Internet In Bangkok

[lime12]

Hello forum-goers

I will be moving to and renting an apartment in Bangkok next month and am looking ISP's. Found a few threads on internet in phuket/chiang mai but nothing specific to Bangkok. Could someone please recommend me what is regarded as the fastest and most stable ISPs? Cost isnt too much of an issue but uptime is as I'll be using it for work.

I was also planning on getting a 3g dongle as a backup incase my main line fails, could anyone advise if this would be a good idea? Or if it even exists in Thailand?

Many thanks

Lime

[Soutpeel]

Another "internet businessman" setting up in Thailand how novel...

How easy did you find it getting your work permit. ?

[ukrules]

You might not have as much of a choice as you think. In my experience a buildings can be serviced by only 1 phone company.

It's possible there will be no phone lines available as well, this happened to me a few years back. I moved in, went down to the True offices and they told me that I can't have a phone line installed as there is no capacity left at the moment. I managed to get one in the end but it's something that I will always check before renting anywhere in future, just in case the previous occupier cancelled their phone line and it's not available any more.

The connection with True was very bad and there was no option to switch provider as only True was available in the building. I moved out in the end and now have a TOT phone line with TOT ADSL which is ok and works quite well for downloads, uploading anything is pretty slow though.

There are 3G dongles available, I can't remember which company does them but they all have stores in Siam Paragon, if you go down there you will be able to get a 3G dongle, a friend got one last year, he said the download and upload rates were pretty good but it was not so cheap to use on a daily basis, however it would be fine for a backup system.

[DP25]

I wouldn't bother. If your internet goes for some reason, and mine never does, just tether your cell phone and use that rather than buying a dongle. You can buy short term internet access for your phone if it goes out, rather than subscribing to something you likely won't need.

[happyrobert]

Another "internet businessman" setting up in Thailand how novel...

How easy did you find it getting your work permit. ?

Huh, I read between all nine lines and didn't see anything about work!

[Soutpeel]

Another "internet businessman" setting up in Thailand how novel...

How easy did you find it getting your work permit. ?

Huh, I read between all nine lines and didn't see anything about work!

" Cost isnt too much of an issue but uptime is as I'll be using it for work".....

My I humbly suggest you read the lines, before actually trying to read between them....

Edited January 29, 2011 by Soutpeel

[robblok]

Another "internet businessman" setting up in Thailand how novel...

How easy did you find it getting your work permit. ?

too bad its hard for ppl to get a work permit. I mean they are not stealing jobs from Thais they are creating their own work and bring in cash to thailand.

[Soutpeel]

Another "internet businessman" setting up in Thailand how novel...

How easy did you find it getting your work permit. ?

too bad its hard for ppl to get a work permit. I mean they are not stealing jobs from Thais they are creating their own work and bring in cash to thailand.

Lets assume for a minute there was a vehicle for the internet enterpreneurs in Thailand to become legal...ie form a company/pay taxes/ pay unemployment and get proper visa's etc...how many do you think would become legal ?...my guess very few as most are hustling small money to pay for their extended "holidays" in Thailand and would even cover company set up or operation.

It actually not hard to get a WP in Thailand in comparison with some of the other countries I have worked in, provided you are here for "legitimate" reasons

[robblok]

Another "internet businessman" setting up in Thailand how novel...

How easy did you find it getting your work permit. ?

too bad its hard for ppl to get a work permit. I mean they are not stealing jobs from Thais they are creating their own work and bring in cash to thailand.

Lets assume for a minute there was a vehicle for the internet enterpreneurs in Thailand to become legal...ie form a company/pay taxes/ pay unemployment and get proper visa's etc...how many do you think would become legal ?...my guess very few as most are hustling small money to pay for their extended "holidays" in Thailand and would even cover company set up or operation.

It actually not hard to get a WP in Thailand in comparison with some of the other countries I have worked in, provided you are here for "legitimate" reasons

Dpends what you call small money. I know that my biggest problem was not paying taxes but 5 thais to employ those to get a wp. I know its much easier to get a wp in holland or an other european country then in here. I am pretty sure its easier to do so in USA too

[Soutpeel]

Another "internet businessman" setting up in Thailand how novel...

How easy did you find it getting your work permit. ?

too bad its hard for ppl to get a work permit. I mean they are not stealing jobs from Thais they are creating their own work and bring in cash to thailand.

Lets assume for a minute there was a vehicle for the internet enterpreneurs in Thailand to become legal...ie form a company/pay taxes/ pay unemployment and get proper visa's etc...how many do you think would become legal ?...my guess very few as most are hustling small money to pay for their extended "holidays" in Thailand and would even cover company set up or operation.

