Sophon Fibre-Broadband - Pattaya-Jomtien

[tropo]

If you pay for the bargain basement service with the highest contention ratio you should expect inconsistency. How can the company guarantee a minimum speed if you're sharing with umpteen other bandwidth hogs in your area. No minimum speed can ever be guaranteed by any company when so many customers are using the Internet 24/7 for bittorrent downloads and streaming video.

Back in Europe I paid 30Euros (1200B)/month for up to 18Mbits ADSL (6Mbits in my case), phone line rental, unlimited phone calls to 100 countries, 100 channels of TV (including several HD channels), free loan of quad-play wifi box/modem and guaranteed 24hr repair in case of faults.

I got a rock solid download speed of 6Mbits, day and night, 365 days a year with no exceptions.

There is absolutely no reason why the same should not be possible here, for much less cost. If it isn't available it it simply down to incompetence and/or overpricing.

Such is not the case in Australia and NZ. You have a data cap on all basic services. If you want unlimited you pay through your nose or get a very expensive dedicated line.

There is every reason why such services are not available in Thailand. You would need to stream from Europe or US to Thailand whereas in Europe and US you are local to many of the services they are providing. Most foreigners living in Thailand use sites based in Europe or USA.

Of course Thais will be mostly be using local Thai websites, so they will find the going a lot easier.

[roban]

If you pay for the bargain basement service with the highest contention ratio you should expect inconsistency. How can the company guarantee a minimum speed if you're sharing with umpteen other bandwidth hogs in your area. No minimum speed can ever be guaranteed by any company when so many customers are using the Internet 24/7 for bittorrent downloads and streaming video.

Back in Europe I paid 30Euros (1200B)/month for up to 18Mbits ADSL (6Mbits in my case), phone line rental, unlimited phone calls to 100 countries, 100 channels of TV (including several HD channels), free loan of quad-play wifi box/modem and guaranteed 24hr repair in case of faults.

I got a rock solid download speed of 6Mbits, day and night, 365 days a year with no exceptions.

There is absolutely no reason why the same should not be possible here, for much less cost. If it isn't available it it simply down to incompetence and/or overpricing.

Yepp,

in Europe, I have a 16 MBIT line for 19.90 EUR/month.....but ok, this not Europe, and I don't expect 4 Mbit 24/7 here in Los.

BUT, a simple 300 Kbit stream should work (like with my TOT ADSL), otherwise the ISP overloaded the line or whatever.... And this is CRAP, nothing else.

Edited September 19, 2011 by roban

[tropo]

When I first hooked up to Sohpon Cable I managed to get the Internet working with my ADSL wireless router by plugging the LAN from the cable modem into one of the LAN sockets.

Just curious, can you recall the brand and model of that device? I can see where that might work for one PC but the wireless wouldn't function and you wouldn't have the protection of the router's firewall. In other words, you might just as well have plugged your PC directly into the cable modem.

It was a D-Link adsl router.

[tropo]

If you pay for the bargain basement service with the highest contention ratio you should expect inconsistency. How can the company guarantee a minimum speed if you're sharing with umpteen other bandwidth hogs in your area. No minimum speed can ever be guaranteed by any company when so many customers are using the Internet 24/7 for bittorrent downloads and streaming video.

Back in Europe I paid 30Euros (1200B)/month for up to 18Mbits ADSL (6Mbits in my case), phone line rental, unlimited phone calls to 100 countries, 100 channels of TV (including several HD channels), free loan of quad-play wifi box/modem and guaranteed 24hr repair in case of faults.

I got a rock solid download speed of 6Mbits, day and night, 365 days a year with no exceptions.

There is absolutely no reason why the same should not be possible here, for much less cost. If it isn't available it it simply down to incompetence and/or overpricing.

Yepp,

in Europe, I have a 16 MBIT line for 19.90 EUR/month.....but ok, this not Europe, and I don't expect 4 Mbit 24/7 here in Los.

BUT, a simple 300 Kbit stream should work (like with my TOT ADSL), otherwise the ISP overloaded the line or whatever.... And this is CRAP, nothing else.

I have TOT adsl and 3BB adsl (premier service) along with Sophon Cable. The TOT is always crap. 3BB and Sophon are nearly equal with a slight edge in upload speed with Sophon. I few years ago I had the standard 3BB (maxnet) service - it too was crap.

