Is 3g Mobile Internet Up & Working In Thailand Yet?

[Trevor25222]

I used Indonesia's Telkomsel 3G service in Surabaya in December 2009. Setting-up was tricky -- I got their support office to help me in person. The SIM has to be charged with funds in a mobile phone, then a transfer text sent to pay for the Internet services required, then finally the SIM can be transferred to the 3G dongle, e.g. Huawei E220.

Speeds obtained were from 300 kbps out-of-town to 500+ in the city. Not bad for a third-world cellular telephone network. However, maintenance was patchy, and there were periods of hours up to a whole day (24 hours) when I couldn't even log-in. Not very reliable for the business traveller, and the alternative is an expensive hotel service which is invariably charged as an extra, unlike in Thailand.

So, what is Thailand getting up to on the 3G front? Any coverage maps?

[pampal]

www.tot3g.net

[nikster]

Everywhere except Bangkok and surrounding provinces: CAT CDMA 3G network works just fine, and it's fast. CAT has bought out Hutch for BKK and central provinces but who knows when they'll actually manage to merge their accounts, CAT seems to move at the pace of a snail for most things.

In select areas: True 3G and TOT 3G as well as some DTAC 3G tryouts.

I have True 3G. Tried in BKK, it was fast, but didn't work anywhere outside downtown (it switched to EDGE there). But I found it working in Samui and in Pai and it's supposed to work in some areas in Chiang Mai too. It's slowly creeping into the country. The reason rollout is so slow is there are no official 3G licenses yet.

Why CAT can operate its CDMA-EV-DO network despite that is anyone's guess.

[ThailandLovr]

A few days ago I bought as AIS 3G Aircard (Huawei E1552) after having problems with my old Edge (from go3G) working on my new pc under Windows 7.

The Aircard works fine here in Lopburi, but according to the modem light color (green instead of blue), it is only connecting at 2G. I heard from a member only Chiang Mai has AIS 3G, Bangkok only 2G presently. Accompanying control software very good. Manual: so so.

Please post your findings so we all can benefit. I have only used AIS, not the other service providers.

[Toany]

True 3G might be good ib Bangkok and other built up areas. If you leave the built up areas you may well find that you cannot get any Internet connection at all! Sometime no phone connection either.

If you need Internet connection while you travel around Thailand use someone like DTAC.

[ThailandLovr]

Everybody realize having a 3G modem which connects does not mean you are running on a 3G signal. As I stated above, it could be a 2G signal therefore not giving you the speed you are expecting. I don't believe all modems have an indicator (colored LED or whatever) like mine does which displays the actual signal type, in which case you may need to call their call center to inquire if 3G is available in your location.

[someoneelse]

I have True 3G. Tried in BKK, it was fast, but didn't work anywhere outside downtown (it switched to EDGE there). But I found it working in Samui and in Pai and it's supposed to work in some areas in Chiang Mai too.

Definitely all over central Chiang Mai - old city and surrounds, the airport and at extending least 20km to the north up the 107. It's quite likely the whole metro area is covered, but can't confirm because I haven't been everywhere. I was surprised to see it working in Pai (though it was down for a few hours this afternoon).

It'd be nice to see True update their coverage maps, at the moment it's only supposed to work around the airport.

Does anyone know what will happen to the 3G trial service? It's supposed to expire on 30 April.

[phazey]

TOT3G has improved a lot recently, in quality and coverage. I'm getting about 3.5mbi/1mbit pretty much everywhere i go nowadays.

[Dancali]

I have True 3g on my Iphone and I can say it works well all around Bangkok and down to Samut Prakon.

I've been using it on my laptop with the tether mode until my wifi is set up (something you can't do in the USA under the AT&T Iphone monopoly).

A major thing I can tell you though, is that the 3g in Thailand sucks the battery juice right up. You'll barely get through half a day of standard Iphone use if you leave the 3g setting on. This is in contrast to in Las Vegas where I would easily get through a day of pretty serious use.

