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Actually, considering that TOT/I-Mobile 3G is only available in BKK now and since its inception, if they can expand to at least some service in 17 or 18 additional provinces by next month or even later this year, that would be a pretty good thing.... And I say that as one of their customers....

Considering that they only launched the expansion plan this spring, to add that much additional coverage in less than a year is moving pretty darned fast by Thai standards... And if I'm not mistaken, in terms of areas covered, adding that number of additional provinces served would put them well ahead of AIS and even farther ahead of DTAC.... even though those two comparatively tend to get the lion's share of all the media attention.

The list I have from TOT of those additional provinces to be served includes:

Bangkok Metropolitan area's three provinces plus Chonburi, Rayong, Songkhla, Surat Thani, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Lampang, Phitsanulok, Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, Khon Kaen, Nong Khai and Ubon Ratchathani.

Fantastic.. but NO coverage when travelling to the other coverage areas.....smart. At least AIS seem to be trying to join up their coverage. And DTAC are going slow because they are waiting for the infamous 2100mhz licence's. Which will not come if TOT expand seeing as how they are the only one's currently allowed to use 2100mh'z strange that init.

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Fantastic.. but NO coverage when travelling to the other coverage areas.....smart. At least AIS seem to be trying to join up their coverage. And DTAC are going slow because they are waiting for the infamous 2100mhz licence's. Which will not come if TOT expand seeing as how they are the only one's currently allowed to use 2100mh'z strange that init.

Depends on what you mean by "no coverage" in other areas, CBR.....

For TOT/I-Mobile customers, they have no data roaming service (EDGE or 3G) when outside their provider's 3G service area...which currently is just BKK... soon to expand as cited above.

But for regular calling, all along, when outside BKK, TOT/I-Mobile customers have had automatic roaming to the AIS network... Those calls are charged extra and not included in a person's monthly call minutes bucket... But the call coverage is perfectly fine...

And once they bring up those additional provinces, relatively soon based on The Nation report posted above, that's really going to cover with 3G most of the areas that most farang are hanging out... Note...I said most... not all...

Edited by TallGuyJohninBKK
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Yes, this TOT/S-L tie-up is not half-bad. It's only 40% bad. :whistling:

I wouldn't be surprised if this TOT/S-L deal falls apart before any service gets turned up. It's had the stench of failure since it was "awarded". { Note that this build-out is specced operate on 1900 Mhz 3G, and not 2100 Mhz 3G. Yes, the current TOT 3G network in metro-Bangkok does operate on 2100 Mhz 3G, presumably as an "experiment"?)

DTAC is primarily limited from expansion owing to the fact that they do not have equipment import licenses.

TOT and AIS have a roaming agreement, which was recently modified and is currently in effect.

Up to 200,000 TOT 3G (includes resellers) customers can roam onto the AIS GSM network for voice, up to 10,000 TOT 3G (includes resellers) customers can roam onto the AIS GSM network for 2G data. And up to 60,000 AIS customers can roam onto the TOT 3G network in greater Bangkok.

So there is limited 2G for TOT 3G customers when off-net, they may be able to originate voice calls when off -net by roaming on AIS (not sure about receiving calls when off-net), and I'm not sure if they can originate/receive SMSes and MMSes.

TOT 3G claims 200,000 customers but I suspect the actual active customer base is well below 100,000. They are counting every SIM activated to date, or perhaps all they've given away for free? I've activated five SIMs (four of which were free with 1 GB of data over 60 days, bundled with air-cards) and none are currently being used. The primary application is data only. It's been a bust.

It's still OK to have a patchwork 3G system but you must have ubiquitous voice, text and 2G data, from a trusted service provider which has reliable billing, good customer service, multiple sales channels, comprehensive packages and promotions. TOT and their resellers have none of these. Insert fork.

Edited by lomatopo
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Yes, this TOT/S-L tie-up is not half-bad. It's only 40% bad. :whistling:

I wouldn't be surprised if this TOT/S-L deal falls apart before any service gets turned up. It's had the stench of failure since it was "awarded". { Note that this build-out is specced operate on 1900 Mhz 3G, and not 2100 Mhz 3G. Yes, the current TOT 3G network in metro-Bangkok does operate on 2100 Mhz 3G, presumably as an "experiment"?)

Loma, everyone's entitled to their opinion, even you... But let's separate facts from your opinion...

Right now, TOT is a better 3G choice in Bangkok than DTAC... And they're a less expensive option in BKK than True Move H...

