Current International Internet Speeds

[Dustoff]

I live in Ban Wang Tan and our TOT speeds have been wildly erratic for a couple of weeks and I am pulling my hair out. (good thing I have plenty to spare)

The top TOT techs have been over here a couple of times and insist that it is the same for everyone in CM but I have trouble accepting that since I have not seen any recent complaints on these forums.

I use SpeakEasy speed tests for international and within an hour I can have 1190kbs, then 60, then 900, then nada. And this goes on not only during the 'rush hour' times but all day/night. Is anyone else experiencing this or is TOT simply unwilling to fix a problem that exists in our particular area?

Not gonna do a poll but will those of you who have TT&T and TOT post your current experiences? If TT&T is providing better service I would not mind changing over but don't want to go thru the hassle of changing over if it will not provide me with better service.

If your connection shuts down while you are reading this, I can wait a day or two for your response...

Edited July 27, 2008 by Dustoff

[Wandering]

TTT is better than TOT, but not by much. Maxnet through TTT is probably the best service in CM. I've heard rumored that there is something else that is even better. With TOT you will probably need to restart your router at least once a day. With TTT, it will be less frequent. If you have a Belkin, use TOT. If DLink, you can use either. Your speeds will vary all day long with whoever you use. If you are one of the first to use a new service then your speeds will be tripple what is advertised, but eventually it will slow to a crawl as more people use the service. One way to speed things up is to get a business line, or even better a dedicated IP address all your own.

[BlackArtemis]

Remember 9600 baud modems?

I relive this everyday......

[BlackArtemis]

P.S. TT&T sucks

[lannarebirth]

I have both TOT Gold and TT&T Maxnet Premeir. TOT is slower always that TT&T but is up more often and with less data drop out and fewer international websites that aren't available (YouTube a notable exception). It HAS been more erratic of late, but it is in a range between just shitty and really shitty. Let's face it, they both suck and that fact doesn't appear to changing anytime soon.

[chiangmaibruce]

Also using TOT - the package that is about 550bt/month

When it's fast (ie. the advertised speed) it is great, but that would be less than 25% of the time. I just don't have the energy to complain, it's always "there is a problem everywhere and we are doing something to fix it" etc. We know someone who works in their call centre and we just call her usually. From time to time there is no service at all, and sometimes then we are told that the system is down for maintenance. Of course no warning is ever given beforehand - bit o' bad luck if you are doing share trading.

A lot of the rest of the time it is just like the speed of an old dial-up, with time to make a cup of tea while the next page loads. Bit how much tea can you drink? I suppose I should learn Tai Chi, I'm sure i'd get a few moves in before the 'puter was good to go.

[BlackArtemis]

Once you've had 14mb+ it's hard to accept these speeds no matter how often you try to say "Thailand has so many other wonderful things to make up for it". It's so aggravating that Cambodia has 3g, but we can't get with the times here. I should be able to get 5mb speeds, TRUE speeds to the US and other western Countries in any major province.

[Greenside]

Speakeasy shows 137 down and 197 up on TOT 2mbps line tonight at 11.00pm in Nong Hoi. My torrents struggle along at between 7 and 15 on average. Miserable service but my last connection via Maxnet wasn't any different despite only being a 512kbps service.

[BlackArtemis]

It's funny, the other nnight I was getting 450k on a torrent, 30 mins later it trickled down to 5k...

[Rice_King]

Sorry. I posted this without reading the fine print Dustoff. As you can see on the graphic, I am using TRUE.

... those of you who have TT&T and TOT post your current experiences?

Edited July 27, 2008 by Rice_King

[ChiangMaiAjarn]

I live close to the airport and use TOT. I pay for a 1.5mb connection and am consistently getting emule download rates of between 140 and 155 kb/sec. It very rarely goes off and I never need to reset my router. I have friends nearby using TOT with similar experiences. I also have a friend slightly further out of town than me who has real problems with his TT&T connection. It really seems to depend very much on exactly where you live!

[haybilly]

I live close to the airport and use TOT. I pay for a 1.5mb connection and am consistently getting emule download rates of between 140 and 155 kb/sec. It very rarely goes off and I never need to reset my router. I have friends nearby using TOT with similar experiences. I also have a friend slightly further out of town than me who has real problems with his TT&T connection. It really seems to depend very much on exactly where you live!

Agreed--up the road in Hang Dong TT&T Maxnet is all over the shop--good, bad, indifferent--must be regional.

