Udonthani (International) International Internet Service - Help!

[newbegin4]

I've had TTT service since January and it has been (mostly) reliable until up to about 3 weeks ago. Since then it has been constantly out or barely running. I work nights and usually have no problem with international service but now I can not count on internet access. The service just is out 90% of the day (and crawls the remaining 10%).

My wife works about 3 km away at a factory and their TTT is also down all the time. That factory also has TOT as a backup and she says that that service is also not dependable.

I would like to know if this is just a temporary local problem, a problem in all of Udonthani or a recent issue in all of Thailand?

I am desperate! Without reliable international internet access, I am effectively unemployed (no income) and have a wife and young child to help support.

I bought a GSM wireless card last Friday as a backup, it barely works (dial-up speeds or less). What other options are there? I'm willing to try ANYTHING, including satellite or an expensive leased line (if necessary - but I wonder if that would even help).

Udonthani-area expatriates/residents, please advise what is (or is not) working for you, thanks!

[afarang]

A good solution for you to check out is:: C.A.T. C.D.M.A. .Cost for modem B 9,500 approx.+ B850 per month. It works really well, much,much faster and more reliable than land lines.I have been using it now, for 9 months and am very happy with it. Sorry, C.A.T. is the Communications Authority of Thailand , will have an office in Udon.

[newbegin4]

A good solution for you to check out is:: C.A.T. C.D.M.A. .Cost for modem B 9,500 approx.+ B850 per month. It works really well, much,much faster and more reliable than land lines.I have been using it now, for 9 months and am very happy with it. Sorry, C.A.T. is the Communications Authority of Thailand , will have an office in Udon.

Thanks, I'll ask my wife about CAT CDMA. By the way, how is the latency with this service? My experience with the GSM wireless that I just bought is a bit disappointing (above and beyond the slow crawl speeds). The latency is 700 to 900 ms (about twice that of ADSL). I use Vonage extensively, hence the worry about latency.

[afarang]

A good solution for you to check out is:: C.A.T. C.D.M.A. .Cost for modem B 9,500 approx.+ B850 per month. It works really well, much,much faster and more reliable than land lines.I have been using it now, for 9 months and am very happy with it. Sorry, C.A.T. is the Communications Authority of Thailand , will have an office in Udon.

Thanks, I'll ask my wife about CAT CDMA. By the way, how is the latency with this service? My experience with the GSM wireless that I just bought is a bit disappointing (above and beyond the slow crawl speeds). The latency is 700 to 900 ms (about twice that of ADSL). I use Vonage extensively, hence the worry about latency.

Latency is not a problem. But you can talk to C.A.T about it. This system works off mobile phone towers,that is the modem connects to your nearest mobile phone tower. If you are within 3 - 4 kms of the tower, you will not need an aerial, further away and you will.

[newbegin4]

afarang, are you in the Udonthani area? My wife said she used CAT CDMA last year and wasn't happy with the service. Perhaps she needed the 'antenna' device. Speaking of which, where can I purchase one? Are they sold locally?

I'm willing to try everything, money is no longer an issue as I'm desparate. I told my wife that I either have to return to the U.S. or move to Bangkok (for better internet service) if there ultimately proves to be no solution to my Udonthani internet connection woes. I'm effectively unemployed. I can't work at all.

Thanks for your advice.

[afarang]

afarang, are you in the Udonthani area? My wife said she used CAT CDMA last year and wasn't happy with the service. Perhaps she needed the 'antenna' device. Speaking of which, where can I purchase one? Are they sold locally?

I'm willing to try everything, money is no longer an issue as I'm desparate. I told my wife that I either have to return to the U.S. or move to Bangkok (for better internet service) if there ultimately proves to be no solution to my Udonthani internet connection woes. I'm effectively unemployed. I can't work at all.

Thanks for your advice.

Not quite in Udon,Southern Buriram.If you are within about 3 kms of a mobile phone tower, you will not need an antenna, further away and you will definitely need one. Quite a few of us here are using C.D.M.A., very successfully.The modem and antenna are ONLY sold by C.A.T..I was using satellite, but C.D.M.A., is vastly superior.Maybe, she was an early user,now many more phone towers are equipped to provide the service.

[newbegin4]

afarang, are you in the Udonthani area? My wife said she used CAT CDMA last year and wasn't happy with the service. Perhaps she needed the 'antenna' device. Speaking of which, where can I purchase one? Are they sold locally?

I'm willing to try everything, money is no longer an issue as I'm desparate. I told my wife that I either have to return to the U.S. or move to Bangkok (for better internet service) if there ultimately proves to be no solution to my Udonthani internet connection woes. I'm effectively unemployed. I can't work at all.

Thanks for your advice.

Not quite in Udon,Southern Buriram.If you are within about 3 kms of a mobile phone tower, you will not need an antenna, further away and you will definitely need one. Quite a few of us here are using C.D.M.A., very successfully.The modem and antenna are ONLY sold by C.A.T..I was using satellite, but C.D.M.A., is vastly superior.Maybe, she was an early user,now many more phone towers are equipped to provide the service.

