Best Bargain For Prepaid 3G?

[Lannig]

Hello folks,

Not being a resident anymore, I can't use a subscription-based SIM. I need a data connection when I'm in the LOS.

I used to buy the AIS Net SIM. These were giving 10 hours of air time for 59B. A few months ago they've slashed this to 5 hours, which still isn't bad, but I'm wondering whether there might be better bargains.

I need something that will work (possibly not in 3G, I understand the coverage issues) out of greater BKK because I spend most of my time upcountry (and not in any tourist high place either).

I need it to be usable both in my smartphone (for data only) and in my 3G stick on my computer.

Furthermore, has anyone found the "right" way to refill one of these SIMs and get decent online time per baht? Seems that every time I've tried to refill my AIS Net SIM after the free hours were exhausted, I got like less than one hour of very moderate usage for 50B. This just doesn't make sense. So I kept buying new SIMs and dumping them after the bundled free online time is exhausted. What a waste.

Thanks in advance for your tips.

Edited March 25, 2013 by Lannig

[RKASA]

With dtac you can get 5gb of 3g and unlimited edge @ 215kbps plus free wifi. 700 baht 30 days. The number for the sim is valid for a year after last refill so you can leave and come back and top up. or the 7gb 3g package for 850. Best way I found is stop by a dtac shop and refill it each month - takes 5 minutes. This is pre pay - not post - no contract - shuts off when time is up.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

With dtac you can get 5gb of 3g and unlimited edge @ 215kbps plus free wifi. 700 baht 30 days. The number for the sim is valid for a year after last refill so you can leave and come back and top up. or the 7gb 3g package for 850. Best way I found is stop by a dtac shop and refill it each month - takes 5 minutes. This is pre pay - not post - no contract - shuts off when time is up.

The packages that you mention are not shown on their website, here

Perhaps you can supply the relevant short codes for subscription.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

After you refill the SIM, you need to then apply a package, either time based or volume(of data) based. Volume based if you prefer an 'always on' connection but don't necessarily download large files.

Example with One2Call is that you can choose from a 30 hour package or 150MB of data for 149 baht.

[RKASA]

With dtac you can get 5gb of 3g and unlimited edge @ 215kbps plus free wifi. 700 baht 30 days. The number for the sim is valid for a year after last refill so you can leave and come back and top up. or the 7gb 3g package for 850. Best way I found is stop by a dtac shop and refill it each month - takes 5 minutes. This is pre pay - not post - no contract - shuts off when time is up.

The packages that you mention are not shown on their website, here

Perhaps you can supply the relevant short codes for subscription.

http://www.dtac.co.th/en/postpaid/products/aircard-tablet-unlimited.html

My mistake I am using the 3gb package - I never see any of the 3g anyway I just need to keep the 215k working (they call it 384max) see the fine print **

[lomatopo]

I guess it would help if you could share the exact brand/model of your smartphone and USB aircard, so we can attempt to match you up with the potentially best service provider.

And if you could share any details re: your usage, locations, budget, frequency of visits.

Most people purchase a SIM, add value and then subscribe to a mobile data plan. You can add value using many different channels: 7/11, ATM, scratch card, etc. Most mobile data plans auto-renew each month. You can subscribe to a time-based plan, or a volume-based plan.

There are many, many potential options for you but I'm not sure the current one you are utilizing is the ideal one?

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/573846-what-works-where-2g-3g-coverage-maps-thailand/

[Lannig]

First, thanks to all for the replies so far. I'm still kind of confused but starting to see some light.

I guess it would help if you could share the exact brand/model of your smartphone and USB aircard, so we can attempt to match you up with the potentially best service provider.

Smartphone is a Goole Nexus One. Works OK on both 3G and EDGE in Thailand.
USB 3G dongle is a Huawei E160. Both of these have been extensively tested over several trips with AIS Net SIMs. No technical issue so far.

And if you could share any details re: your usage, locations, budget, frequency of visits.

Usage: some e-mail, some navigation (Google Maps), some news reading using media apps, some listening to western radios.
About most one hour/day average and probably only 10 Mb or so/day average.
Locations: mostly around Nakorn Sawan (not downtown though: no 3G available on AIS at least), a couple of day trips to BKK, depending on the season I might spend a few days in Hua Hin as well.
I come 3 or 4 times/year, for 2 to 3 weeks stays.