[Mapguy]

Yes, I have TOT cybergold. It has been highly irregular in the past month. Downloading down to 15kb/sec.

I have not bothered the company, since it seems to me that the problem is capacity. I suspect overload due to increased usage generally and to heavy users, those who download movies and are into streaming big time, et cetera.

Also, many sites are so "digitally dense" that they don't download quickly. One site I visit regularly has a "lite" version; that is, when they sense slow connectivity, they switch over to a version more suitable for quicker access. This was set up for mobile phone use, but it works with computers, too, of course.

TOT seems also to have changed its connectivity procedures which in light of recent experience, are probably reasonable. I get disconnect messages every 30 minutes. I had some very limited experience with arbitrary disconnects within the 30-minute framework.

I think there is a reasonable argument for charging on the basis of usage.

Edited July 28, 2008 by Mapguy

[p1p]

I have been screaming at TOT for months. Like Dustoff - extremely variable, from instand page loads to cook-a-meal times. My in country speeds are consistently high. Get streaming full screen Thai TV no problem - International is a three legged, rheumatoid geriatric sloth in speed terms.

[Mapguy]

I have been screaming at TOT for months. Like Dustoff - extremely variable, from instand page loads to cook-a-meal times. My in country speeds are consistently high. Get streaming full screen Thai TV no problem - International is a three legged, rheumatoid geriatric sloth in speed terms.

Yes, it ultimately depending on the size of the "pipe" (locally, regionally, nationally, and so on)! In the meantime, internet hogs should eat less. But then the porno collectors would probably not hear of it! [Please, no plays on words intended! Lay off!!]

[MartinBKK]

I have been screaming at TOT for months. Like Dustoff - extremely variable, from instand page loads to cook-a-meal times. My in country speeds are consistently high. Get streaming full screen Thai TV no problem - International is a three legged, rheumatoid geriatric sloth in speed terms.

Yes, it ultimately depending on the size of the "pipe" (locally, regionally, nationally, and so on)! In the meantime, internet hogs should eat less. But then the porno collectors would probably not hear of it! [Please, no plays on words intended! Lay off!!]

TOT CYBERGOLD - SANSAI (1000Baht per month)

Unsusable for the past week - signal drops out constantly. Tired of talking to the clowns in the service centre. Seeing i need the internet for work i am very serious about relocating elsewhere.

[mcgriffith]

Yes, I have TOT cybergold. It has been highly irregular in the past month. Downloading down to 15kb/sec.

I have not bothered the company, since it seems to me that the problem is capacity. I suspect overload due to increased usage generally and to heavy users, those who download movies and are into streaming big time, et cetera.

Also, many sites are so "digitally dense" that they don't download quickly. One site I visit regularly has a "lite" version; that is, when they sense slow connectivity, they switch over to a version more suitable for quicker access. This was set up for mobile phone use, but it works with computers, too, of course.

TOT seems also to have changed its connectivity procedures which in light of recent experience, are probably reasonable. I get disconnect messages every 30 minutes. I had some very limited experience with arbitrary disconnects within the 30-minute framework.

I think there is a reasonable argument for charging on the basis of usage.

You bring up a valid point. I read an article recently stating that IP-sponsored surveys reveal that 5% of users consume 50% of bandwidth (I know I am repeating myself).

Australia apparently has pioneered this model; most major IP's there cap downloaded data/month, and charge a premium for excess usage on a tiered scale. Other major IP's in the developed world are instituting this, or looking at doing so shortly.

On thread, I switch between my (free) apt bldg TT&T Maxnet LAN, and an AIS 3G wireless connect. Both average about 50-150 kbps, both upload and download. If one doesn't work, the other invariably does (knock on wood ). Sometimes I get 200-250 UPLOAD (my emphasis) on AIS, ie upload speed faster than download....probably to keep the multiplayer game geeks happy.

All in all the speeds are OK for me now. Of course I had fiber through Cox Communication in Mission Viejo, California 4+ years ago....I think the slowest ever speed I clocked was around 1.2 Mps.....

[aquablue]

Hi, We moved to new house near CM Uni. Had TOT which stopped all together and wouldnt restart without TOT techs coming out and doing it. They told me I couldnt reset myself. Finally they just said its no good and can cancel service. I have since worked out how to get it going again ( and its not just resetting modem, but making a phone call to anyone without them answering) Anyway the top speed was only 175kps. LOW!!!!