It would be pretty hard for the "deal" to fall apart before any service gets turned up, since TOT and I-Mobile, unlike AIS and DTAC,

have been providing 3G pretty much across all of Bangkok, and pretty reliably, for many months now... And they're certainly still well ahead of DTAC today in terms of coverage.

You're the one who just posted The Nation article just above saying that while somewhat behind schedule, TOT is in fact expecting to have some levels of their 3G services turned on in the outlying 17 or 18 provinces in the next month or two.. Maybe not as many base stations as they had originally planned.... But certainly more than DTAC, and probably more than AIS overall.

I believe you also just posted an article saying the new board chairman of TOT is a reputed buddy of Thaksin and that they're expecting to rely on their 3G services for future revenues... Those two things together, for me, don't point to impending failure.

Frankly, I don't presume to know what the future holds for any of these 3G operators given the convoluted and politically messed up business environment in which they have to operate. But TOT/I-Mobile are hardly alone in facing challenges.... True-CAT and the challenges over their concession agreement, CAT's seeming unwillingness to do anything for DTAC, DTAC's foreign ownership issue, and the broader mess over the future nationwide 2100 Mhz license awards. So if you want to talk about problems, at least give all of them their due...

BTW, I don't know about specs...but everything I've ever read direct from TOT about their expansion plans beyond Bangkok has referred to service on the 2100 Mhz band, not 1900 Mhz.

I've used their service for almost the past year in BKK and it's been absolutely fine for voice, SMS and data... Rarely if ever out of their 3G service area when around Bangkok... Get a mailed bill at the house every month for postpaid plan. 199 baht per month for 200 MB of 3G data and 199 minutes of calling within the TOT/I-Mobile network, and 0.5 baht per minute for calls beyond that or outside their network. What's not to like...

I don't need them to have the largest customer base or even the most offices, perhaps like True, which of course is paying for all that office space and staff. I just need them to continue providing the service they are at a good price, and perhaps even expand to outside Bangkok, which will make it even better. If they can do at least that, it's better than not half bad.

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Ovum: 3G will 'become reality' in Thailand

By Kevin Kwang , ZDNet Asia on October 5, 2011 (4 hours ago)

Thailand's 3G services continue to be limited at best, hindered by "vested interests" that one telco CEO alleged are political in nature. However, one analyst reckoned that 3G at the 2100 megahertz (MHz) bandwidth will become a reality in the country sooner rather than later.

According to Nicole McCormick, senior analyst of telco strategy at Ovum, there is now greater regulatory clarity" within Thailand with regard to 3G governance and "issuing of spectrum rights". This clarity is a result of the formation of a unified regulator--the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC)--with "undisputed powers" to issue 2100MHz wireless spectrum licenses, she added.

The country's Senate earlier this month chose 11 members to be part of this regulatory body, although they have yet to receive royal endorsement to start work on establishing a framework for the sale of 3G licenses, according to a Bloomberg report on Sunday.

more...

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TOT 3G roaming via AIS starts Oct 15

Sirivish Toomgum

The Nation

October 7, 2011 9:09 am

TOT is expected to start enabling its 3G mobile-phone subscribers to roam using the nationwide wireless data network of Advanced Info Service (AIS) on October 15 in a move aimed at expanding TOT's subscription base, said the state agency's president Anont Tubtiang.

Anont said yesterday he was confident TOT will achieve its goal of setting up 3,500 base stations in 18 provinces, including Greater Bangkok, by next month, and a total of 4,772 base stations nationwide by May. The state agency has also established a third-generation wireless broadband network on a co-site basis, mainly with AIS, which is TOT's concession-holder. A TOT source said recently that the agency's roll-out of the 3G network across the country had proceeded slowly, raising questions over whether it would be able to meet its deadlines.

TOT is aiming for 1.2 million users of this new 3G network this year and 7 million by 2015, up from about 200,000 on its existing 3G network in Greater Bangkok, which debuted in December 2009 and now has about 500 base stations. TOT is still waiting for its new board of directors to push ahead with its plan to lease 3G capacity on the new network to firms that will retail the service. Anont said TOT still had time to develop the plan further, given that its nationwide network will be fully in place in May.

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A couple of interesting things here....

TOT 3G roaming via AIS starts Oct 15

Sirivish Toomgum

The Nation

October 7, 2011 9:09 am

TOT is expected to start enabling its 3G mobile-phone subscribers to roam using the nationwide wireless data network of Advanced Info Service (AIS) on October 15 in a move aimed at expanding TOT's subscription base, said the state agency's president Anont Tubtiang.

