Going To Get Edge

[hotnutts]

Well thanks to this forum ive found what looks like the phone I need ( Sony Ericcson

K790i ) to use the EDGE connection to my Apple Mac. At the moment I am using Dtac,

on my mobile non EDGE phone and have just looked at the Dtac web site ..

http://www.dtac.co.th/eng/package/internet_sim.html

The costs seem to be ..

199 Baht for 50 Hours / Month

399 Baht for 140 Hours / Month

999 Baht for unlimited

ive searched through the forum , but as some one who has never before used EDGE on a mobile phone

I am hoping that if you have used EDGE with possibily Dtac you could alert me to any pit fall's or must

not do's before I pay the fee to Dtac, I am thinking of going for the 999 Baht for unlimited option, so do you

have you any advice or susgestions to give this EDGE newbie .. Thanks

[JakeBKK]

Well thanks to this forum ive found what looks like the phone I need ( Sony Ericcson

K790i ) to use the EDGE connection to my Apple Mac. At the moment I am using Dtac,

on my mobile non EDGE phone and have just looked at the Dtac web site ..

http://www.dtac.co.th/eng/package/internet_sim.html

The costs seem to be ..

199 Baht for 50 Hours / Month

399 Baht for 140 Hours / Month

999 Baht for unlimited

ive searched through the forum , but as some one who has never before used EDGE on a mobile phone

I am hoping that if you have used EDGE with possibily Dtac you could alert me to any pit fall's or must

not do's before I pay the fee to Dtac, I am thinking of going for the 999 Baht for unlimited option, so do you

have you any advice or susgestions to give this EDGE newbie .. Thanks

BEFORE you buy a new cellphone verify that there is a working edge system in your region. otherwise you experience a fall-back to gprs speed and that speed you got already.

Greetz

Jake

[Tywais]

I have the same phone (k790i) and using DTAC GPRS/EDGE, which is how I am connected now (EDGE service outside Chiangmai about 10km). However, those prices are for post paid phone subscriptions not pre-paid. Don't know which you have. The pre-paid plan is 266.00 Baht for 1 week unlimited service. Just topped my GPRS just now. As the previous posted mentioned, check if you have EDGE service in your area.

The k790i and DTAC EDGE works very well for me. Evenings it can get slower, but still exceptable.

[Crushdepth]

I am hoping that if you have used EDGE with possibily Dtac you could alert me to any pit fall's or must

not do's before I pay the fee to Dtac, I am thinking of going for the 999 Baht for unlimited option, so do you

have you any advice or susgestions to give this EDGE newbie .. Thanks

The only pitfall I have come across is that whatever plan you choose be aware that it may expire after 12 months (ie it may not automatically renew - you might need to contact the call center and ask). If you forget or don't notice, the billing may revert to 'per minute' which can give you a nasty suprise if you are a heavy user !

Do you really need unlimited? 50 hours is a *lot*.

[hotnutts]

Thanks for the replys, at the moment I use a slow land line ( TOT ) dial up, and a True 30 day unlimited card for

at 329 Baht , and I am getting tired of waiting for the downloads to complete, my speed at the moment is usually around

33 Kbps - 44 Kbps . so I was hoping that if I can get EDGE set up , I should be able to get a better speed than I currently get with this dial up connection. so it now looks as if I have to confirm.before I splash put on a new k790i ( 9,900 Baht )

that in fact

1. I can in fact get EDGE in my area..?

2. That once I confirm I can get EDGE in my area, that the EDGE connection will give me better speeds than I am currently getting on my dial up connection..?

so point 1. How can I tell if EDGE is really available in my area, ( ive contacted a Dtac office and they said Yes, but as we all know a Yes may in fact not be correct.

so point 2.In your opinion do you think I would in fact get a better speed with EDGE than my current dial up connection ..?

Ive also looked at the Dtac web site , but cant see any thing about pre-paid plans, can any one please point me in the right direction for this..?

With this current TOT dial up connection I do get some drop off's , and have to re connect ( 3 Baht ) , does EDGE suffer in this way at all ..?

thanks again..

[hotnutts]

I forgot to say I cannot get ADSL in My area..

[Tywais]

so point 2.In your opinion do you think I would in fact get a better speed with EDGE than my current dial up connection ..?