We went to TT+T Maxnet. They offered 2MB and gauranteed 60% of that at house point. They check at the time you are in the office to determine if you can get the min 60% at your house. Now getting 1.6 MB at the house and happy!!!

[MartinBKK]

Apparently KSC is the only other company that can provide service to my area.

Anyone using KSC care to share their experience?

[Mapguy]

Yes, I have TOT cybergold. It has been highly irregular in the past month. Downloading down to 15kb/sec.

I have not bothered the company, since it seems to me that the problem is capacity. I suspect overload due to increased usage generally and to heavy users, those who download movies and are into streaming big time, et cetera.

Also, many sites are so "digitally dense" that they don't download quickly. One site I visit regularly has a "lite" version; that is, when they sense slow connectivity, they switch over to a version more suitable for quicker access. This was set up for mobile phone use, but it works with computers, too, of course.

TOT seems also to have changed its connectivity procedures which in light of recent experience, are probably reasonable. I get disconnect messages every 30 minutes. I had some very limited experience with arbitrary disconnects within the 30-minute framework.

I think there is a reasonable argument for charging on the basis of usage.

You bring up a valid point. I read an article recently stating that IP-sponsored surveys reveal that 5% of users consume 50% of bandwidth (I know I am repeating myself).

Australia apparently has pioneered this model; most major IP's there cap downloaded data/month, and charge a premium for excess usage on a tiered scale. Other major IP's in the developed world are instituting this, or looking at doing so shortly.

On thread, I switch between my (free) apt bldg TT&T Maxnet LAN, and an AIS 3G wireless connect. Both average about 50-150 kbps, both upload and download. If one doesn't work, the other invariably does (knock on wood ). Sometimes I get 200-250 UPLOAD (my emphasis) on AIS, ie upload speed faster than download....probably to keep the multiplayer game geeks happy.

All in all the speeds are OK for me now. Of course I had fiber through Cox Communication in Mission Viejo, California 4+ years ago....I think the slowest ever speed I clocked was around 1.2 Mps.....

I saw my first transmission of an email in 1985 at 3kb/sec. I was dumbstruck by this miracle. Guess I still am. But will the Bit Torrent hogs please log off? It will make life a lot more pleasant for all of us. Spend 100 baht on a pirated dvd at the Night Bazaar, will you?

[hml367]

I have the GoldCyber from ToT.

My speed between Chiang Mai (Ban Wang Tan) and Bangkok seems to be pretty steady and stable. Of course the "prime times" slow down a little bit. It is just the international speed that is slowed for me. This has been for about a month.

I called ToT 3 or 4 times and the last call, after asking me to reboot and do the modem....etc., the girl said they have a problem with their network. Could be true or just their way of saying "we don't know"/"too bad".

Does anyone know if Thailand is at all affected by internet use in China? The Olympics will open soon and I suspect their will be a lot of people using the internet.

MSPain

[hml367]

ONE MORE THING....

Everytime I run TRACERT, there is a REQUEST TIMED OUT at exactly hop number 6.... Everytime it is at hop number 6.

So it could be that at "hop number 6" there is something wrong/interferring with the request.

MSPain

[Mapguy]

46Kps this morning (10:00 - 10:30, 12 August) near the NW corner of the CM moat with TOT Cybergold for downloading a software update from the USA. That, of course, is an average speed for the job, the speed varying throughout the process (but not a lot).

Still experiencing TOT's 30-minute disconnect message. Can't really complain, but it does mean that to download a patch requires monitoring the computer.

No hardware problems at all. Time to connect is very fast.

I have two other Internet users within wireless range, but they can not piggyback on my connection.

[Seneque]

TOT CYBERGOLD - SANSAI (1000Baht per month)

Unsusable for the past week - signal drops out constantly. Tired of talking to the clowns in the service centre. Seeing i need the internet for work i am very serious about relocating elsewhere.

Chiangmai-Samoeng TOT CYBERGOLD (1000 B/mth)... from slow to very slow to nothing at all..... Some people mention true is ok.... is it truth ? TOT is hopeless and TT&T seems better... strange as they loan the line from TOT !

[Dustoff]

It's a mess, ain't it?

Down here by the new Hangdong Rd Macro, I am averaging 45-71kbs (using Speakeasy, usually to Seattle) and it has been like that for quite some time. It sure would be nice to get my money's worth for a change!

