I currently have TOT as an IP via a landline but, by year end, may be in a slightly rural location with no landline service.

What are the options to give a desktop PC a connection. Satellite? Air Cards? (don't know their limitations)

CAT cdma

http://www.catteleco...ice.php?cat=588

CAT CDMA, one of the most advanced services offered by CAT, provides mobile voice service, wireless multimedia and hi-speed internet via 3G CDMA technology. With CDMA2000 1xEV-DO (Rev. A) network, CAT CDMA offers mobile data connection of speed up to 3.1 Mbps* in 51 provinces in most Thailand’s regions. Users thus can enjoy the freedom lifestyle while stay connected anywhere anytime via fast reliable CAT CDMA services.

*Depend on location, signal strength and number of concurrent users in the area

If you can get a cellphone signal, more than likely an air card will also work.

Ive been on an air card for almost a year now and DTAC has been great.

I use an AIS air card and even though the bandwidth speed is limited to 397Kb (?) it is almost as good as a landline service!

IPStar

Thanks for your positive responses gentlemen. Been out in the sticks! The location has cellphone coverage so perhaps an Air Card service will suffice but the costs might be higher than land-line?

Thanks for your positive responses gentlemen. Been out in the sticks! The location has cellphone coverage so perhaps an Air Card service will suffice but the costs might be higher than land-line?

Just a little bit higher... roughly 1000 times the cost if you're doing a purely mathematical comparison...

Fortunately a real world comparison works out a little better. It depends very much on your usage habits.

If you're a casual user with a monthly usage of, e.g., 1-5Gb of data your costs should be roughly the same as having a land line (< 1,000 baht). 5-10Gb/month starts to get more expensive (10Gb @ about 1800 baht would be roughly double what you'd pay for a hardline).

For a fun comparison - if you had a 9Mbps hardline and maxed it out, you'd get about 100Gb/day. 100Gb/day at 3G prices would cost you about 18,000 baht/day.

Thanks for your positive responses gentlemen. Been out in the sticks! The location has cellphone coverage so perhaps an Air Card service will suffice but the costs might be higher than land-line?

Just because there is cellphone coverage doesn't mean there is 3G coverage; only 2G, which is very slow. Only 55Kbps (GPRS), 220Kbps(Edge), or 384Kbps(Edge+). It depends on the carrier and location.

Awhile ago I have read discussion about air cards in Thailand somewhere at livejournal.

As far as I remember there is no direct connection between speed and place.

Some peoples were complaning about low speed (under 1Kb) even in city limits, some others reported really good speed (3-5Kb) at the islands.

Also there is a chance to get speed ajusted by ISP based on connection time or traffic (i.e. high speed when you get first Gb of traffic, then it will go down).