Aircard Dtac

[rroland]

I was told the DTAC aircard offers much more speed then the regular phones connected to internet (via PC or laptop).

Does anyone bought to let us know if there are significant differences?

If yes I think is useful for those who travel with the laptop all over Thailand.

The coast at DTAC shops is 2.700 baht (see below)

Thanks in advance for your inputs.

http://www.dtac.co.th/dtac_aircard/index.html

[monty]

The Dtac aircard is a Huawei E1553 3G modem.

If and when 3G will become available, it will be much faster then the current Edge/GPRS they are currently using.

As at the moment there is no 3G coverage yet save for a few test area's, speeds will be the same as you'd get with an Edge capable phone used as a modem...

As usual it's entirely in Thai, so no idea when they'll have 3G or where it'll be...

[rroland]

The Dtac aircard is a Huawei E1553 3G modem.

If and when 3G will become available, it will be much faster then the current Edge/GPRS they are currently using.

As at the moment there is no 3G coverage yet save for a few test area's, speeds will be the same as you'd get with an Edge capable phone used as a modem...

As usual it's entirely in Thai, so no idea when they'll have 3G or where it'll be...

That's what I thought Monty but yesterday I was at a DTAC shop and they guarantee a significant speed difference between them, even they said 3 times faster then a regular modem ...

[monty]

You sure they compare with a mobile phone used as a modem, or a modem (dial-up) hooked up to a phone line?

Because when comparing with the latter GPRS/EDGE is about 3 times faster on average (120 kbps versus 40 to 50 kbps for dial-up).

3G should be at least 8 times faster then GPRS/EDGE...

[rroland]

You sure they compare with a mobile phone used as a modem, or a modem (dial-up) hooked up to a phone line?

Because when comparing with the latter GPRS/EDGE is about 3 times faster on average (120 kbps versus 40 to 50 kbps for dial-up).

3G should be at least 8 times faster then GPRS/EDGE...

Yes Monty, they had compared with a nokia 3110 and 5310 ...

[Max2000]

rroland: have read report that Hutch sell Huawei ev-do ec226 with speed 4-5 times faster than a mobile. Coverage area Bangkok to Pattaya. Do some search in this forum and you find it. Not shure if they have merged with Cat just recently, seen some advertisement. If the later is correct, then they might have more coverage around Thailand.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

If you are coming from the UK, you can order a ZTE MF627 USB Modem ZTE MF 627 via the Quidco website to get it for £5 or less.

Then go along to my thread in Mobile Broadband to unlock for use with any network. No need to pay Thai prices.

I expect we'll see a few more of these on Ebay now. Unless some local entrepreneur decides to supplement his income by undercutting the prices of USB modems in Thailand.

Edited October 30, 2009 by Jiu-Jitsu

[rroland]

rroland: have read report that Hutch sell Huawei ev-do ec226 with speed 4-5 times faster than a mobile. Coverage area Bangkok to Pattaya. Do some search in this forum and you find it. Not shure if they have merged with Cat just recently, seen some advertisement. If the later is correct, then they might have more coverage around Thailand.

Thanks Max

Is that aircard (Huawei ev-do ec226) "attached" to Hutch or can be usedd with another SIM (like DTAC for instance)?

[Max2000]

rroland: yes its attached for 6-18 months, prices 5-16.000 thb depend on contract time. Google hutch huawei evdo ec226 and you find it. Think you can not use another SIM.

[Will27]

Gang,

As mentioned before, I'm not

really internet savvy.

Am currently in Chiang Rai.

Based on some research I

purchased the AIS E160E

aircard and it is dreadfully slow.

I will be looking at some other

options so any suggestions would

be appreciated.

Is there anything I can do to my

notebook ie uninstall some programs

to speed it up a bit?

Regards

Will

[rroland]

rroland: yes its attached for 6-18 months, prices 5-16.000 thb depend on contract time. Google hutch huawei evdo ec226 and you find it. Think you can not use another SIM.

I did Max (I mean googled) but can't see the difference between the 2 Huawei models: EV-DO ec226 (by hutch) and E 1553 (by DTAC).

