What'S The Best Isp In Pattaya

[paulian]

I had a TOT phone in my Condo when I purchased it years ago, so I thought the easiest thing to do for internet was just get TOT as an ISP. There service, if something goes wrong is atrocious ! They could care about nothing, especially if your a Westerner. I have been hung up on, promised things just to get me off the line and if you go to their office with a problem, they all run the other way. However, the deal is I have had them for about 5 year now and it's a pretty reliable connection. Over the years it has got faster, however, still snail slow compared to international standards. It is hard to stream anything without waiting for buffering for quite a long time.

Also it is cheap DSL. Only costs 590bt a month.

The speed is the problem. The speed tests here in Thailand are very deceiving. TOT and even Thai Visa Speed test say my connection is running at about 6Mbps. IT IS NOT. I know how fast 6Mbps is and my connection is a fraction of that. So .... I have to assume the test servers I am getting the reading from are all local. When I use DSL Reports test servers which I used when I worked for the City of LA, it appears to give me a true speed of about 1.3 Mbps. Which is quite slow and hard to live with. I think a lot has to do with my distance from the TOT office and I am sure they have no gateway to speed things up.

So .... any suggestions as to an alternate ISP which may be faster and just as reliable in Pattaya at a reasonable cost ? Eighty percent of the sights I use are international and only about 20% in Thailand.

[Supernova]

When I use DSL Reports test servers which I used when I worked for the City of LA, it appears to give me a true speed of about 1.3 Mbps. Which is quite slow and hard to live with.

You had better get used to it... It doesn't get much better than that.

Here's mine (True 10Mbps):

I think a lot has to do with my distance from the TOT office and I am sure they have no gateway to speed things up.

The distance between you and the CO has no bearing on transfer speed. It only affects line quality and sync rate.

[paulian]

When I use DSL Reports test servers which I used when I worked for the City of LA, it appears to give me a true speed of about 1.3 Mbps. Which is quite slow and hard to live with.

You had better get used to it... It doesn't get much better than that.

Here's mine (True 10Mbps):

Yea, those readings look identical to mine. sucks ! Some of my friends who are closer to TOT, closer than 22,500 feet, say there speed is much faster, however, I think they are talking about sights in the country, not internationally. I keep hearing about all these fiber optic lines being used that are supposed to speed things up and was hoping that was the case. I do not understand why the internet cafes seem to be much faster than my condo connection.

I think a lot has to do with my distance from the TOT office and I am sure they have no gateway to speed things up.

The distance between you and the CO has no bearing on transfer speed. It only affects line quality and sync rate.

[Darrel]

You had better get used to it... It doesn't get much better than that.

The 3BB premium line I'm using syncs at 3mbs and most (~90%) of the time I do get the full speed from robust servers in Europe.

[lomatopo]

DSL speed does vary by distance.

http://www.kitz.co.uk/adsl/max_speed_calc.php

http://www.internode.on.net/residential/adsl_broadband/easy_broadband/performance/

Maybe you could share the line stats?

Did the service ever perform acceptably for you?

It sounds like you try to contact TOT to report problems. How often? What kinds of problems are you having?

How is the voice quality on your line? Do you hear any noise?

Your options may be limited. Can you talk with neighbors to see what other services might be available in your area?

More often than not the cable run becomes compromised owing to MACs (in building or on the street), or a mishandling at the CO where voice and data are split.

[JSixpack]

More often than not the cable run becomes compromised

Replace the cable from your room to the condo switch box, and from that switch box to the street, w/ higher quality. At minimum that means higher gauge but optimally twisted pair.

http://www.adslnation.com/support/cables.php

http://www.amazon.com/Belkin-High-Speed-Internet-Modem-Cable/dp/B00004Z5LZ

I've seen that solution (higher gauge wire) fix a problem connection in Thailand perfectly.

[Supernova]

Changing the cabling or internal wiring won't speed up data transfers to/from servers in the USA and elsewhere. The problem is at the international gateway. Besides, the OP doesn't appear to be having any line or sync issues, so all this talk about installing new cable is irrelevant.

[JSixpack]

Changing the cabling or internal wiring won't speed up data transfers to/from servers in the USA and elsewhere. The problem is at the international gateway. Besides, the OP doesn't appear to be having any line or sync issues, so all this talk about installing new cable is irrelevant.

Fast & easy, eh? So all the OP has do is find another international gateway?

Actually, as I said, line quality can definitely be an issue: http://www.dslreports.com/faq/258.

Nor do you, or even the OP himself, know for sure if he could be having some line issues or whether his connection might be improved by better cabling.

