Mobile Phones And Service Plans In Bangkok

[Amyji]

What mobile phones have you used or own that you find reliable and easy to use?

And even more importantly, what service plan do you use? What are the details of the plan and are you happy with it?

I used to use the One-2-Call pay as you need cards when I lived in Bangkok a few years ago, so I don't know if that is still the most convenient way to go.

If you sign up for a plan such as AIS, DTAC or Orange, what sort of documentation do they require?

I appreciate your help!

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

The single most reliable mobile phone (handset) that i ever owned was the Sanyo SCP 550. That phone never hung up on me i.e. never resetted, turned itself off etc or otherwise malfunctioned. It took a lot of abuse and kept working.

Currently i am using a Samsung F679 which is also a very reliable phone that so far did not show any software glitch.

My provider is "Hutch", i am on a postpaid plan "Extra Super 1.299" which costs 1.299 Baht/month plus VAT plus any SMS that i send. This includes an insane 2.600 minutes of air time into any local network (within Thailand), should i somehow manage to use up all these minutes (probably by renting out my phone to anyone who needs to make a call?) any additional minute will cost 25 Satang.

To get a contract you will need a work permit. Or a Thai friend to do it for you - i went that route over 4 years ago when i got Hutch

With best regards......

your Thanh

[Amyji]

You've been quite helpful, Thanh, Khap Kun Maak Ka!

Amy

Hi

The single most reliable mobile phone (handset) that i ever owned was the Sanyo SCP 550. That phone never hung up on me i.e. never resetted, turned itself off etc or otherwise malfunctioned. It took a lot of abuse and kept working.

Currently i am using a Samsung F679 which is also a very reliable phone that so far did not show any software glitch.

My provider is "Hutch", i am on a postpaid plan "Extra Super 1.299" which costs 1.299 Baht/month plus VAT plus any SMS that i send. This includes an insane 2.600 minutes of air time into any local network (within Thailand), should i somehow manage to use up all these minutes (probably by renting out my phone to anyone who needs to make a call?) any additional minute will cost 25 Satang.

To get a contract you will need a work permit. Or a Thai friend to do it for you - i went that route over 4 years ago when i got Hutch

With best regards......

your Thanh

[ignis]

Samsung slide on "Hutch", 3rd year contract 1.299 Baht/month plus VAT.

This includes 2.600 minutes of air time into any local network (within Thailand), any additional minute will cost 25 Satang, sure beats the 4,500 - 5,500 Baht per month on AIS......... Last month 'Hutch' bill was 1,596 Baht, but normal is just the 1,299..

The only downside is 'Hutch' do not have Sony Ericson phones, so battery life is poor, 3rd phone [cheap high discount every year] none will last on a single charge per day so a 2nd battery is a must.

[laurent]

Hi

The single most reliable mobile phone (handset) that i ever owned was the Sanyo SCP 550. That phone never hung up on me i.e. never resetted, turned itself off etc or otherwise malfunctioned. It took a lot of abuse and kept working.

Currently i am using a Samsung F679 which is also a very reliable phone that so far did not show any software glitch.

My provider is "Hutch", i am on a postpaid plan "Extra Super 1.299" which costs 1.299 Baht/month plus VAT plus any SMS that i send. This includes an insane 2.600 minutes of air time into any local network (within Thailand), should i somehow manage to use up all these minutes (probably by renting out my phone to anyone who needs to make a call?) any additional minute will cost 25 Satang.

To get a contract you will need a work permit. Or a Thai friend to do it for you - i went that route over 4 years ago when i got Hutch

With best regards......

your Thanh

By the way, they have a "Hutch Extra Super 1.499" for 1,499 Baht/month plus VAT plus SMS that allows you 4000 minutes of calling to all network in Thailand per month.

http://www.hutch.co.th/postpaid/tariff/exi...en.htm#packge04

Another package costs 1,399 Baht and comes with unlimited Internet service and free unlimited calls to all networks every day for 22 hours per day.

So basically all your calls are free unless you call from 8pm to 10pm. That's basically less than 50 Baht per day for all you can eat calling :-)

Laurent

Edited March 23, 2008 by laurent

[Gary A]

What mobile phones have you used or own that you find reliable and easy to use?

And even more importantly, what service plan do you use? What are the details of the plan and are you happy with it?

I used to use the One-2-Call pay as you need cards when I lived in Bangkok a few years ago, so I don't know if that is still the most convenient way to go.

If you sign up for a plan such as AIS, DTAC or Orange, what sort of documentation do they require?

I appreciate your help!

I have been here for many years and can see no advantage to post paid plans. I use AIS 1-2 Call pre-paid and am quite happy with the service. My wife uses D-Tac and I have a signal in a few places where she has none. I think D-Tac has come a long ways in the past couple of years so would really have no qualms about using them. True sends me a free SIM card once in a while but their signal is VERY spotty. Rumor has it that CDMA, (Hutch and CAT) will stop the CDMA service sometime in the near future.