>Most people purchase a SIM, add value and then subscribe to a mobile data plan. You can add value using many different channels: 7/11, ATM, scratch card, etc. Most mobile data plans auto-renew each month. You can subscribe to a time-based plan, or a volume-based plan.

It's my belief that to subscribe to a monthly plan, you need a work permit don't you?
Anyway considering the amount of time I spend in the LOS every year, it's probably not worth it.

I'm familiar with the different channels one can use to refill a prepaid card (as I've mentioned, I've lived several years in the LOS), just that the amount of service I get for my money when I refill my AIS Net SIM doesn't make sense. Some people have mentioned "choosing the right promotion" to me, which does make sense, but no one (including the local AIS shop) has been able to tell exactly which one :-)

Seems that prepaid data-only 3G SIMs are very little known.

There are many, many potential options for you but I'm not sure the current one you are utilizing is the ideal one?

Not sure either, hence my asking here :-)

Edited March 26, 2013 by Lannig

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Unless you are from the USA/Canada, the Nexus One is currently compatible with AIS 3G. As for the Huawei E160, it depends on the exact model. Is there a suffix? i.e. G or X or E? Was it originally from a particular network?

You can subscribe to a monthly plan on PAYG, no need for a contract or work permit. The plan only rolls over if you have enough credit. I subscribe to their 7GB 'unlimited plan for 999 baht. There are lots of options available.

No need for a data only SIM, as you can easily add a data package to most SIMs via a simple text message.

There are a wide range of packages available to you. So state, the amount of usage that you think that you require and I will find the closest package.

What you do is refill the credit and then apply a data package by sending a short code or SMS. You credit will be debited and the package applied. That's it.

Edited March 26, 2013 by Jiu-Jitsu

[lomatopo]

There is no residency requirement for a pre-paid monthly recurring mobile data plan.

On your Google Nexus One phone, what Android version are you currently running? When you say,"Works OK on both 3G and EDGE in Thailand", do you mean to say that with an AIS/One-2-Call SIM that you sometimes have an indication of 3G service? If so, this would seem to indicate that your version of this phone supports 900/1900/2100 MHz 3G - so you might be better off staying with AIS/One-2-Call.

It may be possible to create a Mobile (WiFi) AP with your phone, allowing you to connect your PC to the internet and remove the air-card from the equation, which saves swapping SIMs back/forth.

In general I would always recommend a volume-based plan as these will give you the best possible performance where 3G is available. Time-based plans are limited to 384 Kbps where 3G is available. Once you go over your time limit you start paying by the minute or KB, so you do have to manage your time. Unfortunately, with AIS/One-2-Call you have to move up to a 3 GB/799 baht plan to get "unlimited internet usage", albeit with a fair-use speed limit of 384 Kbps.

http://www.ais.co.th/mobileinternet/en/internet-package/#2

http://www.ais.co.th/mobileinternet/en/internet-package/#1

These plans automagically renew each month assuming you have enough of a balance remaining.

Not sure what to recommend exactly but based on an extrapolation of your stated requirements maybe a 50 hour/200 baht time-based plan, or a 1 GB/350 baht volume-based plan recognizing that both incur charges when you exceed your time or volume, so you'll have to closely monitor usage.

Edited March 26, 2013 by lomatopo

[Lannig]

Folks, thanks for all the technical tips and questions but I've had all of this covered. I know for sure that both my Nexus One and my 3G stick work flawlessly, are 100% unlocked, give me full 3G in areas of coverage in Thailand (with AIS at least), I'm happy with the way I use them etc.

My mentioning a data-only SIM was because I've been using the same voice-only SIM for several years, it doesn't have data and I put it in a cheap feature phone. I'm fine with this also and switching to another phone number would be a major annoyance.

This wasn't my question, anyway. It was about the pre-paid or subscription plans available based on my periods of presence on Thai soil and usage patterns described above.

I've got some interesting suggestions here, thanks for this. The 50 hour/200B plan seems like a possible fit, however what happens when you leave it dead with zero balance remaining for several months? can I re-activate it when I return? how? do I need to visit an AIS shop for this?

The other plans in the 500B+ range seem like overkill for my needs. I can get along buying 3 to 5 of these 59B SIMs with 5 bundled hours during my stay, although having to switch SIMs is a (small) pain.

