I will be relocating from U.S.A to Chiangmai in about 6 months and desperately need some guidance in obtaining a workable ISP (dial-up, DSL and/or satellite).

It's, imperative that I have internet connectivity as my business depends on it. Presently I have a satellite Earthlink system and understand Earthlink does not service S.E. Asia.

I've heard that connecting to the internet, at best, is a so-so thing in Chiangmai. If this is true; what would my options be? Also, what costs would I expect upon using any of the available ISP's? (This is an important factor).

I am "not" literate in computer jargon, so, please, I'd really appreciate it if you could furnish any info that may prove helpful in, "layman's terms".

Your Help is Really Appreciated.

Thank You

It depends where in Chiang Mai you set up house.

If you are hoping to work from home and depend on the internet, your best option at the moment is to locate in the city center where you can subscribe to a cable modem connection from TRUE. I subscribed to this service while living in the center and it was the most reliable connection I have heard anyone having here in Thailand, including Bangkok.

If you are looking to live outside of town, you are left to ADSL, and again, depending on the area, the service can be very erratic and/or slow.

Which providers are available depends on which phone line is connected to your house - some houses have lines from telephone provider TT&T, and some houses from provider TOT. They in turn have their own ADSL services, as well as they lease their lines out to external ISPs. Which one is better is difficult to say as you get different reports from different areas. Their more expensive packages guarantee a lower contention ratio (less people share the same line to the ISP, which means your speeds will be more stable and not go up and down depending on what your neighbours are doing. Then again, if you are in the right place, a cheaper package can work really well (depending on if/how much/how many of/ your neighbours are online)

You will need to do more research once you are here.

If dialup is sufficient, you could go for Csloxinfo dialup packages, they used to sell 63 hour prepaid packages for a set price, and that service was very reliable for dialup (this is about 2 years ago, but I should think it hasnt changed today).

The cheaper dialup packages are generally really poor, and you definitely notice when the kids get off school and start chatting / playing online games.

It depends where in Chiang Mai you set up house.

If you are hoping to work from home and depend on the internet, your best option at the moment is to locate in the city center where you can subscribe to a cable modem connection from TRUE. I subscribed to this service while living in the center and it was the most reliable connection I have heard anyone having here in Thailand, including Bangkok.

If you are looking to live outside of town, you are left to ADSL, and again, depending on the area, the service can be very erratic and/or slow.

Which providers are available depends on which phone line is connected to your house - some houses have lines from telephone provider TT&T, and some houses from provider TOT. They in turn have their own ADSL services, as well as they lease their lines out to external ISPs. Which one is better is difficult to say as you get different reports from different areas. Their more expensive packages guarantee a lower contention ratio (less people share the same line to the ISP, which means your speeds will be more stable and not go up and down depending on what your neighbours are doing. Then again, if you are in the right place, a cheaper package can work really well (depending on if/how much/how many of/ your neighbours are online)

You will need to do more research once you are here.

If dialup is sufficient, you could go for Csloxinfo dialup packages, they used to sell 63 hour prepaid packages for a set price, and that service was very reliable for dialup (this is about 2 years ago, but I should think it hasnt changed today).

The cheaper dialup packages are generally really poor, and you definitely notice when the kids get off school and start chatting / playing online games.