Cat Satelitte Internet

[Pormax]

Helpand advice from the more exprienced computer users required. Here is my problem. In an area where no landline is available for many Kms. Have tried using both AIS and DTAC Aircards but with only marginal success on the later. Signal strength on my phone only 2 bars maximum. Went to TOT local office to purchase IPSTAR satelite as this seemed the only option. Unhelpful was too good a word. Would not sell to me or my wife because 'have inthe past had too many problems with Farang' and in our village in the past people had but cancelled later. Both I would presume was because too many promises made when purchasing. I was told that when it was cloudy then will have problems with speed. I told them I accepted this and because I wanted internet at home to keep in touch by email/skype was prepared to pay 2,600B per month for the fastest speed. Still would not let us buy!!!!. Now my only option is CAT but not being very knowledgeable about computers/internet connections I am hoping that someone with expertise in this matter can offer advice as to what, if anything, I can do. Is anyone using CAT satellite? Will I have same problems because signal from phone network is poor?

[george]

It's the same satellite used, Ipstar, but you can expect a higher monthly fee and better customer service from CAT Telecom.

Also check if CAT can offer you CDMA at your location, much cheaper.

[Pormax]

Thanks George,

Being a total nerd re internet what is CATCDMA? Aircard???

[thaimite]

You do not say where you are, but CAT CDMA is like a mobile connection and much faster. It is not as fast as 3G but certainly very usable for day to day browsing and Skype etc.

CAR==T CDMA is available in nearly all provenses outside of Bangkok. I live in a remote area of Issan and get good service with the aid of an external (tv style) antenna.

One advantage of being in the sticks is that your bandwidth is dependant on how many people connecting to the phone tower, and the less competition there is for bandwidth the better your results will be.

It is much more reliable than satellite connection which in my experience was unusable for Skype. Video calls via Skype is possible on CAT CDM if you have a decent connection

If you contact the CAT office they will advise you of coverage in your area, but you may need an external antenna.

Search the forums and you will find many posts regarding CAT CDMA and many people like myself switched after being very unhappy with the satellite option from either TOT or CSLoxinfo (Ipstar)

[fatfather]

Some years ago I was exactly in the same situation. Living in the sticks, poor mobile connection, landline km away. I went for the Ipstar satelite and was very disappointed. Speed was below what ever was promised and internet was off most times. Friends of mine payed the high speed connection but their speed wasn't any faster than my 512 connection (actually is was less than 256). I had to sign a one year contract to get the equipment for free, or a small fee, but after three month I called Ipstar service and asked them to pick up the scrap. Expensive experience. Short time later CAT offerd the CDMA connection and I went for it. Even the phone tower was ~14km away I had full signal strength with an external aireal. Meanwhile there is a closer phone tower and I'm happy with CDMA (starter package 8900 Baht and monthly 850 Baht I think) The only issue is as mentioned before, if too many users are online the speed will drop i.e. during school holidays all kids play online games so that speed is down during daytime) The rest of the year great. Skype with video no issue. Not the perfect solution but at moment the best you can get in the sticks...

fatfather

[Member]

Thanks George,

Being a total nerd re internet what is CATCDMA? Aircard???

CAT has 2 different CDMA usb sticks, one for 2400b prepaid with a CDMA SIM card inside, top up cards available for 1,15,30 days and the one shown is a post paid and cost over 6000b and around 800b per month. I've got them both here and although they say the postpaid one gives a better connection usually I don't see big differences.

CAT does not supply external roof antennas but the technicians might be able to get one for you and put it on your roof, independently from CAT. The technician of the Chiang Mai office gives this service, he comes to your house put it on the roof you can try it if no improvement he removes it and no need to pay.

[Pormax]

Thank guys for your info. Yes I too in the sticks in Buriram (Khoktoom) have been trying to get answer from CAT but they have given me a number for Computer shop in Buriram to make further enquiries. Cannot get hold of them yet but will let you know if I have any success.

Max

[fatfather]

Thanks George,

Being a total nerd re internet what is CATCDMA? Aircard???

CAT has 2 different CDMA usb sticks, one for 2400b prepaid with a CDMA SIM card inside, top up cards available for 1,15,30 days and the one shown is a post paid and cost over 6000b and around 800b per month. I've got them both here and although they say the postpaid one gives a better connection usually I don't see big differences.