I was anti Nokia for a long time but if you can't beat them, join them. My last three phones have been Nokias. My wife uses a Samsung but I think it has the worst audio qualities of any phone I ever tried to use. I can't hear the person who is talking and the volume is as high as it goes. I also use my Nokia for the Internet. I had my Crapstar satellite Internet discontinued. The AIS EDGE is working better than Crapstar ever worked.

[Thanh-BKK]

The only downside is 'Hutch' do not have Sony Ericson phones, so battery life is poor, 3rd phone [cheap high discount every year] none will last on a single charge per day so a 2nd battery is a must.

Hi

Seems i have the same phone (the slider, altough they have two by now - mine is the one WITH Bluetooth) but i really can't complain about that battery - i use the phone for 3-4 days without recharge, and i am actually on the phone quite a bit.

It's true, when you renew the contract you get either a free phone or a highly discounted one, basically every 6 or 12 months..... which is why i've got 4 of them here I just love Hutch.

Also forgot to mention - for me at least (my building) Hutch hangs on to a signal where none of the GSM networks will - specifically the elevator and the underground car park. So far the only places that i've been where Hutch had "no net" and any of the GSM's did was at the hot springs near Chiang Mai (D-TAC and AIS worked, TRUE and Hutch didn't) and at Ban Laem (Cambodian border crossing), there only D-TAC works (haven't been there for a year so that may have changed).

I was at the Hutch shop yesterday getting another pre-paid SIM for a colleague and asked about the "going GSM" stuff - they had no idea what i was talking about. So if they really have such plans, they keep it a secret from their employees.

Best regards.....

Thanh

[lomatopo]

You need to guesstimate your calling patterns (domestic, international, on-net/off-net, SMS, GPRS, etc.) before anyone can make a specific recommendation. Each service provider offers dozens of packages for both pre- and post paid.

Example: One-2-Call pre-paid: 5 baht for the first minute then 25 satang for each additional minute to any phone; SMS: 2 baht each. There are similar packages: flat rate/min, pay a recurring monthly fee and get a lower per minute rate etc.

Example: DTAC post-paid: 600 baht/month, 40 minutes of calls per day (no carry-forward), anything over 40 min. is 1.5 baht/min.

I'd recommend pre-paid until you get established in Thailand and figure out what your calling patterns are. The leading service providers are AIS/One-2-Call; DTAC/Happy; TrueMove. I'd avoid Hutch as this requires proprietary handsets.

Get a pre-paid card then investigate the various promotions/packages on offer.

Re: a phone, you need to identify your requirements, applications and budget before anyone can make a decent recommendation. In general it might be advantageous (less expensive) to purchase an un-locked tri-band (GSM 900/1800/1900) handset on eBay in the U.S.A. prior to coming to Thailand.

[Lancashirelad]

Not sure, but "Hutch" sounds like a nickname for Hutchinson communications, which is Orange isn't it? (Or it was once, Orange [uk] have been bought out/taken over so many times i'm totally confused now).

Is it not possible to use a Hutch sim card in any unlocked phone?

The post-pay examples you guys have mentioned certainly sound much better value than the PAYG cards. But then isn't that so the world over?

Last time i was in Thailand (recently) i was in 7-11 for a 300 bht top up card almost every other day :-(

For those of you not in Thailand but wanting to keep your 12call "live" if you have a friend who has a bank account with SCB it can be topped up online there.

PAYG = Pay As You Go

[ignis]

Not sure, but "Hutch" sounds like a nickname for Hutchinson communications, which is Orange isn't it? (Or it was once, Orange [uk] have been bought out/taken over so many times i'm totally confused now).

Is it not possible to use a Hutch sim card in any unlocked phone?

The post-pay examples you guys have mentioned certainly sound much better value than the PAYG cards. But then isn't that so the world over?

Last time i was in Thailand (recently) i was in 7-11 for a 300 bht top up card almost every other day :-(

For those of you not in Thailand but wanting to keep your 12call "live" if you have a friend who has a bank account with SCB it can be topped up online there.

PAYG = Pay As You Go

NO..... Hutch is 3G....... Handsets are MUCH cheaper than GSM

why not look at there web site ?

http://www.hutch.co.th/index_en.htm

http://www.hutch.co.th/postpaid/tariff/exi...en.htm#packge04

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi

Hutch is CDMA while all others (AIS, TRUE, D-TAC and Suthep) are GSM. GSM is the "normal" standard altough CDMA is better in many ways (it suffers from slow adoption of SIM cards in such places like the U.S.A.)

Hence you can NOT use a Hutch SIM in any phone but a Hutch phone.

And Hutch phones will NOT work on any of the GSM networks either!

Best regards....

Thanh