Opening Over 20,000 Free Wi-Fi Hotspots In Bangkok

[parmo1]

If you think monitoring on the internet is bad in Thailand try using it in Australia, the Oz nanny state watches everything you do without any court authorisation, and it is the only advanced industrial country that tries to censor the internet.

Governments will say that they are stopping terrorism,but they would, wouldn't they ? In England terrorism laws and internet monitoring are being used more and more to control people even by local government, they have been used to monitor closing of plastic "wheelie bin" lids , to stop a father from taking a photo of his daughter inside a shopping centrs and were used to prosecute the Icelandic banks a few years ago.

Thailand's internet is free in comparison, except for the monitoring of the leste majeste stuff. The problem in Thailand is the lack of 3G, even Laos has had that for many years already.

Edited January 6, 2012 by parmo1

[dduval99]

A 650 Baht per month internet connection is bad enough in Thailand....Let alone a free one.... Don't the Thai ISP know that it takes more than 1 DNS server to service 6500000 users...

[MaxYakov]

Free usually means: paid for by someone else or paid for by you, in the case of 'included' items that are misidentified as 'free', or taxes or non-monetary payment such as your time, risk, hassle, loss of privacy, etc.

Oh, yeah, there is this myth of a free lunch ... which I have yet to see in Thailand, but probably haven't been looking hard enough for those.

Edited January 6, 2012 by MaxYakov

[RichardinBKK]

Free usually means: paid for by someone else or paid for by you, in the case of 'included' items that are misidentified as 'free', or non-monetary payment such as your time, risk, etc.

Oh, yeah, there is this myth of a free lunch ... which I have yet to see in Thailand, but probably haven't been looking hard enough for those.

Ummmm...where are you from? I am American, there, taxpayers contribute, and we do stuff like drive on paved roads, have police and fire protection, armies...and other stuff. We actually know it is not "free."

But I would like to go where you must have just left (why, i have no idea) ... a land where there actually is a "free lunch'

Please, where is that magic kingdom?

Perhaps the reason Thais are invited to share a new "free" service, and we are not...is they PAID FOR IT.

[dddave]

Some of you guys are just amazing. No matter what the Thai govt. does, even something as forward thinking as providing free internet (OMG! you have to register?) and all you can do is piss and moan and belittle.

Such superior beings you all are; give yourselves a round of applause

[RichardinBKK]

Some of you guys are just amazing. No matter what the Thai govt. does, even something as forward thinking as providing free internet (OMG! you have to register?) and all you can do is piss and moan and belittle.

Such superior beings you all are; give yourselves a round of applause

Thanks! You nailed it! Could not agree more! If Thailand announced "Free Soup on Tuesday" there would be a s***storm here about "Why Tuesday? Why only Thai soup? I want a cheeseburger" Too funny, you really summed it up nicely.

[bigbamboo]

Free usually means: paid for by someone else or paid for by you, in the case of 'included' items that are misidentified as 'free', or non-monetary payment such as your time, risk, etc.

Oh, yeah, there is this myth of a free lunch ... which I have yet to see in Thailand, but probably haven't been looking hard enough for those.

Ummmm...where are you from? I am American, there, taxpayers contribute, and we do stuff like drive on paved roads, have police and fire protection, armies...and other stuff. We actually know it is not "free."

But I would like to go where you must have just left (why, i have no idea) ... a land where there actually is a "free lunch'

Please, where is that magic kingdom?

Perhaps the reason Thais are invited to share a new "free" service, and we are not...is they PAID FOR IT.

How soon you all forget. This is Miracle Thailand now.

[RichardinBKK]

Free usually means: paid for by someone else or paid for by you, in the case of 'included' items that are misidentified as 'free', or non-monetary payment such as your time, risk, etc.

Oh, yeah, there is this myth of a free lunch ... which I have yet to see in Thailand, but probably haven't been looking hard enough for those.

Ummmm...where are you from? I am American, there, taxpayers contribute, and we do stuff like drive on paved roads, have police and fire protection, armies...and other stuff. We actually know it is not "free."

But I would like to go where you must have just left (why, i have no idea) ... a land where there actually is a "free lunch'

Please, where is that magic kingdom?

Perhaps the reason Thais are invited to share a new "free" service, and we are not...is they PAID FOR IT.

How soon you all forget. This is Miracle Thailand now.

All kidding aside, I see this type of posting a lot. What is it you feel you were promised, and has not been delivered? I would like to better understand this. Thank you, in advance, for a genuine and thoughtful reply...not a wise guy sound bite...I would really like to know what you are saying.

