Internet Access For My Laptop

[heybruce]

I am planning on visiting Thailand long enough to get a TESL certificate, possibly longer. I would like to be able to get a secure internet connection for my laptop for maintaininig my website, managing finances, gambling, etc. Any suggestions? Are there places with secure WiFi or other internet options that can be paid for by the hour, a short term cellular phone deal that includes internet, or anything else? This qestion may sound nerdy, but I'm a retired engineer and I am a nerd. Thanks for your help.

[phibunmike]

I am planning on visiting Thailand long enough to get a TESL certificate, possibly longer. I would like to be able to get a secure internet connection for my laptop for maintaininig my website, managing finances, gambling, etc. Any suggestions? Are there places with secure WiFi or other internet options that can be paid for by the hour, a short term cellular phone deal that includes internet, or anything else? This qestion may sound nerdy, but I'm a retired engineer and I am a nerd. Thanks for your help.

You could put a GSM card in your notebook, buy a prepaid local SIM card and use GPRS, but not sure how "secure" you want it...

[edd]

You could put a GSM card in your notebook, buy a prepaid local SIM card and use GPRS, but not sure how "secure" you want it...

I use vodafone 750 air card and an AIS ( one to call ) sim card.

The Air card cost me about £75 in the UK.

It gives me about the same speed as dial up.

As to cost, i pay 200 Baht for 60 hours, on prepay, very good value.

The only problem is at week ends when all the kids are on line and it slowes down

Edd

[The Dan Sai Kid]

You could put a GSM card in your notebook, buy a prepaid local SIM card and use GPRS, but not sure how "secure" you want it...

I use vodafone 750 air card and an AIS ( one to call ) sim card.

The Air card cost me about £75 in the UK.

It gives me about the same speed as dial up.

As to cost, i pay 200 Baht for 60 hours, on prepay, very good value.

The only problem is at week ends when all the kids are on line and it slowes down

Edd

What do you use? I have an air car, but I always find the connections so slooooooooow!

EDIT: That should read air card - I've been reading too much Phillip K Dick!

I can hardly access anything, the comp always times out.

What speed do you get? I get 50-55K with dial-up, but I would love to use the air-card up-country!

What sim do you have?

Edited February 18, 2006 by Grant

[edd]

It is an air card [ Sierra wireless air card 750ac] and i use it near Udornthani`up country`Isan.

I have had it as fast as 80k but mostly around 60k, but let me stress when the kids are off school it goes way down.

my sim card is AIS one to call

I must admit when i am in Thailand i miss my Broadband 4meg connection that i have in the uk.

But HAY! i would still rather be in Thailand

[The Dan Sai Kid]

It is an air card [ Sierra wireless air card 750ac] and i use it near Udornthani`up country`Isan.

I have had it as fast as 80k but mostly around 60k, but let me stress when the kids are off school it goes way down.

my sim card is AIS one to call

I must admit when i am in Thailand i miss my Broadband 4meg connection that i have in the uk.

But HAY! i would still rather be in Thailand

I have a Sony Errikson card - it is so hopeless - I get about 9K. Do you think I am doing something wrong?

I have a contract with AIS, my GPRS signal is so crap - it never stays - and it doesn't really matter which location I am in. Udon, Loei, Chiang Maii - all terrible!

Edited February 18, 2006 by Grant

[Guest endure]

[i use vodafone 750 air card and an AIS ( one to call ) sim card.

The Air card cost me about £75 in the UK.

It gives me about the same speed as dial up.

As to cost, i pay 200 Baht for 60 hours, on prepay, very good value.

The only problem is at week ends when all the kids are on line and it slowes down

I'm interested in the prepay GPRS thingy. Do you buy a SIM specifically for use with GPRS or is it just an ordinary phone sim?

[edd]

[i use vodafone 750 air card and an AIS ( one to call ) sim card.

The Air card cost me about £75 in the UK.

It gives me about the same speed as dial up.

As to cost, i pay 200 Baht for 60 hours, on prepay, very good value.

