True Upgrade Packages

[Millian]

Looks like true have upgraded thier packages in answer to 3BB's upgrade.

I've just jumped from 4MB to 10MB

[alphason]

Same here with TOT - jumped also from 6mb to 10mb, only noticed yesterday so don't know when it happened.

I only noticed because my speed has been terrible since yesterday so checked in the router, worse than its been for months if this is due to the upgrade I would rather step back to the faster/better 6MB service. When I first started on TOT i was on (7mb even though paid for 6) but the service was poor and they fixed it, at which time I noticed the 7 was dropped back to 6.

[Digitalbanana]

No chnage for my True, still on 7mbps for a 599THB account advertised as 10mbps on their web site - time to start complaining yet?>?

[Jayman]

No chnage for my True, still on 7mbps for a 599THB account advertised as 10mbps on their web site - time to start complaining yet?>?

Probably need to power cycle your modem for it to take effect if they already switched it on from TRUE. If that doesn't do it, just call 1686 and ask.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I had yet another of my periodic "other worldly" online chats with True Online customer support this afternoon, after I spent 15 minutes on hold with True Online mid-afternoon and no one ever picked up the call from their hold system.

One thing of note from the chat was... the CSR informed me that True Online supposedly had just upgraded my service from the 10 Mbps/1 Mbps cable internet I've had for many months to a new 14 Mbps / 1.4 Mbps plan (presumably at the same 699 baht+ price). That was news to me, as my international connections as late as last night certainly didn't show any noteworthy improvement.

But meanwhile, True Online has been advertising (albeit mostly or entirely in Thai) a group of new package promotions that bundle their True Online cable service with TrueVisions cable TV knowledge package. The lowest priced one is a 15 Mbps / 1.5 Mbps Internet plan combined with True Online's 72 channel package for 899 baht per month plus taxes... There are various other higher priced packages going up the full range of their services.

http://trueonline.truecorp.co.th/packagedetail/234/%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B4%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%A9%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%8B%E0%B9%87%E0%B8%95%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%B8%E0%B9%89%E0%B8%A1_15_Mbps.%E0%B9%81%E0%B8%84%E0%B9%88_899_%E0%B8%9A%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%97_%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%94%E0%B8%B7%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%99_%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%A1%E0%B8%9F%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B5%E0%B8%97%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B9%E0%B8%A7%E0%B8%B4%E0%B8%8A%E0%B8%B1%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%99%E0%B8%AA%E0%B9%8C_72_%E0%B8%8A%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AD%E0%B8%87

From a long online chat, the CSR added these other details that weren't clear from the True Online web page, either because the info wasn't there or it was and I don't read Thai.

--The 72 channels cable TV package is the TrueVisions Knowledge package.

--At least in my situation as a former TrueVisions subscriber who already has the cabling inside and outside my home, there's no installation fee for TrueVisions, but there is a 500 baht equipment deposit on the decoder box.

--The package also includes what True is calling True Fixed Line Plus, which the CSR said would be a new 021... telephone number with the data carried over my cable line. So basically cable phone service, with a 200 baht per month calling allowance for the first 12 months. And a 300 baht installation fee for the phone service.

I believe the above web page, all in Thai, says this package of promotions is being offering thru Nov. 30...

It really mystifies me why True increasingly is becoming mono-lingual in their marketing info, such as the promo web page for their True Online and TrueVisions combo package. I'm not seeing any English version of that web page...and they've built the page based on images so there's no Google or other translating of the info it contains...

[Jayman]

I just signed up for that promo. I got the 15/1.5 with the 72 channels for 899. They ran the cable for free. The modem is in 1 room and the cable box is in another on the other side of the house for the missus. We had to pay the 500thb deposit for the cable box and were told we could have as many cable boxes as we wanted as long as we paid 500thb deposit on each.

I'm in Pattaya and was told that the land line service was not available which really makes no difference to us can we have a land line we never even use.

The one thing I did want to do was upgrade the free knowledge package to the plat HD package and they said that would be an additional 2000+ thb a month so I said no thanks. they also told me I could upgrade my net speed at anytime buy paying for the higher priced plan.