Ive also looked at the Dtac web site , but cant see any thing about pre-paid plans, can any one please point me in the right direction for this..?

With this current TOT dial up connection I do get some drop off's , and have to re connect ( 3 Baht ) , does EDGE suffer in this way at all ..?

thanks again..

I was using dial up for quite a while and switched to GPRS/EDGE when our house phone no longer could keep a connection. The speed is certainly better but certain times it may slow down to dial up speeds, usually at the times people are using their phones a lot such as middle to late evening, schools out. But in general I find it a large improvement.

As for the pre-paid plans, I've not seen them on their site either but you just call 1678 and ask for 7 days unlimited and a minute later you have it. Just need to be sure your card is topped up enough to cover the charge.

As for drop outs. Pretty rare for my connection to drop, usually running all day when I'm at home on the weekends and most of the evenings and no loses. And 2nd, if it drops out there is no 3 baht connect charge due to the fact it is not a phone call you are making but a data connection.

The speed will also be determined a lot by the strength of the signal. I noticed one time my speed seemed quite slow and noticed my signal strength was also low. Repositioned the phone to get a good signal and the speed went back up.

[hotnutts]

Tywais..Many thanks, The thing I was hoping not to find , was after buying and setting up the new phone and EDGE , only to find that the speeds available were in fact not that much better than my current dial up connection, I don't know any one here in the area where I live , who is using EDGE , so again I am wondering how I can really confirm that in fact I do live in a Good EDGE connection area, first with out buying the new EDGE enabled mobile phone ..? . Have I got this right , I currently use Dtac ( Happy ) on my simple non EDGE mobile phone, so all I have to do is call Dtac and ask for a certain EDGE pre-paid package, and I wont have to change / alter my current Dtac phone number Etc ..?

Thanks ....

[Tywais]

so all I have to do is call Dtac and ask for a certain EDGE pre-paid package, and I wont have to change / alter my current Dtac phone number Etc ..?

Nothing changes on your sim/DTAC phone number. Just call them and ask for 7 days GPRS unlimited (they may not understand EDGE). It is the same, EDGE is multi-slot GPRS. See if a shop will loan you a used EDGE capable phone to try or inform them you can't buy it until you try it. Doesn't hurt to try Or if you can locate anyone you know with an EDGE capable phone to borrow.

[hotnutts]

Thanks Tywais, I will try and track down an EDGE enabled phone to give it a try before buying a new phone, I am still confused about the Dtac EDGE plans , on the Dtac web site http://www.dtac.co.th/eng/package/internet_sim.html

it shows ...

199 Baht for 50 Hours / Month

399 Baht for 140 Hours / Month

999 Baht for unlimited

and on a Dtac leaflet ive just got it ONLY shows...

5 Hours connection time for 50 Baht

15 Hours connection time for 100 Baht

100 Hours connection time for 350 Baht

Ive looked all over the Dtac web site for information on other packages ( pre-paid plan ) but still not sure what the above price differences relate to..? I am wondering if any one can point me in the right direction , where I can find more information about the range of EDGE package available from Dtac, I know I could try and telephone some one at Dtac, but it would be nice to see whats available in writing first .

Thanks

[miniwai]

Your best option is to just phone DTAC, only they have the current rates. When you go buy your phone ask to try your sim card in it before you buy! A little "E" will pop up above the signal bars if edge is working in your area. Best of luck, I know I would struggle with an edge only connection, great for browsing and emails but downloads...... My 2.5mb in Bangkok is bad enough.

[siam2007]

ermmmm...... maybe I am stupid (yeah I am a Computer-Dummie), but do I see that right: if you have that new USB-Modem-Stick (for example, that one from VODAPHONE), you actually dont need a phone anymore and u can insert the SIM-card directly into the Modem-stick..... or am I understanding something wrong there..... ?

this one, that is: http://www.vodafonebusinessshop.co.uk/USBModemStick.html

Edited April 5, 2008 by siam2007

[monty]

ermmmm...... maybe I am stupid (yeah I am a Computer-Dummie), but do I see that right: if you have that new USB-Modem-Stick (for example, that one from VODAPHONE), you actually dont need a phone anymore and u can insert the SIM-card directly into the Modem-stick..... or am I understanding something wrong there..... ?

this one, that is: http://www.vodafonebusinessshop.co.uk/USBModemStick.html

Entirely correct!

