Slow International Internet in Thailand

[roban]

Again, you cannot have (advertised) speeds when contacting servers that are far away.

Nonsense.

The distance has nothing to do with the speed (maybe in TH), only with the latency and ping times.

Long distances "can" slow down your speed, if you have a massive packet loss on your way, but if not....

I am able to get full speed in Germany (50Mbit/s) when downloading from US servers.

I can even watch 1Mbit streams from "TOT IPTV" in Germany without problems

EDIT: just tested, I've downloaded the same file from my home-server in Germany (10Mbit/s upload)

From Singapore, almost full speed.

From here (ToT), ~0.5Mbit/s....

Edited September 14, 2013 by roban

[roban]

A virtual server, you mean a VPN? Which one?

No, I mean a "VPS", a virtual private server, hosted in Singapore.

On this server, I am running a VPN and a Proxy server (and some other things)

[muratremix]

A virtual server, you mean a VPN? Which one?

No, I mean a "VPS", a virtual private server, hosted in Singapore.

On this server, I am running a VPN and a Proxy server (and some other things)

I use 7 usd per month oneasiahost plan with 200 gb bw (100 gb each direction when you use it for proxy/vpn) and pretty happy with it.

[MichaelJohn]

I personally agree with Metrox that something has changed dramatically in the last month or so?

International traffic has slowed, ISP are managing the traffic and restricting the uses at various times. (It's common in UK to have certain functions restricted at certain times but it seems new here). As the ISP get more customers they are slowing the traffic at peak times and restricting certain functions.

I've noticed a degredation in Skpye, I can't use 3CX (VOIP) in the evenings and International website responses have a noticably increased latency/ping.

I have 3BB, and Airnet at two different locations and suffer the same problems and the most annoying thing is that Customer Service (Service of course being a misnomer) is non existent and unable to help apart from deny a problem or offer platitudes.

[ukrules]

I use the free download manager to open up multiple http connections to download huge files. This seems to work well because it splits up the downloads into chunks it sends separate requests at the same time as each other.

I see no reason why this same approach couldn't be taken by some VPN software.

If there is a piece of VPN software which is capable of making multiple connections to one or more VPN accounts you should in theory be able to gain a much faster download even to a live stream via a virtual network interface which manages (bonds) the separate VPN connections. Does anyone know if anything like this exists ?

If it does it would be a good way to get around all ISP throttling.

Edited September 14, 2013 by ukrules

[roban]

^^ "slow" downloads are the slightest problem.

Unusable or stuttering Live streams are the problem, what most people are complaining about.

[ukrules]

^^ "slow" downloads are the slightest problem.

Unusable or stuttering Live streams are the problem, what most people are complaining about.

A live stream is merely a download which is replayed instantly rather than saved. It's merely data being moved from one place to another.

I came across this piece of software which opens up multiple simultaneous VPN connections to the custom VPN server to increase the overall download speed available to whatever programs are running.

If this is setup correctly on a server and your PC it should increase the speed of single threaded download from the streaming app by using combined throttled connections.

It's a client and server package which appears to be pretty advanced. I've done some initial testing with a windows server I have in a datacenter and my local PC and it does increase the speed, however there are lots of settings to tweak to change the performance.

Check it out, it's free, relatively new and has some real professional features in it : http://www.softether.org/

Server and client programs are available on Windows, Linux and a whole assortment of other devices.

I'll be doing more testing on this system over the coming days as it's an interesting development which I wasn't aware of until now.

[elzach]

Lots of good info here.

Someone mentioned 3BB wifi. But what about 3BB wireless broadband? I called their call center to get their coverage area and it was like pulling teeth. Yes I know, welcome to Thailand.

Their rates seem reasonable (for Thailand), 13M for 900bht, 20M for 2290 bht.

btw, can anyone think of another place where we would be willing to pay the equivalent of $30-$50 a month for totally crap internet connection? I believe $50 in the US will get you at least 25Mbps.

edit: in China for example, which was a "dinosaur" in the internet context not too long ago, I could get a solid and tested 10Mbps download and 2Mbps upload this year, all for $12 a month, on an annual contract....kid you not. Of course, a VPN also was mandatory

Edited September 15, 2013 by elzach

[CPH]

I personally agree with Metrox that something has changed dramatically in the last month or so?

