Slow International Internet in Thailand

[JSixpack]

So much whining about what's been known since forever: internet is slow in Thailand.

Most all complaints can be resolved by getting 2 lines, preferebly from different providers, and using a load-balancing router. That way, you get redundancy and double ths speed.

Search the forum for old threads. Here's one: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/451657-load-balancing-using-multiple-separate-internet-connections-simultaneously/

Sorted. Next.

Edited October 11, 2013 by JSixpack

[Pib]

So much whining about what's been known since forever: internet is slow in Thailand.

Most all complaints can be resolved by getting 2 lines, preferebly from different providers, and using a load-balancing router. That way, you get redundancy and double ths speed.

Search the forum for old threads. Here's one: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/451657-load-balancing-using-multiple-separate-internet-connections-simultaneously/

Sorted. Next.

Price and recommendation for a load balancer? And if you connection/speed is crappy/slow on one line then having a second line may only reduce your problem by half...Instead of getting 1Mb international speed on one line you now get 2Mb on two lines...still not great plus the added expense of two lines/plans snd the load balancer. Seems some people get a load balancer and plans from two separate ISPs not so much for speed but to improve chances of always having a connection.

Sent from my Samsung S4 (GT-I9500)

Edited October 11, 2013 by Pib

[muratremix]

Instead of getting 2 lines and load balancer, I still think having a singapore vps is better idea.

They seems to not throttle traffic against singapore, because they have plenty of it. Every 100gb is $2 usd at my oneasiahost SG vps provider (basic package starts at 7 usd with 200gb bw).

I only use proxy on vps and that is enough to speed up my web browsing and downloads (when it is throttled). Works like magic on both true and tot.

Routing to EU & USA is also better too. It helps my voip.

[RichCor]

Started using http://startping.com/ to help narrow down locations that might help in selecting a VPN location to reroute around the congestion.

Just enter your current IP address and it will give you the return ping times from 80-90 locations throughout the world.

Looks like Singapore would be a nice location to force the hop from.

I was surprised at the poor ping rates to other Asia countries.

Edited October 11, 2013 by RichCor

[JSixpack]

So much whining about what's been known since forever: internet is slow in Thailand.

Most all complaints can be resolved by getting 2 lines, preferebly from different providers, and using a load-balancing router. That way, you get redundancy and double ths speed.

Search the forum for old threads. Here's one: http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/451657-load-balancing-using-multiple-separate-internet-connections-simultaneously/

Sorted. Next.

Price and recommendation for a load balancer? And if you connection/speed is crappy/slow on one line then having a second line may only reduce your problem by half...Instead of getting 1Mb international speed on one line you now get 2Mb on two lines...still not great plus the added expense of two lines/plans snd the load balancer. Seems some people get a load balancer and plans from two separate ISPs not so much for speed but to improve chances of always having a connection.

Sent from my Samsung S4 (GT-I9500)

Note that I didn't claim it would solve EVERY problem. And often a solution doesn't need to be perfect, you see. It merely needs to be good enough.

I already made the point about redundancy.

There are a number of threads on the forum about this solution if you do a search; I already gave you one link for free that mentions some different routers.

And one can always go to, say, amazon.com or newegg.com for oneself and take a look, besides google around.

[taiping]

I have been using TRUE HI-SPEED INTERNET ADSL connection for some years now, at present rated 10.0/1.0 Mbps.

I got fed up with the sometimes slow International connection (my daughter complains about TRUE 3G on her iPhone as well) so applied to CAT for their "ON-NET" fibre-optic service.

Since CAT control the International Gateway then I think that's the best hope for a decent service.

Took them about 7-weeks, but CAT installed their fibre-optic cable from the connection point about 300 metres down the Soi, into the condo, then up the service shaft, and across the ceiling in my room. At zero cost. Naturally, I had to get approval from the condo management to install the cable (might be the stumbling block depending on your condo management).

The cost of the CAT connection depends on the speed requested, but ranges from 1,500 baht / month for 20.0 / 3.0 Mbps to 25,000 baht / month for 100 / 25 Mbps. I think there's a 300 baht / month fee for the modem (HUAWEI Wi-Fi modem/router) plus (I guess) 7% VAT. I haven't asked CAT yet if I can use my own modem but the HUAWEI works OK.