The only problem is at week ends when all the kids are on line and it slowes down

I'm interested in the prepay GPRS thingy. Do you buy a SIM specifically for use with GPRS or is it just an ordinary phone sim?

No when you buy the 1-2-call sim card usually about 500 Baht put it into your phone and dial 1175 for customer service then you follow the directions and choose the option to use the card for internet, decide for 20 hours,40 hours or 60 hours then put the sim card into your air card.

I hope that this helps

Edd

[Guest endure]

Thanks, edd, that's very informative. When you choose the number of hours do you have to pay extra for them or is that included in the 500bt? If you have to pay extra hope do you pay?

[edd]

Thanks, edd, that's very informative. When you choose the number of hours do you have to pay extra for them or is that included in the 500bt? If you have to pay extra hope do you pay?

You get the choise

60 hrs for 200 Baht,

40 hrs for 150 Baht

20 hrs for 100 Baht

To be honest i can not remember exactly how much 40 and 20 hours costs.

you will be able to follow the directions on the phone.

Good luck Edd

[Guest endure]

Thanks very much

[OldAsiaHand]

I would like to be able to get a secure internet connection for my laptop for maintaininig my website, managing finances, gambling, etc.........

Uh-oh. Gambling. Tisk-tisk. Many (most?) gambling sites are on the local blocked list that you will be unable to access through a local ISP.

That's something that may come as a shock to you. The internet is censored in Thailand. Thai authorities require local ISP to block access to sites they deem unsuitable for the little people here. That includes some that are politically unacceptable, porn (in particular, any that uses the word 'Thai' in their text, although the rankest of Japanese sites seems to be okay as long as the girls are strictly Japanese), gambling sites, and God only knows what else.

The Interior Minister recently claimed hundreds of thousands of sites were blocked. He seemed very proud of that. Welcome to Thailand.

[farlangrakthai]

Hi, I have a similar problem as the poster and wondered if there are any other options for getting dial up via a 1-2-call sim card other than this air card, as i'd only need to use it a couple of times a year i cant see the value in spending 75 pounds on an air card.

Is it possible to connect your mobile phone to the laptop via a data cable to dial up??

Thanks

[raro]

Forget about GPRS, I use a hutch card and it is way faster. 230 Kbps nominal connection speed, downlooad speed up to 24 Kbps - at 150 kmp/h on the motorway. Downside, works only in the Center Region (24 provinces, I think) - so if you plan to live up in the sticks, forget about it.

The card is 8,000 Baht, monthly fee 890 Baht with 890 MB free and every additional MB = 1 Baht.

Have fun!

raro

[heybruce]

I am planning on visiting Thailand long enough to get a TESL certificate, possibly longer. I would like to be able to get a secure internet connection for my laptop for maintaininig my website, managing finances, gambling, etc. Any suggestions? Are there places with secure WiFi or other internet options that can be paid for by the hour, a short term cellular phone deal that includes internet, or anything else? This qestion may sound nerdy, but I'm a retired engineer and I am a nerd. Thanks for your help.

You could put a GSM card in your notebook, buy a prepaid local SIM card and use GPRS, but not sure how "secure" you want it...

Can I get this GSM card in Thailand? How much? I want the connection secure enough so I can do some on-line bill paying, banking, and credit card purchases without having someone else drain my bank account or max out my credit card.

I am planning on visiting Thailand long enough to get a TESL certificate, possibly longer. I would like to be able to get a secure internet connection for my laptop for maintaininig my website, managing finances, gambling, etc. Any suggestions? Are there places with secure WiFi or other internet options that can be paid for by the hour, a short term cellular phone deal that includes internet, or anything else? This qestion may sound nerdy, but I'm a retired engineer and I am a nerd. Thanks for your help.

You could put a GSM card in your notebook, buy a prepaid local SIM card and use GPRS, but not sure how "secure" you want it...

Can I get this GSM card in Thailand? How much? I want the connection secure enough so I can do some on-line bill paying, banking, and credit card purchases without having someone else drain my bank account or max out my credit card.

