Ais Contract, Or 12call?

[Ajarn]

I've had a phone contract with AIS for the last 7 or 8 years. Excellent service, always. But, a phone bill of 3-4 thousand baht every month...

A few years ago, 12call starts up.... Lately, I'm wondering whether it's better to dump my contract and go with 12call only....Is 12call cheaper? Calling Bangkok is 12 baht per minute on AIS, which is more than I have to pay to call the US. I thought I read somewhere that 12call is cheaper now...Max 8 baht? How much to call overseas, when compared to 'normal' phone rates?

[p1p]

How important is it to keep your phone number?

If not, have a look at Orange. They seem to be best value at present.

[chuchok]

My wife has a contract with AIS.She tells me she pays a monthly fee of THB600 and gets 260mins free except overseas calls. If she goes over this figure she pays THB2.20/min.

[Ajarn]

How important is it to keep your phone number?

If not, have a look at Orange. They seem to be best value at present.

pip, I don't mind losing my number now- I went through that heart break when I transferred my service to CM a few years ago and they issued me a new number...My old one was in Bkk was something super easy to remember- until this moment...

Anyway, how is the coverage for Orange? I've heard, though not recently, that they are over-subscribed, and their coverage in the boonies isn't as good as AIS. 12call uses the AIS network. Since I'm in the boonies a fair amount of time, I need the coverage. The phone is a safety issue with me, too, in case of a breakdown, mental or otherwise.

[kenk3z]

It sounds a little like they have you roped into a contract rate from years ago when rates were higher.

I don't think I would spend 1000 Baht in a month with 1-2-Call, more like 500 Baht.

Maybe you can go into one AIS store as a "new customer" to find out the current contract rates. Then you visit another AIS store, explain your contract, and indicate you will be terminating it unless you get a better rate. And you will know the target rate for new customers.

One advantage of 1-2-Call is the limited liability in case of billing fraud, mistakes, or a lost phone.

kenk3z

[chanchao]

> It sounds a little like they have you roped into a contract rate

> from years ago when rates were higher.

Yes, my thoughts exactly. And when you go to their office, some girl at the counter will cheerfully say you can just switch to their current plan, which should cut your bill in half right away, if not more.

Personally I'm too bitchy about these things. If they start offering a better plan to new subscribers but FAIL to inform their existing, long term customers of this, then I have had it with that company. I.e. they keep charging existing customers 12 baht for long distance calls, whereas for new subscribers it's all the same, low rate.

I think that's improper, so I ditched my 1-2-Call and made my girlfriend ditch her AIS subscription.

We're both on a DTAC subscription now. My phone bill is about 600-700 baht a month. Look into their D-Flex / My-something program. You don't have to commit to either a high monthly fee + zillions of free minutes OR a low monthly fee and few monthly minutes. Takes a math degree to figure that out. (Oh you have one! ) With a flexible program there's a low monthly fee, and you get more discount as you use it more. I.e. 'the next minute is always cheaper')

Also their GPRS rates are good. (THis is why I'm not on Orange; they didn't offer GPRS at all and I'd like to check my email on my phone and do MSN messenger and read BBC World and stuff)

Cheers,

Chanchao

[sabaijai]

Agree with Chanchao. I compared all the plans and DTAC's Dflex or My programs offered the best deals, esp considering the area coverage. Orange is slightly cheaper, but doesn't have nearly the coverage of AIS or DTAC. Orange has no coverage in Pai, for example, while DTAC does.

If you never leave Bangkok (or other major city in Thailand), Orange would probably suffice.

AIS monthly is the most expensive, and their 12Call is not such a great deal either.

BTW you can send free SMSs to any DTAC cellphone (and most cellphones abroad) direct from PC using Yahoo Messenger. Altho Yahoo Messenger lists AIS has a server for SMS transmission, AIS cards can't receive them, or at least that's been my experience.

Edited October 11, 2004 by sabaijai

[Sansai Sam]

I used AIS 1-2-Call for a few years and decided it was a hassle to buy the scratch cards so I went ahead and opened an AIS account. I opted for a higher monthly rate but found that I usually didn't use the rate amount but was still charged for it. When I cancelled the account they gave me a hassle about it and in fact charged me the full month even though I cancelled on the 10th. I have returned to 1-2-Call and no longer mind stopping off to buy a new card. As a matter of fact you can buy time through the ATM at some Thai banks.

As much as I dislike AIS because of its policies, service and ownership I must admit they have better service outside the big cities that DTAC or Orange.

If you switch between 1-2-Call and an account they now allow you to keep the same number.

[meadish_sweetball]

I generally agree with what everyone has said so far.

Be aware that you can NOT switch from a monthly account with AIS to 1-2-Call and keep your number, although the other way is possible. (I switched from 1-2-Call to monthly one month ago and was given this information at the AIS counter at Chiang Mai).

If you want to check e-mail with your phone, go with DTAC as ChanChao says, or sign up for the same AIS promotion as I am using - 499 baht unlimited GPRS per month, on top of their cheapest talk promotion at present.

I used to have two SIM cards in my phone (they can modify some mobile phones to install two SIMs simultaneously) - one from 1-2-call and one Orange prepaid.

I found Orange to be quite reliable with clear speech quality and decent coverage along all major roads and cities, so unless you go a lot by dirt roads I would not worry TOO much about their signal coverage. My GFs DTAC was normally not as good as the ORange card, then again that might have been due to the send strength of her phone relative to mine as well... you never know.