All in all I'm pretty pleased with the service so far. I am still a TRUE adsl customer and when I called to signup for the new cable service the CSR was nice enough to tell me that all ADSL customers would be soon getting a free upgrade but I was not happy with the ADSL as it's spotty.

So far, the cable connection is quite stable and I will be turning off the adsl service in the next week.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I had yet another of my periodic "other worldly" online chats with True Online customer support this afternoon, after I spent 15 minutes on hold with True Online mid-afternoon and no one ever picked up the call from their hold system.

One thing of note from the chat was... the CSR informed me that True Online supposedly had just upgraded my service from the 10 Mbps/1 Mbps cable internet I've had for many months to a new 14 Mbps / 1.4 Mbps plan (presumably at the same 699 baht+ price). That was news to me, as my international connections as late as last night certainly didn't show any noteworthy improvement.

Well, at least the nominal plan speed upgrade does appear to be correct...

I did a regular speed test just after I ended the chat...and got the same 10/1 result I would have expected using one of the SpeedTest.net servers that merely shows the speed of my connection to True under my service plan.

But then, just cuz I was thinking, I rebooted my cable modem and tried the same speed test again... a moment later...and got not the 14/1.4 result the CSR had promised but the slightly better 15/1.5 result (the same one promised in the True Online/TrueVisions combo promotion that I'd been asking them about, but not yet signed up for.)

Be interesting to see tonight if the nominal True Online speed and plan change means anything for international streaming content... I suspect it won't...

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

All in all I'm pretty pleased with the service so far. I am still a TRUE adsl customer and when I called to signup for the new cable service the CSR was nice enough to tell me that all ADSL customers would be soon getting a free upgrade but I was not happy with the ADSL as it's spotty.

So far, the cable connection is quite stable and I will be turning off the adsl service in the next week.

I think a lot depends on one's location. In my case in BKK...I had True DSL originally.... then added cable internet when it first was available, and kept cable and DSL internet for a while while I evaluated True Online's cable...

Then eventually dropped True's DSL to just keep their cable... Then had lousy up-time performance and persistent outages with True cable internet, which led me to reinstate their DSL service as a backup.... and then finally I cut their DSL service again a few months back in a cost-cutting move...

The one reliable thing I've learned about dealing with True over the years is this... If you don't expect much or anything from them, you probably won't be disappointed...

[Jayman]

I had yet another of my periodic "other worldly" online chats with True Online customer support this afternoon, after I spent 15 minutes on hold with True Online mid-afternoon and no one ever picked up the call from their hold system.

One thing of note from the chat was... the CSR informed me that True Online supposedly had just upgraded my service from the 10 Mbps/1 Mbps cable internet I've had for many months to a new 14 Mbps / 1.4 Mbps plan (presumably at the same 699 baht+ price). That was news to me, as my international connections as late as last night certainly didn't show any noteworthy improvement.

Well, at least the nominal plan speed upgrade does appear to be correct...

I did a regular speed test just after I ended the chat...and got the same 10/1 result I would have expected using one of the SpeedTest.net servers that merely shows the speed of my connection to True under my service plan.

But then, just cuz I was thinking, I rebooted my cable modem and tried the same speed test again... a moment later...and got not the 14/1.4 result the CSR had promised but the slightly better 15/1.5 result (the same one promised in the True Online/TrueVisions combo promotion that I'd been asking them about, but not yet signed up for.)

Be interesting to see tonight if the nominal True Online speed and plan change means anything for international streaming content... I suspect it won't...

So I was paying 899 for the TRUE ADSL 9M/1M package that I guess is now upgraded to the 15M package. That same price gets me the doscis version with the 72 channels of tv.

Are you saying you were only being charged 699 for the 9M package? You say 10M for 699 but my bill says it was the 9M/1M package. I wonder if I have been overcharged all this time.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

About the True fixed line plus (cable phone service) that's part of their True Online/TrueVisions package...