International traffic has slowed, ISP are managing the traffic and restricting the uses at various times. (It's common in UK to have certain functions restricted at certain times but it seems new here). As the ISP get more customers they are slowing the traffic at peak times and restricting certain functions.

I've noticed a degredation in Skpye, I can't use 3CX (VOIP) in the evenings and International website responses have a noticably increased latency/ping.

I have 3BB, and Airnet at two different locations and suffer the same problems and the most annoying thing is that Customer Service (Service of course being a misnomer) is non existent and unable to help apart from deny a problem or offer platitudes.

Syria. When there is a risk of war the international internet slows down.

[taiping]

This is what HideMyAss says, since they have VPN servers in Bangkok . . .

--------

Our servers will probably go through CAT also, since that gateway is the gateways to the rest of the Internet.

VPN speed is usually lower than your regular ISP speed, or exactly the same, but it can not be faster.

VPN speed depends on: distance to the server, load of the server, your ISP speed, your ISP/country global connectivity with the rest of the Internet, VPN encryption, etc

-----

I think the best idea is to get CAT "ON-NET" service for about 1,500 + 300 Modem Rental + 7% VAT, but I live in a condo and management have to agree on the cable installation, and who will actually make a decision?

[andreitt]

I've been studying this problem for awhile now. I discovered that it's much faster if you use a VPN outside and near Thailand. I've read in other forums that this slowdown maybe caused by badly-configured traffic throttling or shaping.

Anyway, I found the perfect VPN. Visit http://www.vpngate.net/en/

[kubota]

Hi.

I am using overplay with smart DNS 4,99 usd a month, been using this for a year now, mainly for watching Netflix.

This service let you choose which "locale" you want to watch Netflix from. US,UK,Irland and so on.

I bought a flashed router from them, which is set up with an Overplay smart DNS account, so every device i connect to this router will use the DNS if needed.

As i understand, when connecting to Netflix, the smart DNS will then detect that a US ip adress is needed, and will switch accordingly, once the connection is established it will go back to a Thai ip adress.

With this feature a VPN is not needed, and it will not slow down your "international" internet speed.

[h90]

Well everything must pass a governments gateway and need to be checked for your security (no p0rn, gambling, political troublesome things) and than it must be recorded what you do for Thailand and the 3 NSA center.

That all needs time....

[Malthus101]

Lots of good info here.

Someone mentioned 3BB wifi. But what about 3BB wireless broadband? I called their call center to get their coverage area and it was like pulling teeth. Yes I know, welcome to Thailand.

Their rates seem reasonable (for Thailand), 13M for 900bht, 20M for 2290 bht.

btw, can anyone think of another place where we would be willing to pay the equivalent of $30-$50 a month for totally crap internet connection? I believe $50 in the US will get you at least 25Mbps.

edit: in China for example, which was a "dinosaur" in the internet context not too long ago, I could get a solid and tested 10Mbps download and 2Mbps upload this year, all for $12 a month, on an annual contract....kid you not. Of course, a VPN also was mandatory

Whereabouts in China? Same in every major city you think?

[elzach]

Lots of good info here.

Someone mentioned 3BB wifi. But what about 3BB wireless broadband? I called their call center to get their coverage area and it was like pulling teeth. Yes I know, welcome to Thailand.

Their rates seem reasonable (for Thailand), 13M for 900bht, 20M for 2290 bht.

btw, can anyone think of another place where we would be willing to pay the equivalent of $30-$50 a month for totally crap internet connection? I believe $50 in the US will get you at least 25Mbps.

edit: in China for example, which was a "dinosaur" in the internet context not too long ago, I could get a solid and tested 10Mbps download and 2Mbps upload this year, all for $12 a month, on an annual contract....kid you not. Of course, a VPN also was mandatory

Whereabouts in China? Same in every major city you think?

In Shanghai, and Beijing soon.

And last time I checked BKK was the biggest city and capital of LOS, so the comparison is valid.

[mortenaa]

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.

