I am writing a paper on Thailand in the late 90's, particularly centered around 1999. Do any old hands remember if at that time SIM cards could be bought in 7/11 and Family Marts? How common were cell phones at that time? Also were there many internet cafe's in the late 90's?

Thank you.

In 1999 pagers were still more common than cell phones. There were no PAYG sims available from 7/11 or anywhere else, you had to be on contract. I think also 1999 only AIS were in the market, think that changed in 2000. Of course the fact that you had to be on contract really limited how many people had cell phones.

Internet cafes had opened by 1999 but not much before that, used almost exclusively for email as the games phenomenon was yet to arrive. By 2000 the (sorely missed) space in front of the Ambassador hotel was not only a great focal and entertainment spot but also boasted quite a few internet cafes where bargirls would gather to email their "clients" with the aid of the girls who worked in said cafes.

Incidently, cardphones on the street had appeared a few years before then but certainly in the early 90's unless you wanted to pay heavily marked up rates from hotels to call abroad you had to make your way over to the GPO near the Shangri-la hotel. If you happened to be staying on the relatively recent arrival of Ko Sahn Road this could pose a problem for those who didn't speak Thai.

Oh happy days.!!!

In 1999 pagers were still more common than cell phones. There were no PAYG sims available from 7/11 or anywhere else, you had to be on contract. I think also 1999 only AIS were in the market, think that changed in 2000. Of course the fact that you had to be on contract really limited how many people had cell phones.

Thanks