I should mention that here in the U.S. the service providers insist on locking you up in their specific plan and will only sell air cards for their plans. It's possible I could buy something in this country that will work in Thailand but I would rather purchase in Thailand.

[Krub]

[i use vodafone 750 air card and an AIS ( one to call ) sim card.

The Air card cost me about £75 in the UK.

It gives me about the same speed as dial up.

As to cost, i pay 200 Baht for 60 hours, on prepay, very good value.

The only problem is at week ends when all the kids are on line and it slowes down

I'm interested in the prepay GPRS thingy. Do you buy a SIM specifically for use with GPRS or is it just an ordinary phone sim?

No when you buy the 1-2-call sim card usually about 500 Baht put it into your phone and dial 1175 for customer service then you follow the directions and choose the option to use the card for internet, decide for 20 hours,40 hours or 60 hours then put the sim card into your air card.

I hope that this helps

Edd

Hi Edd,

Do you mean you can use your usual sim card in your air card and then put it back in your phone for 'normal' use or do you have to have a sim card dedicated to use in your air card ?

[autonomous_unit]

...

Do you mean you can use your usual sim card in your air card and then put it back in your phone for 'normal' use or do you have to have a sim card dedicated to use in your air card ?

You can do it either way. Many people just use their phone as a GPRS "modem" via bluetooth, USB, or infra-red link, and using the same SIM makes sense. If you're going through the trouble and expense to get a GPRS pc-card, why not get another SIM too, so your phone still works while you are online? Pre-paid SIMs are dirt-cheap here in Thailand, and beyond the initial few hundred baht, it makes no difference if you top up one account or two in terms of cost.

[farlangrakthai]

...

Do you mean you can use your usual sim card in your air card and then put it back in your phone for 'normal' use or do you have to have a sim card dedicated to use in your air card ?

You can do it either way. Many people just use their phone as a GPRS "modem" via bluetooth, USB, or infra-red link, and using the same SIM makes sense. If you're going through the trouble and expense to get a GPRS pc-card, why not get another SIM too, so your phone still works while you are online? Pre-paid SIMs are dirt-cheap here in Thailand, and beyond the initial few hundred baht, it makes no difference if you top up one account or two in terms of cost.

autonomous unit, you say that many people simply use there phone as a gprs 'modem', well this is exactly what I would like to do but i'm not sure how I'd do it. My laptop has infra red but my phone doesnt, and my phone has bluetooth but my laptop doesnt! How do i connect though my usb port?? Do i just go and buy a data cable??

At the moment when i go to isaan i have to travel about 25kms just to go to the internet cafe in town so if i could get a dial up connection through my phone it would be a great help.

Thanks

By the way my phone is a nokia 7610 with a 1-2 call sim card.

[Krub]

...

Do you mean you can use your usual sim card in your air card and then put it back in your phone for 'normal' use or do you have to have a sim card dedicated to use in your air card ?

You can do it either way. Many people just use their phone as a GPRS "modem" via bluetooth, USB, or infra-red link, and using the same SIM makes sense. If you're going through the trouble and expense to get a GPRS pc-card, why not get another SIM too, so your phone still works while you are online? Pre-paid SIMs are dirt-cheap here in Thailand, and beyond the initial few hundred baht, it makes no difference if you top up one account or two in terms of cost.

Hi,

Sorry to be such a 'simple' but if you set up your sim for 20, 40 or 60 hours of GPRS data connection on your balance is it independant from the rest of the balance that you then can still use ofr phone calls ?

I have checked with my laptop and it seems it has an infra red connection, will I have the max GPRS speed if I connect my laptop to my mobile via infra red (saving me the cost of an aircard) ?

[Ken]

12 call charges....the way it works is you charge up the SIM card the "normal" way and then each month the appropriate amount is deducted automatically (depending on what package you choose). So any money over the amount needed for internet can be used for regular phone calls.

If you have bluetooth or infrared red then no need for an expensive air card. Now "some" people claim that bluetooth sucks, but I've been using it for over a year (using it now) and while it has it's occasional "hiccups", works fine for me. If your phone already is bluetooth capable, you only need a "bluetooth USB dongle" for your computer (cost between 700-900 Baht). Good luck.

