Slow International Internet in Thailand

[mortenaa]

My work is dependent upon having good connection to Europe. My first impressions are that everything seems more snappier. International webpages load faster. VPN and Remote Desktop sessions are faster, though not revolutionary. Ping speeds are better, but some IP's might need different routing. I got a contact within CAT that said they could might work on that if I had any issues.. Lets see

[Pib]

What speed plan do you have?

Sent from my Onda V971 tablet

[zib]

Just some info for you guys from a technical standpoint. Without taking into the account any overbooking towards the enduser and only focusing on the "international capacity" but not so much in detail. Comparison between 3bb, Tot and True.

TOT

+ Most bandwidth internationally of all the isps.

- Mainly bandwidth towards US so extremely high latency (bad for VOIP and delay sensitive applications) towards EU.

+ Good latency to US.

3BB

+ Second best in terms of international bandwidth. Connections AMS-IX (Amsterdam Internet Exchange) Equinix Paris (another exchange) and more.

+ Because of the connections to Amsterdam and Paris the latency is really low to EU. Great for VOIP etc.

+ US is reached to NTT (Japan Telecom) so good latency there also.

True

+ Connections to LINX (London Internet Exchange) so good latency to most EU ISPs.

---

Now from the enduser perspective in terms of bandwidth (not reliable/specific service..)

TOT

+ Tends to work good in terms of bandwidth (atleast better than 3BB and True). Always bad in latency because of reasons above.

+ Stable bandwidth. You might not get internationally what you pay for but it seems to be stable 24/7.

- About the EU latency again. Makes it unusable for me.

3BB

+ Really good for VOIP because of low latency to both EU and US.

- Bandwidth is capped or just overbooked during peak hours (18-02) every single day.

True

+ Fairly good for VOIP because of low latency to EU and US.

- Uses heavy capping during peak hours. You can see the bandwidth going from, for example, 1MB to 50KB/s when the clock turns 18 and then back again when it's 02.

+ If you're in to bittorrent True is the best since they have setup their own Bittorrent caching servers (to save bandwidth I guess). So for downloading via Bittorrent True is #1.

--

Personally I'd choose 3BB. If I had the money for 2 lines I would get the cheapest 3BB line for VOIP and SSH (Secure Shell, UNIX Administration) and then True for downloading.

[zib]

Ah also.

I have no experience about CAT but looking at how they are connected they should be able to provide the fastest service... should

[Pib]

Ah also.

I have no experience about CAT but looking at how they are connected they should be able to provide the fastest service... should

What are your sources for the info in your previous post giving the pro's and con's of the different ISPs? And this is not to say I'm disputing them. Thanks.

[zib]

Ah also.

I have no experience about CAT but looking at how they are connected they should be able to provide the fastest service... should

What are your sources for the info in your previous post giving the pro's and con's of the different ISPs? And this is not to say I'm disputing them. Thanks.

I used to work for one of europe's largest ISPs. We have/had peering (traffic sharing) agreements with most Thai ISPs. Because I intended to move to Thailand (now moved) I did alot of digging. Mostly it's from my own technical knowledge but you can examine it by looking at ams-ix/linx etc memberlists, checking True/Tot/Cat/3bb etc on robtex.com to see who they buy traffic from and peer with etc.

There is also a few, but probably outdated, network maps,

http://www.trueintergateway.com/images/true_map06.jpg

http://www.totiig.net/totiig/images/Worldmap_IIG_large.jpg

http://www.cat.net.th/map/connectivitymap.html

However the "enduser" part is just from experience. Going around in Phuket testing connections in different ways.

But for the "enduser" stuff it's hard to say if the ISP is bad or not. I tested a True Docsis line in Rawai a few weeks ago and I had 260ms to Amsterdam and 8mbit/s (on a 10/1 line) from a server in Amsterdam. However going to Kata and testing another connection (same type) there 1 hour later I still got 260 ms but only 2Mbit/s from the same server. Both lines were unused at the time of testing. So it's mostly all about overbooking

[Pib]

Thanks...good info.

Edit: Oh yea, I'm on a True DOCSIS 14Mb/1.4Mb plan (Bt699/mo) and happy with it. Use to be on a True DOCSIS 20Mb/2Mb plan (Bt1299/mo) and was happy with it also, but downgraded to the 14MB plan due to big cost savings and my international speed was just the same as the 20Mb plan. Heck, I can't tell any significant difference between the 20Mb and 14Mb plans for day-to-day browsing, emailing, file downloading, etc. I also use VOIP (NetTalk using their NetTalk Duo adapter) and calls from/to the U.S. sound like the folks are just across the soi.