The CSR I chatted with...after some long rambling...finally said that because I already had a True/TOT fixed line in my home that I pay 107 baht per month for, that I could drop the True cable phone service from the promo package, if I didn't want it...

But she also said I could also have the cable phone service as part of the package if I wanted it... One difference, she noted, is the cable phone service apparently has no flat monthly fixed charge.... you only pay for calls made (after or beyond the 200 baht per month calling promotion)... unlike the traditional regular fixed phone line service.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

So I was paying 899 for the TRUE ADSL 9M/1M package that I guess is now upgraded to the 15M package. That same price gets me the doscis version with the 72 channels of tv.

Are you saying you were only being charged 699 for the 9M package? You say 10M for 699 but my bill says it was the 9M/1M package. I wonder if I have been overcharged all this time.

Sorry, to be clear, I currently have (or had, I guess) the 10/1 True Online CABLE internet service, not DSL. And the regular monthly price for that 10/1 plan has been 699+ baht per month.

But as of today, I see that True Online seems to now have a new pricing chart for all of their DSL and cable internet services that reflects the speed changes mentioned above... The 10 Mbps plan I was paying 699 baht for now has become a 14/1.4 Mbps plan for 699 baht, and there's now a new lower priced cable plan at 599 baht for 10 Mbps and 512K.

http://trueonline.truecorp.co.th/packagedetail/238

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

It's really kind of weird...in the typical True promotions kind of way...

On their regular True Online packages web page, they're now offering a 15Mbps / 1.5 Mbps cable internet plan for 899+ baht per month.

But then on the separate True promotions page, they seem to be offering the same True Online 15/1.5 Mbps cable internet service PLUS the TrueVisions 72 channel Knowledge package PLUS their True cable phone service for the same 899+ baht per month...

Go figure....

[Jayman]

So I was paying 899 for the TRUE ADSL 9M/1M package that I guess is now upgraded to the 15M package. That same price gets me the doscis version with the 72 channels of tv.

Are you saying you were only being charged 699 for the 9M package? You say 10M for 699 but my bill says it was the 9M/1M package. I wonder if I have been overcharged all this time.

Sorry, to be clear, I currently have (or had, I guess) the 10/1 True Online CABLE internet service, not DSL. And the regular monthly price for that 10/1 plan has been 699+ baht per month.

But as of today, I see that True Online seems to now have a new pricing chart for all of their DSL and cable internet services that reflects the speed changes mentioned above... The 10 Mbps plan I was paying 699 baht for now has become a 14/1.4 Mbps plan for 699 baht, and there's now a new lower priced cable plan at 599 baht for 10 Mbps and 512K.

http://trueonline.tr...ckagedetail/238

I follow now.. Yeah I went for the 15M/1.5M for 899 since I was paying that already and figured the wife would enjoy the free 72 channels.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I should have added, after spending 20 minutes or so chatting online with the True Online rep and going over the details of their promotion package and asking questions to clarify and eventually getting all my questions answered....

The rep said she couldn't sign me up for the promotion. And instead, she'd have to give my phone number to their Sales Dept. and they are supposed to call me back in 3-7 days....

BTW, here's another True web page that spells out the details of the True Online/TrueVisions combo package promotion with a lot of Thai text that can be Google translated...

http://trueonline.truecorp.co.th/activity/entry/609

Edited October 9, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Just an update on things with True...

After yesterday telling me to expect a callback in 3-7 days... True actually called me today (the next day) to schedule the install appointment for a couple days ahead. Good deal for that...

In the course of conversation, they also informed me that in order to have their "Fixed Line Plus" cable phone service that's part of the package, that I'd have to use a True-provided router. And when I asked, they informed me they only had G routers available, no N's.... Not so good for that.

Fortunately, they also offered that I could keep and continue to use my own N Wifi router, and that they could install their G router in so-called bridge mode as an adjunct to my existing D-Link N router. OK, I'll take that as a second best option.

They also said any regular house phone will work with their cable phone service, but that they won't provide a phone device as part of the package. I'd need to get or use one of my own house phones.