Only we don't have the fast 3G speeds yet, over here it tops out at around 240 kbps!

Solomon provides the most popular USB modem for the GPRS/Edge network we have over here.

Costs a tad under 6000 Baht.

[monty]

Tywais..Many thanks, The thing I was hoping not to find , was after buying and setting up the new phone and EDGE , only to find that the speeds available were in fact not that much better than my current dial up connection, I don't know any one here in the area where I live , who is using EDGE , so again I am wondering how I can really confirm that in fact I do live in a Good EDGE connection area, first with out buying the new EDGE enabled mobile phone ..? . Have I got this right , I currently use Dtac ( Happy ) on my simple non EDGE mobile phone, so all I have to do is call Dtac and ask for a certain EDGE pre-paid package, and I wont have to change / alter my current Dtac phone number Etc ..?

Thanks ....

The best way to check you really have Edge coverage, is to somehow find somebody with an Edge capable phone.

You don't actually have to try internet with it, just fire it up in your house, and most phones I know will indicate on the display whether you have Edge reception (a big E appears on the phone display) or just the older gprs (a big G appears on the display).

Also check the signal strength. To get good speeds you really need strong signal.

EDGE, also called EGPRS, is an update on the coding system used by GPRS. With this system the maximum speed per slot is increased to 59.2 kbps (MCS-9). However, this is only achieved when sitting right next to a base station (full signal strength). On the outer edge you'll only achieve 8.8 kbps per slot (MCS-1)!

Again, 4 slots are available for download, so close to the base station you can get 236.8 kbps (4 X 59.2).

Coding and modulation

scheme (MCS) Speed

(kbit/s/slot) Modulation

MCS-1..... 8.80 GMSK

MCS-2..... 11.2 GMSK

MCS-3..... 14.8 GMSK

MCS-4..... 17.6 GMSK

MCS-5..... 22.4 8-PSK

MCS-6..... 29.6 8-PSK

MCS-7..... 44.8 8-PSK

MCS-8..... 54.4 8-PSK

MCS-9..... 59.2 8-PSK

Oh, and try both a Dtac simcard and an AIS one2call simcard.

The quality is very comparable, as well as the prices. Most important is to go with the company which gives you (obviously) Edge reception, and if both have Edge, to go with the one with the highest signal strength.

[siam2007]

ermmmm...... maybe I am stupid (yeah I am a Computer-Dummie), but do I see that right: if you have that new USB-Modem-Stick (for example, that one from VODAPHONE), you actually dont need a phone anymore and u can insert the SIM-card directly into the Modem-stick..... or am I understanding something wrong there..... ?

this one, that is: http://www.vodafonebusinessshop.co.uk/USBModemStick.html

Entirely correct!

Only we don't have the fast 3G speeds yet, over here it tops out at around 240 kbps!

Solomon provides the most popular USB modem for the GPRS/Edge network we have over here.

Costs a tad under 6000 Baht.

thanks for the information......

as 3G is in the pipeline for Thailand now, can I use this SOLOMON stick for 3G as well ?

and is there any information to be found online (for example, an online-map of the country) about where EDGE-speed is available ?

[monty]

thanks for the information......

as 3G is in the pipeline for Thailand now, can I use this SOLOMON stick for 3G as well ?

and is there any information to be found online (for example, an online-map of the country) about where EDGE-speed is available ?

Nope, the Solomon only handles GPRS/EDGE protocols.

3G is in the pipeline, but as usual it looks like Thailand will use some not so standard frequencies for their first implementations.

Dtac will roll out 3G in the Chonburi and Phuket provinces first, but their press releases state that they will use the 850 Mhz band, while AFAIK the US uses 850/1900 (with upload and download on different frequencies) and Europe sits on the 2100 Mhz band.

So I'm not sure standard equipment can be used.

If it can it would be good since quite a few devices are already widely available handling HSDPA (a few of the newer HTC pda's for example).

