As you will all know texting Thailand from the UK is expensive, 35p a text on my tariff. I previously used Localphone app as a cheap alternative and saved a fortune doing this .

Localphone have recently told me the Thai government now block incoming texts via this method as it was depriving AIS and Dtac of money!

As such Im curious to any other ways at the minute to send cheaper texts from the UK to Thailand?

Apologies if covered before but I cannot see anywhere.

If its from/to a smart phone just get the whatsapp messenger, its free and you can send photo's, video and audio clips.

If its from/to a smart phone just get the whatsapp messenger, its free and you can send photo's, video and audio clips.

Thanks for the answer.

I should have included the phone she currently has is not a smartphone. When she was in the UK she had a brand new Samsung s3 which we intended to use in Thailand. It seems no one in Buriram is capable of unlocking it however!

Stuck with an old copy for time being....

Lyca Mobile

2p a min to landlines

6p a min to mob

12p per SMS

www.fishtext.com

It may be more cost-effective both in the long run, and when considering the cost of return SMSes - I assume you would like your friend to be able to send messages from Thailand to you in the UK - to either fund the unlocking of the SGS3, or fund the purchase of an inexpensive, even used, Android phone, and associated data plan assuming limited access to WiFi - to facilitate the previously recommended apps like WhatsApp!.

A reply SMS from Thailand is at least 5 baht per, with some providers as high as 10 baht per.

You may be able to get an unlock code for the SGS3 from the service provider? Or it should be relatively easy to get unlocked here, even in Buriram, as it seems a shame to just be sitting on such a full feature phone?

Oraneg are currently doing a PAYG promotion 15p per SMS ontop of that if you topup 30 then you get 240 free international calling minutes, check it out http://www1.orange.co.uk/service_plans/payasyougo/payg_camel_costs.html

The problem with these interrnet sites that charge cheap for SMS is that you cannot reply directly to the sender as it is normally sent from a aweird number like 91000

I am pretty sure you can use SMS services, like Telemessage, which allow you to originate an SMS on a variety of platforms: mobile, PC, Android, web, via email which are then delivered to a phone in Thailand for ~ 8.3 pence per. These show up on the recipient's phone as coming from any mobile number you choose, so that it is easy for them to reply. But a reply SMS from Thailand to the U.K. might cost ~ 10.7 baht per.

If she is with DTAC/Happy, you get 50 free SMS messages per month to any DTAC SIM via their web services. I think it's 2 baht per message to other carriers. I have a Happy SIM on roaming to receive SMS from Thailand, so it costs them the price of a local SMS to send to me and costs me between nothing and 2 baht per msg to reply. The Fishtext App is also useful.