Edited October 10, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[sniffdog]

The last days the speed is terrible. I pay for 12mbs (1,400 baht) .... A couple of weeks ago I got full speed on usenet (1.2MBs) now it's like 300KBs. (Sukhumvit 81).

Edited October 10, 2012 by sniffdog

[Dork]

The last days the speed is terrible. I pay for 12mbs (1,400 baht) .... A couple of weeks ago I got full speed on usenet (1.2MBs) now it's like 300KBs. (Sukhumvit 81).

If that's the speed you're getting from a server in Thailand then you must have a local problem. What is the sync rate of your ADSL modem? For a 12Mb package it should be in the range of 14Mb.

[Pib]

Just an update on things with True...

After yesterday telling me to expect a callback in 3-7 days... True actually called me today (the next day) to schedule the install appointment for a couple days ahead. Good deal for that...

In the course of conversation, they also informed me that in order to have their "Fixed Line Plus" cable phone service that's part of the package, that I'd have to use a True-provided router. And when I asked, they informed me they only had G routers available, no N's.... Not so good for that.

Fortunately, they also offered that I could keep and continue to use my own N Wifi router, and that they could install their G router in so-called bridge mode as an adjunct to my existing D-Link N router. OK, I'll take that as a second best option.

They also said any regular house phone will work with their cable phone service, but that they won't provide a phone device as part of the package. I'd need to get or use one of my own house phones.

Didn't know True offered phone service via cable...never heard of that until now. They sure didn't have it in my western Bangkok area when I signed up for their cable TV and internet in June 11 because we asked. Don't know if it was because the system simply didn't do phone also or True is not authorized to provide phone service in our area/moobaan, which I think only TOT is authorized. Also surprised a regular phone would work on the cable service without some sort of device to interface with the service....like how VOIP services like Vonage and many other VOIP companies must a VOIP adapter to convert the internet signal to a phone signal and also provide the approx 20 DC milliamps to power the regular phone. Maybe the router they are providing has that phone capability built-in.

Edited October 11, 2012 by Pib

[sniffdog]

In the last days it's always around 8-9 Mbs. It used to be 12MBs.

[Pib]

In the last days it's always around 8-9 Mbs. It used to be 12MBs.

You have a physical line problem (i.e, funky/corroded connection somewhere between your modem and the DSLAM...maybe the recent rains caused the problem). Your downstream SNR Margin is very bad....in the 10-12db range is when disconnects/slow basic connection problems usually begin to occur....you should be in the 20-30db ballpark. Call your ISP...it ain't going to magically get better unless the problem is a line problem also affecting other people who have called to report the problem (complain) and your problem just happens to get fixed when they are fix the other person's problem. Then again the problem could be solely with your line.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Didn't know True offered phone service via cable...never heard of that until now. They sure didn't have it in my western Bangkok area when I signed up for their cable TV and internet in June 11 because we asked. Don't know if it was because the system simply didn't do phone also or True is not authorized to provide phone service in our area/moobaan, which I think only TOT is authorized. Also surprised a regular phone would work on the cable service without some sort of device to interface with the service....like how VOIP services like Vonage and many other VOIP companies must a VOIP adapter to convert the internet signal to a phone signal and also provide the approx 20 DC milliamps to power the regular phone. Maybe the router they are providing has that phone capability built-in.

Hi Pib... I also hadn't really seen True visibly marketing any cable telephone service in the past... But their press release in Thai that I linked to above on their Internet-TrueVisions package talks about their triple play advantage (Internet, TV and phone service) and their familiar use of the term "convergence."

I think part of the reason they're requiring me to take a True Wifi router of some variety is because it needs to have some kind of telephone interface, at least, that's what the CSR claimed over the phone when we discussed whether I could simply keep my own existing Wifi router and skip adding the True G version. They said I couldn't, if I wanted to use their cable telephone service.

It is a bit of nostalgia, though, since I remember having cable telephone service back in California via Time Warner about 7-8 years ago.... It worked quite well back then during the time I had it. How time flies....

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Here's the smattering of speed test results I got today, about 1 pm BKK time, for my newly arrived 14 Mbps True Online cable internet.

