Cat '' My 3G Service ''

[ThaiLife]

After reading CAT to launch "My" 3G service on 10 January 2012 , I purchased a My 3G SIM to give it a try

But it seems its not yet been switched on in my area, ( even though I was assured by a CAT engineer it was up and running ) I know of one other forum member here who is all ready using the CAT '' My 3G '' service and is getting reasonable speeds .

I know its possibly early days but

I was just wondering if any one else here was now using this 3G service and how things were going with it , and could offer their comments .

Thanks

[thaicbr]

i would imagine that it is exactly the same coverage as True 3h (but without the backup of true move when you are out of My3g/3h area..... what frequency does it run on? answer 850mhz... it's basically the 3h network via CAT

Edited January 10, 2012 by thaicbr

[lomatopo]

I confess to being a bit confused re: CAT retail activities. The did formally launch the My 3G service yesterday, but many press reports say this "direct-to-consumer" service is targeted at post-paid and corporate users. In some press articles they say pre-paid service will be available in June of this year.

They are also looking for MVNO partners, retailers which can resell a service to end-users. Obviously CAT has no experience selling direct to consumers nor do they have a retail distribution chain.

Do you have an 850 Mhz 3G-capable device? Are you sure it has been successfully activated? Have you configured an APN? Did you sign up for a plan? Are you transitioning fro CAT CDMA (Hutch) to My 3G? Given that it has only been launched yesterday you may be in for a rough start?

From The Nation article:

Viroj Tocharoenvanith, acting CEO, said yesterday that the interested parties are Loxley, Samart Corp, IEC and FTTX, a subsidiary of AirAsia.

CAT is wholesaling 3G capacity to Real Move, which is a subsidiary of True Corp. Real Move is retailing the 3G service under the TrueMove H brand.

Besides wholesaling, CAT is retailing its 3G bandwidth capacity under the My brand, mainly to corporate users.

Yesterday, CAT formally splashed out its My post-paid 3G service in 76 provinces, with the goal of acquiring 600,000 subscribers this year, up from about 2,000 currently.

Of the total target, 300,000 will be migrated from CAT's existing Code Division Multiple Access cellular network in 51 provinces. CAT will switch off the CDMA network in the middle of this year to focus on the new 3G service.

CAT is spending Bt50 million this year on the marketing campaign for My, which is running on more than 4,000 base stations. The network will be expanded to 5,000 stations next month, 8,000 in March and 14,000 in December.

Edited January 10, 2012 by lomatopo

[ThaiLife]

I confess to being a bit confused re: CAT retail activities. The did formally launch the My 3G service yesterday, but many press reports say this "direct-to-consumer" service is targeted at post-paid and corporate users. In some press articles they say pre-paid service will be available in June of this year.

They are also looking for MVNO partners, retailers which can resell a service to end-users. Obviously CAT has no experience selling direct to consumers nor do they have a retail distribution chain.

Do you have an 850 Mhz 3G-capable device? Are you sure it has been successfully activated? Have you configured an APN? Did you sign up for a plan? Are you transitioning fro CAT CDMA (Hutch) to My 3G? Given that it has only been launched yesterday you may be in for a rough start?

From The Nation article:

Viroj Tocharoenvanith, acting CEO, said yesterday that the interested parties are Loxley, Samart Corp, IEC and FTTX, a subsidiary of AirAsia.

CAT is wholesaling 3G capacity to Real Move, which is a subsidiary of True Corp. Real Move is retailing the 3G service under the TrueMove H brand.

Besides wholesaling, CAT is retailing its 3G bandwidth capacity under the My brand, mainly to corporate users.

Yesterday, CAT formally splashed out its My post-paid 3G service in 76 provinces, with the goal of acquiring 600,000 subscribers this year, up from about 2,000 currently.

Of the total target, 300,000 will be migrated from CAT's existing Code Division Multiple Access cellular network in 51 provinces. CAT will switch off the CDMA network in the middle of this year to focus on the new 3G service.

CAT is spending Bt50 million this year on the marketing campaign for My, which is running on more than 4,000 base stations. The network will be expanded to 5,000 stations next month, 8,000 in March and 14,000 in December.

