Broadband In The Boondocks

[Sheryl]

My online life is much hampered by lack of broadband. I keep asking my local ISP and they keep telling me that broadband is simply not available out where I live, which is a good 30-40 km from the provincial town. Now, I believe them that no one else around me has broadband access and that I am too far away to receive signals from the broadband set up in the town. But surely there is some technology available that would enable me to get it????

My ISP says no but in my experience businesses here will oftyen say a thing is impossible or unavailable if they personally can't provide it, even if there are otjher sources.

So I am asking all you techies out there.................??????

[2008bangkok]

Satalite internet, you can get that anywhere but from what i gather its a tad expensive

[Sheryl]

Where anywhere? (not in Prachinburi, methinks...) And how expensive?

And (this may well be a stupid question) I have a DSM receiver thingy for my cable TV, can that be used in anyway? Or if not and I have to go for a full satellite installation can it at least do double duty for mne in getting cable or will I still need a UBC unscrambler etc??

[dave_boo]

You're unfortunately inside of Hutch's coverage rather than CAT's. None the less, you could get CDMA2000 1xRT, which is essentially as fast as EDGE, and usually faster since the speed has fewer fluctuations.

[Guest Reimar]

Sheryl. Satellite means nothing else than IP-Star, or Crab-Star or whatever name other having for it.

I had it 2 year ago from CS-Loxinfo: 512/256 5 static IP THB 5,000.00 a month and totally useless. Finally CS-Loxinfo has need to payback my "Investment" by Court Order.

Check with George, he had it to, or monty, GaryA and others.

Just for surfing it's ok most of the time but not for to down- and upload of important data. I was getting a minimum of 85% damaged packets.

Maybe you use CDMA but before apply I strogly suggest that you test it at YOUR base, so let the Seller (shop or whoever) shown the testing at yout living place before buy.

I had saked a firend of mine today about the Internet connection at Prachinburi and he told until first quarter of this year, before he was moved to Bangkok Rangsit, he could only use GPRS with about 40 kbps at his living place, near to the Army Camp, and that's middl in Prachinburi (the one with Airfield).

More info I can't give you.

Cheers.

[monty]

Sheryl, it looks like you're using KSC dial-up, the best option IMO would be to go for GPRS/EDGE as a stop gap solution.

I'm almost sure that either Dtac or AIS will have EDGE coverage, probably even both!

Try to get somebody with an edge capable phone to come over to your place and check whether there is Edge coverage. Pretty much all Edge capable phones will show an E somewhere on the display when in reach of an EDGE capable cell tower.

If you have good signal strength you can expect speeds of between double and 4 times what you can get through dial up. Do note that you'll need at least 4 out of 5 bars of signal strength to get good speeds.

Advantage of Edge is that the equipment is cheap (a 3500 Baht Nokia 3110 Classic will do) and actual usage is even cheaper then dial up.

Hutch is also an option, but not sure about the speeds though. Theoretical top speed is around 140 kbps, and indeed it used to be that the speed was almost rock solid against the top speed.

However in Pattaya their system is most probably saturated because the 3 people I know using it are reporting sub dial up speeds most of the time. Edge's theoretical topspeed is 238 kbps, but can vary wildly resulting mostly in average speed of between 80 to 160 kbps.

Another drawback with Hutch is the need to sign a contract and pay 1000 Baht/month for unlimited access (even if you're not online that much). Work Permit needed if foreigner.

With Edge (AIS/Dtac) al that is need is a Edge capable phone and a 50 Baht simcard to trial the service and see whether it's worth it.

Edge can go really bad at times, but where I live both AIS and Dtac offer Edge, so I have both simcards, if one goes down the other will still work!

My main provider is AIS, today OK again, but the last two days was down so had to revert to Dtac...

On AIS I have a 50 hours/month package for 250 Baht. Bigger packages are available and are even cheaper per hour. There are no dial in charges whatsoever, you can log on/log of 1000 time, you only pay the 250 Baht...

In my area several people who had 256/128 iPSTAR (satellite internet) have changed to Edge and all are reporting a decent increase in speed/usability for a whole lot less money!

Good luck!

[jdinasia]

Try calling MaxNet

http://www.maxnet.co.th/index.php

if nothing through them then gprs is a bit slow but OK

[LivinLOS]

Sheryl. Satellite means nothing else than IP-Star, or Crab-Star or whatever name other having for it.

Not true at all.. But costs are not to most peoples tastes..

Last time I checked inmarsat sat broadband was 800 USD or so per month.. And once you start to look into commercial Sat for remote base stations there multiple options but at costs that most people in issan would buy thier houses with.