Edited October 2, 2013 by Pib

[zib]

Thanks...good info.

Edit: Oh yea, I'm on a True DOCSIS 14Mb/1.4Mb plan (Bt699/mo) and happy with it. Use to be on a True DOCSIS 20Mb/2Mb plan (Bt1299/mo) and was happy with it also, but downgraded to the 14MB plan due to big cost savings and my international speed was just the same as the 20Mb plan. Heck, I can't tell any significant difference between the 20Mb and 14Mb plans for day-to-day browsing, emailing, file downloading, etc. I also use VOIP (NetTalk using their NetTalk Duo adapter) and calls from/to the U.S. sound like the folks are just across the soi.

Yeah. I wouldn't imagine 14 vs 20 to be any different internationally. Maybe during some hours early morning. If you do alot of torrenting it would be worth it but http/ftp downloads from outside Thailand.. 14 or 20 is most likely the same.

FYI however. Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Hong Kong tend to be fast and excluded from any capping. Most likely since the traffic is much cheaper to move.

On another note. When it comes to ISPs in Thailand many seem to piggyback on transportation from TATA (huge indian telecom provider) to the EU. Confirmed that 3BB does this but I'm not sure about True anymore. I know they did in the past. If using TATA then traffic then goes to Singapore -> India -> ... -> EU. Because of this i've seen, in some cases, that traffic to for example EU from Phuket goes directly from Singapore and not via Bangkok. I'm a latency freak so I love that

---

I need to find some place here in Phuket with CAT fiber to try it out.

Anyone who knows if you can get it in Rawai?

Don't really trust any websites with "service area checks" heh. I checked True's website regarding DOCSIS and it said I couldn't get it. Went to True's office and apparently 200Mbps was no problem since their DOCSIS-equipment was 2m from my gate.

[Pib]

Around a year ago when I developed a cable modem problem (upload speed problem) and True was having problems determining whether it was a modem issue or an issue with their equipment on the line they bought a modem to house which was already setup for a 100Mb connection (at that time 100Mb/10Mb was the fastest available and then 200Mb/15Mb came a little later), I watched them as they ran some speedtests to Bangkok servers...the speedtester was clocking a little over 104Mb down and a little over 10Mb up. I expect my moobaan can also do 200Mb down/15Mb up now, but that's way too pricey (Bt9,999/mo plus 7% VAT) and not needed by me. Plus I expect the international speed would still not be good...would probably get 200Mb "within Thailand" as advertised but for "international" speeds probably not much better than my previous DOCSIS 20Mb or current 14Mb DOCSIS plan based on past ThaiVisa posts from those people who have the 30Mb plan and 50Mb plan (I don't think they offer the 30Mb plan anymore). Seems the True international gateway just throttles/chokes the international bandwidth regardless of the speed plan you have....BIG bandwidth pipe up to the gateway; little bandwidth pipe after the gateway simply because they don't buy enough international bandwidth. Plenty of international bandwidth available but True (and other Thai ISPs) just don't buy enough.

P.S. That cable modem problem I mentioned...well, I had a True-issued Cisco cable modem at the time and when True did a software update to their DOCSIS system some Cisco modems did agree with the update and it impacted modem upload speed...they found this out after swapping out my Cisco modem with a couple more and they continued to have the problem....when the dust settled they fixed the problem my giving me a Thomson modem/router which has hummed along just fine....I actually like it better than the Cisco modem/router.

[CP3]

Pib..Do they have contract? I just signed up their 1299thb plan , it is crap. Can I still downgrade to 699 with any penalty?

[Pib]

Pib..Do they have contract? I just signed up their 1299thb plan , it is crap. Can I still downgrade to 699 with any penalty?

Couldn't say...call them and find out....maybe complain you signed up for the 14Mb plan so why are they charging you for a 20Mb plan. All they can do is say no...or at least tell you what penalty applies if cancelling early. Good luck.

Sent from my Onda V971 tablet

[MaxLee]

Has anybody anybody else faced the problem of continuous on and off disconnections for the last 3 days? Must be the weather...

I live in Samut Prakan and use True Internet

[Pib]

Has anybody anybody else faced the problem of continuous on and off disconnections for the last 3 days? Must be the weather...

