Mobile Internet Alternatives Please Help

[mrjohn]

I have a (usually) very good 3BB connection at home but I need some mobile facility when travelling around the country.

I used to use CAT CDMA which was good (allowing for restrictions) even in remote rural areas.

Is the new CAT 3G coverage area the same as the old CDMA, i.e. no signal in and around Bangkok?

I tried to find out from my local CAT office but they haven’t got a clue.

AIS 3G is an alternative around here but the coverage seems limited to select urban areas.

There may well be other options of which I am, as yet, unaware.

In short, which is better in terms of nationwide coverage, setup and running cost and general reliability?

Any advice gratefully received.

[jybkk]

Hi.

It's very difficult to have a good estimation of the Network quality of 3G services in Thailand at the moment. Most of them (AIS, DTAC, True) actually operate using "temporary" test licenses. They are on the way of developing their networks but it is still pretty hectic and unreliable (they might also be a bit reluctant going full speed on the deployment considering the real licenses still haven't been granted.

So far, in my experience, none of them is really reliable.

3G network coverage is not directly related on to 2G. Meaning that if you get CAT 2G connection in one place, you won't necessarily get 3G coverage there.

My advice is: give it a try. You can buy prepaid access to internet. Start with CAT for a few days and see how that goes. Then if it's really not satisfactory, go for prepaid internet sims for the competitors just to test it.

[lomatopo]

TrueMove H offers the most comprehensive national 3G coverage (on 850 Mhz) at present, along with a decent set of calling and data plans, both pre-paid and post-paid. This network is the exact same physical network as the CAT My network, and existing CAT/Hutch CDMA sites are currently being converted to 850 Mhz 3G.

http://www.thaivisa....ost__p__5030851

AIS/One-2-Call has the 2nd most national; 3G coverage, on 900 Mhz 3G.

It would help you could share more details: your equipment, applications, usage, vocie, text, budget, location.

Assuming your device supports 850 Mhz 3G then TrueMove H per-pay or post-pay may be the best option.

Edited February 13, 2012 by lomatopo

[mrjohn]

Thanks for the replies

I will only be using a Samsung netbook, no smartphones or anything like that.

Up until now I have used a CDMA EV-DO dongle. Presumably I now have to buy something new for either CAT or True or AIS?

If CAT and or TRUE are now sharing the same network then that looks like the best bet. But do they still have no coverage in the Bangkok area?

Bearing in mind that I will have to buy new equipment, whichwill be the cheapest to set up and run ?

[Jiu-Jitsu]

They all have coverage; TOT 3G being the cheapest. So a modem that covers UMTS/HSPA 850MHz/1900Mhz and 2100MHz will cover you for DTAC 3G, True H and TOT 3G. The price is dependent on the speed rating of the modem. But expect prices to start from around 1400 or less.

[lomatopo]

Thanks for the replies

I will only be using a Samsung netbook, no smartphones or anything like that.

Up until now I have used a CDMA EV-DO dongle. Presumably I now have to buy something new for either CAT or True or AIS?

If CAT and or TRUE are now sharing the same network then that looks like the best bet. But do they still have no coverage in the Bangkok area?

Bearing in mind that I will have to buy new equipment, whichwill be the cheapest to set up and run ?

Yes, you will have to buy an air-card which will work on whichever 3G network you choose.

If you want to use TrueMove H/CAT My or DTAC/Happy then the aircard should support (at a minimum) 850 Mhz 3G.

If you want to use AIS/One-2-Call then your aircard should support 900 Mhz 3G.

You can see a decent range of aircards here: http://www.totalaircard.com/ You should be able to buy an aircard here for ~ 1,800 baht or less.

As you can see from reading the linked post I provided above in #3, TrueMove H/CAT My have the largest national deployment, which includes Bangkok. I would not have recommended TrueMove H if for some reason they did not have service in Bangkok.