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

i dont get it. i have True docsis 30/3 and i can max out my connection multi threading downloads etc. im doing it right now.

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

I was going to bring this up. I've been here for almost 1 month now and extensively tested my internet speed in different situations. What I found out is that some international links are throttled and some not. For example when I download a file from a server in Netherlands I get a bit lower than full speed (which is 5 mbps in my case) but when I try downloading a file from another server in another country it's limited to 1 mbps. Now when I download this file on a VPN connection I get much higher speeds than 1 mbps. So it's definitely limited by the ISP.

Now the funny story is that I once ordered a trial VPS service in a major datacenter in Bangkok and ran an international download on it. Guess what! It was limited to 1 mbsp! Now when internet in a datacenter is throttled like that, we can't expect anything better. Let's just hope that everything gets better.

But for now IMO the only thing you can do is to get yourself a VPN account. But test the server speed on your ISP before actually buying a long-term account.

I've tried VPN's and unfortunately they seem to make things worse, not better.

I tried Hide My A*s today and the performance was terrible using the Bangkok server.

why would you use the bangkok server. the point is to bypass thailand entirely, try singapore, la, germany etc.

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

Just for info Singapore(top 10 in world internet ranking) is also not doing quite good in international bandwidth, their common internet starts at 100 mb fiber plan by singnet or star hub and goes all the way to 1 GB but guess what they only guarantee 60% of local bandwidth not even international and at peak times local bandwidth is also very slow but guess what at peak times even Singapore struggles to get 1 mb single thread bandwidth to us and UK and Netflix struggles to even stream properly at least in Thailand one can get 4-5 mb single threaded bandwidth to us

my mates from singapore are in awe of my connection in bangkok, both for performance and price.

[Digitalbanana]

We pay 600 a month for unlimited downloads at 25mbps... I am with 3bb but I dont think any are all that better than each other

From when I last checked 3BB and the others only give 10mbps for that price.... http://www.3bb.co.th/product/product_detail.php?lang=&id=2084

[negreanu]

my mates from singapore are in awe of my connection in bangkok, both for performance and price.

I am not sure exactly why...

Singapore internet is 100x better than any of the Thai offerings.

1000mbps for less than 9000thb a month with 500mbps upload. And minimum international bandwidth service agreements.

Any product, from any any provider in Thailand pales into laughable compared to Hong Kong or Singapore providers.

[RandomSand]

Well everything must pass a governments gateway and need to be checked for your security (no p0rn, gambling, political troublesome things) and than it must be recorded what you do for Thailand and the 3 NSA center.

That all needs time....

^This is true.

Also, regarding VPNs; It's likely that many VPN services which have servers in TH did not get dedicated transit agreements but only peering. In effect they are fighting with every other sucker for US/EU bandwidth.

Far better, IMHO, to connect to a H.K or Japanese VPN. There's dedicated "asian" infrastructure between TH and the previously mentioned countries. Obviously these wealthy countries have loads more bandwidth than TH-US/EU direct.

Remember this; The way that internet routing usually works is that the traffic will get shunted via the shortest route. This might not be the fastest... as we are seeing. Therefore; If we use a VPN that will "make" our route slightly different than the norn, although we might experience additional latency of around 100ms , we should expect a somewhat clearer path.

[mortenaa]

Just for info Singapore(top 10 in world internet ranking) is also not doing quite good in international bandwidth, their common internet starts at 100 mb fiber plan by singnet or star hub and goes all the way to 1 GB but guess what they only guarantee 60% of local bandwidth not even international and at peak times local bandwidth is also very slow but guess what at peak times even Singapore struggles to get 1 mb single thread bandwidth to us and UK and Netflix struggles to even stream properly at least in Thailand one can get 4-5 mb single threaded bandwidth to us

my mates from singapore are in awe of my connection in bangkok, both for performance and price.

But you get the same laggy connection as everyone with True. Try to ping a server like 8.8.8.8, or abroad. I have True, fiber to the building, and ADSL or Docsis to every apartment. Same same, but different. Depends on how many are using it in your building. For me, its working OK, but nothing compared to the speed I have seen with CAT fiber. Ping speeds are in a whole different league.

