True Cable Internet or CATV not available for condos?

[wpcoe]

I currently live in a townhouse in Hua Hin with a True Internet (DOCSIS) and CATV package that I'm quite happy with. However, I'm moving back to Jomtien so I went to the True office to see how long I had remaining on my initial one-year contract here in Hua Hin. (To get free modem rental and installation I signed a one-year contract.)

Before they checked my account, they said it would be no problem to transfer my current account and contract to Jomtien and continue with it there, so I gave them my Jomtien address to see if it had DOCSIS internet available.

The reply was to the effect: "Oh! You move to condo. Cannot have True Cable in condo." I asked if that meant no CATV or no DOCSIS, or both. "Both." They said if I moved into a single residence in that same area, I could have cable, but not in a condo.

Why can't True run cable into condos? Was there a miscommunication and it was only that specific condo, or is it all condos? I tried to pin them down on that, and all I got was a "Cannot move your account. No cable in condo."

I will still have two months remaining on my initial one-year contract when I leave Hua Hin next month. If it were cheaper, can I just pay for two more months (~B2,000) and give them the modem? Or, will I have to pay for installation and ten months' of modem rental? And, now that I think about it, I'm not sure but maybe the free CATV package I've been enjoying also required a 12-month commitment? Would I have to pay for ten months of that, too?

I want an idea of my options before I return to the True shop to terminate my service.

[Langsuan Man]

I want an idea of my options before I return to the True shop to terminate my service.

I would check with the condo you are moving too. They have to give permission for True to service them so you should find out first who is preventing you from having True service. True or the Condo ?

[wpcoe]

That's what I'm wondering, and why I asked if it were only my specific condo or if it were all condos. If some condo dweller can report that they have True Cable, then I'll know. Otherwise, it's a potential battle of wits with the True shop and with my condo association. It can be excruciating sometimes to get a black-and-white answer from a Thai business. Oblique, indirect, irrelevant and/or incorrect responses are often be freely available, however.

[MKAsok]

What they mean is that there's no cable to that particular building, not that you can't ever receive True services through a cable in a condo building. I'm in a condo in BKK and receive True Visions through a cable. No DOCSIS though, internet is via ADSL.

[Pib]

What they mean is that there's no cable to that particular building, not that you can't ever receive True services through a cable in a condo building. I'm in a condo in BKK and receive True Visions through a cable. No DOCSIS though, internet is via ADSL.

Yea, all of TrueVisions cable TV system is not equipped with the TrueOnline DOCSIS internet capability yet....hopefully your TrueVisions area will also be equipped with DOCSIS sooner versus later.

[Suradit69]

My building in Pattaya has a contract with Sophon cable, so if someone wants cable TV in his condo the only choice is to hook up to that. If you want True TV in this building, you have to get satellite, which I have. I would imagine at Jomtien, if the building has cable TV, you'll have to go with what they have installed, but you could probably opt for the satellite service on an individual basis.

As far as Internet is concerned, I had TOT and then switched to 3BB with no problem, but when I was checking with CAT they wanted a letter from the building management agreeing to the installation. But Internet connectivity also depends on who offers what, where. True Internet may not be available in your area.

[wpcoe]

Okay, that settles that question: True cable *can* be available in condos. It wasn't until I got home that I began to wonder what they meant: "Cannot move your account. No cable in condo." They meant "No cable in *your* condo."

Any ideas what will happen when I go to return the modem and reconcile my account? Do you think I'll be able to just pay the remaining two months (months 11 and 12) next month to finish my one-year contract, or am I going to be soaked with retroactive installation, modem rental, and TV package fees?

I suppose I could just take the modem with me to Jomtien, continue to pay my bills and then in November make a return visit to Hua Hin and turn in my modem -- or do you think I could turn in the modem in Pattaya? -- and close my account. Only potential snag would be if my landlady rents my place before then and the new tenant wants True DOCSIS or CATV.

PS: I just noticed that the forum software now honors user-specified upper/lowercase characters.

[barryw52]

I think if you can remain a True customer in some way i.e ADSL, Truevision via Sat, (Most condos have common Paytv distribution systems) then True should look after you (interested in you posting the result once you get this sorted out but maybe I am being too logical. But the issue is what deal has your new Condo done with whom. When I moved into my condo I wanted someone other than True for internet. Sorry can only be True we have done a exclusive deal with them.

[lomatopo]

Why can't True run cable into condos?

We've run into this challenge multiple times. Many housing/condo/estate management companies have exclusive arrangements with internet and TV suppliers, and it is pretty much impossible to break into these properties with alternative wired/cabled options. We tried to get CAT On-Net fiber pulled into a customer where another service provider has exclusive access, and even offered a 10,000 baht "non-refundable deposit" which was rebuffed. The inference was that the property management company was receiving a lot more than 10,000 in order to maintain exclusivity.

Regarding terminating your contract early, I would review said contract. Typically, after month six, and before month twelve, on a twelve - twenty-four month contract, one can terminate the contract if they give a certain amount of notice. The contracts I've seen stipulate 60 days notice, but with equipment rental, promotional packages and any incentivized discounting YMMV.

Edited August 28, 2013 by lomatopo

[wpcoe]

I'd, uhm. review the contract if, uhm, I could find it.

Thanks for the glimmer of hope. I intend to keep my TrueMove H mobile plan, so maybe that will help. I wouldn't mind if the "penalty" were to just pay for months 11 & 12, but of course, if I can cleanly terminate early, that would be even nicer.

I forgot to ask about True ADSL at the condo. I'd be happy to switch over to that, if it made everybody happy. Otherwise, I was planning on going back to 3BB with whom I had good service for the previous six years I lived in Jomtien (and even the first year I lived in Hua Hin). The main reason I moved to True was the higher speed DOCSIS for the same price as 3BB ADSL.

Oh, for heaven's sake, look what I found: http://trueonline.truecorp.co.th/new-customer/new-customer-promotion-tmh-tvs/entry/949 Apparently because I have TrueMove H mobile + TrueOnline DOCSIS, I could have had a 2Mbps bump up in the speed of my DOCSIS plan?

[DaveBKK]

I'm a BKK CBD condo dweller, and we have True Docsis.

[wpcoe]

FYI, here's how the situation with True and the 12-month contract is playing out: I went to the True office in Hua Hin (Market Village) to cancel my online/cable service and they explained that since I was only in month #10, if I terminate the contract now I would owe them for the modem and installation charges. I asked for a rough estimate of how much the modem would cost and was told "around B5,000." I didn't bother to ask how much installation would cost when I heard how much the modem was.

Their advice was to take the DOCSIS modem/router and the CATV converter box with me to Jomtien, continue to pay the B961.93 for another two months, then return the modem & converter box and cancel my service. They said I could return the hardware to any True office nationwide.

I asked what would happen if my landlady rented the townhouse to someone new who wanted to have True cable or internet before I terminated my service at that location, and they said it would not be a problem.

So, I will pay two more bills and then go to the True counter in the Tesco Lotus store in S.Pattaya and see what happens.