I live in Samut Prakan and use True Internet

Years back when I was on TOT ADSL I had that problem a few times...it was also a bad/corroded/funky physical line connection somewhere on the poles/junction boxes per the TOT technician that gave me feedback on the fix....was nothing wrong with my equipment/setup inside the house. I think each time it happened was during rainy season. But the problem can be caused by various issues whether you are on ADSL, DOCSIS/cable or fiber. I'm on True DOCSIS and haven't had any connection problems here in western Bangkok. Now, international speeds have been slowing down in the evening and early night, but still quite useable...only really noticeable on some sites and maybe that problem is really caused by those sites being overloaded....but when running some international speed tests the speeds are significantly lower in the evening/early night.

[Pib]

Pib..Do they have contract? I just signed up their 1299thb plan , it is crap. Can I still downgrade to 699 with any penalty?

Couldn't say...call them and find out....maybe complain you signed up for the 14Mb plan so why are they charging you for a 20Mb plan. All they can do is say no...or at least tell you what penalty applies if cancelling early. Good luck.

Sent from my Onda V971 tablet

Speaking of the Bt699 DOCSIS plan which use to be 14Mb/1.4Mb, from looking at the TrueOnline website they don't even sell the 14Mb/1.4Mb DOCIS plan anymore...it's now the 15Mb/1.5Mb plan at Bt699. I looked at my Sep 13 bill and it still reflects a 14Mb/1.4Mb plan but before when doing speedtests and realizing the download speed is "bursted" which causes a much higher download speed during the speedtest (usually around 25Mb for in-Thailand servers so I can't use the download speed to determine my plan). But the upload speed is "not" bursted and I use to get just a little over 1.4Mb which matches my plan's 1.4Mb upload speed I originally signed up for.

However, but, when checking the "current" TrueOnline advertising it's not showing the 14Mb/1.4Mb plan anymore but showing a 15Mb/1.5Mb plan. I wondered if maybe I had been upgraded even though my bill says 14Mb/1.4Mb. I'm pretty sure I have been upgraded from some speedtesting I just did. Now you can't just go into your modem/router system info menus to look at your data/sync speed like you can with ADSL modems (you can go into the menus but I won't show the speed) so I needed to determine by doing a couple of speedtests.

I used Speedtest.net and the True speedtester and got a 1.55Mb upload speed each time...before I would only get a little over 1.4Mb. So, I'm assuming I have been upgraded from 14Mb/1.4Mb for Bt699/mo to 15Mb/1.5Mb for Bt699/mo. Cool. It's a better deal than the 20Mb/2Mb plan which costs almost twice as much at Bt1299/mo...and you probably won't get any faster international speed based on my personal experience when I was on the 20Mb/2Mb for over a year (before they had the 14Mb/1.4Mb plan I later switched to) and based on other ThaiVisa posts.

[mortenaa]

What speed plan do you have?

Sent from my Onda V971 tablet

30 / 7, but I get more

[muratremix]

What speed plan do you have?

Sent from my Onda V971 tablet

30 / 7, but I get more

How much for 30/7 ?

[shariq607]

thats right but what you have forgotten is the fact that nearly all isps also utilize both cat's international gateway as well as their own.

Ah also.

I have no experience about CAT but looking at how they are connected they should be able to provide the fastest service... should

What are your sources for the info in your previous post giving the pro's and con's of the different ISPs? And this is not to say I'm disputing them. Thanks.

I used to work for one of europe's largest ISPs. We have/had peering (traffic sharing) agreements with most Thai ISPs. Because I intended to move to Thailand (now moved) I did alot of digging. Mostly it's from my own technical knowledge but you can examine it by looking at ams-ix/linx etc memberlists, checking True/Tot/Cat/3bb etc on robtex.com to see who they buy traffic from and peer with etc.

There is also a few, but probably outdated, network maps,

http://www.trueintergateway.com/images/true_map06.jpg

http://www.totiig.net/totiig/images/Worldmap_IIG_large.jpg

http://www.cat.net.th/map/connectivitymap.html

However the "enduser" part is just from experience. Going around in Phuket testing connections in different ways.