It actually not hard to get a WP in Thailand in comparison with some of the other countries I have worked in, provided you are here for "legitimate" reasons

Dpends what you call small money. I know that my biggest problem was not paying taxes but 5 thais to employ those to get a wp. I know its much easier to get a wp in holland or an other european country then in here. I am pretty sure its easier to do so in USA too

The US I can comment on as went through it.....takes between 3-6 months to get final approval and get the "Visa", lawyers involved, lots of cash involved etc etc

UK certainly has quite a complicated process, although never been through it as have the PP

Certain African countries.....months on end before "final" approval

Simplist IMHO...Singapore, if there for legimate reasons, although one could say Cambodia is easier, although WPsystem in place, nobody bothers with it

IMHO Thailand doesnt really have the most restrictive WP/work visa process by a long shot

Why did you have to employ 5 thais....its only 4 needed for a THB 2.0mil company ?

[robblok]

The US I can comment on as went through it.....takes between 3-6 months to get final approval and get the "Visa", lawyers involved, lots of cash involved etc etc

UK certainly has quite a complicated process, although never been through it as have the PP

Certain African countries.....months on end before "final" approval

Simplist IMHO...Singapore, if there for legimate reasons, although one could say Cambodia is easier, although WPsystem in place, nobody bothers with it

IMHO Thailand doesnt really have the most restrictive WP/work visa process by a long shot

Why did you have to employ 5 thais....its only 4 needed for a THB 2.0mil company ?

The thing is i just wanted to work and pay taxes.. not fake that i employ 5 thais and pay taxes on them. That means im already comitting fraud as i am not employing them for real Why pay taxes and so on if your still not legal doing it. That was my biggest beef with the Thai system.

[whybother]

The thing is i just wanted to work and pay taxes.. not fake that i employ 5 thais and pay taxes on them. That means im already comitting fraud as i am not employing them for real Why pay taxes and so on if your still not legal doing it. That was my biggest beef with the Thai system.

Can you imagine how many people would be here if you could just come and set up a business?

Every country has rules. Thai rules are that a company needs to employ 4 Thais and have 2 million baht capital for each work permit.

Why do you want to work here so bad that you want to break the rules to do it?

[sbk]

Moving to Bangkok forum

[robblok]

The thing is i just wanted to work and pay taxes.. not fake that i employ 5 thais and pay taxes on them. That means im already comitting fraud as i am not employing them for real Why pay taxes and so on if your still not legal doing it. That was my biggest beef with the Thai system.

Can you imagine how many people would be here if you could just come and set up a business?

Every country has rules. Thai rules are that a company needs to employ 4 Thais and have 2 million baht capital for each work permit.

Why do you want to work here so bad that you want to break the rules to do it?

Who said anything about me breaking any rules. But the strange thing is they lawyers suggest you break rules by saying you dont have to employ them for real but just pay taxes and social things. Anyway just too much of a hassle to do it this way i can certainly understand why people work here without a work permit then.

Just you imagine how much extra tax it would give to the Thai government if they made the rules a bit easier.

[whybother]

The thing is i just wanted to work and pay taxes.. not fake that i employ 5 thais and pay taxes on them. That means im already comitting fraud as i am not employing them for real Why pay taxes and so on if your still not legal doing it. That was my biggest beef with the Thai system.

Can you imagine how many people would be here if you could just come and set up a business?

Every country has rules. Thai rules are that a company needs to employ 4 Thais and have 2 million baht capital for each work permit.

Why do you want to work here so bad that you want to break the rules to do it?

Who said anything about me breaking any rules. But the strange thing is they lawyers suggest you break rules by saying you dont have to employ them for real but just pay taxes and social things. Anyway just too much of a hassle to do it this way i can certainly understand why people work here without a work permit then.

Just you imagine how much extra tax it would give to the Thai government if they made the rules a bit easier.

"Who said anything about me breaking any rules." ---> "That means im already comitting fraud as i am not employing them for real"

I'm not an economist, but given that most countries don't allow just anyone to set up a business, I would imagine that the government doesn't make more tax in the long run.

[robblok]

"Who said anything about me breaking any rules." ---> "That means im already comitting fraud as i am not employing them for real"

I'm not an economist, but given that most countries don't allow just anyone to set up a business, I would imagine that the government doesn't make more tax in the long run.

That was if i were to setup a company and only on paper have the Thais working for me it was a fictional scenario. In that scenario I would be committing fraud to get a work permit (this is what lawyers advised me to do). I did not go for it because if i pay tax i want to be 100% legal without any problems. I scrapped the whole idea. But to be honest now i don't have a problem bending rules here as everyone is bending the rules here. I was naive when i came here wanting to do the right thing. Now i don't see it that way anymore rules are just not obeyed here so i don't obey them either. Unless i damage others while doing so.

No your not an economist you got that right. Thailand could make a lot of tax in the long run and given that that is more tax then the average Thai would ever pay it would benefit Thailand. The 5 Thai to one foreigner is there to protect Thais from foreigners stealing their work. However if a foreigner with an internet business is targeting his home country in a way the Thais could not he is not stealing their work. So in the spirit of the law (not the letter) he is doing nothing wrong (provided he were to pay taxes).

Anyway we (I) derailed a topic about internet. I must say my internet is always doing a good job it almost never fails me. You could get a air-card as a backup if you really needed too.

[nocturn]

Another "internet businessman" setting up in Thailand how novel...