The believable numbers seem to line up around 2 Mbps download from the USA, as shown pretty consistently from the DSL Reports and Microsoft speed tests.

But, I'll try to re-run the same tests in the primetime evening hours at night here...to see how much the results vary then.

Speedtest.net to BKK

Speedtest.net to Los Angeles

DSL Reports Java test to Los Angeles

Microsoft Online USA Speedtest & Analysis

Edited October 11, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[sniffdog]

Well, as it persisted in the morning, I went on chat and the girl confirmed 'data fail'. Then she 'motivated' the line and it went up to 8Mbs (10Mbs in modem). Then talked with the engineer and he came to the apartment and replaced the line.

Now:

Not 30 or even 20 dB but my download from Usenet shot up to 1.6MBs (never had it so fast).

Happy Camper again! Thanks for your involvement.

In the last days it's always around 8-9 Mbs. It used to be 12MBs.

You have a physical line problem (i.e, funky/corroded connection somewhere between your modem and the DSLAM...maybe the recent rains caused the problem). Your downstream SNR Margin is very bad....in the 10-12db range is when disconnects/slow basic connection problems usually begin to occur....you should be in the 20-30db ballpark. Call your ISP...it ain't going to magically get better unless the problem is a line problem also affecting other people who have called to report the problem (complain) and your problem just happens to get fixed when they are fix the other person's problem. Then again the problem could be solely with your line.

[Pib]

Didn't know True offered phone service via cable...never heard of that until now. They sure didn't have it in my western Bangkok area when I signed up for their cable TV and internet in June 11 because we asked. Don't know if it was because the system simply didn't do phone also or True is not authorized to provide phone service in our area/moobaan, which I think only TOT is authorized. Also surprised a regular phone would work on the cable service without some sort of device to interface with the service....like how VOIP services like Vonage and many other VOIP companies must a VOIP adapter to convert the internet signal to a phone signal and also provide the approx 20 DC milliamps to power the regular phone. Maybe the router they are providing has that phone capability built-in.

Hi Pib... I also hadn't really seen True visibly marketing any cable telephone service in the past... But their press release in Thai that I linked to above on their Internet-TrueVisions package talks about their triple play advantage (Internet, TV and phone service) and their familiar use of the term "convergence."

I think part of the reason they're requiring me to take a True Wifi router of some variety is because it needs to have some kind of telephone interface, at least, that's what the CSR claimed over the phone when we discussed whether I could simply keep my own existing Wifi router and skip adding the True G version. They said I couldn't, if I wanted to use their cable telephone service.

It is a bit of nostalgia, though, since I remember having cable telephone service back in California via Time Warner about 7-8 years ago.... It worked quite well back then during the time I had it. How time flies....

Thanks for that info...I just may give True a call and see if they now offer phone service to my moobaan via cable and maybe also talk to them about current promotions. Since it seems their current internet plan promotions that also include TV includes TrueLife/Knowledge package which has few English news/movie channels unless I want to go with their 100Mb plan and get the Platinum package free....no, no, on second thought I don't need a 100Mb speed plan that would probably give about the same international single threaded speed for browsing/live video just like a much lower speed plan such as the 10Mb plan...and the 100Mb speed plan cost B10K per month...ouch! Plus, I would probably have to use a hardwire connection to the router to get the 100Mb speed; I don't want to do that as I primarily use my devices throughout the house.

I definitely want to keep my TrueVisions Platinum plan with the three HD boxes (the 3d box has no monthly charge). I might want to just drop back from my current 20Mb/2Mb plan (B1,299) to the 14Mb/1.4Mb plan (B699) cause I expect the international single threaded speed would be the same except to nearby regional locations like Singapore where the 20Mb would probably be faster due to the more direct connection. I'm pretty much a basic browsing and emailing guy so I don't need a really fast plan. Just thinking, today we think of 10Mb plans as a plan on the slow end of speeds when it wasn't that many years ago when 10Mb plans were the top end speeds....technology marches on.

