Sophon Internet Plans/pricing

[tropo]

CAT have new speeds on their HiNET packages. (and I mean direct with CAT).

7 Mb/s down / 1 Mb/s up - with 5:1 contention ratio @ 1550 month (ex.vat). Installation is 2000. 12 month contract.

I'm thinking about ditching Sophon 2/1 Mb/s Premier (at the same price) for the above.

edit: CAT install is ADSL. Sophon is co-ax (any1 actually got FIBRE?). So not 100% like-for-like connection.... saying that I bet the DSLAM with the ADSL is located in the main CAT tower and that it's well looked after with a decent UPS system etc.

edit2: for 1/2 the price there's True's offer. Hmmm.. torrents blocked & messing about with proxies = no thanks.

Here's a little (recent) story which may help you if you decide to go with CAT. I signed up for the 1550 baht 7Mb/1Mb service and it was installed a week later. There were problems with it so a tech came over and immediately changed me from username .sc (standard connection) to .p (premier)... stating it was much better. I had no idea that there were two levels available because on their HiNet brochures there's no indication of it.

Perhaps they hook people up to .sc by default and upgrade them to .p if they complain.

[tropo]

Not sure why you have issues with true. I have 14dn & 1.4up 690baht per month. I stream slinbox from florida 24/7 with no issues. Ports are open for uttorent and i never need a proxy.

It is interesting that even lousy connections can do alright on bittorrents.

[Jayman]

Not sure why you have issues with true. I have 14dn & 1.4up 690baht per month. I stream slinbox from florida 24/7 with no issues. Ports are open for uttorent and i never need a proxy.

It is interesting that even lousy connections can do alright on bittorrents.

I would hardly call my True connection lousy. So far it's the most stable one I've had in the past 8 years.

[yankee99]

CAT have new speeds on their HiNET packages. (and I mean direct with CAT).

7 Mb/s down / 1 Mb/s up - with 5:1 contention ratio @ 1550 month (ex.vat). Installation is 2000. 12 month contract.

I'm thinking about ditching Sophon 2/1 Mb/s Premier (at the same price) for the above.

edit: CAT install is ADSL. Sophon is co-ax (any1 actually got FIBRE?). So not 100% like-for-like connection.... saying that I bet the DSLAM with the ADSL is located in the main CAT tower and that it's well looked after with a decent UPS system etc.

edit2: for 1/2 the price there's True's offer. Hmmm.. torrents blocked & messing about with proxies = no thanks.

Here's a little (recent) story which may help you if you decide to go with CAT. I signed up for the 1550 baht 7Mb/1Mb service and it was installed a week later. There were problems with it so a tech came over and immediately changed me from username .sc (standard connection) to .p (premier)... stating it was much better. I had no idea that there were two levels available because on their HiNet brochures there's no indication of it.

Perhaps they hook people up to .sc by default and upgrade them to .p if they complain.

I would recommend true ultra if available in your area. Why pay over twice the price for half the speed? As far as i know they give everyone the best service by default

[Satcommlee]

TRUE are notorious for saying they don't have service at your location, don't believe a word they say..

I went in to get 100 Mb cable line and was told they don't have service at my house, I then asked "what about ADSL?", same reply "No have!"...

My reply.. "Then I guess there is no need to pay this bill I have in my hand for your ADSL service I've had for 2 years!"

100 meg line was installed next day!

Same thing happened to my neighbour.... When I sent him in with my bill, he got installed next day too.

Edited February 5, 2013 by Satcommlee

[tropo]

I would recommend true ultra if available in your area. Why pay over twice the price for half the speed? As far as i know they give everyone the best service by default

They cannot service my area. I've tried everyone else over 2 years - I would have given them a whirl too if it were possible.

I'm certainly not as confident as you are that they are better than all the other services. You never know until you try a service out which unfortunately cannot be done until you've paid for installation costs and signed a contract. One person on the same service can have a totally different experience than another depending on their area and how many people are sharing. I can also vary from day to day and week to week.

The main reason I pay for premier services is that I'm not sharing as much. Raw speed is not my concern.

Having said that, speed doesn't mean much as far as a good internet connection is concerned. You need to measure the quality of your service. High maximum speeds can accompany low troughs and delays and be quite unstable. I just got rid of my 9Mb TOT standard service because it was nearly useless.

Do some testing here to see how good your connection really is:

http://myspeed.visualware.com/index.php

[tropo]

Not sure why you have issues with true. I have 14dn & 1.4up 690baht per month. I stream slinbox from florida 24/7 with no issues. Ports are open for uttorent and i never need a proxy.