How easy did you find it getting your work permit. ?

Huh, I read between all nine lines and didn't see anything about work!

" Cost isnt too much of an issue but uptime is as I'll be using it for work".....

My I humbly suggest you read the lines, before actually trying to read between them....

do you actually work for immigration or are you just being a <deleted>?

[Soutpeel]

Another "internet businessman" setting up in Thailand how novel...

How easy did you find it getting your work permit. ?

Huh, I read between all nine lines and didn't see anything about work!

" Cost isnt too much of an issue but uptime is as I'll be using it for work".....

My I humbly suggest you read the lines, before actually trying to read between them....

do you actually work for immigration or are you just being a <deleted>?

Just being a <deleted>....:jap: ...in future though, I would prefer to be referred to as Mr <deleted> if thats ok with you...

[Tatsujin]

Another "internet businessman" setting up in Thailand how novel...

How easy did you find it getting your work permit. ?

too bad its hard for ppl to get a work permit. I mean they are not stealing jobs from Thais they are creating their own work and bring in cash to thailand.

Lets assume for a minute there was a vehicle for the internet enterpreneurs in Thailand to become legal...ie form a company/pay taxes/ pay unemployment and get proper visa's etc...how many do you think would become legal ?...my guess very few as most are hustling small money to pay for their extended "holidays" in Thailand and would even cover company set up or operation.

It actually not hard to get a WP in Thailand in comparison with some of the other countries I have worked in, provided you are here for "legitimate" reasons

As we have done, there is a 'vehicle' in place already, you simply set up a Limited Company, employ the required number of Thai's, pay Taxes/VAT, pay Social Security etc etc. It's not "easy" but it's not that hard either. Most are just too lazy to do it.

One more thing lime12, you'd already posted numerous time previously about living and working here illegally whilst visiting your gf and had the usual responses from the TV posters. The choice is yours whether to do it "right" or to take a chance that someone here won't tip off the authorities or that (heaven forbid - what a crazy thought) the authorities don't actually read what gets posted here. The risks of course are being caught and charged with working illegally which "could" get you deported and blacklisted. Many do it, many don't get caught, but it's not legal and potentially could prevent you from coming back to Thailand ever again.

Edited January 30, 2011 by Tatsujin

[Soutpeel]

As we have done, there is a 'vehicle' in place already, you simply set up a Limited Company, employ the required number of Thai's, pay Taxes/VAT, pay Social Security etc etc. It's not "easy" but it's not that hard either. Most are just too lazy to do it.

One more thing lime12, you'd already posted numerous time previously about living and working here illegally whilst visiting your gf and had the usual responses from the TV posters. The choice is yours whether to do it "right" or to take a chance that someone here won't tip off the authorities or that (heaven forbid - what a crazy thought) the authorities don't actually read what gets posted here. The risks of course are being caught and charged with working illegally which "could" get you deported and blacklisted. Many do it, many don't get caught, but it's not legal and potentially could prevent you from coming back to Thailand ever again.

So what you are saying all these excuses that come up stating working on the internet is a grey area in law, internet "businessmen" are not considered...."the Thai goverment just understand" etc etc is all b*llsh*t ?..,.if someone wanted to become legal they could ?

Good to hear someone has taken the time to do things properly...

[Tatsujin]

So what you are saying all these excuses that come up stating working on the internet is a grey area in law, internet "businessmen" are not considered...."the Thai goverment just understand" etc etc is all b*llsh*t ?..,.if someone wanted to become legal they could ?

Good to hear someone has taken the time to do things properly...

Yes, it's b*llsh*t. There is no "grey" area, it's all very black and white . . . working anywhere in Thailand online without a Work Permit is illegal without the required Work Permit. Same goes for trading stocks online, working as an offshore website developer for a company in the UK or USA, doing occasional 'freelance' work for companies either within Thailand or outside etc. It doesn't matter where you get paid either, in Thailand or offshore. It's all "work" and requires a Work Permit to be legal. Simple.

I'm not going to get into a debate on whether people "should" do it correctly or not, that's up to them to decide whether they want to take the risks or not. All I'm saying is that to stay legal here is NOT impossible, is NOT that hard to do, and does NOT have to cost a lot either.

Yes, it costs us (as a Western-owned business) more than an equivalent Thai-only company to do the paperwork, pay more employees etc etc but that gets factored into our costs of doing business. Is it fair? I don't particularly think so, but it is what is required currently by Thai law so you do what you have to do if you want to live and work here legally.

If you don't want to jump through all the hoops, if you want to work 'under the radar', if you want to do things here you would never consider doing in the West, then go for it . . . just don't come back whining when you get caught out. Having personally met a number of foreigners who HAVE got caught out and won't be returning to Thailand any time soon (make that "never") because of it, I try to do things as 'straight' as I can.

Edited January 31, 2011 by Tatsujin

[joycywalk]

it's suck when people try to do everything to get away with the law.. but do not try to do everything to compile with it. Do the right thing, please... i think you could be one of many who give a hard time to many farang who want to do the right thing. Do the right thing while you can...

Joycy