[Krub]

12 call charges....the way it works is you charge up the SIM card the "normal" way and then each month the appropriate amount is deducted automatically (depending on what package you choose). So any money over the amount needed for internet can be used for regular phone calls.

If you have bluetooth or infrared red then no need for an expensive air card. Now "some" people claim that bluetooth sucks, but I've been using it for over a year (using it now) and while it has it's occasional "hiccups", works fine for me. If your phone already is bluetooth capable, you only need a "bluetooth USB dongle" for your computer (cost between 700-900 Baht). Good luck.

Both my Nokia and my laptop have infra red. Will I get the max GPRS speed or do I need to try and go via bluetooth ?

You seem to say automatically every month....Can I just do it for 1 month at a time ? (I am often away for a few months)

[Ken]

Both my Nokia and my laptop have infra red. Will I get the max GPRS speed or do I need to try and go via bluetooth ?

You seem to say automatically every month....Can I just do it for 1 month at a time ? (I am often away for a few months)

When you sign up for a "package", then the money is going to be deducted every month until you "cancel". Now I would guess that you could "cancel" during the month/months that you don't plan to be here. Not sure if you try to do this, whether you will have a problem when you try to sign up again when you get back to Thailand. Seems that the AIS automation (computers) of doing this is somewhat "flaky" at times.

I personally haven't used infrared, so speed wise someone else will need to add insight to that. However one problem I foresee with infrared is the necessity to keep the phone lined up with the computer. Could be "painful" sometimes.

[g00dgirl]

What software do you use to connect edd?

I have the Vodafone 3G/GPRS card (in fact I have two, one is an Option and one is a Novatel).

I have the Vodafone Mobile Connect software.

How do I know what settings to use to connect once I put the 1 2 call SIM in? For example what is the APN name? Is there a separate APN that allows VPN connections?

I am in Thailand next week and will want to use GPRS there. But I tried that in Germany with a local prepaid SIM and could not get it to work.

Edited February 19, 2006 by g00dgirl

[autonomous_unit]

I think others answered the payment questions... I never used a pre-paid "package" but just a metered rate per KB. I did use a package on a post-paid AIS account when they had an unlimited service available.

On the computer side, everything works the same whether pre- or post-paid.

I have only used a data cable with Motorola phones, but to my knowledge the bluetooth and infra-red are much the same. When you establish the "connection" between the computer and phone, and have the correct driver installed, it shows up as a regular serial/modem device. You do not need any special "wireless" software for most phones, as the regular "dial-up Internet" settings will work. You just have to find some esoteric "modem initialization string" and "dial string" settings for your phone model and GPRS provider.

The way it works is that you send a string to the phone to set the "APN" for the connection, and then a special dial string that puts the phone into GPRS mode. From the point of view of the computer, it is just a plain old PPP connection, but in fact it is the phone that is acting as the other end of the PPP link instead of a remote ISP. The phone then sends/receives packets over the GPRS network. So, you sometimes have to set some kind of dummy "username" and "password" to make your computer talk to the phone, but it usually does not matter what values you choose.

I have only done this on Linux, and not in a year or two. I usually end up searching on google for "GPRS APN init dial string" and the phone make and/or model, and browsing a few of the results. Google has become my memory for esoteric details like that.

As I recall, the dial string for my v66 phone was something like ATDT*99# or something equally strange. I think the APN on AIS networks is just "internet" while on DTAC it is "www.dtac.co.th", but there are tables of such APN details searchable by google as well. You would probably need to contact customer service and get things changed on your account in order to use a VPN-capable APN. With today's VPN software that usually does NAT-traversal, it may not be necessary.

[bmanly]

Please excuse me for busting in on this thread but it is similar to what I would have asked and I am still a little confused.

In Pattaya I have a laptop available to me for when I arrive. I have a Nokia 6101 with EGPRS Class 10. With that I have a ca-42 cable which enables me to connect to the laptops USB port. I'm not a 100% on this so bare with me. Can I simply buy a sim with credit dial 1175 and set up the sim to use it for both internet connection and when I am not on the internet can I then just use it as a normal phone? Yes or No?