Edited March 27, 2013 by Lannig

[lomatopo]

The expiration date of any SIM will be based, primarily, on your top-up patterns. You can check the balance and expiration date by entering *121# Send. You should receive service message with the details. You may be able to re-activate an expired SIM - there used to be a 30 day "grace" period before the number was closed out and recycled, but numbers are in short supply so they may get recycled more quickly? I think you would have to visit an AIS/Telewiz shop to re-activate an expired SIM, but it may just be easier to purchase a new SIM, top-up and subscribe to the desired plan again, as it doesn't seem like maintaining a number is a requirement for your application.

FWIW, while there are many different SIM products from AIS/One-2-Call, http://www.ais.co.th/12call/en/sim-other.html any SIM can function as a data-only SIM, a voice-only SIM or a combination SIM. In some cases the SIM may have a default plan associated with it, but you can pretty much change/modify/add/delete/layer anything on any SIM.

You could use the "voice-only SIM" which you've had for a few years, and which evidently has a validity out to 365 days, in your Nexus 1, layer on a data plan only during your visits, then use the Mobile AP feature of Android to create a WiFi hotspot for your PC to share the mobile data connection. This might simplify things a bit - by just having one single SIM?

Lastly, if you do not subscribe to a data plan then you will be paying the default rate of 1 baht/minute while your are connected to the mobile data network. Hence your experience,

I got like less than one hour of very moderate usage for 50B.

is easily explained - 50 baht value would last ~ 46 minutes when you remember to add in the 7% VAT, so 1.07 baht/min.

Edited March 27, 2013 by lomatopo

[Jiu-Jitsu]

You can upgrade your voice only SIM to 3G without losing the number. You can add a data package, for instance; 70 MB over seven days for 59 baht(plus VAT) using short code: *500*70# Send

If using the Net SIM and have used up your five hours and want another five hours for 39 baht(plus VAT), add some credit(at least 42 baht) and then *133*36*008615# Send

Utterly pointless buying SIM after SIM. Buy a suitable package in the first place.

Folks, thanks for all the technical tips and questions but I've had all of this covered. I know for sure that both my Nexus One and my 3G stick work flawlessly, are 100% unlocked, give me full 3G in areas of coverage in Thailand (with AIS at least), I'm happy with the way I use them etc.

My mentioning a data-only SIM was because I've been using the same voice-only SIM for several years, it doesn't have data and I put it in a cheap feature phone. I'm fine with this also and switching to another phone number would be a major annoyance.

This wasn't my question, anyway. It was about the pre-paid or subscription plans available based on my periods of presence on Thai soil and usage patterns described above.

I've got some interesting suggestions here, thanks for this. The 50 hour/200B plan seems like a possible fit, however what happens when you leave it dead with zero balance remaining for several months? can I re-activate it when I return? how? do I need to visit an AIS shop for this?

The other plans in the 500B+ range seem like overkill for my needs. I can get along buying 3 to 5 of these 59B SIMs with 5 bundled hours during my stay, although having to switch SIMs is a (small) pain.

[Lannig]

@Jiu-Jistsu : at least something immediately usable. Thanks. If I don't switch to anything else, I can use my AIS Net SIM more efficiently at least. Strange that no one could give me this hint at various AIS / Telewiz desks around Nakorn Sawan

[Jiu-Jitsu]

A viable approach is to have separate SIMs for the modem and smartphone. A volume based package for the phone and possibly a time based package for the modem.

Time based for the modem, as you can switch off the connection when not using it, whereas the phone is likely to be 'always on', rendering a time based package to be useless.

A 30 hr time based package is available for 159 baht. *133*32*008615# Send

50 hrs for 214 baht *133*33*008615# Send You can try to omit the 008615 to see if it still works if you like. ie. *133*33# Send

Volume based for the phone (if you are a light user) *133*20# Send for 75MB over 30 days. 107 baht. Alternatively, you can try *678*305# for 50MB over 30 days for 53.50 baht.

[Blueyeshh]

I use detac 3G Free wifi 399 baht 30 Days

[Chao Lao Beach]

Good subject. AIS 3G totally sucks compared to TRUE and D-Tac, thats my personal experecne anyway.

AIS sucks all round actually in my opinion.

[greatjob]

Good subject. AIS 3G totally sucks compared to TRUE and D-Tac, thats my personal experecne anyway.

AIS sucks all round actually in my opinion.

