Tot Fiber 2U Now Available - Anybody Have Experience?

[woodyleonhard]

TOT is advertising its Fiber 2U service in this week's Phuket Gazette.

There's a teaser of "100 Mbps". I wonder if anybody in Phuket has logged 100 Mbps, even if only to Bangkok?

Anyway, I'm seriously considering getting four of these lines. I've talked with someone in Bang Tao who has a TOT Fiber 2U line, and he's getting 11 Mbps download from San Francisco. Two months ago, the Software park was getting similar download speeds, but since then they've had reliability problems. I hear that Royal Phuket Marina also has reliability problems.

Anybody out there have experience with TOT's Fiber 2U in Phuket?

[ScubaBuddha]

One of the fiber optic trunk lines is being laid in front of my house, according to the construction signage anyway. I might consider it if they came out with something that was priced competitively with 3BB's 2500baht a month 5mb/1mb premier, but actually stayed connected more than 50% of the time. Last time I checked at TOT office a few months ago fiber was cost prohibitive at something like 8000 baht a month and only like 10-15mbps IIRC.

Does the PG ad list prices? Is the ad in the hard copy gazette? I don't see any ads in the online Gazette...that would make to much sense I guess. I'll have to stop by the office. My 4mb TOT line is no longer delivering the 600-800kbps stream I need from my Slingbox in the states.

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Edited December 5, 2010 by ScubaBuddha

[Peterocket]

The cost for home use is around 4000 baht and will be more than twice as fast and probably twice as relieable as your 3BB line. Worth considering.

If it was closer to 2500-3000 a month I would consider it for my house too. I already use it for business and like you have the 3BB premier line at home.

Ive always wondered how well the slingbox would work over here?

[ScubaBuddha]

The cost for home use is around 4000 baht and will be more than twice as fast and probably twice as relieable as your 3BB line. Worth considering.

If it was closer to 2500-3000 a month I would consider it for my house too. I already use it for business and like you have the 3BB premier line at home.

Ive always wondered how well the slingbox would work over here?

There are a few threads about it here on Thaivisa. Varying results. I am still using mine daily with no problems other than the stream connection just isn't fast enough. The SlingCatcher I use to play on my TV and use a clone remote control has 3 settings you must manually change, where as the Webplayer and Slingplayer, both for viewing on the computer, have an "auto" setting that changes the resolution based on stream speed. The SlingCatchers 3 settings are 320x240 (pretty blurry) requiring minimum connection of 250kbps, 640x240 (very watchable, but sports suffer) which requiring 600kbps, and 640x480 (pretty clear) which requires a stream speed of 1Mbps. I have a 5Mbps upload speed on the state side. I have given up trying to determine exactly where the slowdown is occurring, as many ISP's, including Comcast in the states are throttling/traffic shaping video streams and torrents. Some have found using a proxy relay in the states improves quality. Maybe I will test drive Fiber 2u since I already have TOT.

Edited December 7, 2010 by ScubaBuddha

[woodyleonhard]

Does the PG ad list prices? Is the ad in the hard copy gazette? I don't see any ads in the online Gazette...that would make to much sense I guess. I'll have to stop by the office. My 4mb TOT line is no longer delivering the 600-800kbps stream I need from my Slingbox in the states.

I'm just back from a trip to the TOT office and a lengthy run of speed tests with the Fiber 2U line at the TOT office (which one would assume is as good as it gets).

Bottom line: international downloads in the 4 to 5 Mbps range, depending on where you're going, with higher speeds to Singapore. Not terribly impressive, but not bad. International uploads from 2 to 6 Mbps, which is quite impressive if you do a lot of uploading. Domestic downloads 10 to 12 Mbps.

Details, as always, on the Phuket Internet Speed Reporting site.

TOT Fiber 2U nominal 10 Mbps "Home" line is B 4,400 per month. Quite an improvement over earlier prices.

The ad in the Gazette (print version) says 100 Mbps, but that's just a marketing dream. Realistically, domestic download speeds in the 10 Mbps range are likely. That's just about fast enough to stream high definition TV, if it can be sustained.

[Peterocket]

Wow those speeds seem much worse than my test results...I'll try and get them over to you tomorrow.

[ScubaBuddha]

Does the PG ad list prices? Is the ad in the hard copy gazette? I don't see any ads in the online Gazette...that would make to much sense I guess. I'll have to stop by the office. My 4mb TOT line is no longer delivering the 600-800kbps stream I need from my Slingbox in the states.

I'm just back from a trip to the TOT office and a lengthy run of speed tests with the Fiber 2U line at the TOT office (which one would assume is as good as it gets).