So many new promotions coming out....sometimes a current customer can switch to them....sometimes the promotions are limited to new customers. But I'm well past my 12 month contract period so that shouldn't be a factor in me switching plans. Thanks for the info and keep us up to date on how it continues to workout for you. Yeap, that 14Mb/1.4Mb plan sounds nice in both speed & price. Cheers.

Edited October 11, 2012 by Pib

[Pib]

It really mystifies me why True increasingly is becoming mono-lingual in their marketing info, such as the promo web page for their True Online and TrueVisions combo package. I'm not seeing any English version of that web page...and they've built the page based on images so there's no Google or other translating of the info it contains...

I've noticed that also. Just another example of how English skills in Thailand are very weak and just don't seem to be getting better. Anyway, I guess what it boils down to is Thai's make up the great, great, great majority of True's customers; they know farangs will use Google Translate (when possible) and their Thai significant other to help in translating/understanding; and making image-based webpages (which Google can't translate) probably look better for advertising purposes whether they sell more product/services or not.

Yeap, English language usage, the common/2nd language of the world, don't get serious consideration in Thailand except among the HiSo's who travel the world and interface with English speaking HiSo's.

[Pib]

no, no, on second thought I don't need a 100Mb speed plan that would probably give about the same international single threaded speed for browsing/live video just like a much lower speed plan such as the 10Mb plan...and the 100Mb speed plan cost B10K per month...ouch! Plus, I would probably have to use a hardwire connection to the router to get the 100Mb speed; I don't want to do that as I primarily use my devices throughout the house.

Whoops..some corrections to my earlier post...it's the 200Mb speed plan that cost B10K; the 100Mb speed plan is a mere B5K.

[Pib]

I just signed up for that promo. I got the 15/1.5 with the 72 channels for 899. They ran the cable for free. The modem is in 1 room and the cable box is in another on the other side of the house for the missus. We had to pay the 500thb deposit for the cable box and were told we could have as many cable boxes as we wanted as long as we paid 500thb deposit on each.

I'm in Pattaya and was told that the land line service was not available which really makes no difference to us can we have a land line we never even use.

The one thing I did want to do was upgrade the free knowledge package to the plat HD package and they said that would be an additional 2000+ thb a month so I said no thanks. they also told me I could upgrade my net speed at anytime buy paying for the higher priced plan.

All in all I'm pretty pleased with the service so far. I am still a TRUE adsl customer and when I called to signup for the new cable service the CSR was nice enough to tell me that all ADSL customers would be soon getting a free upgrade but I was not happy with the ADSL as it's spotty.

So far, the cable connection is quite stable and I will be turning off the adsl service in the next week.

I'm guessing, but I expect this particular promotion which provides a good high speed internet plan along with the most basic TrueVisions TrueLife TV package (few English channels but good for many Thai's) and some free landline minutes is geared to hook people into hopefully upgrading to another TrueVisions TV package later on, which would also mean swapping out the settop boxes to other package/HD boxes (2,000 baht deposit each along with monthly rental/maintenance fee unless you buy the boxes). But hey, that one purpose of promotions....get new business through the front door and then later hopefully sell them more services.

Question: is there a monthly rental/maintenance fee that comes with the TrueLife settop boxes which comes with the promotion?

[Jayman]

I just signed up for that promo. I got the 15/1.5 with the 72 channels for 899. They ran the cable for free. The modem is in 1 room and the cable box is in another on the other side of the house for the missus. We had to pay the 500thb deposit for the cable box and were told we could have as many cable boxes as we wanted as long as we paid 500thb deposit on each.

I'm in Pattaya and was told that the land line service was not available which really makes no difference to us can we have a land line we never even use.

The one thing I did want to do was upgrade the free knowledge package to the plat HD package and they said that would be an additional 2000+ thb a month so I said no thanks. they also told me I could upgrade my net speed at anytime buy paying for the higher priced plan.

All in all I'm pretty pleased with the service so far. I am still a TRUE adsl customer and when I called to signup for the new cable service the CSR was nice enough to tell me that all ADSL customers would be soon getting a free upgrade but I was not happy with the ADSL as it's spotty.

So far, the cable connection is quite stable and I will be turning off the adsl service in the next week.