AIS doesn't have a "nationwide" 3G network as yet or anything close to it...but they do have a pretty much nationwide data network including widespread 2G and limited 3G. So presumably the AIS roaming he's referring to would be 2G via AIS and 3G where AIS has it available. Right now, TOT offers no data roaming period outside of BKK.

Also, there's no mention in the article about whether this AIS roaming would be free (included in customers' plans) or at some extra charge.... I'm presuming at some extra charge, but it would have been nice if the article had at least clarified that.

The state agency has also established a third-generation wireless broadband network on a co-site basis, mainly with AIS, which is TOT's concession-holder.

Meaning that when TOT is out there lining up new broadcast tower sites, when they put one in, the deal is AIS is often putting in a separate tower as well??? I don't recall ever hearing any mention of "co-site" arrangements between TOT and AIS before.

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True, AIS unveil local 3G apps

Asina Pornwasin

The Nation

October 8, 2011 6:00 am

True Corporation unit Real Move and Advanced Info Service (AIS) yesterday separately launched local content and applications for users of third-generation smart phones and tablets.

Real Move's True App Center and six business partners launched digital books and magazines free for six months to TrueMove H users. AIS, meanwhile, joined sports-content provider Siam Sport Syndicated to launch AIS Sport Arena free for one year to AIS customers.

Real Move's director of marketing, Supakit Vuntanadit, said the application market was huge and growing, on both the iOS and Android platforms. True has emphasised local application promotion since the launch of its True App Center three years ago. The centre has more than 300 Thai-language applications for multiple platforms, with a total of 6 million downloads so far, Supakit said.

Most recently, the company has teamed up with content providers such as Nation Multimedia Group, GM Group, Barefoot and Be Boy CG to launch digital books and magazines for smart phones and tablets. TrueMove H and True Move 3G customers qualify to receive such content free for six months.

more...

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11 NBTC members endorsed by HM the King

BANGKOK, 8 October 2011 (NNT) – His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej has royally endorsed 11 individuals as members of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC).

A royal command has been issued by His Majesty the King, approving the appointment of the 11 NBTC commissioners, who were selected by the Senate on 5 September. The commission is scheduled to convene its first meeting on 10 October at the NBTC office.

The 11 commissioners consist of Air Chief Marshal Thares Punsri as chairman, Colonel Natee Sukolrat and Colonel Settapong Malisuwan as deputy chairmen, Lieutenant General Peerapong Manakit, Mr Suthipol Thaweechaikarn, Police Colonel Thaweesak Ngamsanga, Mr Prasert Silpipat, Mr Thawatchai Jittrapanun, Ms Supinya Klangnarong, Mr Prawit Leesathapornwongsa and General Sukit Khamasunthorn.

http://thainews.prd....id=255410070012

Edited by TallGuyJohninBKK
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  • 2 months later...

DTAC seems to have increased their 3G coverage, at least according to their coverage maps on their website. http://www.dtac.co.th/3g/coverage.php

It looks like they've added Phuket, Hua Hin, Chon Buri, Rayong (but not Pattaya) and a few other locales. I've also seen some mention of DTAC 3G coverage in Korat (City), but this is not listed.

I haven't seen any announcements about this expanded coverage.

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I haven't seen any announcements about this expanded coverage.

I must have missed this...so 2,000 base-stations ultimately in total, still behind Truemove H and AIS but a marked improvement.

"]http://www.nationmul...-30169069.html]

Legal office finally approves DTAC's 3G upgrade[/url]

The Nation November 3, 2011 12:00 am

The Office of the Attorney-General has signed off on Total Access Communication's upgrade to its cellular network to offer the lucrative 3G service under its concession with CAT Telecom.

Jirayuth Rungsrithong, chief executive officer of CAT, said yesterday that CAT had told DTAC about the Office of the Attorney-General's notice and would formally inform the telecom soon.

DTAC declined to comment, pending the formal discussion with CAT.

CAT had first asked the Office of the Attorney-General on April 22 whether an upgrade to DTAC's network to provide third-generation wireless broadband service was permissible under its concession.

The office replied to CAT in September that it had declined to express an opinion on the matter. This led CAT to ask for its opinion again that month. The office gave its affirmative reply to CAT last week.

DTAC went ahead and launched the commercial 3G service on its 850-megahertz spectrum in the middle of August in Bangkok without waiting for the office's reply to CAT.

DTAC argued that the launch complied with the concession. It has insisted that it can launch its commercial 3G service under the permit it secured from the now-defunct National Telecommunications Commission to install and use a 3G-HSPA (high-speed packet access) network.