But the OP probably has an excuse for not knowing the significance of good cabling.

Yawn. I love these forums!

[Supernova]

Fast & easy, eh? So all the OP has do is find another international gateway?

Nice try...

Don't put words in my mouth.

Go re-read the OP's initial post again; seems you're missing the point...

Nor do you, or even the OP himself, know for sure if he could be having some line issues or whether his connection might be improved by better cabling.

But the OP probably has an excuse for not knowing the significance of good cabling.

You're right, I don't know what problem the OP is having. But I do know a whole lot about cabling and the impact it has on ADSL.

[Pib]

The speed is the problem. The speed tests here in Thailand are very deceiving. TOT and even Thai Visa Speed test say my connection is running at about 6Mbps. IT IS NOT. I know how fast 6Mbps is and my connection is a fraction of that. So .... I have to assume the test servers I am getting the reading from are all local. When I use DSL Reports test servers which I used when I worked for the City of LA, it appears to give me a true speed of about 1.3 Mbps. Which is quite slow and hard to live with. I think a lot has to do with my distance from the TOT office and I am sure they have no gateway to speed things up.

OK, you are on the TOT 6Mb ADSL plan. I was on the same plan for about 15 months here in Bangkok. Up time was almost 100%, speed tests to the TOT Speedtest and Speedtest.net Bangkok servers almost always gave me 5.2Mb which was the true data speed considering there is about 10-15% overhead in ADSL control bits. My modem sync speed was the full 6Mb and I had excellent physical line stats. I too would get around 1.5Mb speed to the U.S. west coast when averaging out weeks of speedtest results. On some days I could approx almost 3Mb; but on other days I would only get around 600Kb...but usually it was running around 1.5Mb to international sites. Now I would disagree with you that 1.3Mbs is hard to live with if your needs are general browsing and email, but if you are trying to get smooth streaming video to work on the TOT 6Mb plan, it probably ain't going to happen...I know it didn't happen for me....things like YouTube videos would pause so much I just gave up on streaming video. Although you are getting 1.3Mb to farangland if you look at that data flow on a bandwidth monitoring program you will see there is a lot of stop and go....stream video don't work worth a durn with stop and go data flow....a person needs a smoother/constant flow....a 1.3Mb smooth/constant flow would stream most video just fine, but unfortunately with all the hops a person must go through between here and farangland many ISP plan just don't hack it with streaming video.

What you will find is when you get a "truly accurate" speedtest measurement versus a speedtest result that gives you a faster-than-light ping time (like under 50ms) to the U.S./Europe (ping time should fall in 200ms to 350ms ballpark) and download speeds approx equal to their plan's advertised speed, ttat the the speedtest program is being fooled by in-Thailand hidden cache servers used by some of the ISPs. Many folks on other ISPs such as True, 3BB, etc. (especially True) will get these bogus speeds/ping times. Usually (not always) with True customers if they use True's proxy server address in their browser setup of "proxy.trueinternet.co.th" this will eliminate the bogus speedtest results and actually speed up their surfing....plus eliminate some DNS problems in not being able to reach certain sites...somehow the proxy server setting fixes these problems....or at least it did for me on my True Cable 20Mb/2Mb plan. I also stream video just fine, to include HD videos.

But back to your TOT "international speed", from using various Thai ISPs over the last few years and "when getting truly accurate speed results" you are going to get on the average approx 20-30% of the plan max/advertised speed. That is if you got a 10Mb plan you'll probably get around 2-3Mb speeds to the U.S. On my 20Mb plan I get around 5Mb to the U.S. west coast on the average...sometimes faster, sometimes just a little slower. But if I turn off my True proxy setting for a few seconds and retest I get a 15-20Mb download speed and one of those faster than light ping times of around 11ms. Proxy off: the speedtest program is being fooled/giving false results; proxy on the speedtest program is not fooled. When I was with TOT, the TOT speedtest results were always real world....maybe they use a hidden proxy server where with True you have to enter the proxy setting. Now if you go with some pricey internet plan that states it uses a low user/contention ratio and is geared to people/business needing good international access then if you'll sign up for such a plan then maybe you get that higher international speed.

Actually, you are probably getting about the max/normal for a standard consumer plan like the TOT 6MB plan (or a similar plan from another ISP). You'll get all type of thumbs up and thumbs down on the various Thai ISPs as it seems so many people get different results and/or are very frustrated that Thai ISP are slower than their home country internet plan. Maybe True, 3BB, etc., would work better for you (or not). Sincerely, good luck in your search as I know it can be VERY frustrating....I've been there, done that. Cheers.

[Supernova]

^ Excellent post, and pretty much conveys what I've been trying to say all along.