CAT does not supply external roof antennas but the technicians might be able to get one for you and put it on your roof, independently from CAT. The technician of the Chiang Mai office gives this service, he comes to your house put it on the roof you can try it if no improvement he removes it and no need to pay.

I got my aireal from CAT, together with the max. allowed length (~20m) of antenna cable and the connection cable from the antenna cable to the USB stick, all included in the 8900Baht package.

fatfather

[jsat]

If you have already tried DTAC but only have 2 bars, as you say above, why not buy an external yagi aerial and a modem/router with wifi like the Bigpond modem?

See this link (It is in Thai) as we use them too at our farm up north - http://www.thai3gsolutions.com/2010/08/3g-router-bigpond/ (use google translate to view in English)

Just put your DTAC/AIS/CAT etc.. sim card in, get the best signal and then use wifi on your computer to connect to the internet.

Food for thought.

[fatfather]

Thank guys for your info. Yes I too in the sticks in Buriram (Khoktoom) have been trying to get answer from CAT but they have given me a number for Computer shop in Buriram to make further enquiries. Cannot get hold of them yet but will let you know if I have any success.

Max

Buri Rum is the place to go. In front of the railway station is a small roundabout. With your back towards the railway station just on the right hand side cross the road (directly at the roundabout) there is the CAT office. They sell the equipment and they can tell you whether your area is covered or not. Stuff speaks good English and are very friendly. Give it a try if you are interested in.

I'm living in the very south-east of Buri Rum and the coverage is ok. It should be the same for the rest of Buri Rum as well.

fatfather

[AgentSmith]

If you have already tried DTAC but only have 2 bars, as you say above, why not buy an external yagi aerial and a modem/router with wifi like the Bigpond modem?

See this link (It is in Thai) as we use them too at our farm up north - http://www.thai3gsolutions.com/2010/08/3g-router-bigpond/ (use google translate to view in English)

Just put your DTAC/AIS/CAT etc.. sim card in, get the best signal and then use wifi on your computer to connect to the internet.

Food for thought.

Indeed, or alternatively and easier to setup, buy one of those routers in which you can plug a usb stick directly. Put the routers on a location with good cellular reception (outside, on the roof) and the WiFi redistributes the connection through your whole house. You can probably use the same usb 'aircard' you already have. A cdma aircard probably also works if you want a higher speed.

[Will27]

Food for thought.

Indeed, or alternatively and easier to setup, buy one of those routers in which you can plug a usb stick directly. Put the routers on a location with good cellular reception (outside, on the roof) and the WiFi redistributes the connection through your whole house. You can probably use the same usb 'aircard' you already have. A cdma aircard probably also works if you want a higher speed.

That sounds interesting.

We live about 20 ks out of the city in Chiang Rai

with the closest WiFi being about 10 ks away.

Have an AIS aircard which is really slow. Would anyone

know if it would be possible to do this where I am?

Or would an antenna help?

Any help appreciated.

Regards

Will

[AgentSmith]

First try to see if a better signal helps to speed up things. Go outside and do a speedtest and compare with what you get inside. If it's a big difference than a 3G router will help for sure.

Check this link: http://www.billion.com/product/3g.html

In all situations you want the device connected to the internet source as close to that source as possible. A 3G router should be put at the point of best reception. An ADSL modem should be very close to the location where the landline enters your house (a long phone cable makes the speed drop a lot because the modem falls back to a lower speed to maintain quality of the connection). The same counts for cable modems. From there you can extend the signal with a local network, wired or wifi. Ideally modem and wireless access point are separate devices so you can place each in its ideal location, connecting them with a LAN cable. LAN cables can be very long without affecting speed or reliability. Similarly you can use a USB extension cable between the aircard and the router: both can be in their own specific sweet spot in the house and having them a little more separated reduces interference as well.

An aircard plugged directly in the laptop works fine on the road but indoors it is usually not the best option. The mobile connection degrades easily indoors, and if you use a 3G connection then it often falls back to 2G especially when the 3G connection works on high frequencies such as 2100 MHz.

[Will27]

First try to see if a better signal helps to speed up things. Go outside and do a speedtest and compare with what you get inside. If it's a big difference than a 3G router will help for sure.