[Guest Reimar]

Sheryl. Satellite means nothing else than IP-Star, or Crab-Star or whatever name other having for it.

Not true at all.. But costs are not to most peoples tastes..

Last time I checked inmarsat sat broadband was 800 USD or so per month.. And once you start to look into commercial Sat for remote base stations there multiple options but at costs that most people in issan would buy thier houses with.

We talking here from public used Broadband Internet via Satellite in Thailand and NOT commercial. And the cost for commercial Satellite Broadband Internet cost for 512/256 as "little"

as THB 70,000.00 + per month depend on ISP.

So, let come back to earth and talk about an connection with is in an range below THB 5,000.00 a month. And for that regarding Satellite connection it's IP-Star only in Central Thailand and Prachinburi is still Central Thailand. Two Main ISP provider for IP-Star: TOT and CS-Loxinfo.

Cheers.

[Sheryl]

Thanks to all for the help. I must say a lot of this is beyond me but from what I agther people are saying that this can (probably) be done via a mobile phone hook-up although maybe requiring a new phone with enhanced capaciiers.

And the systems that the phone would tap into would be "Ëdge" or "Hutch"and I need to find out if my area can pick uop either of these, correct?

I currently have a Nokia 3120 and use AIS (1-2-Call), no "E"shows on the phone but maybe this model is not Edge enabled?

I gather there is also a satellite option called IP-Star but more costly, some indication that not the best reception even within the town and would require a change of IPS.

Have I got this straight??

[jdinasia]

Did you contact MaxNet?

[monty]

Pretty much correct.

Forget about satellite, high installations cost, high monthly fees and lousy quality.

There's 2 Nokia 3120 around, the old model (no camera) and the new model (called 3120 classic) with camera.

The former does not have Edge, the latter has.

So you'll have to find a buddy with an Edge capable phone, drag him over to your house and see if it has Edge reception. Just ask them if they see the E on their display when in the own center as both AIS and Dtac will have virtually guaranteed Edge capability in the town center...

Cheapest option is the Nokia 3110 classic at 3500 Baht and it has a standard mini USB jack, so a cheap USB cable will see it hooked up to your PC in no time.

[Sheryl]

Did you contact MaxNet?

I tried the website, it is mostly in Thai butr from what I can gather seems geared towards business customers and Bangkok based?

Are they an IPS? Because if so I am pretty sure they don't have coverage in my area..??

Thanks

[Sheryl]

Pretty much correct.

Forget about satellite, high installations cost, high monthly fees and lousy quality.

There's 2 Nokia 3120 around, the old model (no camera) and the new model (called 3120 classic) with camera.

The former does not have Edge, the latter has.

So you'll have to find a buddy with an Edge capable phone, drag him over to your house and see if it has Edge reception. Just ask them if they see the E on their display when in the own center as both AIS and Dtac will have virtually guaranteed Edge capability in the town center...

Cheapest option is the Nokia 3110 classic at 3500 Baht and it has a standard mini USB jack, so a cheap USB cable will see it hooked up to your PC in no time.

Thanks, this is sounding clearer and clearer. My phone is the old Nokia 3120, nio camera, so that answers that. Now I just have to track down someone with an edge enabled phone and see if I am within reach of Edge.

New phone would be small price to pay for broadband...!!

[dave_boo]

Pretty much correct.

Forget about satellite, high installations cost, high monthly fees and lousy quality.

There's 2 Nokia 3120 around, the old model (no camera) and the new model (called 3120 classic) with camera.

The former does not have Edge, the latter has.

So you'll have to find a buddy with an Edge capable phone, drag him over to your house and see if it has Edge reception. Just ask them if they see the E on their display when in the own center as both AIS and Dtac will have virtually guaranteed Edge capability in the town center...

Cheapest option is the Nokia 3110 classic at 3500 Baht and it has a standard mini USB jack, so a cheap USB cable will see it hooked up to your PC in no time.

Thanks, this is sounding clearer and clearer. My phone is the old Nokia 3120, nio camera, so that answers that. Now I just have to track down someone with an edge enabled phone and see if I am within reach of Edge.

New phone would be small price to pay for broadband...!!

Everyone that has one of those 3120 classic raves about it. Here's the product spec page; note that it has WCDMA which may be supported by AIS/DTAC sometime in the future.

[Sheryl]

monty: My niece has an Apple iPhone and DTAC, not sure if these are Edge enabled but it is able to get various types of WiFi, anyhow, even in the town center there is no "E"on her display.....?

Dave: what is WCDMA???

[GungaDin]

Sheryl, if you stick with Nokia you have 2 good choices.

The Nokia 3110 classic or the 3120 classic.