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

Just for info Singapore(top 10 in world internet ranking) is also not doing quite good in international bandwidth, their common internet starts at 100 mb fiber plan by singnet or star hub and goes all the way to 1 GB but guess what they only guarantee 60% of local bandwidth not even international and at peak times local bandwidth is also very slow but guess what at peak times even Singapore struggles to get 1 mb single thread bandwidth to us and UK and Netflix struggles to even stream properly at least in Thailand one can get 4-5 mb single threaded bandwidth to us

my mates from singapore are in awe of my connection in bangkok, both for performance and price.

But you get the same laggy connection as everyone with True. Try to ping a server like 8.8.8.8, or abroad. I have True, fiber to the building, and ADSL or Docsis to every apartment. Same same, but different. Depends on how many are using it in your building. For me, its working OK, but nothing compared to the speed I have seen with CAT fiber. Ping speeds are in a whole different league.

i live in a house. not a building. and my connection is far from laggy. i occasionally have routing issues but they are usually resolved quite quickly.

[mortenaa]

i live in a house. not a building. and my connection is far from laggy. i occasionally have routing issues but they are usually resolved quite quickly.

I guess you are the only one with preferential service from True then

Whats your ping to 8.8.8.8

Whats your ping to 208.67.222.222

Whats your ping to vpn.i04.info

Whats your ping to 64.68.200.200

[shariq607]

i live in a house. not a building. and my connection is far from laggy. i occasionally have routing issues but they are usually resolved quite quickly.

I guess you are the only one with preferential service from True then

Whats your ping to 8.8.8.8

Whats your ping to 208.67.222.222

Whats your ping to vpn.i04.info

Whats your ping to 64.68.200.200

Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=38ms TTL=48

Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=41ms TTL=48

Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=37ms TTL=48

Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=36ms TTL=48

Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:

Minimum = 36ms, Maximum = 41ms, Average = 38ms

[shariq607]

my mates from singapore are in awe of my connection in bangkok, both for performance and price.

I am not sure exactly why...

Singapore internet is 100x better than any of the Thai offerings.

1000mbps for less than 9000thb a month with 500mbps upload. And minimum international bandwidth service agreements.

Any product, from any any provider in Thailand pales into laughable compared to Hong Kong or Singapore providers.

yes you are right that major isps (singtel, starhub or m1)in singapore do have agreement on minimum international bandwidth but the point to be noted is that they guarantee a minimum multi thread international download not a single thread guarantee

[justme777]

Just wanted to share, I have been living in Thailand for 1.5 years now and have been fighting with true over this very topic.

Today I decided to purchase a strongvpn account, just to see if there is any improvement.

Well I am very glad to say there absolutely is.

I download everything from usenet (payed servers in The Netherlands and the USA) and now I don't have a cap during the day and the speed bounces from 500kbit to 1.2MB, my true account maxes out at 1.4MB so I think this is very reasonable (ok its multithreaded but still).

For me the most stable location to connect to seams to be Hong Kong, allthough Japan provides solid speed aswell.

Browsing etc seems a lot quicker aswell. (I work online so this is a big plus)

As an extra I can now use dutch uk and usa services with Geolock if the speed allows me to....

Price of the account was 45USD for 3 months (deluxe pptp) this includes vpn access in HongKong, Japan, USA, Europe etc...

Allthough its maybe not the cheapest solution, this does absolutely help!

I thought I'd register to thaivisa to atleast share this information since I have been very frustrated about this issue in the past.

Hope it helps someone

[mortenaa]

Pinging 8.8.8.8 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=38ms TTL=48

Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=41ms TTL=48

Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=37ms TTL=48

Reply from 8.8.8.8: bytes=32 time=36ms TTL=48

Ping statistics for 8.8.8.8:

Packets: Sent = 4, Received = 4, Lost = 0 (0% loss),

Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:

Minimum = 36ms, Maximum = 41ms, Average = 38ms

That is pretty good! What kind of connection do you have?

I am still waiting for my CAT fiber... Will report back when its working..

[muratremix]

Its normal for 8.8.8.8 to provide low ping results because google has direct peering with Thai ISPs due to google/youtube traffic.