I am hearing more and more people unhappy about AIS.

It may be because they have 38 million customers for the same amount of frequency as DTAC or True with respectively 24 and 21 million customers. It must be hard to provide quality 3G in these conditions.

I am with TrueMove-H and love it, never got any issues and great 3G for now 2+ year. I have the Smart 399 package (http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/packages/ismart/entry/594) and their website is FINALLY mostly in English..... finally.

GJ

[nikster]

I can't be bothered to read all this info so just my advice:

- Buy a data based package, not time based. Your smartphone will connect at all kinds of times to download little bits of data, and it's a pain to manually turn on and off data as needed.

As an example, a 5 hour plan will be all gone in 5 hours on an iPhone with notifications on, even if you don't use your phone at all.

- True H and AIS have country-wide 3G. DTAC 3G only works in BKK. I'd recommend True H but don't know if your Nexus one would work on that frequency.

Both have a 350 baht / 1GB / month option which is plenty. Just avoid YouTube and torrenting and you should never exceed that. If you run out before the month is over, just buy another one. There's also higher grade packages for heavy users.

Again, don't buy hourly plans. Those don't make any sense for smartphones.

Use your phone as a modem, Android's had this forever.

Edited March 31, 2013 by nikster

[lomatopo]

Good subject. AIS 3G totally sucks compared to TRUE and D-Tac, thats my personal experecne anyway.

AIS sucks all round actually in my opinion.

I am hearing more and more people unhappy about AIS.

It may be because they have 38 million customers for the same amount of frequency as DTAC or True with respectively 24 and 21 million customers. It must be hard to provide quality 3G in these conditions.

I am with TrueMove-H and love it, never got any issues and great 3G for now 2+ year. I have the Smart 399 package (http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/packages/ismart/entry/594) and their website is FINALLY mostly in English..... finally.

GJ

FWIW, TrueMove H have ~ 2.9 million customers on the CAT 3G network - TrueMove have 18 million customers on their 1800 MHz GSM network, which may be shuttered on Sep. 15, 2013. I think CAT themselves have fewer than 1 million customers, so this CAT network is by far the most under-subscribed network here, so one reason why it might be the obvious choice. CAT also claim 11,000 3G base-stations, although TrueMove H may be excluded from some of those as the "contract" is still under judicial and regulatory review, so maybe double the number that AIS and DTAC currently have. TrueMove H subscribers roam onto the TrueMove 1800 MHz network when they are outside of CAT coverage. It's not exactly clear how robust CAT's back-haul capacity is from all for these base-stations so YMMV. CAT, and thus TrueMove H, were running out of telephone numbers.

[bubba]

Good subject. AIS 3G totally sucks compared to TRUE and D-Tac, thats my personal experecne anyway.

AIS sucks all round actually in my opinion.

I am hearing more and more people unhappy about AIS.

It may be because they have 38 million customers for the same amount of frequency as DTAC or True with respectively 24 and 21 million customers. It must be hard to provide quality 3G in these conditions.

I am with TrueMove-H and love it, never got any issues and great 3G for now 2+ year. I have the Smart 399 package (http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/packages/ismart/entry/594) and their website is FINALLY mostly in English..... finally.

GJ

Add me to the list of unsatisfied AIS customers. Sure, you can almost always get a 3G connection in Bangkok. But that's only the first jump. The problem with AIS is that are apparently completely overloaded with their internet backbone connection. Over at least five successive trips to the airport, I had a 3G connection, but no data throughput. That is zero, nil, nada. Not even enough to check my email, which is something I really need to do when I arrive at the airport. I was getting zero data at various other places around BKK during business days as well, and it was becoming absolutely frustrating. In fact, I was really only getting useful data speeds about half the time.

So after having been an AIS subscriber for eleven years with their Platinum card, I dropped them and switched to DTAC. Same 3G connection, but I always have data throughput, even at the airport during peak passenger times. Considering this is after all Thailand, I am totally satisfied with DTAC 3G internet, and in fact I am paying less than I was paying for a similar package at AIS, which included perhaps 50% usability for internet data.

By the way, when I visited DTAC at Central World to sign up, I forgot to bring my work permit, although I wanted to sign up for a postpaid package. This was no problem for DTAC, as they only required me to sign up with a credit card and auto-payment for at least three months, after which I could elect to turn off auto-payment.

