Internet Via Satelite In Thailand - Any Informations?

[DummDays]

I am studying the possibility if it is possible to have a full functional internet access via satelit,

if you plan to moove to a remote location here in thailand

has any member an idea, how to manage such a connection and if it would not too expensiv ?

thanks in advance for any answer

cheers

[kwonitoy]

TOT will sell you an IP Star satellite system, not sure of the current price.

I've had one for 6 years now and it's not the best, expecially in the rainy season. Or when it's sunny for that matter.

It's better than a dongle where I live and I can't get a land line.

They will come and install it, you should have a concrete pad about 1.5 m square poured to place it on.

Maximum speed is 1mb download and 256k upload. It doesn't hit these speeds much. Cost for this is approx 2500 baht per month

[RKASA]

I used it for years 512k/256k is about 2400baht a month (only count on half that speed). 1m will run over 2800 a month. Set-up is often free if you contract one year. ToT

I now have edge available and get this same amount of internet for only 459 a month dtac. Buy two months at a time for discount price. 3G,Edge,GPRS is usb dongle Modem and is portable and 3g able when not in the sticks.

Sat dish is about 2m high and sucks power.

[TexasRanger]

You are way better off with one of these http://www.totalaircard.com/categories/AIS-3G-Aircard/

Bset you can do in the sticks without wasting money on satellite, everyone I spoke to who tried it said it sucks and is expensive. Aircard is slow but reliable, OK for most things except streaming and video etc.

[useronthenet]

Unfortunately Thailand isn't the best country to be in when it comes to the internet. IMHO internet speeds can vary from one provider to another and depending on your location will determine the speed of your connection. 3G is still to be officially launched nationally, so there will be places where it's available but mostly it's not. Then there is also the issue of censorship ... some websites cannot be accessed from Thailand due to certain laws in place preventing users from viewing, courtesy of the MICT. So anyone wishing to have a reliable internet service will be very dissapointed. Sad but true.

[Gary A]

I would NEVER recommend Crapstar satellite Internet. I tried two different companies and both had terrible service and both were also way over priced.

I complained for about 4 years and the best advice they ever gave me was that if I wasn't happy with the service to have it discontinued. That's what I did.

They left the junk equipment for a couple of months until I had my wife call them and tell them that if they didn't pick it up within two more weeks that I was going to make a bird bath out of the dish. They finally picked it up.

[Dario]

I had Ipstar for about 1½ years. For 1MB I paid 2'782 Baht per month. Rarely I got 1MB, in the middle of the night (with clear weather), but daytime about half or less. As soon as the sky gets overcast the signal drops significantly and when rain starts you have no more Internet. I had to call TOT nearly every month to come and check my system. Forget about it! 33'384 Baht per year just isn't justified spending for what you get. Last month I cancelled and they collected their installation early this month.

I wouldn't recommend a dongle either. I have one for 3G and the speed I get is less than Edge, although I have 3G here where I live.

IMHO there is only one good solution: if you have 3G where you live: buy yourself the new iPhone 4S (now less than 22'000 Baht ordered directly from Apple Thailand and sent to you free of charge). The new iPhone 4S has 2 very powerful antennas which pick up the 3G signal with ease. Check out which carrier has the strongest signal in your area (most probably TRUE-H), buy a microSIM card and get a monthly plan. For 399 Baht/month already you have 384KB/s all the time, rain or shine. You conncet your iPhone via USB to your PC or notebook and turn the iPhone's personal hotspot on. And voilà ... you have Internet on the go if you are in the Isaan, Bangkok, CM, Phuket, Pattaya. I live in the Isaan and have a 2nd home in Pattaya. I have cancelled my TRUE service there as well, I don't need it anymore.

So, the first thing you have to know: do you have 3G where you live? BTW. The iPhone's 1080p HD camera alone is already worth its price. For many people including me its "personal hotspot" feature is a real blessing.

[Dario]

I must add something important:

I have this TRUE-H iPhone connection since December 29,2011 and I must say I always had decent Internet also once my 2 or now 5GB high speed were used up, then I always got something over 300kb/s (fair usage) which is perfect for working.

But since last night I have almost no Internet, only something like 20 or 30 kb/s, almost impossible to do anything on the Internet. When I called TRUE-H, they could not help me at all. They said, maybe too many people now using the Internet or something like that.

About Internet with the Aircard. I had probably stated that I used an Aircard (a D-Link 850Mhz which is TRUE-H) and I didn't get anything. Worthless. Today I checked about that also with TRUE. I had put 1.699 + Vat = 1'818 Baht on FEB 24, somebody in a small shop in Surin did this for us. I had bought a TRUE-H Smart Phone Sim for 99 Baht and taken the 10 GB package. It was activated there in the shop. When I came home I found out that I couldn't get anything, except the lousy 20 or so KB, so I didn't use the card. Today when I checked with TRUE-H, they told me that that prepaid package lasts only one month, so I lost 1.818 Baht altogether ... There's nothing they can do about it.

I'm now checking out other carriers.

[bangkokburning]

I am sure there are issues as this appears to be NA satellite based. Check it out checkitouters, I 'm too lazy but I did bookmark it days ago.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/03/viasat-exede-review/

[Pib]

As FYI, here's a Tethering 101 article which talks about using a smartphone's hotspot function...that is, using the phone to pickup an internet signal and the smartphone acting as a wired or Wifi router for your computer/tablet. Although the article talks use on U.S. networks, I think it does a good job of generically describing the hotspot function becoming common on more and more smartphones. Link