Ok, thanks for that advice! I'll check into it further.

[siamect]

Have you talked to them about this? I call immediately if I experience anything worse than expected... Should be said I don't have any experience with TTT

Martin

[newbegin4]

Have you talked to them about this? I call immediately if I experience anything worse than expected... Should be said I don't have any experience with TTT

Martin

My wife has called TTT repeatedly to no avail.

[newbegin4]

Edited to remove double-post.

Edited August 4, 2010 by newbegin4

[Digitalbanana]

afarang, are you in the Udonthani area? My wife said she used CAT CDMA last year and wasn't happy with the service. Perhaps she needed the 'antenna' device. Speaking of which, where can I purchase one? Are they sold locally?

I'm willing to try everything, money is no longer an issue as I'm desparate. I told my wife that I either have to return to the U.S. or move to Bangkok (for better internet service) if there ultimately proves to be no solution to my Udonthani internet connection woes. I'm effectively unemployed. I can't work at all.

Thanks for your advice.

Not quite in Udon,Southern Buriram.If you are within about 3 kms of a mobile phone tower, you will not need an antenna, further away and you will definitely need one. Quite a few of us here are using C.D.M.A., very successfully.The modem and antenna are ONLY sold by C.A.T..I was using satellite, but C.D.M.A., is vastly superior.Maybe, she was an early user,now many more phone towers are equipped to provide the service.

Ok, thanks for that advice! I'll check into it further.

I used CAT CDMA when in Nakhon Sawan last year. By far best internet service out in the sticks. I would check with CAT office if they have best modem option available. We needed several modems and some (MC727 modem) gave better signal response than others at the time. The CAT office was very helpful, let us test equipment before signing up, and let us buy the modems we wanted from their Bangkok office. YMMV.

[NanLaew]

OP, listen up!

Where EXACTLY are you? Udon Thani is a city and also a Province; be more specific please. So your house and a nearby factory have sh!te service. What point in asking if anyone else has this issue if you don't say where YOU are (apart from near your wife's factory)?

Calling TT&T is for what? They don't do broadband any more. They farmed it out to 3BB and they have EXCELLENT English speakers on their support hot-line and I never need to get the wife to call them when I have a problem. If they confirm that it's a network-wide issue, they will tell you. If not, they set up a Tech to visit. Now that is where you may need a Thai speaker as the Tech will call asking for directions! Once they show up, they have been pretty good at sorting out issues like 'tweaking' my modem settings to compensate for a crappy, noisy phone line from ToT! But make sure that the problem you asked them to come and check is resolved before they bugger off as they tend to escape as fast as they can when they see 'no promplem'.

PS. What sort of 'internet business; cannot tolerate a few milliseconds of latency? I am always intrigued by this. I have an AIS GPRS dongle (USB modem) that fairly flies along when the 3bb line goes walkabout. Maybe GPRS is faster than EDGE... or whatever the 'GSM card' you bought works with?

Edited August 6, 2010 by NanLaew

[newbegin4]

OP, listen up!

Where EXACTLY are you? Udon Thani is a city and also a Province; be more specific please. So your house and a nearby factory have sh!te service. What point in asking if anyone else has this issue if you don't say where YOU are (apart from near your wife's factory)?

Calling TT&T is for what? They don't do broadband any more. They farmed it out to 3BB and they have EXCELLENT English speakers on their support hot-line and I never need to get the wife to call them when I have a problem. If they confirm that it's a network-wide issue, they will tell you. If not, they set up a Tech to visit. Now that is where you may need a Thai speaker as the Tech will call asking for directions! Once they show up, they have been pretty good at sorting out issues like 'tweaking' my modem settings to compensate for a crappy, noisy phone line from ToT! But make sure that the problem you asked them to come and check is resolved before they bugger off as they tend to escape as fast as they can when they see 'no promplem'.

PS. What sort of 'internet business; cannot tolerate a few milliseconds of latency? I am always intrigued by this. I have an AIS GPRS dongle (USB modem) that fairly flies along when the 3bb line goes walkabout. Maybe GPRS is faster than EDGE... or whatever the 'GSM card' you bought works with?

NanLaew, listen up!

I'm in Udonthani city. VoIP works best with low latency, not to mention an internet connection that does not quit right in the middle of an important business call. Sorry, I guess I should have said 3BB (not TTT), I didn't realize I was referring incorrectly.

Edited August 6, 2010 by newbegin4

[NanLaew]

OK, When I am home, I am just outside the eastern ring-road and have blistering hot throughput most days and nights. I have seen the internet go dead during extended thunderstorms (time of the year for it!) and at odd times of the day but nothing to set your watch by. 3bb's call center is rather good and they do speak English so you should have no problems sorting out whether it's a regional problem or your setup that's dodgy. As I said, the techs sometimes need their feet held to the fire if it's an intermittent fault and Somchai's Law (the Thai derivative of Murphy's) will dictate that when they do visit, your connection will be the best it's ever been and you will be in the middle of some really important 'business call'.

What are you selling that so badly needs you to sound like you are in an office nearer to the customer btw? Insurance? Encyclopedias?