I don't know about True, but if you want 3G connected internet, stay away from AIS for now.

[bubba]

I can't be bothered to read all this info so just my advice:

- True H and AIS have country-wide 3G. DTAC 3G only works in BKK. I'd recommend True H but don't know if your Nexus one would work on that frequency.

DTAC have working 3G coverage in every province.

http://www.dtac.co.th/en/network/3gnetwork.html

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Read your post and it's mostly irrelevant or just plainly wrong. If you can't be bothered to read the previous posts, then perhaps it better to not post at all, rather than muddy the waters.

DTAC 3G only in BKK? Nonsense.

I can't be bothered to read all this info so just my advice:

- Buy a data based package, not time based. Your smartphone will connect at all kinds of times to download little bits of data, and it's a pain to manually turn on and off data as needed.

As an example, a 5 hour plan will be all gone in 5 hours on an iPhone with notifications on, even if you don't use your phone at all.

- True H and AIS have country-wide 3G. DTAC 3G only works in BKK. I'd recommend True H but don't know if your Nexus one would work on that frequency.

Both have a 350 baht / 1GB / month option which is plenty. Just avoid YouTube and torrenting and you should never exceed that. If you run out before the month is over, just buy another one. There's also higher grade packages for heavy users.

Again, don't buy hourly plans. Those don't make any sense for smartphones.

Use your phone as a modem, Android's had this forever.

[Lannig]

Guys, maybe things have changed since january, but I can tell for sure that neither AIS nor DTAC had 3G coverage in my place 30km away from downtown Nakorn Sawan at that time. Haven't tried True, though.

So maybe "nationwide" should be taken with a grain of salt, shouldn't it?

The same equipment picked up 3G alright in BKK.

Edited April 2, 2013 by Lannig

[lomatopo]

Guys, maybe things have changed since january, but I can tell for sure that neither AIS nor DTAC had 3G coverage in my place 30km away from downtown Nakorn Sawan at that time. Haven't tried True, though.

So maybe "nationwide" should be taken with a grain of salt, shouldn't it?

The same equipment picked up 3G alright in BKK.

'Nationwide' perhaps means different things to different people, so can completely understand your situation.

For most, nationwide means coverage across most/all provinces/provincial capitals addressing 80% of the population. It does not mean 100% geographical coverage. DTAC definitely has 3G coverage in Nakhon Sawan (city) as I have used it there.

TOT and CAT (TrueMove H is a CAT reseller) have to most geographical coverage. Both may likely have coverage in your exact location.

[Digitalbanana]

Read your post and it's mostly irrelevant or just plainly wrong. If you can't be bothered to read the previous posts, then perhaps it better to not post at all, rather than muddy the waters.

DTAC 3G only in BKK? Nonsense.

I can't be bothered to read all this info so just my advice:

- Buy a data based package, not time based. Your smartphone will connect at all kinds of times to download little bits of data, and it's a pain to manually turn on and off data as needed.

As an example, a 5 hour plan will be all gone in 5 hours on an iPhone with notifications on, even if you don't use your phone at all.

- True H and AIS have country-wide 3G. DTAC 3G only works in BKK. I'd recommend True H but don't know if your Nexus one would work on that frequency.

Both have a 350 baht / 1GB / month option which is plenty. Just avoid YouTube and torrenting and you should never exceed that. If you run out before the month is over, just buy another one. There's also higher grade packages for heavy users.

Again, don't buy hourly plans. Those don't make any sense for smartphones.

Use your phone as a modem, Android's had this forever.

I think that's a bit harsh, since most of what he said is correct, except the bolox about DTAC only working in Bangkok!

[Jiu-Jitsu]

It was fair because it can make sense to have a hourly plan for when using his USB modem, as it can be switched off when not being used.

Secondly, had he bothered to read the thread, he would have discovered the the phone is compatible with AIS/One2Call only. So True and DTAC are out anyway.

As for 1GB being enough. I would be lucky if that lasted me a week and that's with no YT or torrenting.

But agreed, that volume is better for Smartphone and he should consider creating a mobile Hotspot with the Nexus One to connect his other devices to the Internet.

No, not terrible transgressions. But it wasn't such a long thread. He could have scanned it quickly.

Read your post and it's mostly irrelevant or just plainly wrong. If you can't be bothered to read the previous posts, then perhaps it better to not post at all, rather than muddy the waters.

