Upstream/downstream Speeds 3G And Wifi

[vulcan903]

Got the chance to work remotely from Thailand and split my time between work and holiday. I have to take my laptop which has Webex VPN and connect in to our Cisco VPN.

Any ideas what the speeds are like as I will use a IP phone via a headset and webex for video conf calls. Will either good 3G and or wifi support?

[monty]

Very location dependent.

At the moment all three 3G operators are still offering 3G on their "temporary trial" frequencies (900 Mhz for AIS, 850 Mhz for Dtac and True), so the main problem seems to be that in busy area's speeds can go down dramatically.

In slightly less dense populated area's it seems to work perfectly fine.

As my True cable (docsis) is down I'm using my back up True 3G connection and am getting following speeds:

Which should be perfectly fine for what you would need. Skype certainly works perfectly fine, with or without video.

Location is about 3 km outside the center of Pattaya.

In the next 6 months we likely can expect improvements on this, especially in the busy area's, as the 2100 Mhz band has been successfully auctioned and all operators are deploying their systems at the very moment.

[RandomSand]

According to; http://www.webex.com...p_bandwidth.pdf , the bandwidth needed for sending a presentation share is very low and achievable with most connections in Thailand However; the bandwidth needed for HQ video upload is 1.5 Mbits/s.

To fully support what you're doing - without hiccups - would mean getting a high quality wired connection.... Example; True Online DOCIS 50Mbs comes with a 5Mbs upload @ B2,799 per month. CAT Telecom's G.SHDSL is a symetrical 2Mbs link @ B2,250 monthly.

Whether you'd actually get these upload speeds internationally is another matter. Example; I have CAT 2Mbs up / 1 Mbs down Premium service but would only rely on it as 1Mb/s / 0.5Mbs for bandwidth critical international applications.

Perhaps someone using the Cisco solutions can chip-in.

edit: You could try monitoring your bandwidth use with an utility. Try "Networx" is running Windows (http://www.softperfect.com/products/networx/manual/?lang=English)

[monty]

On another 3G connection I have (AIS, the one suffering most from congestion as it uses 3G in the same frequency band as it's voice services):

Another thing to consider, all 3G operators have unlimited packages, however they all have a fair usage limit (depending on the price of the package), of 1,3,5 or 7 GB/month (combined up/down traffic).

When you hit this limit, speed is reduced rendering the connection useless for video conferencing. On AIS and Dtac voice should still work (fair use speed 384 kbps), but on some of the True packages fair use speed is only 64 kbps.

Oh, my 14 Mbps/1.4Mbps True docsis connection seems to be very reliable reaching it's upload speed limit, likely there is much less congestion on the upload links compared to the download links...

[JakeBKK]

You can top up all data plans with "booster - packages" , if you need more high-speed bandwith. a 1 GB booster is around 150THB (DTAC)

[Pib]

I get pretty good 3G speeds on DTAC 850MHz over here in western Bangkok (west side of Chao Phrayo River). I use a Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 smartphone. Below are two Speedtest.net results...one from 2 Dec 12 and one from a few minutes ago/6 Dec 12. Note: your results may (probably will) vary depending on location and carrier.

2Dec

6Dec

[lomatopo]

I've been hitting double digits with Happy (DTAC) 3G, perhaps as a result of a new modem/baseband I flashed?

[vulcan903]

Thanks for the info so far.

As long as the voice VPN works well thats fine for me. My company has just deployed Webex so a high percentage of employees are still "shy" to do video and share desktop apps etc.

I guess I will only eat into the bandwidth when taking voice and video I guess, but can always top up with boosters.

Location...I might take a serviced appartment for a month in BKK which has it's own wifi, otherwise the GF might suggest a more local location to her which is Chai Nat so I will then be working off a dongle broadcasting wifi (I can't connect the dongle as the laptop has Safeboot on)

True H seems to be the better/less congested operator but I will have to find out if they are any good up in Chai Nat.

[monty]

Best bet seems to get a multi band dongle (ZTE has some), a wifi router taking a usb 3G dongle (d-link dwr 112 is a good cheap one).

With this set up you get a standard home network (both lan and wifi) fed from your usb dongle.

Then experiment with the 3 main providers, simcards are cheap, and they all have cheap 1 day packages to try...

Sent from my GT-I9001 using Thaivisa Connect App

[JakeBKK]

I'' use a HTC LTE ( 4G) phone with dtac. in BKK speed is on average 15 MB and even in rural si ratcha 5-9 MB - i'm still looking for that 42 MB spot in bangkok -any1 knows where that place is?

[vulcan903]

I have a Samsung dual SIM with 900/2100 capability on both SIMs so I could pop a SIM and create a wireless hotspot to my laptop. What are the operators like with tethering in Thailand as here in the UK some do, some don't. Otherwise I can use a dongle and Tendra Wifi unit and create a network. My GF has the dongle and wifi but does not use it so always plan B.

I'll test each operator next month when in Chai Nat then go back to my employer and but my case forward for remote (very!) working!

I work from home now so really it's no different if working from Thailand does not impact my work as a Project Manager.