What Evidence For Pay Monthly (Contract) Phones In Thailand

[xybadog]

Can anyone tell me what evidence the networks require to obtain a contract mobile phone in LOS?

I know in the UK you need to have proof of address, proof of identity, credit check and credit/debit card.

[lomatopo]

There really is no such thing as a contract mobile phone here. Service providers offer pre-paid and post-paid services. They sometimes bundle post-paid services in with the purchase of a new phone, but the phone is not discounted, while the services might be discounted up to 50% for up to 6 months over an 18 month contract.

Generally speaking there may be a residency requirement (non-imm visa or even a work permit) to enter in to a post-paid contract but as with all things here this is highly variable. Minimally you may have to provide proof of identity (passport/Thai drivers license), an address and possibly a credit card. I'm not certain they're doing any credit checks yet as so few people choose post-paid and those that do usually pay up.

Most people purchase a phone on their own, and ~ 90% still choose pre-paid. You should review both the pre-paid and post-paid options carefully as you may be able to save money with a pre-paid plan. Again, generally speaking you need about 350 outbound minutes each month before a post-paid plan may start to be cost-effective, forgetting about any services discount (which can obviously tip the balance).

[ThaiRich]

There really is no such thing as a contract mobile phone here. Service providers offer pre-paid and post-paid services. They sometimes bundle post-paid services in with the purchase of a new phone, but the phone is not discounted, while the services might be discounted up to 50% for up to 6 months over an 18 month contract.

Generally speaking there may be a residency requirement (non-imm visa or even a work permit) to enter in to a post-paid contract but as with all things here this is highly variable. Minimally you may have to provide proof of identity (passport/Thai drivers license), an address and possibly a credit card. I'm not certain they're doing any credit checks yet as so few people choose post-paid and those that do usually pay up.

Most people purchase a phone on their own, and ~ 90% still choose pre-paid. You should review both the pre-paid and post-paid options carefully as you may be able to save money with a pre-paid plan. Again, generally speaking you need about 350 outbound minutes each month before a post-paid plan may start to be cost-effective, forgetting about any services discount (which can obviously tip the balance).

Maybe, Possibly, Perhaps?

You will need your passport and a work permit to get a post paid account. True doesn't require a credit card, Dtac does. Post paid accounts that include an internet package can save you 100's of baht a month.

For example:

Post Pay

unlimited internet with 5GB 3G,

400 minutes talk time.

250 SMS

50 MMS

999 baht a month

PrePay

unlimited internet with 5GB

999 baht per a month

[lomatopo]

There have been several first-hand reports here that people were able to get a post-paid account without a work-permit.

Agree that when you get into ~ 300 outbound minutes, and say more than 1 GB of data, that a post-paid plan may be cost-effective.

A 5 GB pre-paid plan with DTAC/Happy is 890 baht. http://www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/products/Happy-internet-package.html

DTAC has extended their new customer, post-paid discount of 200 baht per month out to 12 months; not sure what the term is 18 months? 24 months?

http://www.dtac.co.th/en/postpaid/products/smartphone.html

[lomatopo]

FWIW, from DTAC's post-paid page: http://www.dtac.co.th/en/postpaid/services/Long-Stay-Visitors.html

"No work permit required to register for dtac postpaid mobile service. With your passport and any credit card (VISA or Master Card), you can get your own postpaid mobile service with monthly invoice."

Some also report no work permit required with TrueMove H. Like I said, YMMV.

[xybadog]

Thanks for the info.

Maybe I should have explained that the phone would be for my Thai OH. She needs something with a decent internet package for using video calling to me when I'm away, as well as FB and Twitter, and the pre-paid tariffs would work out too expensive. I've seen a post-paid tariff on AIS that doesn't look to bad.

I just wanted to know what we would need to take with us for her to get a post-paid phone.

[lomatopo]

Not sure what an OH is, but if she is Thai then she'd just need her Thai national identity card and an address. AFAIK, there is no credit check or verification of employment/salary or bank/credit card requirement.

You, and she, would have more control over costs, with a pre-paid plan. With a post-paid, contract plan it can be tempting to use more than you allotted calling minutes, for which you will pay extra, and if the data plan does not offer unlimited internet usage, then you will pay for each minute or Kilo-Byte over your cap. You'll also have to make arrangements for monthly payment of the bill.

Let's put it this way, you won't be the first foreigner responsible for a 25,000 baht telephone bill.

[2unique]

OH = Other Half (also known as Better Half

Not sure of the origin. I guess you would say SO (significant other)

Dtac's 2GB, 350 of calls, free wifi package is discounted to 529 baht (if memory serves correct) I posted info in the speed being throttled to 64Kbs thread - which also has some good pre/post paid package info

[Nowhereman60]

There have been several first-hand reports here that people were able to get a post-paid account without a work-permit.

Agree that when you get into ~ 300 outbound minutes, and say more than 1 GB of data, that a post-paid plan may be cost-effective.