But for the "enduser" stuff it's hard to say if the ISP is bad or not. I tested a True Docsis line in Rawai a few weeks ago and I had 260ms to Amsterdam and 8mbit/s (on a 10/1 line) from a server in Amsterdam. However going to Kata and testing another connection (same type) there 1 hour later I still got 260 ms but only 2Mbit/s from the same server. Both lines were unused at the time of testing. So it's mostly all about overbooking

[Pib]

thats right but what you have forgotten is the fact that nearly all isps also utilize both cat's international gateway as well as their own.

I'm not so sure that applies. When looking at this CAT map of their National and International gateways and using True as an example you can see a connection between True and CAT's "National" gateway but not between True and CAT's International Gateway. The True internet block is on the left side of the diagram and it leads to the CAT National gateway (i.e., sites inside Thailand) but I don't see any connection to the CAT International Gateway.

I also looked at these two internet maps from NECTEC and even through you durn near need a magnifying glass and 15/15 vision to use the charts I didn't see a connection from True to CAT's international gateway...maybe that's because True has its own international gateway.

But maybe there are some international connections between CAT and True I just didn't see on these spaghetti maps.

[mortenaa]

How much for 30/7 ?

Its in the 5,XXX ballpark.

[muratremix]

thats right but what you have forgotten is the fact that nearly all isps also utilize both cat's international gateway as well as their own.

I'm not so sure that applies. When looking at this CAT map of their National and International gateways and using True as an example you can see a connection between True and CAT's "National" gateway but not between True and CAT's International Gateway. The True internet block is on the left side of the diagram and it leads to the CAT National gateway (i.e., sites inside Thailand) but I don't see any connection to the CAT International Gateway.

I also looked at these two internet maps from NECTEC and even through you durn near need a magnifying glass and 15/15 vision to use the charts I didn't see a connection from True to CAT's international gateway...maybe that's because True has its own international gateway.

But maybe there are some international connections between CAT and True I just didn't see on these spaghetti maps.

True uses tig = true int. gateway and cat iig mixed. It can be seen in true iig network map.

[Pib]

thats right but what you have forgotten is the fact that nearly all isps also utilize both cat's international gateway as well as their own.

I'm not so sure that applies. When looking at this CAT map of their National and International gateways and using True as an example you can see a connection between True and CAT's "National" gateway but not between True and CAT's International Gateway. The True internet block is on the left side of the diagram and it leads to the CAT National gateway (i.e., sites inside Thailand) but I don't see any connection to the CAT International Gateway.

I also looked at these two internet maps from NECTEC and even through you durn near need a magnifying glass and 15/15 vision to use the charts I didn't see a connection from True to CAT's international gateway...maybe that's because True has its own international gateway.

But maybe there are some international connections between CAT and True I just didn't see on these spaghetti maps.

True uses tig = true int. gateway and cat iig mixed. It can be seen in true iig network map.

Got a link? Or is it somewhere on the links I provided and just didn't see it?..if so, approx. where on the map?

[zib]

thats right but what you have forgotten is the fact that nearly all isps also utilize both cat's international gateway as well as their own.

Ah also.

I have no experience about CAT but looking at how they are connected they should be able to provide the fastest service... should

What are your sources for the info in your previous post giving the pro's and con's of the different ISPs? And this is not to say I'm disputing them. Thanks.

I used to work for one of europe's largest ISPs. We have/had peering (traffic sharing) agreements with most Thai ISPs. Because I intended to move to Thailand (now moved) I did alot of digging. Mostly it's from my own technical knowledge but you can examine it by looking at ams-ix/linx etc memberlists, checking True/Tot/Cat/3bb etc on robtex.com to see who they buy traffic from and peer with etc.

There is also a few, but probably outdated, network maps,

http://www.trueintergateway.com/images/true_map06.jpg

http://www.totiig.net/totiig/images/Worldmap_IIG_large.jpg

http://www.cat.net.th/map/connectivitymap.html

However the "enduser" part is just from experience. Going around in Phuket testing connections in different ways.

But for the "enduser" stuff it's hard to say if the ISP is bad or not. I tested a True Docsis line in Rawai a few weeks ago and I had 260ms to Amsterdam and 8mbit/s (on a 10/1 line) from a server in Amsterdam. However going to Kata and testing another connection (same type) there 1 hour later I still got 260 ms but only 2Mbit/s from the same server. Both lines were unused at the time of testing. So it's mostly all about overbooking

I didn't forget. That's one of the reasons they should theoretically have the most bandwidth. They have the biggest network. That many of the Thai ISPs buy traffic from them doesn't mean they would be overbooking.

