A friend in Pattaya's Centre Condo finally got a phone line (TT&T was the only choice) after a seven week wait. Now he wants to get 24/7 high speed internet.

What does he need to do to get on-line? Whom should he contact, will he have plan choices (as with TOT), what about cable modem, etc?

BTW, his is a relatively new IBM laptop, one, he is fond of noting, that has never connected to nothing. Ha ha.

you have no choice (i believe) other than using tt@t adsl, since you have a tt@t line. which might be a blessing. you have to call their office. they have a few different plans, but don't remember the details.

He can also goto the TT&T office in Carefour (second floor) the girls there are quite helpfull if you go at a time they aren't rushed of thier feet ! (sometimes not very knowledgeable) but they will tell him all the options for internet via a TT&T line. Really he should have applied for the ADSL at the same time as the phone line.

Don't think there is a cable modem option in Pattaya at all judging by the amateurish Sophon cable TV.

ADSL modems are available in Tukcom for about 1600baht

Before he connects to the internet he should install (or turn on Win XP) a firewall

Thanks Joka and JohnQ,

I went to TT&T Carrefour and wow, the comparible (Loxinfo branded) plan to TOT's 1000 Baht/month plan (1024 down, 256 up) cost 7500 Baht.

Something seems out-of-sync. BTW, I wasn't able to communicate with the staff.

Since TT&T had Loxinfo brochures, who else sells ADSL services on their lines and can you comment on their performance?

In some area's in Pattaya you can get the Hinet service from TT&T. 2mbps top speed, but high contention ratio so will slow down a lot during peak times... Think it is 999 Baht/month

Next one up is Ji-net. 1550 Baht/month for 256/128....or 2450/month for 512/256 (+7%vat)

They should have the application forms at the TT&T office (only place you can sign up anyway!)

Outside of Bangkok the higher speed packages (1024mbps or more) are unaffordable from any ISP. you'll have to stick with 256 or 512...

But anyway if what your friend is doing is mainly e-mail, speed is not relevant.... The slowest 256/128 is practically still 8 times faster the the best 56k modemconnection!

What does he need to do to get on-line?  Whom should he contact, will he have plan choices (as with TOT), what about cable modem, etc?

I think you can forget about cable in Thailand. After a couple of years of struggling, Asia Multimedia (a subsidiary of True) gave up on it and closed their Bangkok service at the end of 2004. I doubt any regional cable operators will offer it now that ADSL is all the rage.

Anyway, the big players are manoevering for the coming of WIMAX broadband wireless within a couple of years. Even the ADSL providers are gonna lose their shirts then.

In some area's in Pattaya you can get the Hinet service from TT&T. 2mbps top speed, but high contention ratio so will slow down a lot during peak times... Think it is 999 Baht/month

I'm using the Hi-net service and it's settled down now to be quite reliable.. speed is ok too. There are problems with file sharing and some voice over IP applications

(Skype works fine) but for email and surfing the web it's fine.

Last time I asked in Carefour they said they don't offer the Hi-net service anymore !!

However if you have a look here http://www.tttbroadband.com/eform1.php

There it is first offering CAT ชุด Hi-Net ราคา 999 บาท (+ VAT)