You can add me to the confused list

[ Do you have an 850 Mhz 3G-capable device? ]

Yes Its a K4505

with the following radio frequencies

3G/HSDPA/UMTS 850/900/1900/2100MHz

GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900MHz

[ Are you sure it has been successfully activated? ]

I telephoned the CAT office where the 3G SIM card was purchased and they confirmed that it had been activated

[ Have you configured an APN? ]

Yes its done on the Mobil partner interface that came pre loaded on the K 4505

[ Did you sign up for a plan? ]

Now here's where the CAT waters start to get muddy , when I was at the CAT office for 4 hours trying to sort out my CAT CDMA problem, I saw in a glass display cabinet several '' My 3G service '' SIM cards , I asked the CAT office manageress if I could use one of the '' My 3G service '' SIM cards in the area where I lived , she then checked with the office staff , and the answer was yes. I then told her I only wanted to test the 3G service , so which SIM package does she recommend , she said this one

Priced at 99 Baht , so I said ok I will take that even though its only 100MB , she then tried to sell me a CAT branded USB air card , but I told here no thanks ive all got one.

I paid my 99 Baht and the girl took the money and proceeded to ask my wife to fill out a 5 page form and supply a copy of her Thai ID card .

I left the CAT office drained of all energy and the will to live and just wanted to get home and have a cold beer and try to relax .

When I tried the new '' My 3G service '' SIM card , there was no signal on the 850Mhz band being received by my K 4505 USB modem , so I rang the same CAT office where I purchased the SIM card from, and asked once more , can I use this '' My 3G service '' SIM card in the area where I live , the girl said she would check and ring me back. When the girl rang back she again confirmed that I could use the SIM in my area.

I again tried the My 3G service '' SIM card in the K 4505 and again there was no signal , I then switched the MHz band selection in the Mobil partner interface to the '' EDGE '' only setting , which the K 4505 found quickly ( showing 2 bars on the signal meter ) .

this is what the Mobile partner interface looks like ( showing my AIS 3G SIM card )

After not getting a CAT 3G signal in my area I telephoned the CAT engineer who had been helping me with my CAT CDMA problem, I asked him why I could not receive a CAT 3G signal where I live , he said that CAT 3G would not be available until around March time , I did not ask him why the CAT office manager and staff had told me that the 3G service was up and all ready available where I lived !!

[ Are you transitioning fro CAT CDMA (Hutch) to My 3G? ]

At the moment I'm staying with CDMA , even though its like sitting in a leaking boat, I was hoping to see a vast improvement and stability with a CAT 3G connection , and then if CAT 3G was in fact a better service than CDMA , just dump CDMA for CAT 3G , but as things see so un certain at the moment , I'm sitting on the CAT CDMA / CAT 3G fence.

I do have an AIS 3G SIM card and the speeds are better than my current CAT CDMA , but just lately the AIS 3G signal has started to drop off , so I'm trying a new AIS 3G external antenna set up to see if I can make the signal more stable.

As for the my wife filling out a 5 page form and supply a copy of her Thai ID card , when buying a 99 Baht SIM card , personally I think she signed some sort of contract , and I await some thing in the post that could explain things .

[lomatopo]

OK, so no 3G for you until March, that certainly explains why it's not working for you. Interesting about the 2G though, I wonder which network you were utilizing?

[thaicbr]

OK, so no 3G for you until March, that certainly explains why it's not working for you. Interesting about the 2G though, I wonder which network you were utilizing?

i'm guessing it's going to be true move, but it would be interesting to hear.

[ThaiLife]

When I selected EDGE only with the CAT 3G SIM card , this is what I see

Only time will tell when / if I ever see the CAT 3G connection

[lomatopo]

OK, it seems safe to assume that if you have TrueMove H (prepaid or postpaid) or CAT My 3G, then you roam onto the legacy TrueMove (GSM: voice, 2G, SMS) network. I'd still like to hear more about how that works in real life but that is better discussed in a another thread.

ThaiLife, how does the AIS 3G perform for you in your location?

That aircard looks like a great choice (quad-band) and I like the UI.

Edited January 12, 2012 by lomatopo

[ThaiLife]

OK, it seems safe to assume that if you have TrueMove H (prepaid or postpaid) or CAT My 3G, then you roam onto the legacy TrueMove (GSM: voice, 2G, SMS) network. I'd still like to hear more about how that works in real life but that is better discussed in a another thread.

ThaiLife, how does the AIS 3G perform for you in your location?

That aircard looks like a great choice (quad-band) and I like the UI.

The K 4505 and its frequencies were just what I was looking for in a USB modem, there are some reports of the K4505 external antenna connection having problems , the newer K 4605 has been getting very good press

But its a lot more expensive.

I did buy and try a passive antenna coupler the same as this one

just to compare the results between a direction external antenna connection to the modem, and then the passive coupler , the direct external antenna connection did give a better signal reception , but with a few drop off's , the passive coupler ( positioned in the right place on the USB modem ) did give lower signal results but no drop off's.