[Darrel]

Just curious, can you recall the brand and model of that device? I can see where that might work for one PC but the wireless wouldn't function and you wouldn't have the protection of the router's firewall. In other words, you might just as well have plugged your PC directly into the cable modem.

Most (not all) modem/routers with more than one ethernet port will allow you to deactivate the internal modem and use an external gateway, such as the cable modem in question. This applies even if there isnt a specific WAN port. The configuration isnt always the simplest to sort out, but it will normally allow for full wifi and firewall functionality.

The simple explanation given earlier covers many devices, though some have specific requirements to make it all work and, for security reasons, you should always consult the manual for the particular device.

[Darrel]

Such is not the case in Australia and NZ. You have a data cap on all basic services. If you want unlimited you pay through your nose or get a very expensive dedicated line.

That is a problem in the UK also, but not elsewhere in Europe. Not everyone is ripped-off to the same extent.

There is every reason why such services are not available in Thailand. You would need to stream from Europe or US to Thailand whereas in Europe and US you are local to many of the services they are providing. Most foreigners living in Thailand use sites based in Europe or USA.

That is an excuse, not a reason.

It's no more difficult to provide connectivity between Thailand and the US than between Europe and Japan, or Europe and Thailand for that matter. It's just a question of wanting to do it.

Thai ISPs just use this as an excuse to charge more and provide less.

[tropo]

Such is not the case in Australia and NZ. You have a data cap on all basic services. If you want unlimited you pay through your nose or get a very expensive dedicated line.

That is a problem in the UK also, but not elsewhere in Europe. Not everyone is ripped-off to the same extent.

There is every reason why such services are not available in Thailand. You would need to stream from Europe or US to Thailand whereas in Europe and US you are local to many of the services they are providing. Most foreigners living in Thailand use sites based in Europe or USA.

That is an excuse, not a reason.

It's no more difficult to provide connectivity between Thailand and the US than between Europe and Japan, or Europe and Thailand for that matter. It's just a question of wanting to do it.

Thai ISPs just use this as an excuse to charge more and provide less.

I would be certain that providing connectivity for Thailand-Europe to equal Japan-Europe would be impossible even if they wanted to.

What I'm really referring to is the difference between Inter-Europe and Inter-USA connectivity compared to Thailand - Europe or Thailand - USA connectivity.

Charging more is not an excuse - it is pure business logic - businesses have a duty to make profits.

If, for example, a Thailand ISP can get 2000 baht per month for a particular service, why should they drop it to 1000 baht or whatever because you can get the same service in Europe for that price. That would be absurd.

The only time a business will or should drop prices or increase value for money is when a competing company has a better product at the same price or the same product at a better price. The price level will follow supply and demand, not some complaints from people who are getting better value for money in other countries.

That's how it works in the real world. What you pay in Europe or Timbuktu is totally irrelevant.

Also, next time you're walking down Pattaya Klang, cast your eyes up a few degrees and check out what they call wiring in Thailand. All the Internet services are jumbled up in that mess. Can you imagine what it would cost to improve the basic infrastructure to a level equal to that of a developed nation.

[mahjongguy]

Most (not all) modem/routers with more than one ethernet port will allow you to deactivate the internal modem and use an external gateway, such as the cable modem in question. This applies even if there isnt a specific WAN port. The configuration isnt always the simplest to sort out, but it will normally allow for full wifi and firewall functionality. The simple explanation given earlier covers many devices, though some have specific requirements to make it all work and, for security reasons, you should always consult the manual for the particular device.

I have never been in that situation because I have always bought standalone routers. But a friend here has three different brand/models of ADSL routers and he is switching to a cable modem service. When I advised him that he would need to buy yet another (non-ADSL) router he contacted tech support for each of his devices and was told that they could not be re-configured to use one of the LAN ports for the WAN. I thought that was sufficient evidence, but I am glad to hear that in the case of your D-Link you were able to get it worked out. I will modify my advice to say: if you have an ADSL router and switch to cable modem service, you will probably need to buy a standalone router.

Note: if anyone here wants to discuss dual WAN routers, I'd be happy to start a new thread on that topic.

[roban]

That's how it works in the real world. What you pay in Europe or Timbuktu is totally irrelevant.

Correct.

But, as this is a thread about Sophon, I have to complain that their internet service is overpriced/overloaded, compared with other (THAI) ISP's

But the price is not the main problem.

I would be glad to pay 500 Bt or something more, if they could grant me reliable international bandwidth.

2Mbit would be fine....