I'm guessing, but I expect this particular promotion which provides a good high speed internet plan along with the most basic TrueVisions TrueLife TV package (few English channels but good for many Thai's) and some free landline minutes is geared to hook people into hopefully upgrading to another TrueVisions TV package later on, which would also mean swapping out the settop boxes to other package/HD boxes (2,000 baht deposit each along with monthly rental/maintenance fee unless you buy the boxes). But hey, that one purpose of promotions....get new business through the front door and then later hopefully sell them more services.

Question: is there a monthly rental/maintenance fee that comes with the TrueLife settop boxes which comes with the promotion?

No monthly fee for the box. No install fees. Just a 500thb deposit per TV settop box required. Obviously you will get your 500thb back when you return the box. The modem/wifi router was free but is not yours to keep and must also be returned but no deposit was required for that. And if you cancel service within 6 months or something then you are on the hook for the installation costs (few thousand baht I think).

No one pushed me to update the TV. I had to push them for that info which no one even knew and required them to make calls to get that info. They came back that it would be like 2000+thb a month extra to upgrade to plat HD which is what the sat service would cost so I said no thanks.

They were also happy to setup multiple settop boxes (or none at all) as long as we paid the 500thb deposit per box.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Same True Online 14 Mbps cable connection from BKK, speed tests to the USA, but this time at 10:30 pm BKK time:

250 to 300+ Kbps.... Not quite the 2 Mbps of midday hours.

I think it's safe to say, that's certainly not any faster for a primetime USA connection than I'd previously had under True's nominal 10 Mbps plan.

DSL Reports Los Angeles server

Microsoft USA Speedtest

Edited October 11, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

No monthly fee for the box. No install fees. Just a 500thb deposit per TV settop box required. Obviously you will get your 500thb back when you return the box. The modem/wifi router was free but is not yours to keep and must also be returned but no deposit was required for that. And if you cancel service within 6 months or something then you are on the hook for the installation costs (few thousand baht I think).

I was kind of surprised about that, but I'll also be waiting to get my first bill under the new promotion, considering the poor track record that True's CSR folks have for providing accurate information.

When I last was a TrueVisions customer a year or so back, as best as I recall, they were charging for my package PLUS an extra monthly fee for the (then standard) decoder box and an accompanying remote control. I wanna say like an extra 150 baht per month. They also had charged me, back when I first began service with them years before, a deposit on the cable boxes of 2,000 baht a piece.

I'm assuming the new cable boxes they provide under this promotion will be compatible with their new encoding system. So to go from 2000 deposits and 150 extra per month for the box and remote to 500 deposits and the remote and box included in your package would be quite a change.

As far as the broader promotion is concerned, basically, the internet under the 15 Mbps / 1.5 Mbps triple-play promotion package really isn't going to be any faster, even locally, than the standalone 14 Mbps / 1.4 Mbps internet only package that they had automatically upgraded me to this week.... the 699 baht per month cable internet package that previously had been 10/1 Mbps.

So for an extra 200 baht per month (899 vs 699), hopefully, I'll be getting the 200 baht per month of calling time with their cable telephone service as well as their 72 channel Knowledge Package for free. That seems like a decent value all the way around, assuming there are no hidden "gotcha's."

But I agree with Pib about the limited extent to which TrueVisions' Knowledge Package channel lineup is likely to be of interest to most farangs. Even if I were paying for that package at its list price, in my area of BKK, Happy Home Cable offers a far better farang-oriented channels lineup for about 250 baht per month with no decoder box required... yet offers BBC News, Fox News, Universal Channel, Fox Crime, Sony Channel, Animax, Channel V International, SyFy, France 24, Australia Network, TV 5 Monde, NHK World, Arirang Korean and even Fashion TV.

The one downside with HHC, however, is that they have one package and only one package, hence no decoder box required. Thus you can't add on any premium services with them, as best as I understand it. But in my case, given their base channel lineup and what I watch elsewhere online, it's perfectly fine for the price.

Edited October 12, 2012 by TallGuyJohninBKK