Bottom line: international downloads in the 4 to 5 Mbps range, depending on where you're going, with higher speeds to Singapore. Not terribly impressive, but not bad. International uploads from 2 to 6 Mbps, which is quite impressive if you do a lot of uploading. Domestic downloads 10 to 12 Mbps.

Details, as always, on the Phuket Internet Speed Reporting site.

TOT Fiber 2U nominal 10 Mbps "Home" line is B 4,400 per month. Quite an improvement over earlier prices.

The ad in the Gazette (print version) says 100 Mbps, but that's just a marketing dream. Realistically, domestic download speeds in the 10 Mbps range are likely. That's just about fast enough to stream high definition TV, if it can be sustained.

Thanks for that Woody. It will be interesting to see what Slingplayer speeds I can get at their office, provided they let me install the webplayer add-on. I had not yet softened to the idea of paying 4000 baht a month for a 10Mbps/~4Mbps line, (triple what I would pay in the states for a 30Mbps/5Mbps line), so 4,400 baht makes it seem even less appealing. That's a car payment. I'll be waiting for the prices to drop a bit.

Edited December 7, 2010 by ScubaBuddha

[WhiteCadillac]

Can we get this in Chiang Mai? My 3bb premier sucks.

[LivinLOS]

Bottom line: international downloads in the 4 to 5 Mbps range, depending on where you're going

Thats unimpressive.. I was getting that with 3bb premier for cheap.

[ScubaBuddha]

I logged into my Slingbox in the states from the TOT office computer which they claim is hooked to the fiber2u plan, and still only 300-400kbps stream. Multiple speed tests, provided they weren't falsified as has been alleged, showed they were indeed getting about 9mbps download from the states. I have to conclude that throttling is occurring elsewhere in the line.

They would not tell me the price which leads me to believe it is negotiable. They instead gave me a phone number and email to contact some guy. I sent an email but got no response. Haven't gotten around to calling. Strange way to roll out a new promotion.

[NomadicGuru]

In what areas is the Fiber 2U available?

[woodyleonhard]

Just an update...

I've seen reports from several people in Phuket with TOT Fiber2U lines, and one set of reports on the new CAT fiber optic line. They're all VERY disappointing: international download speeds in the 4 to 5 Mbps range, with availability an ongoing problem.

We get postings from time to time at www.phuketinternetspeed.com

If you have a Fiber2U or CAT Fiber line, and you're getting anything better than 5 Mbps on international downloads, I'd sure like to hear from you! woody at khun woody dot com.

[woodyleonhard]

In what areas is the Fiber 2U available?

I know of TOT Fiber 2U installations in Patong, on Bypass Road, in Bang Tao, and on Chao Fah West. I've heard that lines have been installed in many of the housing developments near the main roads, but don't yet have anyone signed up to post their download speeds.

[BillR]

I can't believe this is even being discussed, Thailand has no decent connection to outside Thailand so how is fiber optic going to solve anything. And people actually went to check? lol

[LivinLOS]

I can't believe this is even being discussed, Thailand has no decent connection to outside Thailand so how is fiber optic going to solve anything. And people actually went to check? lol

I kind of agree.. While I know many people suffer from ropey physical lines, my last home and my current home both are looking real stable for the physical DSL connection and the first hop to the PPPoE servers.. Its AFTER the line connection where I have speed issues.

I doubt there would be any problem pushing a real 8Mbit down my lines from the line tests I am doing, but the bottleneck is the ISPs.

[ScubaBuddha]

I can't believe this is even being discussed, Thailand has no decent connection to outside Thailand so how is fiber optic going to solve anything. And people actually went to check? lol

So wait...you're lol'ing people that checked the speed of Fiber2u at the TOT office?

[NaiharnGym]

yes, because there is no decent connection from Thailand to the outside world so what major difference is it going to make? A Faster ping time to Sanook.com?

[LivinginKata]

yes, because there is no decent connection from Thailand to the outside world so what major difference is it going to make? A Faster ping time to Sanook.com?

I have read that there is a fibre optic cable from Phuket direct to Singapore (laid in about 2009). Although I am not sure if this is really true. Anyone care to answer ??

[wtk]

so all your numbers are in megabits per second?

just asking to confirm because when ISPs advertise speeds they give them out in megabits per second but usually when you download stuff the speed is given in bytes

so as an example for international download you said 4-5Mbps you mean 4-5 megabits per second (500-625 kilobytes per second) ?

[ScubaBuddha]

yes, because there is no decent connection from Thailand to the outside world so what major difference is it going to make? A Faster ping time to Sanook.com?