[Popscene]

Be good if we got speeds like this on Sophon, i would be happy.

[Darrel]

I would be certain that providing connectivity for Thailand-Europe to equal Japan-Europe would be impossible even if they wanted to.

What I'm really referring to is the difference between Inter-Europe and Inter-USA connectivity compared to Thailand - Europe or Thailand - USA connectivity.

........

Also, next time you're walking down Pattaya Klang, cast your eyes up a few degrees and check out what they call wiring in Thailand. All the Internet services are jumbled up in that mess. Can you imagine what it would cost to improve the basic infrastructure to a level equal to that of a developed nation.

Malaysia, Singapore, Korea and other places around here have perfectly decent international connections. If they can do it then so could Thailand.

The internal wiring is NOT the problem; the problem is the international backbone out of Thailand. It is well within their capacity to improve this.

[Popscene]

The result I get when using Thai visa server in Bangkok, not so good gone from nearly 50Mb/s to less than 1/2 Mb/s, Thailand needs to upgrade it's internet backbone out the country.

[roban]

well,

Here is my SOPHON speedtest to Singapore

BERLIN

[RabC]

well,

Here is my SOPHON speedtest to Singapore

BERLIN

Thanks Roban, to me that indicates that the problem isn't just with the Sophon side of things, it's also with the international bandwidth from CAT.

[tropo]

Thanks Roban, to me that indicates that the problem isn't just with the Sophon side of things, it's also with the international bandwidth from CAT.

Sophon IS CAT. Even the prices of packages are identical.

[mahjongguy]

Sophon IS CAT.

Sophon built and owns the distribution fiber/coax around town. The router and everything beyond it out to the world is provided by CAT. It is not the exact same service you would get if you ordered directly from CAT. That service would use some other way of getting to your home. This can be crucial, because whatever level of ISP service CAT provides (good or bad, depending on the day and the hour) can be considerably worsened if the local distribution is shared by too many busy users. My guess is that Sophon delivers fairly undiluted service to Jomtien Beach but congested oversubscribed service in denser parts of the Pattaya area.

For what it's worth, here's my test to Singapore at 3:30pm on Tuesday afternoon.

[tropo]

Sophon IS CAT.

Sophon built and owns the distribution fiber/coax around town. The router and everything beyond it out to the world is provided by CAT. It is not the exact same service you would get if you ordered directly from CAT. That service would use some other way of getting to your home. This can be crucial, because whatever level of ISP service CAT provides (good or bad, depending on the day and the hour) can be considerably worsened if the local distribution is shared by too many busy users. My guess is that Sophon delivers fairly undiluted service to Jomtien Beach but congested oversubscribed service in denser parts of the Pattaya area.

For what it's worth, here's my test to Singapore at 3:30pm on Tuesday afternoon.

Sophon IS CAT. Even the contention ratios for the various plans are identical. Previously, for 5 years, I used exactly the same plan with CAT HiNet adsl but I had to switch to Sophon because CAT adsl isn't available in the area I moved to.

I use the Premium Plan which is very steady anytime of the day or night. That's why I pay 1690 per month for a 2Mb/1Mb service. The people complaining are on the cheap plans. Now at least I feel I'm getting something extra for my money. I wouldn't be very happy paying double what you are paying if there wasn't an advantage, right?

Have you never considered why they offer premium plans? Now you know. I've never had the problems you are facing now with CAT HiNet or its Sohpon equivalent.

[mahjongguy]

Sophon IS CAT.

. From the input of the router out to the world, yes.

The people complaining are on the cheap plans.

Yes, they have the cheaper CAT service AND they have the cheaper Sophon distribution. It's a double whammy.

[tropo]

Sophon IS CAT.

. From the input of the router out to the world, yes.

The people complaining are on the cheap plans.

Yes, they have the cheaper CAT service AND they have the cheaper Sophon distribution. It's a double whammy.

Pretty much most everyone who complains about Internet services on this forum are on the cheap plans. All of the lower plans are up and down. One day someone is complaining about a cheap 3BB plan, the next day it's about Sophon and so on and so forth. I've also got the bargain basement 6Mb/0.5Mb TOT plan. To be honest, I haven't turned the modem on for months it's that bad.

If you want a plan for under 1000 baht, it's never going to change - you get what you pay for.

I'd like to hear from someone who is on the Sophon 6,700 baht Gold Plan - 10Mb/1Mb or the Gold Plus Plan for 7,960 per month... or the CAT HiNet adsl 8M/1M plan for 7,704 baht per month.

