MiFi & Personal Hotspot options for visitor

[leola74]

I am planning to be in Thailand next year for 2-3 months, probably in Samui. I will be working most of the time, and for that I need a reliable, fast internet connection (I will use rdp to log into my PC located in New York).

As a backup to whatever internet connection is installed in whatever house I rent, I would like to have a MiFi - in case the DSL line is too slow (e.g. too many other users sharing same line) or goes down completely.

I've seen that thaismileconnect offers MiFi via 3G - unlimited volume for 250baht per day (incl. rental of the device). THey have a monthly package for 5000baht, but it's throttled after 14GB, which is a bit tight for me. For unlimited volume, I'd have to go with the daily rate, which amounts to 7500baht a month - very steep!

My questions:

* Are there other providers who offer a "true" flat rate, or at least 15GB a month, at a lower price?

* Is it possible to get just a one-, two-, or three-month contract?

* Can a farang without a Thai bank account get such a contract?

Please focus on the above questions. I am not interested in discussing DSL options / speed / latency - I already cleared up those questions in another post

Thank you!

[boosta]

Problem is you're not asking the exact right questions in the right way.

Your options on Samui may well be more limited than on the mainland, and be aware that the entire electricity infrastructure to the island has gone out for days at a time in the past couple years.

If you're fully committed to being at a given location on the island, no point in doing vendor selection until you've tested with temporary account for signal strength and reliability.

This sounds to me like a reseller of one of the main vendors, which are (in my order of preference) True, DTAC 3BB and TOT.

In effect you pay per GB, the credit lasts for up to 30 days but you'll use it up a lot faster than that. The more you buy at once the less per GB.

Their coverage greatly varies from one spot on the island to another. The SIMs are cheap so buy them all with say B3-400 worth of 3G service and test, then refill the one(s) that work well for a given location. Make sure you bring/buy hardware that covers all the frequencies you'll need, ideally buy the SIMs first and then test before you pay for the hardware, as what's printed on the box doesn't always match its capabilities.

Absolutely no need to purchase separate hardware for the different vendors.
-

• Are there other providers who offer a "true" flat rate, or at least 15GB a month, at a lower price?
• Is it possible to get just a one-, two-, or three-month contract?
• Can a farang without a Thai bank account get such a contract?

-

1 Not as far as I know, highest I've seen is 12GB - any reference to "unlimited" means "fall back to unusably slow Edge or WiFi" once your GB run out - just refill with more GB when that happens.

2 No term contracts required at all

3 They need to verify your ID only, no bank details no WP needed

[leola74]

@boosta

So you're suggesting the following: Get a sim-card from True and a couple of GB worth, test it at the location, if no good try another provider etc. Fair point.

What are the going rates for a "big" GB package? I take it from your email that this is a prepaid deal, right? What's the best place to go to get it? (Sorry, never dealt with cell phone/internet before in Thailand)

Regarding the hardware, I suppose it's better to use a mobile hotspot router than my cell phone (Sony Xperia Sola), since the former hopefully has better reception. Please let me know if you think differently...

[boosta]

So you're suggesting the following: Get a sim-card from True and a couple of GB worth, test it at the location, if no good try another provider etc. Fair point.

-

No more like do that with all the providers known to have a presence on the island, take the SIMs to a shop to buy your dongle and test that it works with all of them at the shop before you fork over your money.

Then take the lot back to your place and do some testing. The ones that work best from then on buy your bulk GBs (if it's cheaper that way) for those only.

Make sure you keep at least 2-3 that work loaded to handle network overloads, weather conditions etc.

What are the going rates for a "big" GB package? I take it from your email that this is a prepaid deal, right? What's the best place to go to get it? (Sorry, never dealt with cell phone/internet before in Thailand)

-

Initial SIM purchase may require a visit to their office or an authorized shop, some you can do from 7-11, which is where you get your top-ups for everyone AFAIK, or local phone shops all over the place.

Regarding the hardware, I suppose it's better to use a mobile hotspot router than my cell phone (Sony Xperia Sola), since the former hopefully has better reception. Please let me know if you think differently...

-

Other than direct in a single mobile device, I've only used a regular USB dongle in my laptop, sorry.

The key issue is that it can handle all the dozens of different combinations of modes/frequencies, WCDMA vs GSM 850/900/1800/1900/2100 HSDPA HSPA+ HSUPA whatever, each provider uses at least one, sometimes more than one and it can vary by location.

Hence buying all the SIMs first and testing for compatibility at the shop before paying for the dongle.

If you're in Bangkok, Pantip or MBK 4th floor have dozens of expert shops in this stuff, on Samui you'll probably have to leg it around more hit and miss.

[leola74]

OK, got it.

So what's the going rate for, say, 10GB at a time, lasting a month. Just trying to figure out how much I can save by not using thaismileconnect. If it comes out to almost the same price, not worth the hassle...

[boosta]

OK, got it.

So what's the going rate for, say, 10GB at a time, lasting a month. Just trying to figure out how much I can save by not using thaismileconnect. If it comes out to almost the same price, not worth the hassle...

Don't have a pricelist handy, ballpark B100 per 2GB?

I go through multiples of that per day myself sometimes, so that's why I recommend getting a wired account B400 / mo truly unlimited always reliable, always high speed, but that's OT.

And what makes you think the vendor you're talking about even has any signal at all where you're going to end up sitting trying to work?

Hope you're not just taking their word for it. . .

[leola74]

Yes, they use true move h, no idea how good that is. But it seems that doing the prepaid thing is a lot cheaper.

By "wired account" you mean Adsl or similar, right? I just want the mifi in case the dsl fails...

[boosta]

Yes, they use true move h, no idea how good that is. But it seems that doing the prepaid thing is a lot cheaper. By "wired account" you mean Adsl or similar, right? I just want the mifi in case the dsl fails...

-

Yes, "high speed Internet" is the catchphrase, I recommend True. Pretty darn reliable.

Good move, my kinda guy, belt and suspenders both. . .

Just be aware on an island if the fiber links to the mainland get cut everything goes out at once, that's how the power goes out days at a time too.

If it's mission-critical for you just have a go-bag packed ready to catch the next ferry to the mainland. . .

[leola74]

Don't have a pricelist handy, ballpark B100 per 2GB?

Looks a bit more expensive, actually: http://thaiprepaidcard.com/2012/3g-data-plans-for-12call-dtac-and-true/#.UcbnsedSnng

More like B900 for 5 GB, or am I missing something? Where would you go to get the best deal?

[Weatherman]

Yes that "ballpark" was way low.

But your choices will be dictated by what vendors have a decent signal at your location, determined by your own testing as outlined above. True, DTAC, AIS, 3BB and TOT are the main vendors to look for. Don't bother looking on the web, as far as I know the vendor sets the rates, there aren't different places or resellers with better deals for a particular vendor, your nearest 7-11 or from the vendor's shop direct will end up pretty much the same.

I paid B200 for an "i-Mobile 3GX" SIM card with 1GB pre-loaded on it. Top-ups are B100 per half a GB, so about what you quoted above.

But that ISP may well not have any coverage at all in the area where you end up, just as an example.