The K 4504 UI is great to use , I'm going to try 2 other modem connection software options that should give more detailed information

1. MWconn

http://mwconn.net/download_mwconn.html

2. ZTE's own connection manager "Join Air"

http://www.dc-unlock.../ZTE/Dashboards

( pleas note - I have not yet used the above - so cannot vouch for their integrity )

As for the AIS 3G performance , the best results ive had so far is

that's with an external antenna connected to the K 4505 modem, I'm convinced that I can get better results by positioning the external antenna in a more accurate position, originally I used my Android mobile phone and an app that shows the approximate direction of the 3G AIS tower , but I still don't know or can confirm the exact position or detailed direction of the nearest AIS 3G tower .

The next thing I'm going to try is a 3G parabolic dish ( make my own ) similar to this one

all I need now is to see the CAT 3G signal

[lomatopo]

Here is the CAT My website...

http://www.mybycat.com/

[ThaiLife]

To day I decided to take my small netbook with me on a trip out in my vehicle , the netbook was left running on the passenger seat with the USB modem plugged in and the Cat 3G '' My '' SIM installed. When I left my house there was no Cat 3G signal showing on the connection manager ( as normal ) , then about 20 Km from my house I saw this appear on the connection manager

I parked and did a quick speed test

I travelled on and eventually the '' WCDMA my '' signal vanished

The next time the same signal re appeared was while parked in the car park of Tesco Lotus store in Buriram , so I did another speed test .

So after seeing the '' WCDMA my '' signal on the connection manager for the first time and doing the speed tests, this now confirms that at the moment there is no Cat 3G active connection in my home area, and may be as the CAT engineer said the service will be activated in my area some time in March - only time will tell .

[ThaiLife]

Well to day at 12.59 lunch time CAT 3G was turned on in my area

So after finally seeing CAT 3G turned on I connected to the 3G using my USB modem and did the above speed test .

Next I wanted to see just how many MB I had left on my 3G SIM card ( 99 baht bought for testing 3G )

I looked at the CAT 3G web site

http://www.mybycat.c...romotion_2.html

and could not find how to check my MB usage , so I telephoned the CAT office where I had bought the 3G SIM from , and asked how can I check my MB balance , the girl said you cannot !

I said how does any one know who buys a MB package know when they reach the MB limit , the girl said people have to guess the amount they have used .

I then asked what happens if I go over my MB package amount , the girl said you are charged 1.50 Baht per MB for any thing over your package maximum.

I can understand not being able to see your MB usage when using an un limited package , but not being to just click some where on line and see you current package balance ( as with AIS 3G ) seems a bit crazy to me.

Just looking at my new CAT 3G connection mobile partner window , its now showing - TRUE in the connection box , so I'm assuming I can now get TRUE 3G as well , which I think with TRUE you can check your MB balance on line some how .

Am I missing some thing with this , how can I check my MB balance , the girl said you cannot ! statement ?

I'm going to now try a TRUE 3G SIM to see what happens .

[thaicbr]

doesnt the mobile partner software tell you.. it is showing at the bottom.

[ThaiLife]

doesnt the mobile partner software tell you.. it is showing at the bottom.

The figurers ( kbps ) shown at the bottom seem to be only the download and upload speeds at the time the connection is in use , I'll have another look - thanks

but it would still be nice to see the state of your account on line ( like AIS 3G )

[lomatopo]

So is this the service which you were told would be available in March? If so it is great that they are ahead of schedule!

I think you can find some 3rd party program to track your data usage, if the aircard's UI does not have that functionality.

FYI, in your current case the network service is labeled True, and CAT is the reseller. You have just one, single network.

Edited January 20, 2012 by lomatopo

[ThaiLife]

So is this the service which you were told would be available in March? If so it is great that they are ahead of schedule!

I think you can find some 3rd party program to track your data usage, if the aircard's UI does not have that functionality.

FYI, in your current case the network service is labeled True, and CAT is the reseller. You have just one, single network.

Yes this is the CAT 3G service that I was told by a CAT engineer would be available in my area in March , it just goes to show that there's a first time for every thing

[ThaiLife]

Well to day I decided to try a True Move H iSIM

and as expected my USB modem found the signal right away

I then registered a new True Account on line

The iSIM came with 140 MB , so I decided to try a TrueMoney card ( 90 Baht ) I purchased with the iSIM card to top up the new account on line

after topping up my new iSIM I then re checked the new balance

The speeds are about the same as I get when using my CAT 3G SIM

[thaicbr]

Well to day I decided to try a True Move H iSIM

and as expected my USB modem found the signal right away

I then registered a new True Account on line

The iSIM came with 140 MB , so I decided to try a TrueMoney card ( 90 Baht ) I purchased with the iSIM card to top up the new account on line

after topping up my new iSIM I then re checked the new balance

The speeds are about the same as I get when using my CAT 3G SIM

It should be.. they are the same network

[lomatopo]

Can you describe the registration of the TrueMove Pepay iSIM process?