Cheers,

Meadish

[Ajarn]

Thanks for the great replies. Seems that most have pretty good reception, regardless of brand name. For me, the main concern about 12call is the short time your credit lasts- you're forced to use it, or lose it... I've eaten a few hundred baht in the last couple of years (on my spare, which is 12call). And the time period for losing your number completely, if you don't use it, is less than 6 months, it seems, since I just had to buy a new one (299 baht +50 baht credit- expires in 30 days)

So, do my historic losses come out to be less than the higher charges for AIS? Probably not....

Now, I have to balance the gains/losses against any possible 'annoyance factors' to which I give high value and importance.

Onward, through the fog...

[astral]

Check out the web sites for AIS and DTAC

or pop into their office and see what they can offer you.

You are probably on an old contract rate and paying far too much.

Call should be 2 - 3 baht a minute, possibly less if you use 1000 baht a month.

Get yourself into a new contract at the better rates.

By contrast the prepaid packages 12Call, DPrompt etc are 5 baht a minutes

[Ajarn]

Check out the web sites for AIS and DTAC

or pop into their office and see what they can offer you.

You are probably on an old contract rate and paying far too much.

Call should be 2 - 3 baht a minute, possibly less if you use 1000 baht a month.

Get yourself into a new contract at the better rates.

By contrast the prepaid packages 12Call, DPrompt etc are 5 baht a minutes

Yeah, I think you're right about being on the 'standard' rates...I noticed that these promotions all have time limits, like 24 months...And there are promotions for current subscribers that look much better- but, like I said, for 24 months. I guess it then reverts back to the 'standard' rates as mine did. I'll call them tomorrow (I've spaced it out for a couple of days already) and get the skinny (vs getting skinny, which is what I really need )

Thanks, Astral

[Ajarn]

Called AIS today and signed up for a new package. I was correct in thinking the one from before had expired...

So, 200 baht per month

70 'free' minutes per month @ 3 baht each

then 3 baht nationwide after that.

Should save me a lot

[PeaceBlondie]

Thanks, everybody - I just read this whole thread and am still confused. I reckon that northern Thailand's roughly at the place now, that the USA was just a few years ago, still making the transition from terribly expensive programs, long term contracts, etc. So, may I just describe what I do now, and ask if I can save a few hundred baht per month by switching?

A. Not counting the land line at home, which is used almost exclusively for the computer dialup, I just have a Sony-Ericsson lightweight mobile which displays a headline of TH GSM. About 16 months ago, I bought the phone and SIM card at a booth, and I've been buying 300-baht or 500-baht 1-2-Call cards at 7-11 stores ever since. I think the charges are about 3 to 5 baht/minute local, no more than 5 baht to Bangkok. I'm almost never out of range unless I'm terribly remote, and the sound quality seems OK.

B. Contracts: I hate them. Even if the entire system were English-speaking, I would not understand the terms, and do not want to be locked into anything longer than six months. This is a fast-changing technology, and 12 or months is an eternity.

C. Changing phone number: a hassle, but not very important. I call out more than folks call me. There would be advantages to certain....salesmen...losing my number.

D. Monthly bill. It would be nice to see a breakdown of the costs, but not important. I call whom I choose to call

E. International: calls home to the kids and old buddies are 40 baht/min, and if I could get it done to 10 baht, I'd call home much more often. I go to Buddy's Internet and they charge me 10 baht/minute in the private booth now. I think the landline may work at 9 baht; not sure.

Apologies for the length of the post. Thanks.

[astral]

E. International: calls home to the kids and old buddies are 40 baht/min,

Where on earth are you calling for 40 baht a minute??

Try the 007 service of TOT.

Alternatively us Voice over IP, 008 with TOT

or 001 809 with CAT.

Any of these should dramatically reduce your overseas bill to something around 10 baht/min from any phone.

If you use a mobile do not use the + prefix for international, that will take you to CAT at full rates, dial the prefix yourself.

Edited October 21, 2004 by astral

[meadish_sweetball]

E. International: calls home to the kids and old buddies are 40 baht/min,

Where on earth are you calling for 40 baht a minute??

Try the 007 service of TOT.

Alternatively us Voice over IP, 008 with TOT

or 001 809 with CAT.

Any of these should dramatically reduce your overseas bill to something around 10 baht/min from any phone.

If you use a mobile do not use the + prefix for international, that will take you to CAT at full rates, dial the prefix yourself.

Astral, thanks for the tips - I had no idea it was possible to dial the actual prefix on the mobile phone and get a better rate - does this apply to all mobile phone service providers and regardless of prepaid or monthly account? Which prefix would you recommend for AIS GSM Advance monthly?

Cheers,

Meadish

[PeaceBlondie]

Thanks for the words. No, I almost never use my mobile to call international.

However, I find that Thai people, including well educated teachers, can be absolute morons on how to call out of Thailand. I seldom get frustrated in this country, but TAT and TOT and AIS and ajarns and supervisors and idiot girls at the other end of the line were absolutely worthless, giving wrong information, or saying you had to call some govt. office during working hours, etc.

Finally my roommate has apparently gotten our landline hooked up for international calls, but it wasn't formerly connected.

I'm not criticizing anybody on this forum in this regard, but the Thais I spoke to on this subject were the most ignorant and misinformed that I have ever seen. Most of them don't have the foggiest, and God help you if you get an 'operator' who thinks she understands English.

It's the prefixes that confuse people. One type of phone needs 0-1-1-country code+ and the next one needs 0+0+1-1+country and the next one starts with 007 or 008 but it's really 0070801247*/*&*

Thanks, guys. I'll make a note of your exact advice on the TOT brochure we have.

[eljeque]

ORANGE!!!!

I paid 1200 baht for a total of 2100 baht of call time

300 baht per month for 7 months

The first minute is 3 baht, the rest of the minutes are 1 baht / minute

This applies from 10pm to 6pm

6pm to 10pm, I rarely use my phone, but it is no more than the other companies