer]

I have the TOT 1024/512 package.

Results: For the past month, my average download speed has been 106.9kb/sec. (upload: 48.6kb/sec). 10% of advertised speed. Absolute trash.

Is your average download speed 106.9KB/sec or 106.9kbps?

[griser]

As i've stated before, These Bandwidth issues are popping up during certain times of the day..I.E. the mid afternoon and the 7:00 pm - 1:00am time frames.

All other times your prob going to get a good throughput, these peak times tax the already overloaded re-routed lines that are going around the breaks.

untill this gets fixed some time next week we we continue to see problems

Greg

[dttk0009]

I hear India's internet should be fixed around 5pm their time toady. This should alleviate some of the congestion that our lines are experiencing at the moment. Let's hope this news is true.

[cali]

Come to think of it, you just never hear about Thailand's broken cable woes ever causing performance issues in other countries. And the internatinal speeds one gets in Thailand during broken cable periods is excrutiatingly slow. Now on the other hand we see India has a problem and their traffic hurts Thailand speeds. So going by those observations, it would seem other countries are capable of rerouting their traffic to make amends, but Thailand is not. Wonder if they ever thought about such things.

[348GTS]

I have a True 2.5meg connection, and I download a lot from Usenet. About 7-10 days back I noticed a sudden drop overnight in my download speed from 278kbs to <50kbs. I watched this for a few days and then called True who said they didnt cap that port (119). I changed to another port a few days later and suddenly got my max speed back again for a couple days but today it is suddenly struggling to go over 50kbs again. That represents in both cases a deliberate action to cut the bandwidth by 80%. I am now paying for a 2.5mb service but only receiving a 500kb service. I am fed up with this, True told me that they didnt cap the ports but clearly the service is being deliberately capped.

[sprq]

I agree with Reimar it's not in all areas. I live on Soi Thonglor and i very rarely have speed problems with True internet.

Cheers, Rick

Thats because all the big wigs live there....

Thonglor is NOT okay, certainly not for me. All this year I have had terrible access in the evenings. It's obvious that loads of people come home from work, start surfing, and the bandwidth can't cope with it. After midnight it pretty soon gets okay again. It's laso not too good anytime over the weekend, like now, but not as bad as weekday evenings, which is appalling, just like the old dial-up days years ago.

[sprq]

I called True about six weeks ago when the slow evenings problem started; they sent technicians who found everything okay.

With no improvement, a week or so later I called customer service and asked to speak to a supervisor who siad she knew there was a bandwidth problem and the engineers were working on it. But there was no change.

After reading this forum, and another month of evening frustration, I called them again. I got a good English speaker who said that they had had many complaints, that all the complaints were being logged, and that they had already worked on improving the bandwidth.

I told her that if things weren't fixed by the end of the month, I would cancel and switch to another service. She said "I understand, sir" or some such, and "I will report your concerns", or some such.

As previous posters have said, everybody should call customer service 02 900 9898 and make a complaint, preferably with a supervisor. Some heat applied will at least make them suffer a bit, and maybe even solve it in the end.

Make yourselves heard!

Edited February 16, 2008 by spr&q

[Guest Reimar]

Unfortunate the last wesk or so the speed drops dramaticly after Office hours and totay the whole day.

Right now I record my Internet connection for several hours and will do that tomorrow as well. I do plan to visit TRUE on Monday with several DVD's with the recorded  Realtime connection ans evidence!If I didn't get an satisfied answer, I'll direct visit the Consumer Protection Department at NTC!

Just to open an Website with Firefox 2.x need more than 6 minutes, with FF3 Beta 3 still more than 5 minutes and Opera 9.50 Beta more than 3 minutes. al on the same computer!

At this time the speed is increasing a bit. But I'll see tomorrow morning how it will be!

But Local the speed is ok at all times!

Let see on Monday.

Cheers.