Fastest Wi-Fi In Bkk (And Beyond)?

[pete66]

I see True advertises 2mpbs wi-fi. Are there any widely available services which are faster, either by True or other providers?

[jackbox]

That speed is for their low end netsim, based on time. If you buy the better one based on volume, you get 7.2Mbps. The faster one has "Net Sim" printed in silver. The low end one is printed in black. If you subscribe to a volume based package on any sim you will get 7.2Mbps. Right now they are running a promo where for 129 baht plus vat you get 5 hours of wifi, 100Mb of Edge and 200Mb of 3G. Go check out their website.

[lomatopo]

I don't think either of the two largest WiFi service providers; KSC and True, offer higher bandwidths than the 2 Mbps True offers. The 7.2 Mbps referred to above is the 3G maximum download speed. Any WiFi service from True, either stand-alone or as part of a 3G package tops out at 2 Mbps. Also WiFi services are quite expensive.

Perhaps you could share details of your requirements and applications (mobile/stationary, equipment, budget, approx. bandwith reqd., etc.), then we could offer alternative solutions. Off the top of my head I'd say 3G might be a better solution. You can even create a WiFi hotspot, using a smartphone (tethered) or MiFi device, sharing a 3G WAN connection among several WiFi devices. Per mega-byte this would be a much lower cost solution, but only applicable to metro Bangkok and in the case of True, a few other locations in Thailand.

[pete66]

What I am looking to do is go in a Starbucks / Mc / elsewhere in BKK and beyond and have a fast Internet experience, as I need to deal with uploading large (photo) files on a daily basis. The other thing I need is unlimited transfers, as I can easily do several hundred Meg of uploads a day.

3G is ok, but the coverage area is severely limited in my experience once you move out of a few "hot zones"in BKK. But it could be good for when I am within one of those zones. You can get unlimited transfer 3G packages right?

I'll probably get an iphone to go with my Mac, so need to get a package that works with that combo.

thx

[lomatopo]

3G coverage is 100% in metro-Bangkok, with True or TOT/MVNOs. Data rates would be much better than public paid WiFi. And cost per mB would be lower. You could get a MiFi router. Most 3G data plans limit total bandwidth, with True having "fair-use" limits of 3 GB/month. However some of TOT's MVNOs, like i-Kool, IMobile, 365, IEC perhaps have no limits.

http://www.truemove.com/3g/en/3g_mifi.html

There are also air-cards USB sticks, which would work with your Mac.

Are you staying in Bangkok for a long time? Are you able to get broadband/DSL? Given your application this may be the best solution.

I am pretty sure you can "tether" an iPhone, so would add a 3G SIM to that, then turn it into a WiFi router. You'd connect your Mac to the iPhone over WiFi, then access the 3G connection.

[pete66]

3G coverage is 100% in metro-Bangkok, with True or TOT/MVNOs. Data rates would be much better than public paid WiFi. And cost per mB would be lower. You could get a MiFi router. Most 3G data plans limit total bandwidth, with True having "fair-use" limits of 3 GB/month. However some of TOT's MVNOs, like i-Kool, IMobile, 365, IEC perhaps have no limits.

http://www.truemove.com/3g/en/3g_mifi.html

There are also air-cards USB sticks, which would work with your Mac.

Are you staying in Bangkok for a long time? Are you able to get broadband/DSL? Given your application this may be the best solution.

I am pretty sure you can "tether" an iPhone, so would add a 3G SIM to that, then turn it into a WiFi router. You'd connect your Mac to the iPhone over WiFi, then access the 3G connection.

Thanks. I used to use IMobile 3G and it was incredibly expensive, the 100 baht card used to run out after about 10 mins of use .... I need a service which actually understands people sometimes need to use the "real" Internet on the move, not just chat

Sounds like it doesn't really exist at the moment, hardly surprises me .... I can't get broadband at the moment, as I live in cheap-ass rented accommodation.

Probably best to find a decent Internet cafe to hook into every couple of days. Any good options for that in the Asok <-> Phra Khanong region? Somewhere I can plug my Mac into and work at "high speed"?

[lomatopo]

Thanks. I used to use IMobile 3G and it was incredibly expensive, the 100 baht card used to run out after about 10 mins of use .... I need a service which actually understands people sometimes need to use the "real" Internet on the move, not just chat

Sounds like it doesn't really exist at the moment, hardly surprises me .... I can't get broadband at the moment, as I live in cheap-ass rented accommodation.

Probably best to find a decent Internet cafe to hook into every couple of days. Any good options for that in the Asok <-> Phra Khanong region? Somewhere I can plug my Mac into and work at "high speed"?

You seem to be misinformed about 3G pricing here in Bangkok. TOT and their MVNOs: i-Kool, IMobile, IEC, 365, Mojo, along with True offer very reasonable 3G plans. I know of no "IMobile 3G 100 baht card"?

i-Mobile 3G plans, starting with 1GB/month for 199 baht, are quite cost effective. Certainly much better than you'll be paying for potentially dodgy public WiFi. IEC 3G have some unlimited plans for 15/30 days, which one poster here said was fantastic; they used ~ 20 GB in 15 days! IEC also have a 4 GB/month plan at 300 baht!

Since yu say you've used the i-Mobile 3G service I assume you have a 2100 Mhz 3G-capable device? Can you share the make/model? You may be able to tether that (Android 2.2 required). Note that True 3G operates on the 850 Mhz bandwidth.