[bartender100]

I use 3BB 9MB for B900, its excellent, first time I have ever downloaded torrent at 1MB, amazingly fast. Worth the upgrade from 6MB package, stream football is almost perfect

[Darrel]

Like I said, with 3BB my modem syncs at 3mbs and I get the full bandwidth from robust servers in Europe nearly all the time.

[Supernova]

It depends on the server as well as ISP routing. FWIW, I do get full bandwidth from servers in Europe and the USA, but these are few and far between. Most HTTP transfers peak around 300KB/s or about 30% of my sync rate (10Mbps).

[JSixpack]

Go re-read the OP's initial post again; seems you're missing the point...

I read it perfectly well the first time. "The speed is the problem."

But I do know a whole lot about cabling and the impact it has on ADSL.

Except for a very basic fact, namely, that the ol' SNR thing does affect speed. Hence on the 'net you always see recommendations like this:

If the BT Speed Test is still showing poor results then this is likely one of two things. One, you have

a poor quality phone line

and unless speeds are less than about 128kbit/sec download BT are not obliged to do anything about it. But it may be worth reporting a fault if the results are much lower than what your connection should be but be warned BT may charge you £60 if they don't find a problem with your line.

The second probable cause is contention. . . .

--http://www.broadband4lhanbryde.co.uk/information/speed-test/

First thing to do is to check and likely upgrade the local wiring, esp. in an old building, including the wiring from the building to the street (here in Thailand). No doubt this is some part of the reason that members report such varied speed results from the same ISP. Any increase in speed should carry over to upgraded ISP service as well.

After I did that and if the results were still unsatisfactory then I'd work on the contention issue, which would entail upgrading the service. Member Pib has addressed this quite well and not coincidentally made a point of mentioning his excellent physical line.

And Pib made an entirely different point than your implication about upgrading or changing or throwing up one's hands over the international gateway. Actually, it is the international gateway that is irrelevant to any realistic help for the OP's problem, which is why I didn't bring it up.

[Supernova]

But I do know a whole lot about cabling and the impact it has on ADSL.

Except for a very basic fact, namely, that the ol' SNR thing does affect speed.

I never said it didn't, but the effects aren't as big as you may think. SNR directly affects sync rate and overall stability of the line. I should know, because up until recently, I used to be on very long and noisy TOT line where SNR spikes and low SNRM (<10dB) are the norm. Add in 58dB line attenuation and you get the picture. Regardless of all the line problems, I was able to download at full speed (2Mbps) almost all the time. I had ADSL on this line for 4 years. The only reason I switched to True was because the TOT line had deteriorated to the point where it wouldn't sync higher than 896K. Worst part of it is, TOT wouldn't do anything about it. After repeated attempts at changing the cabling myself -- from the street pole to inside my home, still no improvement. I just gave up.

Member Pib has addressed this quite well and not coincidentally made a point of mentioning his excellent physical line.

Pib is not the only one in town with a good physical line. Take my True ADSL line for example... I got it installed 6 months ago with new cabling and quality wiring. I have no line issues to speak of whatsoever (see ADSL stats below), yet my data transfer speeds aren't up to spec as indicated by the DSLR java speed test and Microsoft Online performance test results. Judging by the OP's post, this seems to be his/her primary concern as well. So tell me, if it ain't the international gateway and/or crappy ISP routing, what gives? Perhaps I should just 'rewire' everything huh?!

And Pib made an entirely different point than your implication about upgrading or changing or throwing up one's hands over the international gateway. Actually, it is the international gateway that is irrelevant to any realistic help for the OP's problem, which is why I didn't bring it up.

I never implicated anything. I was merely pointing out to the OP that the limitation he's seeing is probably due to the bottlenecks at the gateway or bad ISP routing -- which is clearly out of his control. If you mistook my comments for something else, well, that's your problem.

[Pib]

And Pib made an entirely different point than your implication about upgrading or changing or throwing up one's hands over the international gateway. Actually, it is the international gateway that is irrelevant to any realistic help for the OP's problem, which is why I didn't bring it up.

I expect the OP's physical line stats are OK since he said the TOT and ThaiVisa speedtesters are giving him 6Mb. But looking at his modem stats would confirm just how good they are....they could be borderline which can cause intermittent problems....descent internet one day; indecent internet the next day.