Edited January 6, 2012 by RichardinBKK

[dmcguire70]

Some of you guys are just amazing. No matter what the Thai govt. does, even something as forward thinking as providing free internet (OMG! you have to register?) and all you can do is piss and moan and belittle.

Such superior beings you all are; give yourselves a round of applause

Thanks! You nailed it! Could not agree more! If Thailand announced "Free Soup on Tuesday" there would be a s***storm here about "Why Tuesday? Why only Thai soup? I want a cheeseburger" Too funny, you really summed it up nicely.

Some of you guys are just amazing. No matter what the Thai govt. does, even something as forward thinking as providing free internet (OMG! you have to register?) and all you can do is piss and moan and belittle.

Such superior beings you all are; give yourselves a round of applause

Thanks! You nailed it! Could not agree more! If Thailand announced "Free Soup on Tuesday" there would be a s***storm here about "Why Tuesday? Why only Thai soup? I want a cheeseburger" Too funny, you really summed it up nicely.

Here Here!!

[richard10365]

Not sure why foreigners are complaining about this.

[bkkjames]

One might think it would be a nice thing for TAT to promote in one of their roadshows / brochures / press releases...Free Wifi for tourists - nope.

[pomchop]

If the Thai govt gave free barfines at soi cowboy and Nana plaza there would be a zillion expats that would find something to bitch about the program....

Good for the Thai govt for doing something that might help a lot of people...if you don't like it you don't have to use it...if you do like it maybe you can figure a way around the registration process if you are not thai....

[bkkjames]

If the Thai govt gave free barfines at soi cowboy and Nana plaza there would be a zillion expats that would find something to bitch about the program....

Good for the Thai govt for doing something that might help a lot of people...if you don't like it you don't have to use it...if you do like it maybe you can figure a way around the registration process if you are not thai....

I guess the point is why the need to register? just turn it on for all no? We could become the hub of wifi - think about it...

[ingvar]

Funny that you still have to look for a card or something in a shop vaguely specified in the starting web page and then pay for the Wifi at the Swampy airport.....

Edited January 6, 2012 by ingvar

[impulse]

I had more reliable and faster data transfers in 1986 than Thailand in 2012.

Quite the hyperbole as I don't think 286 computers (top of the line in '86) could muster anything beyond texts on the dial up connections using acoustic coupled phones as modems (9600 baud was cutting edge stuff in 1986).

With today's price of a 3G card, if you can afford a plane ticket to Thailand, you can afford a 3G card and decent plan. If you're sipping brews or wine or $8 Starbucks coffees and complaining that you're left out of a freebee, I doubt you'd get much sympathy.

Personally, I like the way the free wifi in Chinese airports are set up. You enter your cell number, they text you a password and you use that password to log on. There's no illusion that you're surfing anonymously (which you never are). But I wonder how much commercially sensitive information they intercept by allowing free wifi....

Edited January 6, 2012 by impulse

[normac44]

So it really is Same Same but different.

[Boss]

This project was also a New Year’s present for all people from the Thai government.

Paid by the people themselves.

Very important point:

"Also the article didn't mentioned the coverage, probably it will be only in malls and parks, not in residental areas. Even they install in residental areas we hardly can call it as an alternative for a proper internet connection as the hotspots usually cover a 2-300m2 usable area which means this not gonna be bigger than a 6km area. Just imagine bkk is around 1600km2 big, hardly can call it anything just another useless money spending. "

Meeningless to spend 30 Billion Bath on this.

[peterdes]

It is a nice thing from the goverment - we do not have to break them down all the time

And only for the Thais? Dont forget it is thailand and we are the visitors.

nobody is forbidden anybody to learn thai

have fun on the net

[w11guy]

I do believe that all Internet traffic in Thailand is logged or at least monitored to some degree. If not be a central government agency, it is by the ISP you use. Now, that being said, unless you're doing illegal activities, no one is going to care or even request to look at those logs. So, what have you got to hide?

Incidentally...if you have ever used google, gmail, hotmail or any other US provider service.... the US government has full access to it all.

I think the registration and limit is necessary or it will be flooded and useless. It's a step in the right direction. I don't see many North American cities with this kind of service so thumbs up for Thailand at least making an effort. I hope it works though...

I don't think people are worried about illegal activities, but how other things you do, such as political activities, could be monitored. There are a host of things that you may not want other people to know about. Not because they are illegal, but because they are legal but someone government department doesn't like it.

Other cities around the world have free internet and they work fine, and no ID card number is needed.

[RichardinBKK]

I had more reliable and faster data transfers in 1986 than Thailand in 2012.

Quite the hyperbole as I don't think 286 computers (top of the line in '86) could muster anything beyond texts on the dial up connections using acoustic coupled phones as modems (9600 baud was cutting edge stuff in 1986).