Forget about finding Edge covered area's on-line, but both AIS and Dtac actually have quite good coverage, even outside cities. Trial and error is the way to find out, i.e. borrow an Edge capable phone, and check using both sims from AIS and Dtac. Just look for the E indicator on the screen!

[siam2007]

I now want to give it a try and buy the Solomon-USB-GPRS-modem-stick (what a word! ).

any suggestion / recommendations where I could find a reliable dealer in either BANGKOK or PATTAYA (preferred: chain-store outlet, such as "Hardware-House", and must accept credit-cards), with at least one staff who speaks a decent english, to explain me the entire system and initiate it. (u need a special software for that ? could use it with both DTAC as well as AIS ?).

thanks

[craig]

I use the solomon edge modem and dtac....I could not get a phone line in Huay Yai south of Pattaya and started using this. I used both AIS and Dtac and both worked the same. Faster than a dial up but still slow. At times everything just buzzes along and then slows to a crawl. Drop offs are rare. I started buying the weekly Dtac pre paid hours and now use the monthly postpaid 140 hours. The Solomon edge device will keep track of the time you use so you can compare it to the Dtac bill.

I'm looking forward to 3G. I visited the states last month and stayed with a friend in Seattle...his connection was like the speed of sound compared to mine. I like to download audio from BBC, NPR, CBC and ABC ....what takes me 30 minutes here took 2 minutes there.

[Gary A]

Tywais..Many thanks, The thing I was hoping not to find , was after buying and setting up the new phone and EDGE , only to find that the speeds available were in fact not that much better than my current dial up connection, I don't know any one here in the area where I live , who is using EDGE , so again I am wondering how I can really confirm that in fact I do live in a Good EDGE connection area, first with out buying the new EDGE enabled mobile phone ..? . Have I got this right , I currently use Dtac ( Happy ) on my simple non EDGE mobile phone, so all I have to do is call Dtac and ask for a certain EDGE pre-paid package, and I wont have to change / alter my current Dtac phone number Etc ..?

Thanks ....

Both my phones, a Samsung and a Nokia have a little "E" icon that shows on the screen when using EDGE. You don't need to be hooked up to your computer. Just go to the "WEB" icon in your phone menu and there is probable a home bookmark. Click on it and authorize the connection. If you have an EDGE capable phone, you should see the icon on your screen.

I'm online with the Samsung Bluetooth using Dtac and Dtac is pretty slow right now. Here is what I have;

Last Result:

Download Speed: 197 kbps (24.6 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 18 kbps (2.3 KB/sec transfer rate)

[Cal]

Hotnutts, as Monty says: Check EDGE coverage with some people who has an EDGE phone.

postpaid: http://www.dtac.co.th/english/postpaid.html

I think those other prices you cited were for Prepaid. Go for postpaid as DTAC just removed the working permit requirement.

This is what they "promise" in terms of EDGE/GPRS:

dtac's data coverage

dtac offers High-speed connections with EDGE and GPRS technology nationwide.

What is EDGE and GPRS?

EDGE and GPRS are data technologies on the top of the GSM mobile standard. GPRS has speed of up to 40 kbit/s,

while EDGE has speed of up to 200 kbit/s. dtac’s EDGE network is purposely built to give our customers a steady speed,

rather than large variable ups and downs. As such our customers should expect an average speed on EDGE of 120 kbps.

This speed might vary according to peak traffic hours.

dtac 3G

The Thai authorities have yet to issue licenses for 3G services. (Also called UMTS or HSDPA.)

[sfokevin]

Here is a good general resource:

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

[Gary A]

Maybe AIS got EDGE straightened out. My Dtac was very slow today but AIS is working good;

Last Result:

Download Speed: 203 kbps (25.4 KB/sec transfer rate)

Upload Speed: 43 kbps (5.4 KB/sec transfer rate)

[monty]

Yep, having used AIS GPRS for the last few days, and am getting pretty good speeds.

Very comparable to the ADSL 256/128 I used to have...

[ballbreaker]

I use AIS 1-2 Call Edge when at the house 30km north of Korat and get varied performance. Download speeds would be 12-18Kb in the morning but slow down to dial up modem speeds in the evening. Over the last month or two performance has shown some improvement during the evening with speeds in the 6-7Kb range but that could change.