Working Thru Vpn From Thailand

[sking_is_leaving]

I'm planning to move back to Thailand at the end of this year.

Whilst in Thailand, I'm hoping to do some work for a client in the UK using a VPN, and being able to work in this way is of primary importance - this will drive the major relocation decisions eg. area and accommodation type.

I really don't know what sort of speeds I need other than "normal" (!) - I currently work from home in the UK on a fairly bog-standard ADSL connection. I'm not uploading and downloading large amounts of data. Obviously I need international bandwidth, and reliable access. I don't know if VPNs are ever blocked by ISPs or by the authorities.

I'm assuming Bangkok would be a safer choice, and the CBD a safer choice than the suburbs, but maybe that's a misconception. I will need a static IP. I'm prepared to stay in serviced apartments initially (if they have a direct phone line) and then I can move on if I have problems (due to, say, internal wiring, external lines, distance from telephone exchange).

Or are the problems equally likely to be ISP-related? Are there many ISP services available on short-term contracts, so I would be able to try different services? Maybe I should just pay for a high-end service eg. leased line if that's an alternative?

I realise this post is a bit unfocused and I expect to zoom in on the different aspects once I've done some more research and hopefully received some sage advice! If anyone else has been through the same process, I'd really love to hear about your experience.

Thanks

[Glimcoil]

Good luck with it. I'm actually telecommuting (for a US company) from Bangkok, so I do somethign similar - and getting good Internet is my main headache here. Love everything else in this country...

Initially I started with a TRUE DSL (of "only" 512k up / 4Mbps down) 2 yrs back, but within weeks I realised that it just doesn't work for me. I need to make frequent VoIP phone calls and need a reliable at least 128k up and 512k down

(so I can look at presentations while talking on the phone), but that was impossible on the consumer DSL. VoIP was basically impossible.

I've then managed to switch to a Business DSL of 512k up, 2M down (with 1M international guaranteed), which was somehow better. I say "managed to swich to" because True initially refused to sell this to me as an individual (they demanded papers to prove that I'm a company at this location and use it for business - had to use all my contacts to finally be able to order it). I usually got my 1M down, and around 300k up - for approx 3100 Baht a month. I desperately tried to get them to sell me something faster (but sticking to DSL, can't afford the leased line), but failed on it and recently switched back to a consumer package of 1M up / 16M down. This package gives me much better uplink speed - I measure around 600k on average up, but download is now random. I get up to 8..10M down in the late night (between midnight and 6am), but evenings are frequently awful and unpredictable.

I don't have a static IP - gave up on this - most VPN don't require one and if you work all across the VPN, then the VPN may give you a static IP from the other side (depends on what kind (corp?) of VPN service you use. 0

A few suggestions:

1) Verify how much bandwidth you need. What may be "normal" in the UK might be challenging here in Thailand. Officially you get some decent bandwidth, but plan on outages and far less than advertised speed. Measure it or describe on what you need to do. VoIP? Mostly Web application? Remote Desktop etc?

2) Be careful on the location and building you pick. I'm living in one of these high-rise apartment complexes and my only Internet choice is True. No other provider available in my building or willing to provide DSL service here.

3) There is now a real high-speed service of 30M/50M down - but currently only available on selected buildings. You may not need that bandwidth, but they seem to get priority anyway and have much better "worst-case" throughput. You may consider this option

4) Watch out for new services... I hear there will be newer (and better) services rolled out very soon.. Might be in time for your arrival.

In general, ordering and getting the service installed is very fast. In Bangkok in a high-rise building it should be a matter of 1..3 days.

Short-term contracts might be challenging - but then you may not have many choices available anyway depending on where you stay. But you can always change if you are willing to pay some early termination fee (which is usually reasonable)

- Martin

[bkk_mike]

I also work remotely using a VPN. (working UK hours)

I also use True's 1Mbps SME (small business) service, which is pretty expensive, but does actually get you a pretty stable connection. (I'm in the suburbs, so 16Mbps isn't available to me, although I should be getting 2Mbps shortly as they OK'd my line for it).

Again, I don't have a static IP, and the only real issue I have is that they bounce the connection once you've been connected for 24 hours (I assume to force a new IP address onto you), which is a pain if you're editing a file on Unix across the VPN when the bounce happens.

I use Vonage as my VOIP service while I'm working with no issues (so long as my torrents - TV here is awful - are turned down to about 20K). Skype is also fine for audio without turning off the torrents, video requires them to be off.

If you do choose the suburbs, get a UPS as, especially in rainy season, you can get brief power cuts (usually a few seconds, sometimes a few minutes) and it's better for your PC / router / etc. if they don't lose power.

As for a static IP, they cost an absolute fortune here. (Not sure why - I've got one in London on my 24Mbps line there - and I'm paying less than £20/month - under 1,000 baht - but they'll ask for a lot more than 1,000 baht just for the static IP address here...)

And before someone flames me for downloading TV using torrents. I pay for True Visions (UBC), and also pay my UK TV licence, so I already pay for the TV series I'm downloading - but it's better quality downloaded as HD than they broadcast here.