Also I'm still not sure if there is a way to use the 1st without hutch permission.

Anyway I'll keep an eye on this topic waiting for more inputs.

[MJo]

Ok, fastest proper system out there is CDMA EVDO technology based network. Operated by HUTCH in limited areas (BKK and Pattaya?) and CAT elsewhere. It is effectively 3G speeds so you could expect decent 1 "meg" connection out of it. So if you have coverage in your area even from HUTCH or CAT that is the way to go Also to be noted that you need the "EVDO" to get any speeds. If no available you may still be able to connect but speeds will drop.

Same category as above is TRUE and AIS WCDMA networks, more commonly known as "3G" networks. Speeds are as above if not more but coverage is very limited (skytrain in BKK and Chiang Mai in city centre) and operating a bit unusual frequencies so you need to check that your phone or aircard supports the frequency. If you happen to be in coverage area i personally would take this over CDMA as it works also in 2G network via GPRS/EDGE everywhere in Thailand.

If none of the above is available in your area then you are left with 2G GPRS/EDGE networks that are offered by all mobile operators in Thailand and have various pricing packages available. Speeds are not that good but are enough for basic email and web browsing.

What comes to the USB modems (aircards) if you use CAT or HUTCH CDMA EVDO network you need modem capable of operating in CDMA EVDO system.

if you use AIS or TRUE 3G network you need modem operating in WCDMA 850MHz (TRUE) or WCDMA 900MHz (AIS). Modems from UK that operate only in 2100MHz are useless here for 3G but work still in GPRS/EDGE side.

If you use GPRS/EDGE network (that is you normal mobile phone network and sim card) you can just get amy modem operating in 900 and 1800 MHz frequency which is industry standard in almost any country nowdays.

And naturally you could use your phone as modem providing it supports the technologies and frequencies.

And more importantly before buying any aircard check from the network operator what technology and frequency is available in your location and make sure the modem purchased supports it !

Edited November 1, 2009 by MJo

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Gang,

As mentioned before, I'm not

really internet savvy.

Am currently in Chiang Rai.

Based on some research I

purchased the AIS E160E

aircard and it is dreadfully slow.

I will be looking at some other

options so any suggestions would

be appreciated.

Is there anything I can do to my

notebook ie uninstall some programs

to speed it up a bit?

Regards

Will

On what research was your purchase based?

You are likely to be utilising GPRS(dreadfully slow) or EDGE(better than nothing). If you are downloading at 20KB/s you are on EDGE. If a 4KB/s GPRS.

Try using the Opera browser's Turbo function to see if it speeds things up for you.

[Max2000]

rroland: if you are in Bangkok, take your Laptop to Dtac office and Hutch, and test them out. Say that you want to test speed before you buy.

Dtac promise you "much more speed" but 3 G are not here yet! Read post from Monty. They have been saying for years "3G coming soon". Well we're still waiting, my guess 1-5 year more. Dtac promise "future speed". Dont belive advertising. lol.

Slow = GPRS (aircard or your mobile) (my speedtests shows +- 150kbps).

Faster = EV-DO (usb dongle) CAT and HUTCH. (my speedtest show +- 800kbps).

Faster = 3 G NOT YET HERE (but they promised that for years - Very limited area near BTS).

With CAT/HUTCH EV-DO you per today must choose: Coverage Bkk - Pattaya OR up country. When out our their area, you might still connect but speed same Gprs only.

For coverage all around Thailand - slow aircard/mobile only.

"Also I'm still not sure if there is a way to use the 1st (Hutch EV-DO) without hutch permission."

It's locked to Hutch, Same Cat only work in Cat network. Why your need to use another sim?

That not possible with Cat/Hutch (just checked).

I think you look for a option that do not excist until 3G have full cover.

Can you spesify your needs more spesific?

[Jiu-Jitsu]

rroland: if you are in Bangkok, take your Laptop to Dtac office and Hutch, and test them out. Say that you want to test speed before you buy.

Dtac promise you "much more speed" but 3 G are not here yet! Read post from Monty. They have been saying for years "3G coming soon". Well we're still waiting, my guess 1-5 year more. Dtac promise "future speed". Dont belive advertising. lol.