A 5 GB pre-paid plan with DTAC/Happy is 890 baht. http://www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/products/Happy-internet-package.html

DTAC has extended their new customer, post-paid discount of 200 baht per month out to 12 months; not sure what the term is 18 months? 24 months?

http://www.dtac.co.th/en/postpaid/products/smartphone.htmlI

I have post paid with AIS and they could care less if I had a work permit or not. I am on a retirement visa.

399 baht for 150 minutes calling time and 500 mb of 3g

Edited March 28, 2013 by Nowhereman60

[HarryMilton]

Not sure what an OH is, but if she is Thai then she'd just need her Thai national identity card and an address. AFAIK, there is no credit check or verification of employment/salary or bank/credit card requirement.

You, and she, would have more control over costs, with a pre-paid plan. With a post-paid, contract plan it can be tempting to use more than you allotted calling minutes, for which you will pay extra, and if the data plan does not offer unlimited internet usage, then you will pay for each minute or Kilo-Byte over your cap. You'll also have to make arrangements for monthly payment of the bill.

Let's put it this way, you won't be the first foreigner responsible for a 25,000 baht telephone bill.

He might be in this case, the post-paid contract is for her so her responsibility.

[lomatopo]

Not sure what an OH is, but if she is Thai then she'd just need her Thai national identity card and an address. AFAIK, there is no credit check or verification of employment/salary or bank/credit card requirement.

You, and she, would have more control over costs, with a pre-paid plan. With a post-paid, contract plan it can be tempting to use more than you allotted calling minutes, for which you will pay extra, and if the data plan does not offer unlimited internet usage, then you will pay for each minute or Kilo-Byte over your cap. You'll also have to make arrangements for monthly payment of the bill.

Let's put it this way, you won't be the first foreigner responsible for a 25,000 baht telephone bill.

He might be in this case, the post-paid contract is for her so her responsibility.

Perhaps not the best phrasing on my part....

Let's put it this way, you won't be the first foreigner whose Thai OH has asked for 25,000 baht so that she can pay her phone bill. Better?

[xybadog]

Thanks all. I think post paid is going to be best for what she needs as far as data Internet is concerned.

No worries about massive bills as she hardly uses the phone for calling and I can set a limiter on the phone so she doesn't go over her data allowance.

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk 2

[lomatopo]

Clearly there's no dissuading you but if she hardly uses her phone for calling then there is less economic justification to get a post-paid plan. Just layer on a mobile data plan to a pre-paid SIM.

Which phone were you considering? Which service provider? Which plan? Any idea on monthly usage? Budget?

I assume you know you need to match the phone, in some cases, to the service provider to get 3G? And that not all service providers offer the same coverage?

Lastly, unless your post-paid plan includes unlimited internet usage then it can be quite easy to run up a tremendous bill as you will be paying ~ 1,440 baht per day (1 baht/min) once you exceed your monthly data allowance. While there are many apps that allow you to shut down mobile data once a specified limit is met - note that these may not be as accurate as the service provider's 'meter' - it is incredibly simple to "re-enable" data.

Edited March 29, 2013 by lomatopo

[xybadog]

Not a case of not being dissuaded but I'm intelligent enough to be able to weigh up options and get best value for money, as well as a very good, informed knowledge of mobile communications in general. I only wanted to know what proof of ID was required as the network websites have no information on this.

I need her to able to use Facetime on the iPhone which uses approximately 15MB of data for each 5 minutes using 3G. For 10 minutes every day this works out to around 900MB per month. Include syncing email, fbook and twitter, for example, then the post-paid DTAC Smartphone 599 tariff should be ideal. 350 all n/work minutes and 2GB 3G allowance should be more than enough for only 599 baht per month. And at 1 baht per local sms and 8 baht per sms to me when I'm in the UK, 1000 baht per month would easily cover it.

Looking at pre-paid just the charge for 2GB of 3G data at 2 baht per minute, alone, would come to nearly double what I would pay for the post-paid option above and there would be charges for calls and sms on top of that too.

I have an AIS One-2-Call internet sim and I know from using that how high the data charges can be (I use a lot of data!) so wish I was spending enough time in LOS to justify getting post-paid for myself. In fact I'm contemplating it as it would still work out cheaper for me even if I continued paying for a post-paid sim for the time I'm away from LOS.

[lomatopo]

With Happy (DTAC pre-paid) 1 GB is 399 baht, 3 GB is 599 baht; both offer unlimited internet usage, with the 1 GB plan having a FuP of 64 Kbps and the 3 GB plan having a FuP of 384 Kbps., so not sure where you're getting this 2 baht/min figure?

Not sure about the need for 350 minutes as you said she doesn't make that many calls?

Re: messaging, maybe better to use an IM app. like WhatsApp! or Line.

The post-paid DTAC Smartphone 799 baht plan does currently show a 12 month promotion price of 599 baht, so with a 2 GB sweet-spot and maybe ~ 150 minutes of estimated calls per month this plan might be great, especially with the discounted price.

[2unique]

The plan above would certainly be better as the FuP speed of 384Kbs can support facetime or Skype whereas 64Kbs is below the minimum spec aa per skype'a website

Sent from Android please excuse errors in type or judgement