DTAC has been waiting for CAT's permit since 2008 to upgrade the network to offer the 3G service. DTAC needed to launch the service or risk losing its premium customers to Real Move and Advanced Info Service, which have already made full 3G services available.

DTAC is scheduled to complete the installation of 1,200 3G base stations in Bangkok and 20 other provinces by February, of which 800 bases have already been put in place.

Edited by lomatopo
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Truemove 3G is hopeless.....Had Hutch for some years, good phone, good service, got called to go and change phone 2 weeks ago to the new system...... Hate the phone only 1 option... works sometimes, keep getting phone calls on land-line when at home to ask what happen to my mobile as people cannot connect.... find many times try to call someone, get no ring tone..

mad.gifTrue shop says Huych system now dead, Truemove much better..

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]DTAC is scheduled to complete the installation of 1,200 3G base stations in Bangkok and 20 other provinces by February, of which 800 bases have already been put in place

Which is about 25% of what the others have already?

Waow - exciting !

There is no doubt DTAC is behind for many reasons (OK, just one really), but their concession also has the longest term (2018) assuming contracts mean anything.

The most recent published figure I saw for AIS was 2,700 base-stations, up from their initial launch with 1,884 base-stations. So AIS has filled out their coverage in a huge number of areas in metro-Bangkok where they were previously lacking.

CAT/TrueMove H, in the most recently published figure I saw, have 3,000 base-stations, with a stated goal of having 5,000 by "next-year".

TOT said they were well behind their previously published schedule, saying they expect to install 5,200 (or 5,320) base-stations by May, 2012. As of last week they said that 1,500 base-stations we installed, instead of the 3,500 they planned by 12/31/11.

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TOT said they were well behind their previously published schedule, saying they expect to install 5,200 (or 5,320) base-stations by May, 2012. As of last week they said that 1,500 base-stations we installed, instead of the 3,500 they planned by 12/31/11.

Wide band CDMA is a whole different animal than GSM. TOT with poor fixed line competences does not stand a hope in hell if they start getting any load on their network- then again providing service maybe was never the key objective. They also have no alliances to tap into operations know how for WCDMA.

AIS & DTAC with their access to offshore knowledge have that benefit, but True's acquisition of Hutch has given them the only local skills ( hutch staff) in the country with WCDMA know how.

I think the current game on 3G will be True and then AIS. Content and wifi offloading is already an important element in 3G offerings internationally, and as such True has the best portfolio ( the only Quadruple play ). Even if DTAC can catch up, there are no WiFi alliances for them left ( AIS teamed with 3BB , True has their own ), as such they will be at a dis advantage. AIS will need to be carefull that 3Bb does not end up with DTAC ...

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DTAC, however, offers excellent 3G packages for prepaid customers. I've gotten uninterrupted 3G all over Bangkok so there is really no reason to even switch to the more unsecure wifi other than let's say streaming and torrents.

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DTAC, however, offers excellent 3G packages for prepaid customers. I've gotten uninterrupted 3G all over Bangkok so there is really no reason to even switch to the more unsecure wifi other than let's say streaming and torrents.

You definition of BKK is pretty limited...... Go no further North than victory monument and ur in no mans land.

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DTAC, however, offers excellent 3G packages for prepaid customers. I've gotten uninterrupted 3G all over Bangkok so there is really no reason to even switch to the more unsecure wifi other than let's say streaming and torrents.

You definition of BKK is pretty limited...... Go no further North than victory monument and ur in no mans land.

Nonsense. Perfect 3G with DTAC even at chaeng wattana.

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Truemove H 3G 850Mhz coverage area is expanding so fast !

Check this out : http://www.truemove-...k_coverage.aspx

FYI:

กรุงเทพและปริมณฆล = Bangkok Metropolitan Region

ภาคกลาง = Central

ภาคเหนือ = North

ภาคตะวันออก = East

ภาคตะวันออกเฉียงเหนือ = North-East

ภาคใต้ = South

And ONE More thing. Truemove H already had launch their pre-paid sim (not an iSim)

Check this out : http://www.pantip.co.../T11508734.html

Edited by pd2002
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And ONE More thing. Truemove H already had launch their pre-paid sim (not an iSim)

Check this out : http://www.pantip.co.../T11508734.html

Thank you for the heads-up on the availability of pre-paid SIMs/Packages from TrueMove H. The pricing/packaging looks good/competitive. Can't wait to try one out.