With today's price of a 3G card, if you can afford a plane ticket to Thailand, you can afford a 3G card and decent plan. If you're sipping brews or wine or $8 Starbucks coffees and complaining that you're left out of a freebee, I doubt you'd get much sympathy.

Personally, I like the way the free wifi in Chinese airports are set up. You enter your cell number, they text you a password and you use that password to log on. There's no illusion that you're surfing anonymously (which you never are). But I wonder how much commercially sensitive information they intercept by allowing free wifi....

Yme----Good news, you can still use dial up! Enjoy! (Probably the silliest posting....ever)

[loong]

This is a very nice gift to the people of Bangkok, not Thailand as a whole. Is the government paying the internet providers for the service or was it part of the licencing agreement to provide free wi-fi?

I do feel that the money could have been better spent on improving the networks nationwide, doesn't Bangkok already have many more options and better internet availability than the rest of the country?

[lucky2103]

Well, the service appears to be available only for Thais, which is rather discriminating.

Just imagine the outcry if the govt of a country like Germany offered free wifi only to German nationals, effectively locking out some 8 millions foreigners in the country.

BTW, I just moved back to Germany after living in Thailand for 15 years - it's just a good feeling to enjoy free speech and civil liberties again after years of censorship in TH.

[watcharacters]

"WiFi users will need to register on the MICT’s website: http://www.mict.go.th. Name, surname, and ID card number are required."

I've always wanted a big brother

You're not required to use it.

BTW, big brother is also watching every time you use an ATM, credit & debit cards, make a phone call, reserve a flight ticket and fly, etc., etc.

If you're really worried about 'Big Brother' you'd better forget about the Internet altogether, stop traveling by any means of transport, stop banking, shopping.

You could go live in the wild, hunt for your lively hood and bed down in a cave, but even then you'll show up on Google earth at some point.

you're just being silly now.

[softgeorge]

This is a very nice gift to the people of Bangkok, not Thailand as a whole. Is the government paying the internet providers for the service or was it part of the licencing agreement to provide free wi-fi?

I do feel that the money could have been better spent on improving the networks nationwide, doesn't Bangkok already have many more options and better internet availability than the rest of the country?

Yes it does have better internet and more options, that is because the people of Bangkok can afford it. The people of the north and other regions can't really afford the internet so the better services are provided to those that can.

[Estrada]

Actually it is not free per se, it is just what a Cockney Barrow Boy would call a "Come On". Looking at the MICT web site you have to purchase a TOT prepay card B60 = 5 hours, B100 = 15 hours, B200 = 150 hours otherwise B450/month unlimited use 720 hours. The speed offered is 4Mbps not 2Mbps.

All they are offering free is 2hours in one day and a total of 8hours free. 2 hours is probably necessary to be given free because this will be the time it takes you to log on and go through the registration system online. Given that you may need 4 attempts to register due to server overload and crashes, your 8 free hours will be soon used up.

P.S. It helps to read Thai, but if you don't you can right click and select Bing Universal Translator to help, or cut and paste into Google language translator.

Edited January 6, 2012 by Estrada

[blackthorn2005]

It's only for Thai people... Unless you use your TGF's ID card

It's gonna be the same as other previous projects where the free wifi was flooded by the high amount of torrents and illegal downloads which make it impossible to use for normal usage. However this free public wifi will have a 2h usage limit which will make it less slow... And less attractive too.

Also the article didn't mentioned the coverage, probably it will be only in malls and parks, not in residental areas. Even they install in residental areas we hardly can call it as an alternative for a proper internet connection as the hotspots usually cover a 2-300m2 usable area which means this not gonna be bigger than a 6km area. Just imagine bkk is around 1600km2 big, hardly can call it anything just another useless money spending.

Anyway, for checking email, facebook, etc will be fine...

They did this a couple of years ago, IO think it was called 'Green Bangkok', did not work out.

[IMA_FARANG]

Name, surname, and ID card number are required.

-----------------------------

How many farangs have a Thai I.D. card number?

[TackyToo]

How else they are going to keeping the masses from demonstrating?

By busting you for SMS sent from your phone, at least if you are 70 something and don't even know how to do it...

[RogueLeader]

As Myamaar heads towards democracy

*snort*

[tompinlee]

the admin post is a report from the foreign pr office i assume..... it begins by stating 'recently introduced 20,000 hotspots...' then '..a project launched on 28/12/22011'......then goes on to state ' 20,000 wifi spots EXPECTED BY OCT 2012.

another example of nation state 'double speak' to keep the masses on the edge of reality and not in it.

my question simply is have the hotspots been introduced (in place) or is there a hope they will be by October????