A friend in this same village suspects that it could partly be due to the Olympics and provided this link:

http://www.telecomasia.net/article.php?typ...id_article=9477

Could they be gobbling up much of the bandwidth out of Asia? Is it possible that Thailand is selling them bandwidth?

[Mapguy]

It's a mess, ain't it?

Down here by the new Hangdong Rd Macro, I am averaging 45-71kbs (using Speakeasy, usually to Seattle) and it has been like that for quite some time. It sure would be nice to get my money's worth for a change!

A friend in this same village suspects that it could partly be due to the Olympics and provided this link:

http://www.telecomasia.net/article.php?typ...id_article=9477

Could they be gobbling up much of the bandwidth out of Asia? Is it possible that Thailand is selling them bandwidth?

HMMMMMM! You might be on to something here. Interesting article! And within the context of articles here and there about the general traffic increases that are beginning to challenge the infrastructure worldwide.

Do you recall when there were Pacific Ocean cable breaks and the impact on international access several months (maybe two years?) ago? I do, vaguely. We had similar problems with connections and speed, but I can't remember all the details. When they patched the cables, things went back to normal, which wasn't all that bad, but in the meantime I think they were routing traffic through some of the nastier neighborhoods in Mogadishu.

Whatever, ISP providers in Thailand, especially TOT, should be addressing such an issue and saying something informative. Problem is that that would be a senior management job, not one for an assistant in a call center unless given a script. Additionally, there is always the usual run of problems to deal with so sometimes it is hard to diffrentiate one type of problem from another. Accordingly, they have to play it by their diagnostic "playbook."

Edited August 12, 2008 by Mapguy

[hml367]

It's a mess, ain't it?

Down here by the new Hangdong Rd Macro, I am averaging 45-71kbs (using Speakeasy, usually to Seattle) and it has been like that for quite some time. It sure would be nice to get my money's worth for a change!

A friend in this same village suspects that it could partly be due to the Olympics and provided this link:

http://www.telecomasia.net/article.php?typ...id_article=9477

Could they be gobbling up much of the bandwidth out of Asia? Is it possible that Thailand is selling them bandwidth?

Your "money's worth" ???

Be careful what you wish for... heh heh

MSPain

[mcgriffith]

There was an article in BKK Post last Wed in Database section (you do read Database, right? ) regarding this very issue.

It was basically an advertorial for some IT software solutions co. regarding managing broadband traffic into corporations during the Olympics.

The gist of the article was that unlike previous years, this year there are literally hundreds of live internet feeds in real time (I think the article mentioned NBC alone having around 25).

Every office worker worldwide, from Estonia to South Africa to Buenos Aires to Manchester, with a broadband connection, are watching the Games.

This might be a partial explanation for your problem....there simply isn't enough bandwidth to support this many eyeballs.....no one's fault really- just a precursor of things to come.

BTW, if my friends would stop sending me the same idiot jokes/videos (that I've already seen 5 times before in the last week, and that have circled the globe 900 times already) this might help alleviate this problem. This behavior is so 2001.....

[p1p]

BTW, if my friends would stop sending me the same idiot jokes/videos (that I've already seen 5 times before in the last week, and that have circled the globe 900 times already) this might help alleviate this problem. This behavior is so 2001.....

If you send you your email, I shall be sure to put you on my "Not to amuse" list!

[Mapguy]

Today, I decided to use a new broadband measure to compare with the broadband speed test provided (check the menu bar) by ThaiVisa. The "Speedtest" looks very similar to what is provided by Speedtest.net << http://www.speedtest.net/global.php?continent=5 >> You get a reading by going to the web site, which requires a few steps. Additional information (about competing services, for example) and a record of your tests is kept. Mine is iStat Menus, which is available for the Mac. I am sure there must be a very similar program for other operating systems. iStat Menus is free and easily downloadable. Just google it. You can put in on your menu bar where you can do a quick "real time" check at your computer and some other information.

There is a significant difference in the readings taken by these services. The Speedtest results are much, much higher than the iStat results. The reason, according to the TOT tech I have spoken with is that Speedtest measures the speed at the link site in Bangkok; iStat measures it at your computer. Guess what folks! A typical difference looks like this for downloading: 1.7Mb:250KB/s. More than a modest difference !!!

I am aware of a law suit that is being filed against TOT for fraudulent marketing and advertising.