DTAC 3G only in BKK? Nonsense.

I can't be bothered to read all this info so just my advice:

- Buy a data based package, not time based. Your smartphone will connect at all kinds of times to download little bits of data, and it's a pain to manually turn on and off data as needed.

As an example, a 5 hour plan will be all gone in 5 hours on an iPhone with notifications on, even if you don't use your phone at all.

- True H and AIS have country-wide 3G. DTAC 3G only works in BKK. I'd recommend True H but don't know if your Nexus one would work on that frequency.

Both have a 350 baht / 1GB / month option which is plenty. Just avoid YouTube and torrenting and you should never exceed that. If you run out before the month is over, just buy another one. There's also higher grade packages for heavy users.

Again, don't buy hourly plans. Those don't make any sense for smartphones.

Use your phone as a modem, Android's had this forever.

I think that's a bit harsh, since most of what he said is correct, except the bolox about DTAC only working in Bangkok!

[Lannig]

Secondly, had he bothered to read the thread, he would have discovered the the phone is compatible with AIS/One2Call only. So True and DTAC are out anyway.

Huh? sorry? who said that? not me for sure.

I can't tell for sure because I can't remember having tried with other SIMs. Wait... yes I did I think, at least once with my 3G dongle on DTAC and it did catch 3G in BKK. Don't know about the others.

Admittedly I have tried nothing but AIS on my Nexus One. Will do soon since I'm on my way to LOS, and I shall report.

Oh and by the way I don't leave the data enabled on my smartphone when I don't need it. So time-based packages are fine to me. I don't like the idea of being tracked all the time anyway (yes I know there are plenty of ways to avoid this, I just don't want to bother).

Thanks for all the tips given, I'll try to make the best use of them.

Edited April 8, 2013 by Lannig

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Wasn't about you... BUT, since you are here...

You wrote earlier

Folks, thanks for all the technical tips and questions but I've had all of this covered. I know for sure that both my Nexus One and my 3G stick work flawlessly, are 100% unlocked, give me full 3G in areas of coverage in Thailand (with AIS at least),

The problem with that statement is that now you are also claiming that you picked up a 3G signal from DTAC with the same modem. That is simply not possible. The Huawei E160 is UMTS 850MHz/2100Mhz or 900MHz/2100MHz or 2100MHz only. So it would not be possible to get both AIS 3G and DTAC 3G using the same modem.

So yes, you wrote that....for sure

Secondly, had he bothered to read the thread, he would have discovered the the phone is compatible with AIS/One2Call only. So True and DTAC are out anyway.

Huh? sorry? who said that? not me for sure.

I can't tell for sure because I can't remember having tried with other SIMs. Wait... yes I did I think, at least once with my 3G dongle on DTAC and it did catch 3G in BKK. Don't know about the others.

Admittedly I have tried nothing but AIS on my Nexus One. Will do soon since I'm on my way to LOS, and I shall report.

Oh and by the way I don't leave the data enabled on my smartphone when I don't need it. So time-based packages are fine to me. I don't like the idea of being tracked all the time anyway (yes I know there are plenty of ways to avoid this, I just don't want to bother).

Thanks for all the tips given, I'll try to make the best use of them.

Edited April 10, 2013 by Jiu-Jitsu

[Lannig]

Wasn't about you... BUT, since you are here...

You wrote earlier

Folks, thanks for all the technical tips and questions but I've had all of this covered. I know for sure that both my Nexus One and my 3G stick work flawlessly, are 100% unlocked, give me full 3G in areas of coverage in Thailand (with AIS at least),

The problem with that statement is that now you are also claiming that you picked up a 3G signal from DTAC with the same modem. That is simply not possible. The Huawei E160 is UMTS 850MHz/2100Mhz or 900MHz/2100MHz or 2100MHz only. So it would not be possible to get both AIS 3G and DTAC 3G using the same modem.

So yes, you wrote that....for sure ;

Well, you might be right on this. I'm not 100% positive that I was using my own 3G stick at that time. However you may want to consider that there are several variants of the E160 model which might have support for different 3G bands. I'm not sure which one I have because it doesn't even bear this name. I've bought it as a rebranded Vodafone product bearing a completely different model name and possibly some tweaks, I don't know.

Anyway, point taken.