It is interesting that even lousy connections can do alright on bittorrents.

I would hardly call my True connection lousy. So far it's the most stable one I've had in the past 8 years.

Sure, but I wouldn't judge a service by bittorrent downloads. Even my really bad TOT service did OK on torrents.

[Jayman]

Not sure why you have issues with true. I have 14dn & 1.4up 690baht per month. I stream slinbox from florida 24/7 with no issues. Ports are open for uttorent and i never need a proxy.

It is interesting that even lousy connections can do alright on bittorrents.

I would hardly call my True connection lousy. So far it's the most stable one I've had in the past 8 years.

Sure, but I wouldn't judge a service by bittorrent downloads. Even my really bad TOT service did OK on torrents.

No, I certainly don't judge it by that. Holding regular voip calls and streaming media in real-time is a much better way to judge your connection and on all accounts I'm quite pleased with mine.

The install was free for signing a 1 yr contract and they even gave us a cable box for true cable with 72 channels and wired it into another room from my internet connection for no extra fees.

Sent from my GT-I9100T

[tropo]

No, I certainly don't judge it by that. Holding regular voip calls and streaming media in real-time is a much better way to judge your connection and on all accounts I'm quite pleased with mine.

The install was free for signing a 1 yr contract and they even gave us a cable box for true cable with 72 channels and wired it into another room from my internet connection for no extra fees.

Sent from my GT-I9100T

You certainly got a good deal. CAT charged me 2200 baht to install and I have to pay 6 months in advance because I don't own my place. No wonder we don't hear from too many members with CAT.

3BB charged me 1000 just to move even after being with them for 5 years. No loyalty bonus there.

[RandomSand]

It would be helpful if we tested our connections for traffic shaping wouldn't it ?

I suspect that 3BB also employ some traffic shaping, which is no bad thing considering they have direct links to some tier-1 US networks.

Test away: http://broadband.mpi...ency/bttest.php

I can't test my Sophon line as router down. I'm sure someone won't mind testing their CAT line ;-)

Edited February 6, 2013 by RandomSand

[yankee99]

I would recommend true ultra if available in your area. Why pay over twice the price for half the speed? As far as i know they give everyone the best service by default

They cannot service my area. I've tried everyone else over 2 years - I would have given them a whirl too if it were possible.

I'm certainly not as confident as you are that they are better than all the other services. You never know until you try a service out which unfortunately cannot be done until you've paid for installation costs and signed a contract. One person on the same service can have a totally different experience than another depending on their area and how many people are sharing. I can also vary from day to day and week to week.

The main reason I pay for premier services is that I'm not sharing as much. Raw speed is not my concern.

Having said that, speed doesn't mean much as far as a good internet connection is concerned. You need to measure the quality of your service. High maximum speeds can accompany low troughs and delays and be quite unstable. I just got rid of my 9Mb TOT standard service because it was nearly useless.

Do some testing here to see how good your connection really is:

http://myspeed.visua...e.com/index.php

First is to los angeles and the second to singapore. I tested EU and its better then the usa. For me streaming live tv from the states is my main concern. With my isp i can do that so i am happy. The only thing that lags sometimes is youtube and i believe its their servers.

[tropo]

LOL. Couldn't you make them any bigger? (How do you post such big files - I though they were automatically resized as thumbnails?)

Notice you only got 1.55 Mbps to the Los Angeles server, yet your quality of service was 80%. Of course if you tested it many times you'll probably find it's all over the place. If you check the graph tabs you'll see how steady your stream was.

I was impressed with your upload speed on both tests.

What exactly is the service you tested?

[wpcoe]

If you are in a True office inquiring if they have service to your home, ask them to show you the map of your street/soi on their screen. Not sure if it's universal, but in Hua Hin when I approached them about signing up for DOCSIS (cable) internet, they showed a satellite photo of my soi very much like Google Earth with my townhouse with a green checkmark. I seem t recall there were different colored lines running down the soi, and I assumed one was for ADSL and one was for cable, or maybe one was for TrueOnline and one was for TrueVisions?

Worth a try?

[avidflyer]

About a year ago the CAT people told me that Sophon BB was now the marketing agent for CAT HiNET. The folks st SophonBB told me that, yes, same/same.

I have been using SophonBB in South Pattaya for a about a year and the service is very good. International speeds are inconsistent but generally okay. I have the Premium 2/1 at 1690tb per mo.

When I went in to their office in January and was chatting with the new lady who speaks English well, she said that they plan to upgrade their service soon but she didn't know what that "upgrade" would be.