I think it's because the 3g must be working the Iphone harder here. Though in practical use, it's reliable and fast.

[skippybangkok]

I have True 3g on my Iphone and I can say it works well all around Bangkok and down to Samut Prakon.

I've been using it on my laptop with the tether mode until my wifi is set up (something you can't do in the USA under the AT&T Iphone monopoly).

A major thing I can tell you though, is that the 3g in Thailand sucks the battery juice right up. You'll barely get through half a day of standard Iphone use if you leave the 3g setting on. This is in contrast to in Las Vegas where I would easily get through a day of pretty serious use.

I think it's because the 3g must be working the Iphone harder here. Though in practical use, it's reliable and fast.

Agreed and tether mine alot too

[petedk]

I have been using TOT 3G on my mobile (Nokia E51 and Nokia E72) around Bangkok and the speeds are really good but....... when I connect to my laptop I only get the fast speed for about 5 minutes then the whole thing freezes. Not sure whether this is a 3G, mobile telephone or laptop problem.

[bkkmick]

I use True 3G and have switched off the wireless connection (it's an N) on my phone at home because the 3G connection is better.

[nikster]

Posting this tethered via iPhone in Chiang Mai on True 3G. Look at those speeds!! Now I know how 3G works - they'll eventually have to limit the speed to 1Mbit or 2Mbits once they have more subscribers. But meanwhile, I am going to enjoy this while it lasts - this is faster for download than my DSL at home...

Admittedly, it's a bit up and down. It goes with 6Mbit for a while, then back down to 0... True has some tweaking to do. But it's still pretty good overall.

[PaceArrow]

Does anyone have any updated information regarding Full 3G service becoming available throughout Thailand, especially in the LopBuri province area? I've heard some deal has been struck with CAT and Hutch, but not clear on it. I currently have one of those Huctch slow modem speed types and its good enough to get on check your email once an awhile, but to do any serious internet work, forget about it. Especially when it comes to videos, everybodyw is doing videos for everything. Takes me about 45 minutes to download and watch 6 or 7 minute video. Too slowwwww!!!! Sure hope 3G is coming soon I want to be the first to get one! Thanks for any meaningful replies. Pace

[Crushdepth]

Too slowwwww!!!! Sure hope 3G is coming soon I want to be the first to get one!

Don't hold your breath. Some of the current 'deals' are subject to legal challenge, the government is threatening more legislation and the body with legal authority to license spectrum *still* hasn't been set up.

IMHO the whole business is so hopelessly and pathetically mired in corruption that 4G will be commonplace in other countries before Thailand gets its act sorted out. It really is a disgusting mess, like pigs in a trough.

[lomatopo]

http://www.truemove.com/3g/wifi_area_bkk.html

http://www.i-bkk.com/ilocation/viewer/

[Crushdepth]

Yeah I know. Outdated and slow flavours of CDMA and second-rate recycling of spectrum by TOT.

When are we going to have unfettered 3G on real 3G spectrum?

[4evermaat]

TOT3G has improved a lot recently, in quality and coverage. I'm getting about 3.5mbi/1mbit pretty much everywhere i go nowadays.

Isn't there a contract to use TOT3G wireless? I would love a prepaid plan with them. Their hourly or half-hour cards are expensive imo.

[lomatopo]

TOT3G has improved a lot recently, in quality and coverage. I'm getting about 3.5mbi/1mbit pretty much everywhere i go nowadays.

Isn't there a contract to use TOT3G wireless? I would love a prepaid plan with them. Their hourly or half-hour cards are expensive imo.

TOT offers a number of pre-paid monthly 3G plans, both directly and via their MVNOs: i-Kool, Imobile, 365, et al.

http://www1.tot3g.net/

[eriksen]

I have True 3g on my Iphone and I can say it works well all around Bangkok and down to Samut Prakon.

I've been using it on my laptop with the tether mode until my wifi is set up (something you can't do in the USA under the AT&T Iphone monopoly).