If you can afford it, go for the 3120c it's geared for GPRS / EDGE & WCDMA for the future, as Dave pointed out.

I have no idea of the price in los but it's A$200 here at the moment, unlocked. A bargain!

$50 more than the 3110c.

Up to you !

[jdinasia]

Did you contact MaxNet?

I tried the website, it is mostly in Thai butr from what I can gather seems geared towards business customers and Bangkok based?

Are they an IPS? Because if so I am pretty sure they don't have coverage in my area..??

Thanks

Maxnet is TT&T and in theory available countrywide. Most TV members in Phuket use it. It is cheap and reasonably reliable.

Call the call center at 1103

I used it in Phuket and was happy with it (I was not in Patong or in Phukettown but there were at least 2 nodes in Kamala)

[GungaDin]

WCDMA take your pic.

In a nutshell, a dam_n site faster than EDGE.

Monty & co. can tell us how much faster.

Edited October 24, 2008 by GungaDin

[Guest Reimar]

I use an Samsung J700 for to connect the the Internet if I'm in the boonies and that works well.

Was buy the phone for THB 3,500 and it has Bluetooth, Edge, GPRS and is Tri-Band as well. Also a Camera available. A nice phone by the way, long battery time and big screen.

Cheers.

[Sheryl]

Did you contact MaxNet?

I tried the website, it is mostly in Thai butr from what I can gather seems geared towards business customers and Bangkok based?

Are they an IPS? Because if so I am pretty sure they don't have coverage in my area..??

Thanks

Maxnet is TT&T and in theory available countrywide. Most TV members in Phuket use it. It is cheap and reasonably reliable.

Call the call center at 1103

I used it in Phuket and was happy with it (I was not in Patong or in Phukettown but there were at least 2 nodes in Kamala)

And it is broadband not dial up?

TT&T is out here, they are my long distance carrier...

[monty]

Did you contact MaxNet?

I tried the website, it is mostly in Thai butr from what I can gather seems geared towards business customers and Bangkok based?

Are they an IPS? Because if so I am pretty sure they don't have coverage in my area..??

Thanks

Maxnet is TT&T and in theory available countrywide. Most TV members in Phuket use it. It is cheap and reasonably reliable.

Call the call center at 1103

I used it in Phuket and was happy with it (I was not in Patong or in Phukettown but there were at least 2 nodes in Kamala)

And it is broadband not dial up?

TT&T is out here, they are my long distance carrier...

Maxnet is an ISP owned by TT&T.

Available everywhere in Thailand on a TT&T line APART from Bangkok.

Maxnet is ADSL broadband, not dial-up.

The only caveat is that you have to be within roughly 3 km's from the telephone exchange you are hooked up to, while regular phone lines (and dial-up) work up to 30 km away from the exchange.

So there is a big chance you are hooked up to an ADSL capable telephone exchange, but you are just too far away from it to support ADSL broadband.

About the iphone, I'm pretty sure it's the one and only mobile phone which does not indicate whether it is on a regular GPRS or an EDGE network so no luck there.

WCDMA is an even faster version of mobile internet, however it won't be available in Thailand anytime soon (maybe late 2009). On top of it the WCDMA in the 3120 classic is the old UMTS standard, which will never get introduced in Thailand (which will use HSDPA). So no point spending extra on the 3120, the 3110 classic will do nicely for at least a year more.

[GungaDin]

For someone who is "slightly retarded," you sure know what's going on.

Thanks again for the info.

[LivinLOS]

Sheryl. Satellite means nothing else than IP-Star, or Crab-Star or whatever name other having for it.

Not true at all.. But costs are not to most peoples tastes..

Last time I checked inmarsat sat broadband was 800 USD or so per month.. And once you start to look into commercial Sat for remote base stations there multiple options but at costs that most people in issan would buy thier houses with.

We talking here from public used Broadband Internet via Satellite in Thailand and NOT commercial. And the cost for commercial Satellite Broadband Internet cost for 512/256 as "little"

as THB 70,000.00 + per month depend on ISP.

So, let come back to earth and talk about an connection with is in an range below THB 5,000.00 a month. And for that regarding Satellite connection it's IP-Star only in Central Thailand and Prachinburi is still Central Thailand. Two Main ISP provider for IP-Star: TOT and CS-Loxinfo.

Cheers.

when I moved here back when there wasnt any broadband I was going to have inmarsat for home use..

Lets face it, as an early adopter of IPStar my monthly bills could be 15k baht anyway.. Not that far from 15k baht to 800 USD..