Slow = GPRS (aircard or your mobile) (my speedtests shows +- 150kbps).

I think you mean EDGE. GPRS is even slower than that.

I got closer to 200kbps with DTAC EDGE.

[rroland]

rroland: if you are in Bangkok, take your Laptop to Dtac office and Hutch, and test them out. Say that you want to test speed before you buy.

Dtac promise you "much more speed" but 3 G are not here yet! Read post from Monty. They have been saying for years "3G coming soon". Well we're still waiting, my guess 1-5 year more. Dtac promise "future speed". Dont belive advertising. lol.

Slow = GPRS (aircard or your mobile) (my speedtests shows +- 150kbps).

Faster = EV-DO (usb dongle) CAT and HUTCH. (my speedtest show +- 800kbps).

Faster = 3 G NOT YET HERE (but they promised that for years - Very limited area near BTS).

With CAT/HUTCH EV-DO you per today must choose: Coverage Bkk - Pattaya OR up country. When out our their area, you might still connect but speed same Gprs only.

For coverage all around Thailand - slow aircard/mobile only.

"Also I'm still not sure if there is a way to use the 1st (Hutch EV-DO) without hutch permission."

It's locked to Hutch, Same Cat only work in Cat network. Why your need to use another sim?

That not possible with Cat/Hutch (just checked).

I think you look for a option that do not excist until 3G have full cover.

Can you spesify your needs more spesific?

Max2000 ...

First of all thanks to take your time to light me up.

I'm travel frequently to the North where there's no Hutch coverage, that's why I mentioned DTAC.

And yes, I've to use the Edge GPRS of my phones which are really slow (nokia 3110 or 5310 express)

My question of this started thread was if the DTAC Aircard or another aircard could improve the connection's speed until "that" 3G is coming.

Edited November 3, 2009 by rroland

[Will27]

Gang,

As mentioned before, I'm not

really internet savvy.

Am currently in Chiang Rai.

Based on some research I

purchased the AIS E160E

aircard and it is dreadfully slow.

I will be looking at some other

options so any suggestions would

be appreciated.

Is there anything I can do to my

notebook ie uninstall some programs

to speed it up a bit?

Regards

Will

On what research was your purchase based?

You are likely to be utilising GPRS(dreadfully slow) or EDGE(better than nothing). If you are downloading at 20KB/s you are on EDGE. If a 4KB/s GPRS.

Try using the Opera browser's Turbo function to see if it speeds things up for you.

By research, I meant reading this forum.

Thanks for the tip re Opera though.

I'll give it a try.

Regards

Will

[spirit47]

Have dtac now one year, use sim with Sierra wireless. Speed up to 25kB when it works. Normaly I use it all over Thailand, now I have big problems in Pharthumthani about availability.

Last two months about 50%, conectinspeed slow down to bits per second, unable to use anything...Service in Big-C is nice, change sim-card and check something but engineer never call back.

The speed its only by downloading >2 files, Internet surfing is much slower...

[up-country_sinclair]

I live in the fabled, "middle of nowhere", and am wondering what my download speed would be with a DTAC EDGE aircard like the OP mentioned. By the way, it's not really the "middle of nowhere", because there is a mobile phone tower about 2 kilometers from my house.

Before I buy an an aircard, could someone give me an idea of what the approximate DL speed would be?

[MJo]

See it yourself before buying expensive aircards.

You can do this by using your mobile phone as modem (read mobile phone as aircard). Just connect via your mobile phone using DTAC sim card and see if the speed is enough for you.

Using any aircard or phone does not make any difference in DL speed. It's the network that is limiting the speed (GPRS or EDGE speeds only).

[up-country_sinclair]

See it yourself before buying expensive aircards.

You can do this by using your mobile phone as modem (read mobile phone as aircard). Just connect via your mobile phone using DTAC sim card and see if the speed is enough for you.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

I'm sorry but I have to admit that I don't know how to use my mobile phone as a modem. I know that my phone is EDGE capable, but how can I use it as a modem? I'm not computer savvy, so basic instructions are needed.

Thanks again.

UCS