A major thing I can tell you though, is that the 3g in Thailand sucks the battery juice right up. You'll barely get through half a day of standard Iphone use if you leave the 3g setting on. This is in contrast to in Las Vegas where I would easily get through a day of pretty serious use.

I think it's because the 3g must be working the Iphone harder here. Though in practical use, it's reliable and fast.

I dont think its Thailand.... I used my iphone in Aus and yes, it sucked power like nothing else......

[pete66]

Everywhere except Bangkok and surrounding provinces: CAT CDMA 3G network works just fine, and it's fast. CAT has bought out Hutch for BKK and central provinces but who knows when they'll actually manage to merge their accounts, CAT seems to move at the pace of a snail for most things.

In select areas: True 3G and TOT 3G as well as some DTAC 3G tryouts.

I have True 3G. Tried in BKK, it was fast, but didn't work anywhere outside downtown (it switched to EDGE there). But I found it working in Samui and in Pai and it's supposed to work in some areas in Chiang Mai too. It's slowly creeping into the country. The reason rollout is so slow is there are no official 3G licenses yet.

Why CAT can operate its CDMA-EV-DO network despite that is anyone's guess.

So are you saying CAT has an unofficial province-wide 3G network? What data packages do they do? I would love to be able to roam the country with fast 3G Internet ....

[gotlost]

Everywhere except Bangkok and surrounding provinces: CAT CDMA 3G network works just fine, and it's fast. CAT has bought out Hutch for BKK and central provinces but who knows when they'll actually manage to merge their accounts, CAT seems to move at the pace of a snail for most things.

In select areas: True 3G and TOT 3G as well as some DTAC 3G tryouts.

I have True 3G. Tried in BKK, it was fast, but didn't work anywhere outside downtown (it switched to EDGE there). But I found it working in Samui and in Pai and it's supposed to work in some areas in Chiang Mai too. It's slowly creeping into the country. The reason rollout is so slow is there are no official 3G licenses yet.

Why CAT can operate its CDMA-EV-DO network despite that is anyone's guess.

So are you saying CAT has an unofficial province-wide 3G network? What data packages do they do? I would love to be able to roam the country with fast 3G Internet ....

No such animal YET.

[muratremix]

I've used i mobile gx 3g prepaid sim 99 baht (10 days, 1gb) with iPad 3G and I liked it. It seems TOT 3G network has very good coverage, even with one signal bar I was able to surf.

[wpcoe]

I posted this on another thread where it seems to have gone unnoticed, so I'll try again in this thread:

I'm confused about the 3G situation. I thought I understood that AIS & DTAC were "testing" 3G service in limited areas, like Bangkok and Chiang Mai, pending the final 3G award, but that the 3G award by the government was finally granted only to True. The above article sounds like AIS & DTAC are, in fact, expanding their 3G coverage. So what's the story? Are AIS, DTAC & True still going to compete for 3G customers, or will AIS & DTAC stop conducting their 3G "tests"?

[jackbox]

I posted this on another thread where it seems to have gone unnoticed, so I'll try again in this thread:

I'm confused about the 3G situation. I thought I understood that AIS & DTAC were "testing" 3G service in limited areas, like Bangkok and Chiang Mai, pending the final 3G award, but that the 3G award by the government was finally granted only to True. The above article sounds like AIS & DTAC are, in fact, expanding their 3G coverage. So what's the story? Are AIS, DTAC & True still going to compete for 3G customers, or will AIS & DTAC stop conducting their 3G "tests"?

The only companies with "legal" 3G are TOT3G on GSM and CAT Hutch on CDMA. True has permission from CAT to to a 3G "trial" on frequencies CAT originally licensed to DTAC. DTAC has complained about the hijacking of half their band. CAT said you weren't using it so we can take it back and we did and what are you going to do about it? AIS has a limited trial (just did it without any permission) in Chiang Mai and a few areas but not Bangkok and DTAC has a trial basically for their new headquarters building in Chamchuri Square only. True has pretty much blanketed the Bangkok Metro area with their 3G trial. TOT3G has extensive Bangkok Metro coverage and is getting better, and is currently expanding their network to the provinces with 14.4Mbps speed.

