Best 3G Data Coverage in Chiang Mai

[jaiyenjohn]

Hi All,

Moving to Chiang Mai soon, and was wondering if anyone had any feedback on 3G data plans and coverage. I barely use my phone to talk, but am a data fiend, so I'm looking for the fastest and best 3g data network to use, price is less of an issue than reliability and speed.

So is anyone happy with their plan (AIS, DTAC, True) ?

Thanks!

[DavidMavec]

If you will be here for a while I recommend you get CAT my 3G because once the FUP is used up you get 378kbits/sec speed instead of 128 as with the others. CAT uses True's towers and has their own. True and DTAC are both decent in my opinion as long as you are in the main city. True is perhaps a bit slower but has much wider 3g coverage outside of the city whereas DTAC has only Edge in smaller towns. Others' opinions may vary. Good luck.

[DavidMavec]

By the way, I've only heard bad reports about AIS. Also, the reason I said "If you will be here for a while I recommend you get CAT my 3G" is because you need a contract plan with CAT whereas True or DTAC have prepay topup plans...the CAT contract is quite convenient though and can be cancelled whenever. CAT probably has the best all around 3G coverage since it uses True's towers and also has its own but may not be the absolute fastest.

[RaysFan]

As far as I know... AIS is almost always best. I have dtac here and rarely have 3g. 75% of the time im on H+. I have an ais data card for my laptop and im usually pulling 8 meg from it. I really doubt another service will be better. You get what you pay for.

Sent from my GT-I9500

[blorg]

H+ is 3G, in fact it's sometimes marketed as 3.9G. The speed you will actually get is another matter.

I've had good results from i-mobile in Chiang Mai but these guys would have less coverage than the big three outside the actual city if that's a concern. Works fine anywhere inside the city though. 2100Mhz TOT network.

100B/500MB very simple pricing scheme, no monthly commitment.

My general experience of the big three is that True and DTAC work with True having the edge on 3G, while AIS is utterly useless for data but has the largest 2G coverage. But this isn't specific to Chiang Mai and I haven't used AIS in over a year so maybe it has changed.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

^ Year ago was even before AIS officially launched 3G service. It's insanely fast now. Way faster than my ADSL home internet actually, almost all of the time.

[RaysFan]

My espierence as well... its only 100 baht more per month than dtac but 10x the speed a lot of the time. Dtac im usually pulling 1-3 mb down. AIS is routinely over 10.

Sent from my GT-I9500

[mesquite]

Here in CM, AIS is smokin'

[A1Str8]

From my experience Dtac is a good and reliable operator, i could recommend it.

If price is not an issue, then i would go for either the 3Gb package which costs 650thb for a month or the 5Gb package and that is 890thb per month.

The official speed is up to 42Mbps so if you are going to stay downtown, you cant miss with Dtac.

Good luck

[JimShortz]

I've had good results from i-mobile in Chiang Mai but these guys would have less coverage than the big three outside the actual city if that's a concern. Works fine anywhere inside the city though. 2100Mhz TOT network.

100B/500MB very simple pricing scheme, no monthly commitment.

Can anyone link to these tariffs? I am only aware of i-mobile as a phone manufacturer, not a service provider. Google gives me nothing...

[blorg]

www.i-mobile3gx.com

The way it works is data is priced at a flat 0.4B per MB, but you get double whatever you top up, so if you top up by 100B you get 200B credit. Topping up by 100B also extends the validity out by one month, my credit is valid well into 2014 at this stage. There's no plans, so unlike the other providers you don't lose unused MB at the end of each cycle (presuming you have topped up enough that your validity date is pushed out far enough.) I'm on it simply as my phone doesn't support 850Mhz which is what the big three use mainly; the others are making noises about 2100Mhz but right now TOT have by far the largest 2100 network.

It's very good for relatively light data users or people who pop in and out of Thailand, as long as you won't be way out in the sticks most of the time. The coverage is much better than I was led to believe when buying the SIM, though, I've only lost coverage in some very rural places and even then have had it in many of them. Cycling from Bangkok to Mae Sae on back roads I had coverage out on the road I'd estimate about 80% of the time, in most villages and 100% in any major towns. I'm in Myanmar right now on it, just across the border.

Speeds vary but I found it faster in Bangkok than I used get with True or DTAC, 5-10Mbs.

> ระบบเติมเงิน100บ.ให้แล้วค่ะ คุณมียอดเงินรวม 200.0บ.ใช้ถึง26-01-2014

[infernalman7]

AIS is definitely very fast here in Chiang Mai. Much faster than in Bangkok.

I am getting about 21Mbps down and 1.8Mbps up. In Bangkok, the down is only about 12-13.

[inthepink]

I have tried AIS, DTAC, I-mobile (they are resellers for TOT by the way) and CAT on my mi-fi routers. It's not true that CAT are the only one that offer a decent speed after your data plan is used up, DTAC offer 384kbps/s. (http://www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/products/Happy-internet-package.html)

As different people have different opinions, I guess exactly where you are using the network must play a big part in the speeds you will get. From my personal experience - all in the last six months - CAT was appalling slow, AIS have bad coverage (no signal at my house and I'm not in the sticks), True claimed not to have anything other than a really basic plan so I didn't even bother trying them, whilst DTAC and I-mobile have both been satisfactory.

However, I never got anything like 21MBs with AIS, more like 4. If you really can get those speeds then it is a lot faster than DTAC and I-mobile.

Edited August 22, 2013 by inthepink

[giibaht]

I used to have an AIS Aircard which have max speed of 3+ Mbps only. Now I am thinking of buying the newer AIS 3G Aircard 21MBbps which is selling for about 1000B, and subscribing to their 4GB monthly plan which costs 800+B.

Anyone knows what sort of protocols are supported by this particular dongle? Would I be able to use the Aircard if I decide to switch to True/3BB/Dtac etc later on, or use this dongle abroad using other foreign SIM cards. I guess what I'm asking is whether I would be better off buying a generic "unlocked"(recommenation?) dongle, and buy AIS 3G Sim card separately. Also, given that 4G is being rolled out in my home country, I rather have a dongle that supports 4G as well, if it's not that much more expensive. Note that I don't have a 3G handphone.

Any suggestions/recommendations appreciated.

Edited December 9, 2013 by giibaht

[Chicog]

Coverage-wise I'd go for an AIS SIM card, always worked well for me and the speed goes from adequate to excellent.