Pls Help: Best Internet Provider With Low Latency In Bangkok

[spinshock]

Hi,

I have just moved to bangkok and living in a condo with Smartzone internet. I don't know if it is on a regular connection or a premium connection (optimized for overseas connections)

For my work purposes, I need low latency, I don't need high download speeds (i.e. 10mbps). Using a latency checker, the idle latency averages about 300+us. But when I start my programs, it jumps to 700+us and often spikes over 1000us. Making it virtually unusable.

My questions are:

- I have read on this forum that True Internet is the best for download speeds. But are they also good on latency overseas? (I've used 3BB on Koh Samui and they have terrible latency as well)

- Can one request they put in a premium smartzone connection into the building? Or do I assume it already is as it supplies the whole building

- There is a LAN outlet in my room that I can use (the smartzone connection is through the wifi modem in the corridor), if all is futile with smartzone, can I pay and get TRUE internet to be installed for my room? This is a brand new condo building

Thanks in advance, your expertise would be greatly appreciated

[lomatopo]

I searched and found these 2 threads, not sure if they help...

[ballbreaker]

Hope you meant to say "ms" because the best you will see from Thailand to US is 200-350ms range. I am also on Smartzone system and my ping to US is low 300ms range also. It will vary depending on network loading and even the loading on server your are trying to ping. My latency also spikes depending on time of day. You might try running "tracert" from command prompt to check latency for each hop along route to destination server. Most of my latency problems seem to be generated within Thailand and not outside.

The condo building may or may not allow outside lines to be installed.

[Pib]

The "real world" ping time to the US is in the 200-300ms ballpark until some one figures out how to make light/electron speed exceed the speed of light and also greatly reduce propagation delays through fiber optics/amplifiers/relays/servers/etc an internet connection must transverse between Thailand and farang land. When a person sees ping/latency figures in the 50ms ballpark (which are common for some Thai ISPs regardless of the server somewhere in the world you are speed testing to), you are really seeing false download speed/ping results to the server in farang land you think you are testing to because you are getting false results due to an in-Thailand/southeast Asia/cached server. Now if no local area server has the website your are connecting/test to cached, then you usually get some valid results (i.e., lower international download speed speeds and much higher/real world ping times).

Quite a few topics/posts on Thaivisa talking about these false results (whether some people want to believe them or not; if they don't believe the posts I guess they believe Thai ISP's have internet systems which have overcome the current laws of physics/electronics).

[MunterHunter]

i get a stable 220-240ms to the US - Warcraft servers - so maybe the route has been optimized? - I am with True but on cable internet and not ADSL/Phone line internet - not sure if it uses a different 'line' or just a different receiving mechanism

[Pib]

i get a stable 220-240ms to the US - Warcraft servers - so maybe the route has been optimized? - I am with True but on cable internet and not ADSL/Phone line internet - not sure if it uses a different 'line' or just a different receiving mechanism

MunterHunter,

When you say you are on cable internet, are you on True's new UltraSpeed Cable internet with available package speeds from 10Mb to 100Mb or some other True cable internet plan I'm unaware of? If you are on the Ultraspeed package, what package speed are you on (10, 20, ...., 100Mb) and I wonder if you could expand a little on how it's working for your speed-wise, streaming video-wise, reliability, etc. The reason I ask is because I'm suppose to be hooked up to True Utltraspeed Cable internet over the next month or after they finish trunk line installation in my moobaan and I'm interested in how Cable Ultraspeed is "really" working for people. I signed up for the 20Mb/2Mb package @1,299 baht/month. Big Thanks.

Pib

[spinshock]

Thanks for replies.

A few things have developed since my original post:

- I just found out that in my condo, the 'Smart zone' WIFI connection actually connects to TRUE internet. After reading many bad reviews on Smartzone, I thought they were an internet service provider. They only provided the WIFI wiring in my building. Is this correct?

- I am only getting 1mbps download on this Smartzone connection. The owner of my condo tells me that technicians will be coming to upgrade the connection in the next few days. Believable or lip service?

- I went to the TRUE internet shop, they told me Ultra high speed is not available. But DSL is. However, they will need to wire on the outside wall up to the 8th floor where I'm staying?! This is a new condo, you mean they can't make some connections downstairs so I can connect through the LAN jack in my wall? Does this sound ludicrious?

- If I do decide to get a 6mbps DSL connection to my room, is it possible that the existing TRUE internet connection could still be better as it might be a higher 16mbps connection for so many users?

[Pib]

Thanks for replies.

A few things have developed since my original post:

- I just found out that in my condo, the 'Smart zone' WIFI connection actually connects to TRUE internet. After reading many bad reviews on Smartzone, I thought they were an internet service provider. They only provided the WIFI wiring in my building. Is this correct?