Check this link: http://www.billion.com/product/3g.html

In all situations you want the device connected to the internet source as close to that source as possible. A 3G router should be put at the point of best reception. An ADSL modem should be very close to the location where the landline enters your house (a long phone cable makes the speed drop a lot because the modem falls back to a lower speed to maintain quality of the connection). The same counts for cable modems. From there you can extend the signal with a local network, wired or wifi. Ideally modem and wireless access point are separate devices so you can place each in its ideal location, connecting them with a LAN cable. LAN cables can be very long without affecting speed or reliability. Similarly you can use a USB extension cable between the aircard and the router: both can be in their own specific sweet spot in the house and having them a little more separated reduces interference as well.

An aircard plugged directly in the laptop works fine on the road but indoors it is usually not the best option. The mobile connection degrades easily indoors, and if you use a 3G connection then it often falls back to 2G especially when the 3G connection works on high frequencies such as 2100 MHz.

Thanks for the advice so far.

My AIS aircards is saying Edge GSM.

Sorry but not being computer savvy, I will have to be "walked" through this.

I did the speedtest which showed indoors as: download 195 kbps and upload 28 kbps.

Outside the results were download 228 kbps and upload 88 kbps.

So I would need a 3G router....any specific model you recommend from that site?

Then I put the router near the roof and my aircard will pick up the signal?

Regards

Will

[Justincase]

We had similar issue in Chiang Mai as our house had no wired connection - too far out in the sticks so we used CAT CDMA technology hooked up to a wifi router and we had 3 PC s hooked up using wifi access. Great for internet browsing , emails and Skype and at a competitive price also

[thaimite]

First try to see if a better signal helps to speed up things. Go outside and do a speedtest and compare with what you get inside. If it's a big difference than a 3G router will help for sure.

Check this link: http://www.billion.com/product/3g.html

In all situations you want the device connected to the internet source as close to that source as possible. A 3G router should be put at the point of best reception. An ADSL modem should be very close to the location where the landline enters your house (a long phone cable makes the speed drop a lot because the modem falls back to a lower speed to maintain quality of the connection). The same counts for cable modems. From there you can extend the signal with a local network, wired or wifi. Ideally modem and wireless access point are separate devices so you can place each in its ideal location, connecting them with a LAN cable. LAN cables can be very long without affecting speed or reliability. Similarly you can use a USB extension cable between the aircard and the router: both can be in their own specific sweet spot in the house and having them a little more separated reduces interference as well.

An aircard plugged directly in the laptop works fine on the road but indoors it is usually not the best option. The mobile connection degrades easily indoors, and if you use a 3G connection then it often falls back to 2G especially when the 3G connection works on high frequencies such as 2100 MHz.

Thanks for the advice so far.

My AIS aircards is saying Edge GSM.

Sorry but not being computer savvy, I will have to be "walked" through this.

I did the speedtest which showed indoors as: download 195 kbps and upload 28 kbps.

Outside the results were download 228 kbps and upload 88 kbps.

So I would need a 3G router....any specific model you recommend from that site?

Then I put the router near the roof and my aircard will pick up the signal?

Regards

Will

The speeds you quote are typical for EDGE GSM

CAT CDMA claims 3.1Mb/s but I normally get about 2Mb/s download and about 800Kb /s upload (10 times faster than what you are getting now)

3G which is not widely available yet (certainly not in Issan) and claims speeds of either 7Mb/s or 20Mb/s download depending on the system and the price you pay.

CAT CDMA is perfectly adequate for most things including Skype and I do download torrents with it but there are some disadvantages which means you do not get the best torrent speeds. This is a technical issue you need not worry about, and there is no solution anyway. There are workarounds if this is a BIG issue to you

[Will27]

First try to see if a better signal helps to speed up things. Go outside and do a speedtest and compare with what you get inside. If it's a big difference than a 3G router will help for sure.

Check this link: http://www.billion.com/product/3g.html

In all situations you want the device connected to the internet source as close to that source as possible. A 3G router should be put at the point of best reception. An ADSL modem should be very close to the location where the landline enters your house (a long phone cable makes the speed drop a lot because the modem falls back to a lower speed to maintain quality of the connection). The same counts for cable modems. From there you can extend the signal with a local network, wired or wifi. Ideally modem and wireless access point are separate devices so you can place each in its ideal location, connecting them with a LAN cable. LAN cables can be very long without affecting speed or reliability. Similarly you can use a USB extension cable between the aircard and the router: both can be in their own specific sweet spot in the house and having them a little more separated reduces interference as well.