The person said there was nothing else.. I said there was multiple options but people wouldnt like the cost. Same goes when ADSL wasnt available I knew someone who just eat the cost and put in a leased line. There are options but the cost is not to most isaan dwellers tastes.

[jdinasia]

Did you contact MaxNet?

I tried the website, it is mostly in Thai butr from what I can gather seems geared towards business customers and Bangkok based?

Are they an IPS? Because if so I am pretty sure they don't have coverage in my area..??

Thanks

Maxnet is TT&T and in theory available countrywide. Most TV members in Phuket use it. It is cheap and reasonably reliable.

Call the call center at 1103

I used it in Phuket and was happy with it (I was not in Patong or in Phukettown but there were at least 2 nodes in Kamala)

And it is broadband not dial up?

TT&T is out here, they are my long distance carrier...

ADSL ... faster downloads than uploads. whether ADSL is available to you or not will depend on how far you are from a node if I understand correctly. Try calling them ............

[billd766]

I am working in New Zealand at the moment and I have just bought a Nokia 6121 which is also unlocked.

I use here as a work phone and I am also going to use it hopefully when Thailand gets to 3G.

It cost me $340 NZ or about 6,800 Thai baht depending on the exchange rate on the day.

Here is the link http://www.nokia.co.nz/A4761232

[Robski]

Ok this will probably sound daft, but...

If you are on dial up and you get a second line put in and you can get internet through both lines to your computer, would that double your speed?

[Sheryl]

Maxnet is an ISP owned by TT&T.

Available everywhere in Thailand on a TT&T line APART from Bangkok.

Maxnet is ADSL broadband, not dial-up.

The only caveat is that you have to be within roughly 3 km's from the telephone exchange you are hooked up to, while regular phone lines (and dial-up) work up to 30 km away from the exchange.

So there is a big chance you are hooked up to an ADSL capable telephone exchange, but you are just too far away from it to support ADSL broadband.

About the iphone, I'm pretty sure it's the one and only mobile phone which does not indicate whether it is on a regular GPRS or an EDGE network so no luck there.

OK, thanks. Yes, I am hooked upo to ADSL capable exchnage but way too far from it to suppoirt ADSL. (at least 25 km). So I guess Maxnet is out.

So this leaves Edge which I still have to find out about....

Or maybe "Hutch"?? (What's that?)

[jdinasia]

Maxnet is an ISP owned by TT&T.

Available everywhere in Thailand on a TT&T line APART from Bangkok.

Maxnet is ADSL broadband, not dial-up.

The only caveat is that you have to be within roughly 3 km's from the telephone exchange you are hooked up to, while regular phone lines (and dial-up) work up to 30 km away from the exchange.

So there is a big chance you are hooked up to an ADSL capable telephone exchange, but you are just too far away from it to support ADSL broadband.

About the iphone, I'm pretty sure it's the one and only mobile phone which does not indicate whether it is on a regular GPRS or an EDGE network so no luck there.

OK, thanks. Yes, I am hooked upo to ADSL capable exchnage but way too far from it to suppoirt ADSL. (at least 25 km). So I guess Maxnet is out.

So this leaves Edge which I still have to find out about....

Or maybe "Hutch"?? (What's that?)

You COULD be that far from a node ... but it isn't likely there is usually one in each village. Did you call them?

[ballbreaker]

You can get info for Hutch here: http://www.hutch.co.th/index_en.htm

One advantage Edge phone will have over Hutch will be availability. If you travel and use a notebook PC then you can get connected just about anywhere in Thailand. If the area doesn't have Edge then phone connects using regular GPRS which gives you same speed as dial up. Edge is about 4 times faster than dial up when working properly.

I use Edge and have few complaints when using it for email and internet surfing. Edge/GPRS uses unused time slots on normal cell phone service so as the network loads up Edge/GPRS will slow down because phone service has priority. I do notice these slow downs at certain times of the day. For me the slow downs occur around lunch time and then 3-9 pm when people are using their cell phones. I still find service acceptable even during these times for email and surfing but I don't download any large files during those time frames. I usually can download files in the 12-18 kB speed range prior to noon and slow times it drops down to 4 kB. In the past I have downloaded files as large as 60 MB without problems.

Not sure what type your computer is or the interfaces it my have but when you get a phone make sure it has Bluetooth and USB interfaces. I have found that for some reason my connection works best when using mini USB connection rather than Bluetooth to connect phone to PC. I suspect my Bluetooth dongle for the computer may be bad because I have tried 2 phones and they both give same poor performance problems. Another plus when using the mini USB connection is your phone will get charged while connected to computer provided your charger uses this same connector when charging.

This is a good site to research phones should you decide to buy a new one so you can access GPRS/Edge service. www.gsmarena.com