Speed Test using www.speedtest.net today shows: 46.95 / 5.05 Mbps, Latency 6 ms, Locally; and 46.95 / 6.62 Mbps, Latency 42 ms, to Singapore (SingTel); but reduced to 9.31 / 1,79 Mbps, Latecy 187 ms, to Los Angeles, USA.

I think my connection now is rated 40 / 5 Mbps, but I actually applied for 20 / 3 Mbps. CAT mixed up the paperwork.

I want to use it for watching streaming TV programs (Fox News, CNN, etc). I have a new ASUS laptop with an HDMI connection to a SAMSUNG 46" LED TV.

TRUE Internet also worked but somewhat unreliable depending on the time of day. CAT seems better up to now (touch wood).

Phone CAT TELECOM to see if they can provide the "ON-NET' service in your area.

[taiping]

I retested the CAT "ON-NET" connection again to a different server in Los Angeles and I gor 46.54 / 1.72 Mbps, Latency 250 ms.

[GreenSnapper]

Speetests are placebos.

My speedtests with TRUE ADSL are always 10MB/1MB. That's what I pay for.

The sad reality is, more often the true download speed is around 0.1 MB/s. It is abysmal, especially in recent weeks.

There have been some times when everything works as it should. But finally. I come to the conclusion, if you want internet speeds and reliability as common in the West, you have to move to another country.

"Internet is for Thai, not for Farang" they claimed some day.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Got my October bill today and on 2 Oct I was indeed automatically upgraded from the 14Mb/1.4Mb/Bt699 plan to the 15Mb/1.5Mb/Bt699 plan. Cool...a little more speed at no increased cost.

Same here, Pib... Though not that I noticed any remarkable change.

Someday perhaps not in the so distant future, we'll be up to 100 Mbps True Cable domestic plans for 699b per month...

and still struggling to get a steady 1 Mbps download for U.S. connections in primetime hours here.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Took them about 7-weeks, but CAT installed their fibre-optic cable from the connection point about 300 metres down the Soi, into the condo, then up the service shaft, and across the ceiling in my room. At zero cost. Naturally, I had to get approval from the condo management to install the cable (might be the stumbling block depending on your condo management).

The cost of the CAT connection depends on the speed requested, but ranges from 1,500 baht / month for 20.0 / 3.0 Mbps to 25,000 baht / month for 100 / 25 Mbps. I think there's a 300 baht / month fee for the modem (HUAWEI Wi-Fi modem/router) plus (I guess) 7% VAT. I haven't asked CAT yet if I can use my own modem but the HUAWEI works OK.

Speed Test using www.speedtest.net today shows: 46.95 / 5.05 Mbps, Latency 6 ms, Locally; and 46.95 / 6.62 Mbps, Latency 42 ms, to Singapore (SingTel); but reduced to 9.31 / 1,79 Mbps, Latecy 187 ms, to Los Angeles, USA.

I think my connection now is rated 40 / 5 Mbps, but I actually applied for 20 / 3 Mbps. CAT mixed up the paperwork.

Yes.... that's on a Sunday morning or early afternoon.... How about on a weekday evening in primetime???

How much of a connection to Los Angeles is your 1500b++ per month buying then?

Edited November 10, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

You also have to be VERY suspicious when using any Speedtest.net server testing with Thailand's ISPs, because the results given are very often false.

Here's an example. Just in the past few minutes, using my True Cable 15 Mbps connection via Ethernet, I ran the following speedtests back to back.

The first was a 25 Mb sustained download from a San Jose server as measured by TestMy.Net. -- 918 Kbps

The second was a Speedtest.Net automatic speedtest between Bangkok and a San Jose server -- 18.67 Mbps

The third was an automatic download test from a San Jose server as measured by TestMy.Net -- 888 Kbps

Wanna take bets on which of the three is a FALSE result???

Edited November 10, 2013 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[supashot]

I've being using True for years, very disappointed I switch to 3bb in Bangkok. Happy so far with them. Keep in mind that the speed advertised is ONLY for domestic traffic no matter what ISP. 16 meg is more than enough for iptv. VPN maybe also be a good option to get faster speed at certain points.

[brucegoniners]

Sorry but a lot of this is off course.

Can anybody suggest something better than True's cable?

And the VPNs I tried didn't help.

[shariq607]

Sorry but a lot of this is off course.

Can anybody suggest something better than True's cable?