[BlackPuddingBertha]

International speeds are inconsistent but generally okay. I have the Premium 2/1 at 1690tb per mo.

Try the 700B non-premium 4mbs/.5mbs package some time. My bet is that you wont notice the difference if you dont upload huge files often.

[tropo]

About a year ago the CAT people told me that Sophon BB was now the marketing agent for CAT HiNET. The folks st SophonBB told me that, yes, same/same.

I have been using SophonBB in South Pattaya for a about a year and the service is very good. International speeds are inconsistent but generally okay. I have the Premium 2/1 at 1690tb per mo.

When I went in to their office in January and was chatting with the new lady who speaks English well, she said that they plan to upgrade their service soon but she didn't know what that "upgrade" would be.

I had exactly the same service for 6 months last year. I think it's a bit rude charging that much for 2Mb download. It's a bit behind the times. I was more interested in upload speed, but it didn't perform any better than my 3BB connection.

[RandomSand]

Try the 700B non-premium 4mbs/.5mbs package some time. My bet is that you wont notice the difference if you dont upload huge files often.

I had that package and found it was generally about 512mbit/s on a single download.

Upgraded to 2:1 premium and found the speeds were as advertised.

I have the Premium 2/1 at 1690tb per mo.

When I went in to their office in January and was chatting with the new lady who speaks English well, she said that they plan to upgrade their service soon but she didn't know what that "upgrade" would be.

Well, CAT are now offering DSL based HiNET services at the same prices but with higher with speeds.

2:1 service @ 1550m gets boost of 5mbit/s down to new speed 7:1

3:1 service @ 2290m gets boost of 5mbit/s down to new speed 8:1

4:1 service @ 3200m gets boost of 5mbit/s down to new speed 9:1

6:1 service @ 4500m gets boost of 4mbit/s down to new speed 10:1

8:1 service @ 7200m gets boost of 4mbit/s down to new speed 12:1

2:2 service @ 2250m now priced @ 1950m (G.SHDSL)

prices are ex. sales tax.

Edited February 10, 2013 by RandomSand

[BlackPuddingBertha]

I had that package and found it was generally about 512mbit/s on a single download.

Upgraded to 2:1 premium and found the speeds were as advertised.

I regularly get the 4mbs advertised.

Currently still getting 10mbs/1mbs though.

[RandomSand]

Perhaps they hook people up to .sc by default and upgrade them to .p if they complain.

They haven't built a nation-wide pricing structure based on "if they complain" !

The .sc packages are not advertised in English. They are listed on the CAT www -but only in Thai- http://www.cat.net.th/hinet/promotion.html .The only .sc packages marketed in English in Pattaya are done via Sophon.

The .p packages are available through Sophon or CAT directly in Pattaya.

However; On the info sheet I got in the CAT building; It's not clear via the English marketing if it's a standard or premium service. I asked and they said premium.

Edited February 10, 2013 by RandomSand

[tropo]

Perhaps they hook people up to .sc by default and upgrade them to .p if they complain.

They haven't built a nation-wide pricing structure based on "if they complain" !

The .sc packages are not advertised in English. They are/were listed on the CAT www -but only in Thai. The only .sc packages marketed in English in Pattaya are done via Sophon.

The .p packages are available through Sophon or CAT directly in Pattaya.

However; It's not clear via the English marketing if it's a standard or premium service.

I disagree and it sounds like you're confused.

I can assure you that I bought the CAT 7Mb/1Mb HiNet package on the English brochure. It was obviously the .sc package because that is exactly what they gave me. When I complained they upgraded me to .p which I didn't even know existed.

They certainly are building their business by not disclosing the facts to foreigners and doing exactly what they did with me. If they weren't doing this they would make it clear in English as they have several English promotional flyers. The English flyers don't disclose the .sc/.p availability or what the difference is. The flyers state a contention ration of 5/1. That doesn't sound very .sc does it?

Perhaps you could explain the difference between .p and .sc. All they told me (when they changed my username) was that it was better.

Edited February 10, 2013 by tropo

[RabC]

Yes please what the hell is .sc and .p?

[RandomSand]

Perhaps you could explain the difference between .p and .sc. All they told me (when they changed my username) was that it was better.

Yes I might be a bit confused on this one. I really don't doubt your experience.

A far as I know; the .p has a lower contention ratio (less users per server) than the .sc

They give some info on their www on the .sc / .p ...http://www.cat.net.th/hinet/setup.html

It seems that .sc is aimed at former Maxnet customers with TT&T lines (and is also available in Pattaya via Sophon)

They certainly are building their business by not disclosing the facts to foreigners and doing exactly what they did with me. If they weren't doing this they would make it clear in English as they have several English promotional flyers. The English flyers don't disclose the .sc/.p availability or what the difference is. The flyers state a contention ration of 5/1. That doesn't sound very .sc does it?