So, currently being in the LOS and the next SIM card in my stack of AIS Net SIMs reaching the end of its bundled 5 hours of online time, I've tried to apply the bits of advice received here. Due to my (admittedly very atypical) usage pattern, I've opted for another 5 hours bundle at 50B. Not a huge gain compared to the price of a new SIM (59B) but still. So I've been to my nearest friendly 7-11 and bought a 50B refill coupon. I've entered it into my phone, so far so good. I've dialed *138*57# and... huh? insufficient credit? WTH? oh yeah... read the fine print, dumb. 50B VAT excluded. How clever... so I need to add some credit eh? This is starting to look like less of a bargain. Since I'll be away in less than a week, I've opted for a 10B credit from one of these online top-up booths. Heck. They charge 2B for the service. So it's 12B to you, Sir.

So let's do a recount : 50+10+2 = 62B, compared to the price of a new SIM I can pick up easily at the Lotus nearby? At 59B? still makes sense to me to use one SIM after another, doesn't it?

Now, please don't shoot me. I still appreciate all the helpful tips received here. Would my usage pattern be a little less atypical, it'd certainly be much more convenient to switch to some of the offers presented here. This little 5 hours top-up adventure was even funny considering the tiny amount of money involved. I may reconsider my way of being online while in the LOS completely such as having my (probably another) smartphone online all the time and using tethering when I need my notebook online. Heck, I'm over 50, I don't switch habits easily.

Thanks for your time reading me and helping, folks. Will be back to this never-ending winter in Europe in a matter of days. Well, I might appreciate some cool weather at first... >40 daily and not a single drop of rain in two weeks here on the central plain was a bit harsh.

P.S. and oh yeah, AIS does suck. Their service even seems to have gotten significantly worse since my last trip. From not being able to turn data on for several minutes to nonexistent bandwidth (like not a byte getting through, not even a short mail) in remote areas, even when the phone claims receiving a full strength GSM signal and EDGE being shown as up.

Edited April 23, 2013 by Lannig

[uhuh]

Good subject. AIS 3G totally sucks compared to TRUE and D-Tac, thats my personal experecne anyway.

AIS sucks all round actually in my opinion.

I am hearing more and more people unhappy about AIS.

It may be because they have 38 million customers for the same amount of frequency as DTAC or True with respectively 24 and 21 million customers. It must be hard to provide quality 3G in these conditions.

I am with TrueMove-H and love it, never got any issues and great 3G for now 2+ year. I have the Smart 399 package (http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/packages/ismart/entry/594) and their website is FINALLY mostly in English..... finally.

GJ

Add me to the list of unsatisfied AIS customers. Sure, you can almost always get a 3G connection in Bangkok. But that's only the first jump. The problem with AIS is that are apparently completely overloaded with their internet backbone connection. Over at least five successive trips to the airport, I had a 3G connection, but no data throughput. That is zero, nil, nada. Not even enough to check my email, which is something I really need to do when I arrive at the airport. I was getting zero data at various other places around BKK during business days as well, and it was becoming absolutely frustrating. In fact, I was really only getting useful data speeds about half the time.

So after having been an AIS subscriber for eleven years with their Platinum card, I dropped them and switched to DTAC. Same 3G connection, but I always have data throughput, even at the airport during peak passenger times. Considering this is after all Thailand, I am totally satisfied with DTAC 3G internet, and in fact I am paying less than I was paying for a similar package at AIS, which included perhaps 50% usability for internet data.

By the way, when I visited DTAC at Central World to sign up, I forgot to bring my work permit, although I wanted to sign up for a postpaid package. This was no problem for DTAC, as they only required me to sign up with a credit card and auto-payment for at least three months, after which I could elect to turn off auto-payment.

I don't know about True, but if you want 3G connected internet, stay away from AIS for now.

AIS 3G did not give me any data throughput either.

It has been like this for years (once in year or so I try whether things improved - no, its the same old shit.

Several times during the last weeks, central Bangkok, I did have a connection, but no data throughput.

I complained and they cancelled the data package, gave me a refund.

I now blocked all data traffic on my AIS SIM card, just use TRUE.

I was hoping that the "new" AIS 3G 2100 MHz starting next month would be better. But the pre-registration wa a mess, I wasted a day for this and in the end I was not registered,

There staff told me not to expect too much from the "new" AIS 3G.

I will try again in 1 or 2 years.

I am quite surprised that a Singaporean company can be so useless.