Adsl Anywhere Else But Chaweng?

[katyb]

Looking for local knowledge of ADSL.

Last year I found that ADSL was only available in the Chaweng area of the island. Is this still the case?

We'll be back for the winter and I will need to work several hours per day via laptop. I contacted Samui ITC re their small office units but they are all let, so I'm looking for a solution as to:

1. Which part of the island would I be able to get ADSL connection? Prefer Maenam or south of Lamai if poss.

2. It's unlikely that we will rent a house, so I'll be looking to use hotel / internet cafes - do you know of any that would let me plug in a laptop / LAN instead of using their PCs?.

3. Do you mostly use the internet from your homes there or do you use internet cafes and if so can you recommend / put me in touch with any?

4. Any other ways of connecting that you might know of?

I'm a bit stuck over here as i've been searching on line for months now for this specific info and keep drawing a blank. There are dozens of Samui sites but not what I need. I'd be really grateful if anyone could give me some advice.

Thank you in advance.

Katy

[happymanme]

cant you get a connection at the itc place i thought they had an iternet lounge

might be wrong though

allan

[simey]

The itc has an area at the front of the building with some desktop PCs but other empty desks where you can take your laptop and plug into their LAN - it should all configure automatically. They also have wireless (with no security) so you can connect using that. If you were really lucky you could rent a house close enough to connect wirelessly...

I take my laptop down there regularly for half an hour to sync emails and download upgrades, usually very fast service.

[katyb]

Thanks Allan. Yes I think I can. But because of the time difference between Uk and Thailand, I need to be working between 4pm and 10pm local time and I don't think ITC is open then.

I've just looked at the webcam on isamui.com to check and it looks pretty dark and empty - it's 1pm here, so that makes it about 8pm there.

Do you know what time it shuts? It would be ideal really.

Kate

[katyb]

and thank you Simey - think my post just crossed with yours.

Yes. Would be great. Is it open at night?

[simey]

I'm sure it's open until at least 6 pm, best thing would be to email them using their contact email address on their website and ask what they can do for you. I think the guy that runs it is german so there should not be any language problems. Living close enough to connect would be ideal for you as they don't charge for that service. Shame you have to work every evening - it's much better to work during the hottest part of the day and then go out in the evening.

[katyb]

Shame you have to work every evening - it's much better to work during the hottest part of the day and then go out in the evening.

It's not everyday so that's not so bad. Anyway, as it's my first long term stay, it is most likely that I shall engaged during the day in the most British of holiday passtimes ie doing a superb impression of baked farang on the beach, so, I'm not too worried about working at night at this stage. I'm stuck in my town centre office for most of the year, so it's going to be fantastic!

Thanks again for your advice. It's looking like my best option so far. I will contact the ITC again.

Kate

[simey]

Let me know how you go with that. The ITC is very new and seems to not know exactly what it's aiming at, but I would think people like yourself would be a good market to aim at. I'm sure there are people living in Samui that would use an office-like environment with internet access and would be prepared to pay a little more that internet cafe rates for the privelege.

Don't forget to allow time for diving, trips to the other islands etc. And get your accomodation booked early, it gets busy there soon.

[happymanme]

or if as simey says its got wireless, just sit outside and do all ya work should work up 50ft away,see if there are any bars or stuff close by

maybe worth thinking about.

have a good time though thats the main thing

allan

[katyb]

A bar 50ft away? Hmmm, sounds interesting. However, I mentioned ITC to my business partner, who is the techie guru of our operation and he is not keen on the wireless bit as apparently this poses a security issue. He will be in the UK so if I get any problems, I'd be a bit stuck.

Still very interested in using ITC though.

Will definitely make time to have fun.

Re: accommodation, I hear what you're saying about booking early, and I read this a lot. But last year, we arrived with no booking and found no problem. We moved around the island every 5 - 6 days to a new place. This was in Feb and high season. Do you think we were just lucky? I don't like booking ahead, as I like to check places out first. The places we stayed last year were fine, and our favourite spot was Maenam, which won't be that convenient if I'm going to the ITC everyday. So Lamai will probably be better. We didn't stay there so I'm not that familiar with the area and don't know any places to stay, apart from by the kite surfing school (which was excellent by the way), but not keen on being close to locked up animals in zoo.

Is booking a definite must? Anyone got any ideas of good value, CLEAN bungalows that will give us a deal for 2 months? One with internet facillities would be great but main criteria - must be on / very close to beach - if I'm going to live on an island, I want to see water from my balcony! Otherwise, I may as well be on the mainland.

Thank you, chaps. Will keep you posted on ITC.

Kate

[Noodles]

The itc has an area at the front of the building with some desktop PCs but other empty desks where you can take your laptop and plug into their LAN - it should all configure automatically. They also have wireless (with no security) so you can connect using that. If you were really lucky you could rent a house close enough to connect wirelessly...

I take my laptop down there regularly for half an hour to sync emails and download upgrades, usually very fast service.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hello Simey

I use my laptop alot at home, but only have 56k dial up. I'm

interested in taking it to this center for downloading and high speed

surfing, as it's a drag doing this at home.

Is there a limit in mb to what you can download?

Whats the cost, say per hour?

Can I just walk in and plug in, or is there waiting lists for users?

Thanks for your help with these questions..

noodles

[Noodles]

The itc has an area at the front of the building with some desktop PCs but other empty desks where you can take your laptop and plug into their LAN - it should all configure automatically. They also have wireless (with no security) so you can connect using that. If you were really lucky you could rent a house close enough to connect wirelessly...

I take my laptop down there regularly for half an hour to sync emails and download upgrades, usually very fast service.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hello Simey

I use my laptop alot at home, but only have 56k dial up. I'm

interested in taking it to this center for downloading and high speed

surfing, as it's a drag doing this at home.

Is there a limit in mb to what you can download?

Whats the cost, say per hour?

Can I just walk in and plug in, or is there waiting lists for users?

Thanks for your help with these questions..

noodles

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Simey...bainai??

[happymanme]

noodles as far as i'm aware its free as long as you dont sit there all day hogging a desk.

better to do the wireless thing sitting outside if ya gonna do that ...lol

[Khun Jean]

I just came back from the office of CAT telecom. ADSL is now available in the Bophut area for 2600-3000 per month unlimited.

This is for a 2Mb line. UPload speed unknown.

Lamai will be next month or begin januari.

I have seen advertisments of Samart that offers the same deal if you have a TT&T line that has the capability to be used as an ADSL line. They can check for you if you give them your number.

These prices are for home use only. If used for business or connecting more than 1 computer the price goes way up. Unclear what the exact prices are, the range is huge, between 10.000 and 91.000!! per month.

And of course nobody can give an exact answer.

You should be aware that althoug 2Mb is advertised it still has to be tested that you really have that speed available, not only to the the ISP. For me a high speed to international sites is important but i suspect that speed will not be higher than 100-150Kb. Until proven different that is what i suspect.