Fiber Optic Internet In Bangkok

[Myran]

FWIW, I've been getting very good results to the U.S. lately with HMA VPN, much better than any of the prior several VPNs I've used over time.

With a 15 Mbps-rated True cable service in BKK, with HMA, I'm getting 2 - 3 Mbps sustained averages to the U.S. during daytimes, and sustained 1-2 Mbps averages even in the peak evening times here. That's about double what I had been getting previously. And those a REAL results, verified by the real-time NetWorx app readings on my PCs.

With the HMA service, it's totally eliminated any periodic streaming buffering issues I'd been encountering previously -- since I too mostly live in the single stream world.

HMA has a server based in BKK, but that's not the one I'm connecting to... And I don't know if their local server here is helping me reach the U.S. in an expedited way. All I know is, it's working better than any previously that I've used.

Are you seeing any improvements in latency to US servers when using HMA?

[Kf6vci]

OT: My landlady paid 3,000 Baht to TOT for "fiber optic" cable - but it's unknown when I'll be getting broadband. Or how fast it will be.

Heard it will cost 750 B.

If I had been consulted, I would have pushed for 3BB instead. Good service and perfect reliability in a small town up North for many months and during heavy rain etc. The one time i needed a technician, he came within the hour and for free. (An issue with my computer or rather what's between my ears TBH, not their service).

What speed can I expect?

How long does TOT usually take from taking money to delivering a service in a new development?

If it's months, then I'll want to switch to some other provider...

[Sandman77]

Better we all move into a shopping center true wifi even faster then fiber

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

FWIW, I've been getting very good results to the U.S. lately with HMA VPN, much better than any of the prior several VPNs I've used over time.

With a 15 Mbps-rated True cable service in BKK, with HMA, I'm getting 2 - 3 Mbps sustained averages to the U.S. during daytimes, and sustained 1-2 Mbps averages even in the peak evening times here. That's about double what I had been getting previously. And those a REAL results, verified by the real-time NetWorx app readings on my PCs.

With the HMA service, it's totally eliminated any periodic streaming buffering issues I'd been encountering previously -- since I too mostly live in the single stream world.

HMA has a server based in BKK, but that's not the one I'm connecting to... And I don't know if their local server here is helping me reach the U.S. in an expedited way. All I know is, it's working better than any previously that I've used.

Are you seeing any improvements in latency to US servers when using HMA?

I'm not sure now is the best time to be running representative international speed tests... But I figured, what the heck...

So I ran a series this afternoon between 4 and 5 pm BKK time connecting to the TestMy.net server in Seattle WA, using various configurations here in BKK working from my True Online 15 Mbps cable internet service. All using a 25 MB download package.

Here's the results, which as pretty consistent with my past tests that show a direct True connection lagging well behind most HMA VPN connections, except in this instance, Seattle, which performed very poorly for some reason:

True cable direct - no VPN:

True cable with HMA L.A.-based VPN

True cable with HMA Singapore-based U.S. virtual VPN

True cable with HMA Seattle WA-based VPN

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

ThaiVisa seemed to be having some problem with its servers when I did the above post, and it seems now some of my uploaded speed test images aren't loading well or correctly.

So, let me recap in text form the results I got running the tests thru TestMy.net's Seattle server with 25 MB downloads, 4-5 pm this afternoon.

True cable direct - no VPN: 1.5 - 1.6 Mbps

True cable with HMA L.A.-based VPN: 4.1 - 7.6 Mbps

True cable with HMA Singapore-based U.S. virtual VPN: 5.7 - 6.8 Mbps

True cable with HMA Seattle WA-based VPN: 477 - 494 Kbps

[robblok]

I have had cable and optic fiber.. the latter is faster and has more upload speed. It just works better for me. I got it from 3bb but I did upgrade to a good router to get optimal results.

[crabdog]

Very interesting and timely thread. I've been using the True ADSL package for 3 years now in our house in Bangkok. However, I am now getting in to trading and need a fast reliable internet connection to the US. I will be using this mainly from 2pm to midnight (ish), Thai time. For me, bandwidth is not the key factor - but latency and reliability are... (of course decent bandwidth for other non-trading related activities is always a plus).

I was getting terrible ping, packet loss and speed results on True for so long (pingtest.net results to SIngapore were coming in at D* / E / F classification, with the best ping times always in excess of 200ms, and jitter varying from 20 to 200+. The results to a US server were considerably worse (if possible). The True technician came out several times but his tests to a Thai based server I guess reported no issues.

I have decided to get a fiber line run to the house - TRUE and 3BB's options are not available where I am, but TOT have a "hub" at the entrance to the housing development so they can install Fiber 2U. I'd appreciate some advice here as I am not so clued up on all this, my limited knowledge for varied net searches:

1. TOT have a package for 1,290 per month for 20 Mbs on Fiber 2U which seems fine for me. Do you think the Fiber 2U package will produce less latency than my True ADSL was getting?

2. TOT comes with a FORTH GPO-4900WS router - is this going to be sufficient, or should I buy my own router, and which would you recommend? TOT will charge me just over THB 3k I think - to be honest, if the router made a difference I would be willing to stretch that to about THB 5k.

3. Some posters here refer to the max international bandwidth that I will get is 10 Mbs due to throttling - is there any way around this if I change the router, or is the only "fix" to sign up for a business type plan (which is beyond my budgets / needs).

Any input / wise words of advice would be much appreciated :-)

I've been using TOT Fiber 2u for a couple of months now which replaced my previous TRUE adsl service. So far it has been pretty good and there hasn't been any downtime. Web browsing, torrents and downloads are usually faster than what I was getting with TRUE but latency and ping are worse on the TOT fiber (most likely due to poor international routing).

There is, however a daily slowdown from around 7pm-11pm which doesn't seem to affect torrent speeds but increases latency and pings drastically. Since my main use for internet is online gaming I kind of wish that I had stayed with TRUE. If I wasn't a gamer though I would recommend Fiber 2u as a pretty decent service.

[mistereu]

this is my home connection in eu - denmark on fibernet

sadly only fiber in the basement and they have to save money on the installation so only cable up to the apartments

i am thinking about to move to thailand this year around december maybe pattaya i think its better to live on a hotel my question is would they allow a fiber installation and how much do you think it would cost in thai bath .

also how do the fiber provider look at people downloading - torrenting

when i download or seed i usually get 11 mbit . and this is from an 80/80 mbit internet connection

Edited July 1, 2014 by mistereu

[muratremix]

No matter what TOT package you buy, you'll never get around TOT crappy routing and bad pings.

Cat / True is much better. However if you use internet only to watch youtube videos, browse some web and thats it, then TOT is perfectly fine for such needs.

[mortenaa]

I have CAT On Net Gold. I installed it in my condo. No problem. The wait was long, but they finally managed to install that fiber optic cable all they way from the main street, into my building, and up to 16th floor. For some reason they did a mistake, and installed a way too thick cable, with loads of fibers.

For most of the time the line is excellent. Great speeds to Europe, and low ping speeds. No packet loss. From time to time, its a bit unstable. I keep a True ADSL line as backup, with Dual WAN router. Very practical.

I didn't get it to download movies faster. But that is just a bonus, along with better upload speed. I got it mainly to achieve a consistent, fast connection to Europe, with as low latency as possible. Usually I get around 230 ms to Norway, which works for me.

With True, I would get from 330 ms - 430 ms. Not consistent at all.