You've hit the nail on he head on the delivery to foreigners with this one.

Yes please what the hell is .sc and .p?

Standard & Premium.

Basically more .sc users have to share a given "backbone" cable and ISP router than .p would

Edited February 10, 2013 by RandomSand

[innerspace]

Did your bill go up when they upgraded you to .p?

If not they were initially charging you for premium and providing atandard, until you complained.

[tropo]

Perhaps you could explain the difference between .p and .sc. All they told me (when they changed my username) was that it was better.

Yes I might be a bit confused on this one. I really don't doubt your experience.

A far as I know; the .p has a lower contention ratio (less users per server) than the .sc

They give some info on their www on the .sc / .p ...http://www.cat.net.th/hinet/setup.html

It seems that .sc is aimed at former Maxnet customers with TT&T lines (and is also available in Pattaya via Sophon)

They certainly are building their business by not disclosing the facts to foreigners and doing exactly what they did with me. If they weren't doing this they would make it clear in English as they have several English promotional flyers. The English flyers don't disclose the .sc/.p availability or what the difference is. The flyers state a contention ration of 5/1. That doesn't sound very .sc does it?

You've hit the nail on he head on the delivery to foreigners with this one.

Yes please what the hell is .sc and .p?

Standard & Premium.

Basically more .sc users have to share a given "backbone" cable and ISP router than .p would

I know what .sc and .p stand for.

.sc = standard connection

.p = premier or platinum

The question is, what is the difference?

On their flyer they claim that the 7Mb/1Mb connection has a contention ratio of 5 to 1. This is already low and one reason why I was surprised about the changeover from .sc to .p

The tech guy who came over to change it admitted that .sc was lousy as he was using one at his house.

I have a new line straight in from the street.

I didn't think CAT supplied internet on TT&T or TOT lines. Even at the condo where I was living 7 years ago the CAT adsl line was a dedicated line. I just looked back at the old password and it was .p

Edited February 10, 2013 by tropo

[pattayamarc]

I just moved into a townhouse in soi khopai, pattaya. i trade the financial markets, so i need a second internet provider as backup. the owner already had true internet installed (internet through cable). in my old condo before i had sophon internet (also cable), which i seldom had a problem with, so i had the guys from sophon install a second cable to my house and am now working with true and sophon as backup.

i know that sophon is a cat reseller, but i assumed true internet through cable is a totally different provider. what was weird though, is that about two weeks ok, both internet connections were down at the same time and went back up at about the same time. is true internet also a cat reseller? am i actually connected to the same provider through two different cables?

[Satcommlee]

I just moved into a townhouse in soi khopai, pattaya. i trade the financial markets, so i need a second internet provider as backup. the owner already had true internet installed (internet through cable). in my old condo before i had sophon internet (also cable), which i seldom had a problem with, so i had the guys from sophon install a second cable to my house and am now working with true and sophon as backup.

i know that sophon is a cat reseller, but i assumed true internet through cable is a totally different provider. what was weird though, is that about two weeks ok, both internet connections were down at the same time and went back up at about the same time. is true internet also a cat reseller? am i actually connected to the same provider through two different cables?

This is probably down to a power cut in the same locale... If you want to stay on Cable, then I suggest using ADSL as a back-up, because ADSL is powered from the exchange.

I'm in a similar situation where I need redundant internet for work, I have TRUE 50 meg as a main line and 3BB premier ADSL as a backup.. When the power goes out I have to switch to a Petrol Generator when the 20 minutes of UPS backup runs out, but I find that the True DOCSIS cable service also fails at the same time but 3BB ADSL always seems to stay up.

[RandomSand]

This is probably down to a power cut in the same locale... If you want to stay on Cable, then I suggest using ADSL as a back-up, because ADSL is powered from the exchange.

I'm in a similar situation where I need redundant internet for work, I have TRUE 50 meg as a main line and 3BB premier ADSL as a backup.. When the power goes out I have to switch to a Petrol Generator when the 20 minutes of UPS backup runs out, but I find that the True DOCSIS cable service also fails at the same time but 3BB ADSL always seems to stay up.

Good information, Thank You

[brummiebob]

True and Tot maybe on a different infrastructure, using their own cables and all but they might go down at the same time since there all seem to peer out of Thailand at the same point with CAT

http://www.cat.net.th/map/internetmap.html