It looks like TrueMove H are looking for marketing help on the prepay offer. http://www.jobbk.com/eng/job/job_detail.php?job_id=NTMyOTI3

Edited by lomatopo
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DTAC, however, offers excellent 3G packages for prepaid customers. I've gotten uninterrupted 3G all over Bangkok so there is really no reason to even switch to the more unsecure wifi other than let's say streaming and torrents.

You definition of BKK is pretty limited...... Go no further North than victory monument and ur in no mans land.

Nonsense. Perfect 3G with DTAC even at chaeng wattana.

Nonsense. If you see the results of professional drive test equipment, from memory DTAC was about 10% on 3G and 90% on 2G handover in BMA.... AIS far better, and True the inverse.

Out sailing in Phuket area - our night stop in Chalong, then Phi Phi, and now Ko Lanta all have True Move H 3G...... Cool to sit on the boat at night and surf the web a little

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(Thanks to pd2002 and greatjob.)

TrueMove H finally offers pre-paid service. Unfortunately info. in Thai only. It looks like the base SIM is 99 baht (comes with a default plan), then you can layer on data, voice, SMS, WiFi, MMS. Excellent news.

http://www.truemove-h.com/en/prepay/

http://www.truemove-h.com/en/prepay/sim/prepay-sim-smartphone.aspx

http://www.truemove-h.com/en/prepay/sim/prepay-sim-iphone.aspx

http://www.truemove-h.com/en/isim.aspx

http://www.truemove-h.com/en/prepay/prepay-topping.aspx

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If you see the results of professional drive test equipment, from memory DTAC was about 10% on 3G and 90% on 2G handover in BMA.... AIS far better, and True the inverse.

Can we see these results?

Drive test tools like Nemo cost upwards of $30,000, and then the outsourced drive testers xx,000 per day..... It's not the kind of thing which one puts on line for free. I dont know of any equipment vendors who would. Anyone who says DTAC has great coverage around BKK is saying it from a personal perspective. If they think it's great, fine with me and great for them that they are happy.

But if claiming there is great DTAC coverage north of BKK, it's not correct if you compare with the other two.

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If you see the results of professional drive test equipment, from memory DTAC was about 10% on 3G and 90% on 2G handover in BMA.... AIS far better, and True the inverse.

Can we see these results?

Drive test tools like Nemo cost upwards of $30,000, and then the outsourced drive testers xx,000 per day..... It's not the kind of thing which one puts on line for free. I dont know of any equipment vendors who would. Anyone who says DTAC has great coverage around BKK is saying it from a personal perspective. If they think it's great, fine with me and great for them that they are happy.

But if claiming there is great DTAC coverage north of BKK, it's not correct if you compare with the other two.

OK, so you've seen the results of these tests for all the 3G vendors, presumably conducted recently, and it is your opinion that DTAC "does not have great coverage around BKK". You do realize that without some sort of supporting documentation your claims are little more than "a personal perspective", and certainly no more valid than other peoples real-life experience with a service provider and the service?

As we've seen, all the service providers are increasing their coverage so it may be possible that your data is out of date?

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If you see the results of professional drive test equipment, from memory DTAC was about 10% on 3G and 90% on 2G handover in BMA.... AIS far better, and True the inverse.

Can we see these results?

Drive test tools like Nemo cost upwards of $30,000, and then the outsourced drive testers xx,000 per day..... It's not the kind of thing which one puts on line for free. I dont know of any equipment vendors who would. Anyone who says DTAC has great coverage around BKK is saying it from a personal perspective. If they think it's great, fine with me and great for them that they are happy.

But if claiming there is great DTAC coverage north of BKK, it's not correct if you compare with the other two.

OK, so you've seen the results of these tests for all the 3G vendors, presumably conducted recently, and it is your opinion that DTAC "does not have great coverage around BKK". You do realize that without some sort of supporting documentation your claims are little more than "a personal perspective", and certainly no more valid than other peoples real-life experience with a service provider and the service?

As we've seen, all the service providers are increasing their coverage so it may be possible that your data is out of date?

Yadda Yadda Yadda.

Its not a personal perspective, its an assessment based on professional equipment, using industry experts who know how to do a drive test. you wanna know that bad, go do it yourself, or maybe stick to your "one call & draw a conclusion" methodology. Bet you dont even know the basic parameters for measuring network quality. ( quick - google them)

Since your so good at this testing, maybe you could explain the different modes of drive testing to ascertain different angles for looking at network performance, and then add on why drive testing is not a end-all be-all tool for network quality mismanagement.

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