If yes who is the cheapest provider today for this service. I don't need the internet for anymore than 1 hour a day 5 days a week for 6 Months. Thank you.

[Plus]

If your phone has a cable connection - check in the manual if it can be used instead of bluetooth, it's not always possible. On most phones cable and charger connect to the same slot, so if your battery is low you can't recharge without disconnecting. Surfing the internet is power consuming, and even more so with bluetooth.

I wouldn't recomment infrared - it's usually a pain in the neck. Many phones and laptops simply don't see eachother, infrared speed is too slow, you need to download a special "modem" software, and it works safely only on a large desk, forget about "laptop" mode. I guess it's ok to transfer a picture taken with your phone camera but not much more.

Acc. to Sony Ericsson forums bluetooth works a lot faster with their phones than USB cable.

When buying USB "dongle" bring your phone and test it in the shop, some noname chinese bluetooths are dodgy, and there's a lot of initial setup - pairing devices and selecting services (at this point the software installs a bluetooth modem, I think).

As for APN and modem initiation strings - call the service center or search the provider's website.

[bmanly]

If your phone has a cable connection - check in the manual if it can be used instead of bluetooth, it's not always possible. On most phones cable and charger connect to the same slot, so if your battery is low you can't recharge without disconnecting. Surfing the internet is power consuming, and even more so with bluetooth.

In my case the manual states that I can use my phone as a modem using the ca-42 cable. It can also be charged at the same time. Thanks

[raro]

If your phone has a cable connection - check in the manual if it can be used instead of bluetooth, it's not always possible. On most phones cable and charger connect to the same slot, so if your battery is low you can't recharge without disconnecting. Surfing the internet is power consuming, and even more so with bluetooth.

I wouldn't recomment infrared - it's usually a pain in the neck. Many phones and laptops simply don't see eachother, infrared speed is too slow, you need to download a special "modem" software, and it works safely only on a large desk, forget about "laptop" mode. I guess it's ok to transfer a picture taken with your phone camera but not much more.

Acc. to Sony Ericsson forums bluetooth works a lot faster with their phones than USB cable.

When buying USB "dongle" bring your phone and test it in the shop, some noname chinese bluetooths are dodgy, and there's a lot of initial setup - pairing devices and selecting services (at this point the software installs a bluetooth modem, I think).

As for APN and modem initiation strings - call the service center or search the provider's website.

If you are in Pattaya, I would highly recommend Hutch again. The card is 8,000 but you can also buy a mobile phone from them @ 6 or 7,000 with the added benefit that it serves you as a phone as well. Can be connected to your laptop via USB. The card has the advantage that it is integrated in the laptop and no dangling cables anywhere. Much faster than GPRS

Edited February 20, 2006 by raro

[g00dgirl]

good post autonomous_unit, I just wasnt gonna use a phone at all to connect. I never got the 3G/GPRS cards to connect in linux so far so gave up on that for now.

If anyone has used a 3G/GPRS PCMCIA card with Windows in Thailand, mayb they can still post what software and what settings they used to connect. Is there a username / password you'd need etc ..

Yes for the APN, I would try 'internet' first and hope it works.

[Plus]

Cards they sell here come with software on a CD, or you can download latest versions from manufacturers. Mine is Sony Ericsson's GC83. There's "Wireless manager" with a drop down box for all the major world operators. I bought it from Dtac and it's locked on Dtac sim cards and shows only Dtac connection but if dowloaded from Sony-Ericsson it shows them all.

If you plan to spend most of your time upcountry don't bother about EDGE capable aricards, it's available in central Bangkok only. Hutch is a good alternative but only in central provinces, as someone said earlier.

Did you say 3G? You are in Thailand, they aren't even sure they need 3G here - NTC (National Telecom Commission) is contemplating if it's worth issuing licences at all. Years away from actually rolling it out.

In terms of speed it's GPRS, then Hutch, then EDGE GPRS. Simple GPRS has the country wide coverage, Hutch and Edge are limited.