- I am only getting 1mbps download on this Smartzone connection. The owner of my condo tells me that technicians will be coming to upgrade the connection in the next few days. Believable or lip service?

- I went to the TRUE internet shop, they told me Ultra high speed is not available. But DSL is. However, they will need to wire on the outside wall up to the 8th floor where I'm staying?! This is a new condo, you mean they can't make some connections downstairs so I can connect through the LAN jack in my wall? Does this sound ludicrious?

- If I do decide to get a 6mbps DSL connection to my room, is it possible that the existing TRUE internet connection could still be better as it might be a higher 16mbps connection for so many users?

If True is the source internet pipe for SmartZone just because True might upgrade the size of its main internet pipe (say go from 8Mb to 16Mb) does not mean all the individual SmartZone hoses which appear to be a max size of 1Mb would see a speed increase. If 1Mb is all the SmartZone internet pipe will throughput then it don't matter how big the main pipe (like a True 16Mb pipe) is feeding them. But if the upgrade is an upgrade of the SmartZone pipes, say from 1Mb to 2Mb, then you should see more speed "based on the size of the main pipe (True) and how many people are taping into that one pipe via SmartZone. I've used the word "pipe" a lot to bring to mind a water pipe. The more hoses you hook to the main water pipe, the less water will come out of each of the hoses. Make the main water pipe larger/increase the pressure and you can usually get more water from the hoses (assuming they were being underfeed already) unless the nozzle on the end of the hose is set to automatically limit the water flow say to 1Mb. Etc...etc....etc for the examples.

Regarding True having to run a separate cable up the wall versus hooking it into the building phone system, a lot would depend on the type of building switching/main junction box in the building and if True has telephone rights to your building/area. For the phone lines in the building, are they True, TOT, 3BB, etc? If say TOT or 3BB provides the phones lines/has telephone rights that usually means another company can not tap into those circuits and a completely separate line would need to be run. And maybe the True shop is just playing it safe in saying a separate line would need to be run in not knowing any particulars about your building. Also, you can bet the building owner gets a periodic payment from SmartZone for allowing internet access to the building....by allowing other internet companies to take away any business they that probably means less money to the building owner. Quite few possibilities/restrictions regarding internet in buidlings/condo's...and yea, some may seem ludicrous.

[a1ka1ine]

im using jasmine/ji-net internet and have their compax 4mbps package. good service and one of the cheapest business net packages. i get about 220ms in WoW when using WTFAST. without it i get abotu 280ms. come on future..! i wanna see 80ms

[nikster]

im using jasmine/ji-net internet and have their compax 4mbps package. good service and one of the cheapest business net packages. i get about 220ms in WoW when using WTFAST. without it i get abotu 280ms. come on future..! i wanna see 80ms

Sounds pretty good to me... 80ms you'll only get when connecting to a server in Thailand. Or when you are in the USA.

[a1ka1ine]

im using jasmine/ji-net internet and have their compax 4mbps package. good service and one of the cheapest business net packages. i get about 220ms in WoW when using WTFAST. without it i get abotu 280ms. come on future..! i wanna see 80ms

Sounds pretty good to me... 80ms you'll only get when connecting to a server in Thailand. Or when you are in the USA.

im dreaming of the future

[powderpuff]

OP. If you could get your own private phone line; which I doubt; you could get a ADSL package of 10 down 1 up.

But in your situation I would let the building manager do his best to upgrade the system.

Connecting by wi-fi is not ideal but you say there's a LAN jack in your apartment too. What's that connected to?

use www.pingtest.net to check latency. Will not be a cached server.

[MunterHunter]

MunterHunter,

When you say you are on cable internet, are you on True's new UltraSpeed Cable internet with available package speeds from 10Mb to 100Mb or some other True cable internet plan I'm unaware of? If you are on the Ultraspeed package, what package speed are you on (10, 20, ...., 100Mb) and I wonder if you could expand a little on how it's working for your speed-wise, streaming video-wise, reliability, etc. The reason I ask is because I'm suppose to be hooked up to True Utltraspeed Cable internet over the next month or after they finish trunk line installation in my moobaan and I'm interested in how Cable Ultraspeed is "really" working for people. I signed up for the 20Mb/2Mb package @1,299 baht/month. Big Thanks.

Pib

I am really unsure of the possibilities for this line, i asked my GF to get it set up for me, told her i wanted 10mb and she came back with this... 700b (could be 799, dont remember) for 10mb/1mb - speeds are good, often see 1.2-1.4mb download speeds when im connected to high seeded torrents, things like YouTube are pretty much streaming realtime (no having to wait for the video to download etc) Slows down a bit when ive got lots of stuff happening at the same time, obviously. Overall very pleased with the service, the only bummer is it costs me a port on my hub, so now im gunna have to go buy a network switch... 4 ports isnt enough for my household