Was that a website? How did you get the URL? Did they require any 'documentation'? Did it look like that may be available for other TrueMove H Prepay SIMs?

How did you top up the iSIM? Just be entering the scratched PIN into a web-site?

[ThaiLife]

Can you describe the registration of the TrueMove Pepay iSIM process?

Was that a website? How did you get the URL? Did they require any 'documentation'? Did it look like that may be available for other TrueMove H Prepay SIMs?

How did you top up the iSIM? Just be entering the scratched PIN into a web-site?

to register the SIM go to

http://h.truelife.com/isim/

and you should see this page

Click on Register , after following the registration process

you should see this page showing your first current MB balance

to add to your MB balance click one of the amounts [ BUY NOW ]

and you should see this page

after clicking the payment box , you should see this page [ payments method ]

select the type of payments method , click confirm and you should see this page

the above is only to pay with a TrueMoney scratch card

after you click confirm , then go back to your account page to check that your MB balance has increased .

I think the above only relates to the iSIM prepaid cards.

[lomatopo]

Interesting, and thanks. I wish they provided this capability for their Prepay Smartphone SIM.

FWIW, I think you need to be connected via TrueMove H to get that registration screen. When I go to that URL, via TrueOnline DSL I do not get that registration option.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Interesting, and thanks. I wish they provided this capability for their Prepay Smartphone SIM.

FWIW, I think you need to be connected via TrueMove H to get that registration screen. When I go to that URL, via TrueOnline DSL I do not get that registration option.

You can do the same thing via USSD anyway....if it's just adding credit and applying packages. Using USSD gives you more choice when it comes to packages.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Don't really see the point of the iSIM. Perhaps someone can enlighten me.

Found it myself...... useful for the occasional or light user.

THE FREEDOM TO PURCHASE INTERNET HOURS ONLINE ANYTIME AND ANYWHERE WITH UP TO 6 MONTHS USAGE... The iSIM is the first in the market to offer as long as 6 months of usage and provides more flexibility for users since there is no need to rush and use up connection time in a particular month.

http://www2.truecorp...il.aspx?id=1503

Edited January 25, 2012 by Jiu-Jitsu

[lomatopo]

I like having a web interface to manage my account, I like DTAC's eServices platform. TrueMove H Prepay does not appear to offer any web-based customer management capability, other than for the iSIM. And DTAC has two Android apps. which allow you to do everything without using USSD codes. (Note they also have a Happy Services app. which front-ends all the USSD codes.) TrueMove does have an iPhone app. called iService, but I've never seen/used it.

The TrueMove iSIM Prepay SIM appears to be packaged and positioned for air-card users, that is to say, for data only.

They appear to offer more packages on the "registered user" accessible website than on their public website.

Edited January 25, 2012 by lomatopo

[4evermaat]

so is the iSim still available?

[Jiu-Jitsu]

so is the iSim still available?

Unless you need the extra usage validity, it's cheaper to use the Smartphone SIM. You get more for your money if you are likely to use up your data allowance within the allotted time frame.

[DavidMavec]

For those who believe that they will get the same speeds with CAT my 3g as True Move H, this is incorrect. It is a lot slower. Read my thread first: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/623113-cat-my3g-not-the-same-as-truemove-h-what-a-sham/#entry6181124

[lomatopo]

so is the iSim still available?

I ended up getting a TrueMove H Net SIM 3G+. I think this SIM retails for 99 baht but I got it at a TrueMove H promo counter in Seacon for 49 baht. Note the 090 number prefix. Judging from the packaging I guess this SIM is targeted at aircard/tablet apps? This SIM works fine in a phone (remember to enable roaming so you can roam onto the traditional TrueMove 1800 MHz GSM network), and it stays alive for 60 days after any usage (in-/outbound SMS, in-/outbound call). I typically use this SIM in an older Android phone as a 3G router and share the 3G connection across multiple laptops, tablets and smartphones. I subscribe to one of the single, non-recurring, hard-capped 30 day plans (*900*3x#). I generally see 2.5 Mbps/300 Kbps, on average, when I have 3G. The baked-in APN details were faulty so I had to re-edit those to get it working.

Edited March 8, 2013 by lomatopo