The governing body that has the authority to license the 3G spectrum has never been formed. It is been a political stalemate for over 12 years now. Another ministry said this is making Thailand look bad so we are going to go ahead and auction off the spectrum. The bidding for three available licenses started at around US$3 billion per license. The day before the auction CAT sued the ministry in court and the auction was canceled. So thanks to CAT more extensive 3G in Thailand has been put on hold again. Eventually if they do get licensed. All the carriers will transition 3G to the 2100Mhz band. Almost a moot point now as 4G is starting to be deployed. It would almost make sense if Thailand could ever get its act together in this area and just license 4G and skip over 3G at this point in time.

If you buy a phone/device wanting to use 3G in Thailand make sure it supports the bands you want. True and DTAC are using the 850 Mhz band and AIS has deployed 3G on the 900 Mhz band. TOT3G uses the 2100 Mhz band. Phones that get 3G on AT&T USA will work with True and DTAC. Some T-Mobile USA phones will work on AIS if they have 900 Mhz support. For example a Nexus One from the USA that was made for T-Mobile will get 3G on AIS, and the version made for AT&T bands will get 3G on True and DTAC. Both models will get 3G on TOT3G as 2100 Mhz is the only common frequency they both support.

[wpcoe]

jackbox, thanks for that history of (lack of) 3G in Thailand.

I would have *sworn* that sometime last year, there was a brouhaha because True had been awarded all the 3G contracts nationwide. Any idea what I am mis-remembering???

[edited to add:]

Okay, *this* is what I remember: CAT hands True 3G windfall

The 3G-licensing saga took a new twist yesterday with True Corp becoming the sole operator to be awarded the rights to a 3G-service roll-out.

Meanwhile, the future of other private operators hinges on TOT's e-auction for the 3G2.1GHz network today after the Central Administrative Court last night rejected the petition by the disqualified Ericsson-led consortium for a stay on the auction.

CAT Telecom yesterday awarded deals to two of True Corp's wholly owned subsidiaries for joint development of the 3G wireless broadband services nationwide.

No wonder I was confused. What exactly did CAT license to True? I had thought that True got the whole enchilada = a license to be the sole 3G provider in Thailand, but apparently, I misunderstood?

[jackbox]

jackbox, thanks for that history of (lack of) 3G in Thailand.

I would have *sworn* that sometime last year, there was a brouhaha because True had been awarded all the 3G contracts nationwide. Any idea what I am mis-remembering???

[edited to add:]

Okay, *this* is what I remember: CAT hands True 3G windfall

The 3G-licensing saga took a new twist yesterday with True Corp becoming the sole operator to be awarded the rights to a 3G-service roll-out.

Meanwhile, the future of other private operators hinges on TOT's e-auction for the 3G2.1GHz network today after the Central Administrative Court last night rejected the petition by the disqualified Ericsson-led consortium for a stay on the auction.

CAT Telecom yesterday awarded deals to two of True Corp's wholly owned subsidiaries for joint development of the 3G wireless broadband services nationwide.

No wonder I was confused. What exactly did CAT license to True? I had thought that True got the whole enchilada = a license to be the sole 3G provider in Thailand, but apparently, I misunderstood?

DTAC had the 850 Mhz concession from CAT for traditional cell services but they never used it. CAT simply gave True temporary permission to use half of the 850 Mhz band they licensed to DTAC for a 3G trial. No actual license was issued. The so-called 'trial' is just a way to get around the fact they don't have the authority to license GSM 3G tenchology. CAT operates 3G (EVDO) on their Hutch CDMA system. TOT3G uses the old Thai Mobile system they owned and no longer operates. You cannot use a GSM only phone on TOT3G even though the towers they use used to be GSM only and a small number of old Thai Mobile customers are still allowed to access GSM; but the new TOT3G customers must use 3G access on 2100 Mhz only.