In any event I think you would be better served with 3G, both with better performance and cheaper costs. If you insist on public WiFi, True amd KSC are the largest providers and you can get hourly pre-paid cards from either at many retail outlets. While WiFi does offer decent LAN speed you should expect that the uplinks from most public WiFi installations will be congested and offer variable, and potentially slow speeds, and you're paying by the hour and not MB.

[pete66]

Thanks. I used to use IMobile 3G and it was incredibly expensive, the 100 baht card used to run out after about 10 mins of use .... I need a service which actually understands people sometimes need to use the "real" Internet on the move, not just chat

Sounds like it doesn't really exist at the moment, hardly surprises me .... I can't get broadband at the moment, as I live in cheap-ass rented accommodation.

Probably best to find a decent Internet cafe to hook into every couple of days. Any good options for that in the Asok <-> Phra Khanong region? Somewhere I can plug my Mac into and work at "high speed"?

You seem to be misinformed about 3G pricing here in Bangkok. TOT and their MVNOs: i-Kool, IMobile, IEC, 365, Mojo, along with True offer very reasonable 3G plans. I know of no "IMobile 3G 100 baht card"?

i-Mobile 3G plans, starting with 1GB/month for 199 baht, are quite cost effective. Certainly much better than you'll be paying for potentially dodgy public WiFi. IEC 3G have some unlimited plans for 15/30 days, which one poster here said was fantastic; they used ~ 20 GB in 15 days! IEC also have a 4 GB/month plan at 300 baht!

Since yu say you've used the i-Mobile 3G service I assume you have a 2100 Mhz 3G-capable device? Can you share the make/model? You may be able to tether that (Android 2.2 required). Note that True 3G operates on the 850 Mhz bandwidth.

In any event I think you would be better served with 3G, both with better performance and cheaper costs. If you insist on public WiFi, True amd KSC are the largest providers and you can get hourly pre-paid cards from either at many retail outlets. While WiFi does offer decent LAN speed you should expect that the uplinks from most public WiFi installations will be congested and offer variable, and potentially slow speeds, and you're paying by the hour and not MB.

No I'm not misinformed. I bought i-mobile 3G cards on and off for a year from 7-eleven. Go and ask in 7-11, they do exist

I have an iMobile 3G phone, but its awful in a number of ways. I'm dumping it for an iPhone when I get back.

I'm only "insisting" on wi-fi when either 3G is (a) unavailable at that location (I don't spend all my time in "metro" BKK) or ( when my monthly 3G "fair usage" bandwidth allocation has been used up, and it switches back to 256Kpbs.

Thanks again for the info. BTW, I looked through the websites of all the TOT 3G providers. All have 3G data packages but are much of a muchness in terms of maximum use - something like 3 Gb to 5Gb for 400baht to 600 baht, that kind of range. I didn't look very carefully at that IEC website, I'll take another look now. An unlimited package is definitely what I would like ideally.

Here is the unlimited package you mentioned from IEC:

http://www.iec3g.com/web/page.php?page=pro_prepaid&prepaid=unlimitedsim

790 baht unlimited for 15 days

1,490 baht unlimited for 30 days

[lomatopo]

FYI, the Truemove WiFi/EDGE/3G data add-on plan gives unlimited WiFi, 699 /month. I only just noticed this.

This is a pretty good deal given the price on the pre-paid cards, which meter usage in minutes/hours.

They say they have over 18,000 hotspots. http://www.truewifi.net/en/main.jsp I know I see a True WiFi hotspot just about everywhere I go.

If you know someone with a True post-paid account they can add monthly unlimted WiFi to their account for 500 baht/month. (You could pay that fee and they could give you the PW, but this can be challenging as any new PW is sent via SMS to the mobile phone. They'd have to forward that to you.)

Someone reported here that they used the 15-day IEC package and had a total usage of 20 GB.

Most 3G is asymmetric, so much higher download speeds than upload speeds, and your app. seems to be more focused on uploading so this may become an issue? At the LAN side, WiFi is symmetric, but in practice many WiFi hotspots are networked using ADSL, so again an issue with lower upload speeds.

[nikster]

Not sure they have Wawee coffee in BKK, up here in CM it's 25 baht/hour and pretty fast.

Had bad experiences with True WiFi - for the most part it simply didn't work for me. I did a trial in BKK/Siam square, and in Chiang Mai, both times the WiFi was not working.

I am sure there's plenty of cafes with free WiFi in BKK too, some of them may have fast WiFi - use speedtest.net to check the connection first.

3G isn't very good about uploading. Upload speeds are, for the most part, slow.

[wpcoe]

FYI, the Truemove WiFi/EDGE/3G data add-on plan gives unlimited WiFi, 699 /month. I only just noticed this.

The array of mobile phone data plans is dizzying. Is that link for pre-paid or post-paid plans?

I just switched my mobile plan to True and have 3GB of 3G + unlimited EDGE/GPRS + unlimited WiFi for B599 per month, post-paid.

If you know someone with a True post-paid account they can add monthly unlimted WiFi to their account for 500 baht/month. (You could pay that fee and they could give you the PW, but this can be challenging as any new PW is sent via SMS to the mobile phone. They'd have to forward that to you.)

Again, my B599 post-paid plan INCLUDES unlimited use of the True WiFi Hotspots.