And the VPNs I tried didn't help.

One thing I have learned living in Thailand all my life is that the same internet service provider and the same plans or packages are subjective to locations. So for instance true cable might be bad at your location but it might be good at my location so I'm afraid no one can give you a correct answer based on your situation.

[MrMuddle]

I'm in Phetchabun and use Truemove 3G it is painfully slow at the moment and has been for a week. Is this a general fault in this area ?
I tried complaining at the shop, but they just pretend not to understand.

[brucegoniners]

I am having a CAT fiber installed (today actually) after some great reviews from friends. I bought a TP-LINK TR-ER6020 Dual-Wan Router, so I will have both True ADSL and CAT fiber working simultaneously.

How is CAT fiber working for you?

[draftvader]

You also have to be VERY suspicious when using any Speedtest.net server testing with Thailand's ISPs, because the results given are very often false.

Here's an example. Just in the past few minutes, using my True Cable 15 Mbps connection via Ethernet, I ran the following speedtests back to back.

The first was a 25 Mb sustained download from a San Jose server as measured by TestMy.Net. -- 918 Kbps

TestMyNet 25MB DL from San Jose.jpg

The second was a Speedtest.Net automatic speedtest between Bangkok and a San Jose server -- 18.67 Mbps

Speedtest.net Download from San Jose.jpg

The third was an automatic download test from a San Jose server as measured by TestMy.Net -- 888 Kbps

TestMyNet Auto DL Test from San Jose.jpg

Wanna take bets on which of the three is a FALSE result???

testmy.net s the right speedtest tool. When I quoted it to 3BB over a bandwidth issue they hadn't fixed (local) they backed down and fixed the problem. They had, up to that point, kept on pointing me to speedtest.net

[balo]

TOT internet has been extremely slow to Europe here in Jomtien Pattaya.

I have a 10mb line and normally I get 2-3 mb after midnight so I can watch streamed content from Europe.

But for more than a week when I test with testmy.net I only get 100 to 300kb so not possible to watch any video for more than a few seconds.

I had this problem in Thai prime time when traffic is high but now it seems to be 24/7 . Domestic websites and youtube is no problem, only EU servers .

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[schoolies]

For those of you sourcing internet TV....?

I use a Wi-Net and XBMC set up details below hope they are of use to any expats out there?

Get XBMC (at xbmc.org) then a free film on account (at their site). Download add ons via xbmchub.com e.g. expattv (free) 1 channel (movies and TV shows) Watch through TV connected to PC/laptop/tablet [hdmi] and away you go.

It is a hassle, a bit, to set up first but worth it in the long run. Check XBMC videos on YouTube (high view count/ most recent) for set up help.

I have recently gone Wi-Net (TOT for my sins) (good, fingers crossed, so far) 10Mb/s download 0.5 Mb/s upload consistent even in evenings (may drop to 7Mb/s). This allied with XBMC gives all UK TV channels (not sky) but you can usually get these (Sky / BT etc.) via an XBMC add on called Navi-X. I watched F1 Grand Prix on Sky's F1 channel (SD but OK for Free).

If you like rugby you can get Setanta sportsplus for 500 bht a month.

[oTwoPies]

Speed Test using www.speedtest.net today shows: 46.95 / 5.05 Mbps, Latency 6 ms, Locally; and 46.95 / 6.62 Mbps, Latency 42 ms, to Singapore (SingTel); but reduced to 9.31 / 1,79 Mbps, Latecy 187 ms, to Los Angeles, USA.

Can you please run back -back speed tests on the following sites:-

http://www.thinkbroadband.com/speedtest.html

and

http://testmy.net/

For my ha'pennyworth I agree with everyone that has stated testmy.net produces accurate results. However, Thinkbroadband have recently revamped their speed-test website and now the green result represents real streaming speed and the yellow is an indication of download speeds.

Do you have nay long term test update regarding streaming of International tv or video?

cheers and thanks

[ArranP]

I'm using VDSL 50/10, getting 50mb download in Thailand which is great, but when I go international i.e. to the UK I get only 0.25mb download which is not enough to watch my free UK IPTV.

Found a solution, use a free proxy server in singapore it gives me 7mb download, now can watch my free UK IPTV without interruption, :-)

instructions are here http://showboxassistance.proboards.com/thread/3/using-proxy

Edited June 1, 2016 by ArranP