Which Prepaid Phone Sim Card Recommended?

[ernst42]

Hi all,

which mobile phone operator would you recommend for a prepaid SIM card in BKK + sometimes the provinces. Only calls within Thailand will be made.

I used to go for AIS 1-2-call but what about the competitors like Orange or DTAC?

Cheers, Ernie.

[geordie]

I have been using 1-2-call for 4 years and i have never had a problem. I also live in a village in the northeast.

[lopburi3]

I suspect it makes more difference on what fits your use. We have used DTAC Happy cards for grandchildren (teenage) with the 5 baht first minute, 25 stang each additional. For those who use for business (short calls) that would not be the right option but others are available. There is also a Baby sim which seem to require less money to keep active and might fit travelers. Both AIS and DTAC have good coverage.

[sierra01]

Not sure about the calling cost side of it but AIS (1-2-call) has the best coverage, followed by Dtac then Orange.

In my wifes village, near Korat, my Orange sim has no coverage, her 1-2-call sim has 5 bars.

[Oishi]

Hi all,

which mobile phone operator would you recommend for a prepaid SIM card in BKK + sometimes the provinces. Only calls within Thailand will be made.

I used to go for AIS 1-2-call but what about the competitors like Orange or DTAC?

Cheers, Ernie.

Hi Ernie

Doesn’t really matter although AIS 1 2 Call has the best coverage on paper it might be a DTAC antenna that is closer to your home.

If you are ever going to use WAP or GPRS then go for AIS since DTAC has a proxy block on their system, this might in some cases block for other WAP sites outside their list of allowed sites…I am talking about mobile phone and not a laptop GPRS card.

I use 3 Sim cards prepaid and the only one that seems to have regular problems is Orange….not to much with the voice service, but non voice service like WAP or MMS hangs a lot of times.

Since the prices are so low and it is a prepaid card you are after, it doesn’t really matter. Because you can buy a AIS card and if that doesn’t work as good as you want it to, dump it and buy DTAC instead or Orange next time you are at the shop.

Stay away from Hutch and Thai Mobile since it seems there days are numbered.

Thai mobile has only 100.000 customers at a cost of 3 billion baht so they might sell or close the thing.

Hutch is a system that is…well to say it nicely…not good.

A lot of speculation going on, they have lost a lot of customers and expensive marketing campaign haven’t really paid off. They also need an expansion of coverage and antennas is a heavy cost…not sure they Chinese will pay for that.

[udon]

DTAC, never had a problem and I also rarely use AIS , but prefer to make profits for DTAC & not Toxin & family.

[Scottbiker1976]

I think 12call is your best option, it covers almost whole Thailand........i use it always, never had problem with it and prices are also good........

[sbk]

On Koh Phangan the best coverage is from AIS, if you want to use Orange at our place you have to walk out to the sandbar and make the call from there as there is no signal on land. My friend has DTAC and they have quite a few "blind spots" on the island.

So, if you are going to be spending anytime in an isolated area, 12call is the way to go. In Bangkok I'd probably go with DTAC too.

[hereforgood]

Have used all 3 you mention with no problems In Bkk, Pattaya or Phuket.

[Gary A]

We live in the boonies of Loei province. I use AIS and my wife uses D-Tac. We both have nearly full signals and we have never been anywhere where it seemed to make any difference. I can't tell any difference in the quality of the calls.

[britmaveric]

12call is the best - don't look no further!!