[wpcoe]

Thanks, again. It's starting to sink in.

[nikster]

I posted this on another thread where it seems to have gone unnoticed, so I'll try again in this thread:

I'm confused about the 3G situation. I thought I understood that AIS & DTAC were "testing" 3G service in limited areas, like Bangkok and Chiang Mai, pending the final 3G award, but that the 3G award by the government was finally granted only to True. The above article sounds like AIS & DTAC are, in fact, expanding their 3G coverage. So what's the story? Are AIS, DTAC & True still going to compete for 3G customers, or will AIS & DTAC stop conducting their 3G "tests"?

The only companies with "legal" 3G are TOT3G on GSM and CAT Hutch on CDMA. True has permission from CAT to to a 3G "trial" on frequencies CAT originally licensed to DTAC. DTAC has complained about the hijacking of half their band. CAT said you weren't using it so we can take it back and we did and what are you going to do about it? AIS has a limited trial (just did it without any permission) in Chiang Mai and a few areas but not Bangkok and DTAC has a trial basically for their new headquarters building in Chamchuri Square only. True has pretty much blanketed the Bangkok Metro area with their 3G trial. TOT3G has extensive Bangkok Metro coverage and is getting better, and is currently expanding their network to the provinces with 14.4Mbps speed.

The governing body that has the authority to license the 3G spectrum has never been formed. It is been a political stalemate for over 12 years now. Another ministry said this is making Thailand look bad so we are going to go ahead and auction off the spectrum. The bidding for three available licenses started at around US$3 billion per license. The day before the auction CAT sued the ministry in court and the auction was canceled. So thanks to CAT more extensive 3G in Thailand has been put on hold again. Eventually if they do get licensed. All the carriers will transition 3G to the 2100Mhz band. Almost a moot point now as 4G is starting to be deployed. It would almost make sense if Thailand could ever get its act together in this area and just license 4G and skip over 3G at this point in time.

If you buy a phone/device wanting to use 3G in Thailand make sure it supports the bands you want. True and DTAC are using the 850 Mhz band and AIS has deployed 3G on the 900 Mhz band. TOT3G uses the 2100 Mhz band. Phones that get 3G on AT&T USA will work with True and DTAC. Some T-Mobile USA phones will work on AIS if they have 900 Mhz support. For example a Nexus One from the USA that was made for T-Mobile will get 3G on AIS, and the version made for AT&T bands will get 3G on True and DTAC. Both models will get 3G on TOT3G as 2100 Mhz is the only common frequency they both support.

That's a really good summary. I am amazed you were able to squeeze this insane mess in such a short piece.

The plan at True seems to be: No real license but doing 3G anyway. When CAT started to complain - they got True trial in Pai to be turned off, for example - they gave CAT money. True advertises with 3G all over the place. The "limited" trial is rolled out over ever wider areas of Thailand. Working pretty well at the moment in Hua Hin; also works in Chiang Mai and BKK coverage seems *much* improved compared to what it was.

The AIS trial is near useless as most phones don't support that frequency band for 3G. As for why DTAC didn't do what True is now doing it's anybody's guess - perhaps their connections aren't as good.

CAT CDMA and Hutch continue to be a mess and don't support data roaming even though they're using the same technology and are both operated by CAT. I believe that True meanwhile bought Hutch though (after CAT tried to and failed for whatever reason).

[Digitalbanana]

True has permission from CAT to to a 3G "trial" on frequencies CAT originally licensed to DTAC.

I'd hardly say the CAT - True deal is a 'trial" anymore unless I am misunderstanding things in the news?

The deal is for 14 years and will see CAT using True's RealMove to provide countrywide 3G HSPA data services on CAT 850Mhz frequency. I also presume, since many phone manufacturers like HTC don't even have 850Mhz HSPA capable phones on the market in Asia, users will be limited on what products they can buy besides the iPhone.

http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=17411