An aircard plugged directly in the laptop works fine on the road but indoors it is usually not the best option. The mobile connection degrades easily indoors, and if you use a 3G connection then it often falls back to 2G especially when the 3G connection works on high frequencies such as 2100 MHz.

Thanks for the advice so far.

My AIS aircards is saying Edge GSM.

Sorry but not being computer savvy, I will have to be "walked" through this.

I did the speedtest which showed indoors as: download 195 kbps and upload 28 kbps.

Outside the results were download 228 kbps and upload 88 kbps.

So I would need a 3G router....any specific model you recommend from that site?

Then I put the router near the roof and my aircard will pick up the signal?

Regards

Will

The speeds you quote are typical for EDGE GSM

CAT CDMA claims 3.1Mb/s but I normally get about 2Mb/s download and about 800Kb /s upload (10 times faster than what you are getting now)

3G which is not widely available yet (certainly not in Issan) and claims speeds of either 7Mb/s or 20Mb/s download depending on the system and the price you pay.

CAT CDMA is perfectly adequate for most things including Skype and I do download torrents with it but there are some disadvantages which means you do not get the best torrent speeds. This is a technical issue you need not worry about, and there is no solution anyway. There are workarounds if this is a BIG issue to you

Thanks for that.

So I guess the first thing to do is see if CAT CDMA is available.

If it is, get an aircard and hopefully get better speeds.

If CDMA is not available, I guess back to square one.

Thanks again fella's.

Will

[hughchi]

I appreciate all the info above. I built a lovely house 17 years ago about 5 clicks from the nearest town in our Isaan province and always enjoyed decent internet services - dial up in the early years, ADSL later. However, after being away for a few months last year, I returned to find that 3BB (our most recent provider) lost the contract for the ADSL services and the new (elitist?) provider wasn't interested in continuing services to anyone living more than 2 kms from any major town. So that was that. TIT. I was considering IPStar (right now I'm tethered to my iPhone with dtac) but will look into CAT CDMA and hope for the best.

Thanx to all.

Hugh

[haveaniceday]

With CAT CDMA, you may have to for your iPhone have a router that beams out local wi-fi in your home, as it is CDMA and ya iPhone is GSM is it not?

[phuketrichard]

Years ago i had the ipstar sat here in Phuket, something like 2,800/month, no signal when it rained. Speeds sucked.

Now use the cat cdma and it sucks as well. Here in Phuket it is very oversubscibed so speeds seldom more than 330 kbps down bewtween 8 1m and 9pm, and usually faster uploads. Customer service sucks. Have had troubles and call them, they tell me its my computer BUT if i go online at 3 am speeds over 900!! one time i had the tech guy come out to my house with his computer and he recevied same lousy speeds i have been reporting.

Thaimite, where are u that you get such fast speeds??

I also use my ais sim card via my nokia phone to conect for back up and ... well for 100 baht for 20 hours is acceptable.

So chose the one that will cost the least CatCDMA,. but dont expect any fast speeds or help.

If ur close to a tower and they are not oversubscribed ( which since its the only option, they will be)

its enough for skype and slow music downloads and at 800 baht affordable. With your speeds with your aircard, stick with that

[thaimite]

Thaimite, where are u that you get such fast speeds??

Not saying! I want to keep my fast speed

Suffice to say, in the sticks in Issan

[arcticman]

Let me emphasise that the IPstar broadband service does not work. I live in an area in Samut Prakan where ToT is too lazy to be bothered about extending phone lines, so I ended up with IPstar in order to get connected to the Internet.

Ever since I started using this system, it has been a constant hassle to secure even a basic connection. I call the help centre on average every other day requesting them to reset the system. The problem is aggravated by the fact that the staff in charge with dealing with customers are in no way competent to do their job. I have received answers such as "It rained this morning so therefore it is not working." or "200kB is a very big file to download." or "Thailand has poor connection to overseas located web-sites". This represents the typical horse manure excuses often provided when people don't know what they are supposed to do. Lately, the tendency have been that they don't reply when calling customer service.

I have patently endured this service for the past 2 years and have now decided not to continue subscribing to this "service". Next week, I will hand in the box and invite them to come and collect their satellite dish. Instead, I will connect to the internet through my mobile phone. Although this solution is not much faster, at least I will manage to download a 200kB mail attachment - and I save the US$ 60 per month which ToT is demanding for a service they do not provide.

