Tot Ordered To Improve 3g Service Quality In Bangkok

[webfact]

ICT minister tells TOT to improve 3G service quality in Bangkok in 90 days

Information and Communications Technology Minister Ranongruk Suwanchawee said Sunday that she had instructed the TOT Plc to improve the network and quality of 3G wireless broadband service in 90 days.

Ranongruk said the TOT must ensure that the signals of its 3G 1900 MHz will work well in Bangkok in three months.

She said the TOT would also have to rush to expand its customer base to meet the target of 500,000 numbers.

She said the TOT is now drafting a business plan to launch its service in major provinces, which are tourist destinations, in the second phase expansion.

The business plan will be submitted to the National Economic and Social Development Board for approval by the middle of this year.

-- The Nation 2010-01-03

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[givenall]

I hope they do what they are told, Bu I hate say these mandates. It don’t work. it is just for show that minister are doing some things. They need to set up a body or bodies to facilitates the action

[BanTamo]

Errrr...isn't the TOT supposedly such a 'body or bodies,' at least in theory?

[hardy1943]

I hope they do what they are told, Bu I hate say these mandates. It don’t work. it is just for show that minister are doing some things. They need to set up a body or bodies to facilitates the action

Just keep on dreaming TOT is a joke and always will be

[dandun]

I have the TOT 3g Sim and i can confirm that it dont get signal most of the times, especially in the major malls such as paragon, central world. When i say it doesnt get signal doesnt mean low signal, i really mean no signal at all.

So i think this is what happened, MR. Minister obtained one of those sim cards to make video calls to his relatives friends etc. and most of the time he is suffering the same signal loss like all other TOT users. So he decides to act on the behalf of "people"

[TopDogger]

lol.. And lets not even start on the 2G network

[CrossBones]

2G (Edge) in Thailand is better than 3G in Australia... more reliable.

Not sure about TOT had some pretty bad experience with their ADSL

[Crushdepth]

Ranongruk said the TOT must ensure that the signals of its 3G 1900 MHz will work well in Bangkok in three months.

It would run better if the government would finally issue the 3G spectrum licenses, which are much better suited to handling the kind of bandwidth that large numbers of people consume. It would be nice if Minister Ragnarok would arrange that within 90 days!

[jb5music]

Ranongruk said the TOT must ensure that the signals of its 3G 1900 MHz will work well in Bangkok in three months.

It would run better if the government would finally issue the 3G spectrum licenses, which are much better suited to handling the kind of bandwidth that large numbers of people consume. It would be nice if Minister Ragnarok would arrange that within 90 days!

So we're "rushing to expand the customer base to 500,000" But we need to still issue the

spectrum licenses to be much better suited to handling the kind of bandwidth that large numbers of

people consume. Already.

This all translates to sell as many new accounts as possible - fire the people who program it and install it because

your scared they know too much about the whole operation. Take the the money from the new sign ups

and treat middle and upper management to golf vacations and and Lear jets.

Don't spend a dime for 5 years on installing a single piece of new hardware or an application to run it.

Actually try and sabotage customers of 3 consecutive months or longer because the existing infrastructure

is only large enough to handle all the people who have only been customers for 2 months or less

(They have to pay more per month in the begging plus they don't realize this is going on for a few months till

they catch on) NOW are we beginning to get the picture?

[Thanh-BKK]

Hello.

Before they rush the expansion of their customer base they should make sure that the EXISTING customer base is able to spend money on the service!!

I have one of them 3G SIM cards, a pre-paid one. Been trying since Monday to get a refill card. 7-Eleven and similar outlets never heard of 3G, phone shops have heard of them but don't have them and i-Mobile shops are the worst - i was sent from one to the next with the promise "they have it for sure" only to hear the all-too-familiar "mai mee" yet again.

The final episode then today - 11 am at i-Mobile Central Bangna: "Mai mee" as always, but willing to make a call. My 3G had no reception there (surprise??) so the guy used his own phone, talked for a while and then send me to i-Mobile on 2nd floor Seri Center, verified "sure sure, they have, i just confirm". He even gave me their phone number.

Drove there and, surprise? Seri Center is pretty much closed for renovation, no operational i-Mobile shop in there at all, and the number that guy at Bangna wrote down for me didn't exist. Great.

Desperate i then checked out Seacon Square and there WAS an i-Mobile shop that even had the cards! However i couldn't load my phone right there as, surprised? No signal. I asked them how they could sell the phones, SIM cards and refill cards without being able to even demonstrate? The lady said "nobody buy it". Good for me - that's probably why they had the cards available. I bought two to have some time before needing to hunt for them again (500 Baht each).

Arrived at my office, loaded the first card - worked. Loaded the second - "service timeout" message, no credit. Tried again - "code invalid". GREAT!!

Ok calling their call center. After only 14 minutes i got a human on the phone and after another 18 minutes someone who could speak English. Only to be told that the call center could only help with regards to phones and SIM cards, but not with refills. That's another number. I duly noted it and called it.

2 Minuted for human, 10 minutes for English. Sort of. Because it then took no less than 45 minutes (!!) for me to hang up on them for their sheer stupidity, not understanding (or pretending to not understand) that i had bought a refill card that hadn't credited and wouldn't work for a second try. I accepted having lost 500 Baht and decided to just run down whatever is in the account now and then throw the SIM away, however after some 5 more minutes i got an SMS that my 500 Baht were finally credited. So they DID understand after all.

Lousy service, lousy network. Ok the network has only recently started and can't be perfect yet however the service NEEDS to improve. And what needs to improve the most is the availability of refill cards! What if i run out of credit at night? Wait for next morning and go on a round-trip through Bangkok to find an i-Mobile shop that has the cards in stock??

Beta-testing networks could be fun if it weren't for the massive incompetence displayed in this country.

Best regards......

Thanh

[phil2]

I-mobile shop at Central World does have the refill cards, and they'll top up for you.

I can't use mine now because I live some light years away from Central World, and have been unable to find the refill cards anywhere near my home and work place.

[Thanh-BKK]

Hi.

That applies for me, too. Staying in Bangna, Central World is far far away and getting there to buy a <deleted>' refill card does not quite comply with my working hours.

Also i am stunned to hear that TOT refills apparently can not be used when the SIM is from i-Mobile?? Heck the network is TOT, as proudly displayed on the phone display ("TOT Mobile"). Or did they just BS me there..? It is bad enough that the phone goes into roaming all the time and i can't make a call then... but surprisingly i could when i was in Chiang Mai where it was roaming as well, here in BKK it doesn't work.

Best regards.....

Thanh

[Maestro]

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Maestro

[golferchin76]

uh....

When Japan goes into 5G, perhaps Thailand still stays in Edge era. Don't dream for 3G for now. 3 months? times that by 10. I've been following 3G news in Thailand for YEARS! most of you too.

[geriatrickid]

Meanwhile, Sprint USA is rolling out its upgade to 4G. By the end of the year, most western markets will be up and running with 4G while Thailand still wrestles with getting to 3G.

Perhaps, this is what happens when a country focuses on copying and doesn't have the intellectual capital of it's own to keep pace with changing technology.

Edited January 11, 2010 by geriatrickid

[powderpuff]

No it's all about corruption. One pie - many slices. One trough many noses.