I would have to disagree that the international gateway is irrelevant to the possible problem because if the OP is getting 6Mb connection to the TOT central office/DSLAM then the bandwidth availability from TOT's international gateway is probably the problem. It could be some circuits between the central office/DSLAM and international gateway, but my guess is it's the international gateway bandwidth availability. And although TOT (or any ISP) appears to have tons of international gateway bandwidth when you look at the "gigabytes" of international bandwidth used by Thai ISPs according bandwidth stats, that does not mean theThai ISPs are letting it run full throttle or providing unthrottled international bandwidth to all customers since international bandwidth usage costs them money.

[Supernova]

I expect the OP's physical line stats are OK since he said the TOT and ThaiVisa speedtesters are giving him 6Mb. But looking at his modem stats would confirm just how good they are....they could be borderline which can cause intermittent problems....descent internet one day; indecent internet the next day.

I would have to disagree that the international gateway is irrelevant to the possible problem because if the OP is getting 6Mb connection to the TOT central office/DSLAM then the bandwidth availability from TOT's international gateway is probably the problem.

Thank you.

The reason why I ruled out cabling/wiring issues to begin with.

[Pib]

Just as FYI, below is a snapshot of my modem's line/signal stats---however, remember, I'm on a True "cable" 20Mb/2Mb plan...I'm not on ADSL. The technology is completely different between cable and ADSL internet. The cable TV & interent lines in my moobaan are almost brand new....they finished installation a little over 2 months ago. The DownStream Power Level, UpStream Power Level, and SNR are excellent for a cable internet line....well within the specifications used for DOCSIS 3.0 cable internet/modems.

I have no problem pulling 20Mb download speeds from in-Thailand servers, going to Singapore I usually pull around 10-14Mb (sometimes higher, sometimes lower) since that's more of a direct line in/out of Thailand with few hops, and around 5Mb to U.S. & Europe servers. Those speeds are with the True proxy setting turned on and I get valid ping times.

However, when I turn-off/don't use the True proxy setting I'm then surfing at warp speed/faster-than-light to pretty much any server on Earth....I mean 10-15ms ping times to anywhere on Earth (like that US/Europe server is just across the soi) and speeds of 15-20Mb. Or said another way, bogus download speeds and ping times probably being caused by True in-Thailand hidden cache servers. And these same bogus results can (do) occur with some other Thai ISPs. But for some reason, when I was on a TOT plan I wouldn't get bogus results with speed test programs and TOT don't use any TOT proxy setting to the best of my knowledge...I never used one or was aware of one...maybe they use a hidden proxy server which don't require any browser special setup...or maybe they don't use hidden cache servers....or maybe (you fill-in the blank).

But below are my cable modem stats which are excellent....and on my True Cable 20Mb/2Mb plan I get around 5Mb download/browsing speeds from the U.S./Europe. But if I'm using a Download Manager I can get faster speeds as download managers break the file up into multiple parts/streams which basically don't occur with normal browsing.

[Supernova]

While on the subject of True "cable", I just wish they'd rollout the service in my neighborhood -- heard lots of good things about it, am curious to try it out. I'm so fed up with their ADSL service, I'm ready install a new TOT line just so I can go back to using JI-NET. I'd even settle for 3BB or CAT if it were available. True ADSL sucks, period.

when I was on a TOT plan I wouldn't get bogus results with speed test programs and TOT don't use any TOT proxy setting to the best of my knowledge...

Likewise on JI-NET.

Proxy or no proxy, speed/ping results were always accurate.

[Pib]

While on the subject of True "cable", I just wish they'd rollout the service in my neighborhood -- heard lots of good things about it, am curious to try it out. I'm so fed up with their ADSL service, I'm ready install a new TOT line just so I can go back to using JI-NET. I'd even settle for 3BB or CAT if it were available. True ADSL sucks, period.

when I was on a TOT plan I wouldn't get bogus results with speed test programs and TOT don't use any TOT proxy setting to the best of my knowledge...

Likewise on JI-NET.

Proxy or no proxy, speed/ping results were always accurate.

Yeap...I was with JI-NET for a little over a year and always got real world speed test results. I was on the JI-NET Bizconnect 2Mb plan which worked find and was 100% reliable....the JI-NET service was delivered over a TOT line and DSLAM. I only switched because TOT came out with a 4Mb plan to my moobaan and JI-NET was kinda pricey. The TOT 4Mb plan worked fine (except for streaming video just like the JI-NET plan)....then TOT upgraded the line to 6Mb about a year later and it worked fine also (but still had issues with streaming video).

Then True installed cable TV and internet in my moobaan a few months ago. I been on the True 20MB/2Mb plan for a little over two months now and very happy with it....it's up time has been 100%...I get very good speeds to the world....and I'm no longer have streaming video problems even with HD video. It's so nice now to be able to click on the video clips in news articles or watch a YouTube clip and actually watch a non-pausing video.