Point taken but it won't stay that way forever. (see Woody's Phuket speed test to the USA, some people getting over 30Mbps)) So what does it hurt to check? (I was at the TOT office anyway) Doesn't seem deserving of an "lol" but whatever. I guess members here prefer those willing to investigate and share their findings on Thaivisa like Woody, myself and others keep what they learn to themselves. No problem. Can do. And people wonder why Thaivisa has gone downhill in terms of quality information.

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Edited January 10, 2011 by ScubaBuddha

[woodyleonhard]

there is no decent connection from Thailand to the outside world

Sorry, but that just isn't true. Take a look at this and tell me there's no decent connections: http://internet.nectec.or.th/internetmap/map/internationalmap/inetmap022010_international.png

(That same network diagram shows several lines to Singapore, from various ISPs in Thailand.)

Thailand has extensive Internet connections with the outside world. Bandwidth is roughly doubling every year. See, among other sites, http://internet.nectec.or.th/webstats/bandwidth.iir?Sec=bandwidth .

I'm regularly getting 8 Mbps with my True line in Patong. That's a real, sustained international download speed. 8 Mbps is more than enough to stream "normal" television; it's almost fast enough to stream real HD.

Other people are getting similar speeds with 3BB. See www.phuketinternetspeed.com for reports from all over the island.

[woodyleonhard]

so all your numbers are in megabits per second?

just asking to confirm because when ISPs advertise speeds they give them out in megabits per second but usually when you download stuff the speed is given in bytes

so as an example for international download you said 4-5Mbps you mean 4-5 megabits per second (500-625 kilobytes per second) ?

Yes, the speeds posted on the Phuket Internet Speed site are all in megabits per second. And, yes, 4 Mbps means 4 megabits per second.

Different downloading utilities report speeds differently, but typical torrent clients report MBps (note the capital "B") which is shorthand for megabytes per second. To a first approximation, Mbps = 8 X MBps.

[woodyleonhard]

I have read that there is a fibre optic cable from Phuket direct to Singapore (laid in about 2009). Although I am not sure if this is really true. Anyone care to answer ??

Apparently there are several high bandwidth lines from Thailand to Singapore. I heard the rumor about a Phuket-to-Singapore fiber optic line, too, but haven't been able to confirm it.

Thailand is physically connected to the AAG - the ultra-high-bandwidth "Asia-America Gateway", . So it's physically possible to get very high speeds to the US. The question now is whether any of the ISPs will pay enough money to get large amounts of bandwidth on AAG.

In general, international speeds in Phuket are three to four times faster than they were just a couple of years ago.

[HDRIDER]

http://www.cablemap.info/

[Peterocket]

Fiber to Home speed test to the U.S. from last year....seem pretty good to me

[LivinLOS]

I'm regularly getting 8 Mbps with my True line in Patong. That's a real, sustained international download speed. 8 Mbps is more than enough to stream "normal" television; it's almost fast enough to stream real HD.

Which true package is this (at what price) ??

I might add a second line to the house and am hearing 3BB is not up to much up here.

[Peterocket]

Ive been happy with my service from 3BB but its a shame that they have now removed any english language option on their customer support 1530 number. Although I speak reasonable Thai its not really good enough to go over technical information.

If I need to speak with them I now have to get a Thai mate to call, then after about 30 mins they give me a call back in English. I guess not a problem for guys out there with Thai Wives/Gigs etc.

[HDRIDER]

Ive been happy with my service from 3BB but its a shame that they have now removed any english language option on their customer support 1530 number. Although I speak reasonable Thai its not really good enough to go over technical information.

If I need to speak with them I now have to get a Thai mate to call, then after about 30 mins they give me a call back in English. I guess not a problem for guys out there with Thai Wives/Gigs etc.

Must be new, talked to them a week ago and no problem with English

[woodyleonhard]

I'm regularly getting 8 Mbps with my True line in Patong. That's a real, sustained international download speed. 8 Mbps is more than enough to stream "normal" television; it's almost fast enough to stream real HD.

Which true package is this (at what price) ??

I might add a second line to the house and am hearing 3BB is not up to much up here.

Much depends on your location - and whether your neighbors are using the same line. I have the True 10 Mbps line, which is B 1,499 per month.

In Phuket, True seems to be uniformly good, although I had an outage of almost a month (!). 3BB ranges from pretty good to very good. Take a look at what people are reporting at www.phuketinternetspeed.com

[BillR]

I have always understood that if you pay for 10mbit line, you are paying for 10mbit of domestic bandwidth. International bandwidth is shared by everyone and varies by provider and how much they are willing to buy. I read on this board CAT charges isps something like 15000B per mbit in intl bandwidth so therefore for every 1mbit is intl bandwidth there will be at least 40 people sharing that just to cover cost. Hence, no good connection outside Thailand.