My advise to anyone who is considering IPstar in Thailand is "don't even think about it". It is a make-believe service in this Amazing fairy-tale country.

[Pormax]

<STRONG>Ok guys I am back and very happy</STRONG>. Managed to get hold of Buriram Compter Shop which was given to me by CAT. Very patient, very helpful asked a lot of questions. Said that no one in my village or even near me had their system so not 100% sure it would work though could not see why not. However said they were more than willing to come out to the house (45Kms away) set-up and see what happens, if not satisfied will take it away free of charge within 24 hours. The only problem was that they had a queue for installation so I would have to wait about 4 days. Came today, 3 guys, very pleasant and nothing seemed to much trouble. Arrived late of course but that is Thailand. Set up the ariel and connected to the computer, could do all I wanted (surfing, emails and skype) and speed was very reasonable, however they were not too happy and wanted to try and get a better speed from a different direction, which they did even though the sky above was very dark with thunder and lightning going on around us. I live about halfway between Nangrong and Prachonchai. (as the crow flies about 20Km) The cost: well a little steep. 16,000B for ariel, router, USB Dongle with simcard then 850B per month. But this is acceptable considering the high cost of the TOT IPSTAR Satellite which (if they would have sold to me) would have cost 2,600B a month and then would only get something if I had very clear sky, if it was cloudy then even the TOT office told me to forget it. I can use my lap top anywhere in my house or out in the garden awell as use my desktop at the same time without loss of speed. So those who live in the sticks contact CAT Head Office who will put you in touch with their office and then they will tell you who their installers are. The technician told me that CAT will double their speed in about 6 months. True or not but the guy seemed knowledgeable and genuine. <U>Would highly recommend Buriram Computer Shop for those living in that</U> <U>area and are having internet problems and want to know more about CATCDMA.<BR><BR></U>Max

[Pormax]

I appreciate all the info above. I built a lovely house 17 years ago about 5 clicks from the nearest town in our Isaan province and always enjoyed decent internet services - dial up in the early years, ADSL later. However, after being away for a few months last year, I returned to find that 3BB (our most recent provider) lost the contract for the ADSL services and the new (elitist?) provider wasn't interested in continuing services to anyone living more than 2 kms from any major town. So that was that. TIT. I was considering IPStar (right now I'm tethered to my iPhone with dtac) but will look into CAT CDMA and hope for the best.

Thanx to all.

Hugh

Hi Hugh'

See my recent posting about CATCDMA below. Hope you have as much success as I have.

Max

[Gary A]

I suffered with Crapstar for four years with service from two companies. It's been a while back but I do remember one company being much cheaper, thus the change. The service was terrible and after complaining MANY times I was told that if I was not satisfied with the service to just have it shut off. That was a great idea and that's what I did. The dish set in the yard for months and I told my wife to tell them they had 2 weeks to come and get their junk or I WOULD make the dish into a bird bath. They came and got their junk.

I used AIS and Dtac EDGE after that and found Dtac much better in my area. Edge from AIS or Dtac was more dependable than Crapstar. After six months CAT EVDO became available and I still have that. It is up and down like a yoyo but it is the best option I have found. I still use Dtac EDGE when EVDO is down.

[hughchi]

Thanx to Max and Haveaniceday for their input. Here's how I've resolved my problem for now. I have an iPhone 4 (had before I returned to Thailand) and using a DTAC sim card and a Bt790/month unlimited plan, I have my iPhone tethered to my iMac with the USB cable. The iMac then acts as a router and sends out signals to the other computers in the house - last night we had four running simultaneously - kids playing games, me googling, wife facebooking - and all seemed to run quite quickly. In terms of improving reception, I have a clamp attached halfway up the wall above the computer desk which holds the iPhone (same type as folks attach to the windscreen in their vehicles). So, for now, I guess that's going to have to do. I seem to be able to view Youtube videos pretty easily. Haven't tried any major downloads yet. I imagine I'll keep experimenting.<br>Ciao 4 niao, Hugh<br>

[wpcoe]

Good going, MacGyver!

JOOC, what type of connection do you have with the DTAC SIM? Hard to imagine you've got enough throughput on EDGE to run four connections simultaneously.