[roban]

Sophon/CAT pushes the Brake again...:jap:

Sorry to say...but, bye bye Sophon

If you want a plan for under 1000 baht, it's never going to change - you get what you pay for.

In general, you might be right, but most of the time, I can squeeze out more than 2 Mbit from my TOT ADSL line.

This costs me 845 Bt/mth for 3 Mbit and includes an (unnecessary) landline. (690 only ADSL)

So not everything under 1000 Bt might be crap

PS: With all my respect, but 1690 Bt (around 40 EUR) for a 2/1 Mbit line is ridiculous overprized

Edited September 20, 2011 by roban

[tropo]

In general, you might be right, but most of the time, I can squeeze out more than 2 Mbit from my TOT ADSL line.

This costs me 845 Bt/mth for 3 Mbit and includes an (unnecessary) landline. (690 only ADSL)

So not everything under 1000 Bt might be crap

PS: With all my respect, but 1690 Bt (around 40 EUR) for a 2/1 Mbit line is ridiculous overprized

Compared to the TOT service of 6Mb/0.5Mb for 590, the 1690 Sophon CAT service is well worth it. I've never used a Euro in my life so I'm not the slightest bit interested in how many Euro it is or what the services in Europe cost.

Sure, I can squeeze some use out of it (TOT), but a steady reliable connection it most definitely is not. Sometimes I can nearly max out on the download rate with a good bittorrent, but generally speaking if I want reliable bittorrent downloads I'm better off using my slower premier Sophon and 3BB connections.

It all depends on what you need a service for and how important reliability is. It also depends on how important service is. If I call Sophon with a problem at 9am, they're around at my house less than an hour later working on it. Perhaps they jump faster and higher for premier customers.

Edited September 20, 2011 by tropo

[Michaelaway]

Tttt, I can't understand a majority of what's being stated & compared within this thread, although I'd like to. I have 3BB @ 631 baht/ month, and this is what I received today as a a result of my first attempted speed test. I could use an explanation of this result and am interested in any further feedback, too. Thanks a lot...

[roban]

Tttt, I can't understand a majority of what's being stated & compared within this thread, although I'd like to. I have 3BB @ 631 baht/ month, and this is what I received today as a a result of my first attempted speed test. I could use an explanation of this result and am interested in any further feedback, too. Thanks a lot...

1. This is not an international speedtest, so in most cases you will have the full speed of your ADSL line

2. 3bb is well known, to use "caching servers" in BKK for international speed tests, so your results *could* be.....not... 100% ...correct

Try an international speedtest (speedtest.net) against EUR or USA or whatever. Post your results

[Rainmon]

after a month and a half on Sophon Internet, fiber optic connection, it Sucks! slow speeds half the time and constant link failures to the internet connection, ......

I can confirm the slow speeds on Sophon fibre optic (Soi Kao Noi). Not even a 300 Kbit stream from Europe plays without stutter and buffering.

Speedtests to Europe and USA ~ 250 Kbit.

But very friendly technicians, and a good response time, when I phoned them.

But the best service doesn't help, if they can't fix the problems...

Technician told me that 60 people share a 100 Mbit line. So this could be an explanation of the ridiculous international speed.

Sophon Speedtest to Germany

TOT speedtest to Germany, the same day

I did many different speedtests with almost similar results....

The management should fix this problem if they are overloading the system, I can't imagine what will happen high season. Yesterday I streamed Justin.tv for over 4 hours before I finally got kicked off with another link connection failure, now today the speed is erratic and slow and keep having link failures back to the shit service... my condo is near 3rd road and soi 17.

Can I ask what a speed test to Singapore gives you with Sophon so we can see if its Sophon Cable or their supplier CAT?

here is a speed test on Sophon to Singapore:

here is a link to SpeedWave (a record or all my speed tests since Sept 18)

[kbelyeu]

Sorry I can't answer your questions but could you or other members answer the following questions:

- Does the service use the same actual cable that brings Sophon Cable TV into the house?

- What if it's a condo or village where there is central point to bring in the signal, then It's distributed from that central hub, by cable, to individual houses / condo units? In this scenario would individual internet service be possible?

Thanks.

I've had their service for about 3 months now with no major issues and it uses my existing coaxial cable..

20mb/s download 2mb/s upload with no contract on about 2500 baht a month.

Cheers,

Kurt