[zib]

thats right but what you have forgotten is the fact that nearly all isps also utilize both cat's international gateway as well as their own.

I'm not so sure that applies. When looking at this CAT map of their National and International gateways and using True as an example you can see a connection between True and CAT's "National" gateway but not between True and CAT's International Gateway. The True internet block is on the left side of the diagram and it leads to the CAT National gateway (i.e., sites inside Thailand) but I don't see any connection to the CAT International Gateway.

I also looked at these two internet maps from NECTEC and even through you durn near need a magnifying glass and 15/15 vision to use the charts I didn't see a connection from True to CAT's international gateway...maybe that's because True has its own international gateway.

But maybe there are some international connections between CAT and True I just didn't see on these spaghetti maps.

True uses tig = true int. gateway and cat iig mixed. It can be seen in true iig network map.

Got a link? Or is it somewhere on the links I provided and just didn't see it?..if so, approx. where on the map?

You can see it on this map , http://www.cat.net.th/map/internetmap.html. Left side. All ISPs uses them. True and TOT to a bigger extent than 3BB since they are partnered with Jasmine/Jastel.

[Pib]

You can see it on this map , http://www.cat.net.th/map/internetmap.html. Left side. All ISPs uses them. True and TOT to a bigger extent than 3BB since they are partnered with Jasmine/Jastel.

Yeap, you're right...I just didn't see it before...need better eyes...I only saw the domestic connection.

[Pib]

Pib..Do they have contract? I just signed up their 1299thb plan , it is crap. Can I still downgrade to 699 with any penalty?

Couldn't say...call them and find out....maybe complain you signed up for the 14Mb plan so why are they charging you for a 20Mb plan. All they can do is say no...or at least tell you what penalty applies if cancelling early. Good luck.

Sent from my Onda V971 tablet

Speaking of the Bt699 DOCSIS plan which use to be 14Mb/1.4Mb, from looking at the TrueOnline website they don't even sell the 14Mb/1.4Mb DOCIS plan anymore...it's now the 15Mb/1.5Mb plan at Bt699. I looked at my Sep 13 bill and it still reflects a 14Mb/1.4Mb plan but before when doing speedtests and realizing the download speed is "bursted" which causes a much higher download speed during the speedtest (usually around 25Mb for in-Thailand servers so I can't use the download speed to determine my plan). But the upload speed is "not" bursted and I use to get just a little over 1.4Mb which matches my plan's 1.4Mb upload speed I originally signed up for.

However, but, when checking the "current" TrueOnline advertising it's not showing the 14Mb/1.4Mb plan anymore but showing a 15Mb/1.5Mb plan. I wondered if maybe I had been upgraded even though my bill says 14Mb/1.4Mb. I'm pretty sure I have been upgraded from some speedtesting I just did. Now you can't just go into your modem/router system info menus to look at your data/sync speed like you can with ADSL modems (you can go into the menus but I won't show the speed) so I needed to determine by doing a couple of speedtests.

I used Speedtest.net and the True speedtester and got a 1.55Mb upload speed each time...before I would only get a little over 1.4Mb. So, I'm assuming I have been upgraded from 14Mb/1.4Mb for Bt699/mo to 15Mb/1.5Mb for Bt699/mo. Cool. It's a better deal than the 20Mb/2Mb plan which costs almost twice as much at Bt1299/mo...and you probably won't get any faster international speed based on my personal experience when I was on the 20Mb/2Mb for over a year (before they had the 14Mb/1.4Mb plan I later switched to) and based on other ThaiVisa posts.

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.

[GirlDrinkDrunk]

make my living online and have very few issues with a true 30/3 package. can max out my connection with torrents and ftp as well for entertainment though there does seem to be intermittent traffic shaping with torrents.

[HardenedSoul]

make my living online and have very few issues with a true 30/3 package. can max out my connection with torrents and ftp as well for entertainment though there does seem to be intermittent traffic shaping with torrents.

I think so too despite a True CSR telling me today that they don't shape usage any more.

I have the 50/5 package and it's been running a little slow the last few days.

[muratremix]

make my living online and have very few issues with a true 30/3 package. can max out my connection with torrents and ftp as well for entertainment though there does seem to be intermittent traffic shaping with torrents.

I recommend 15/1.5 or 20/2 instead of 30/3 and get a personal vps in singapore with the savings you'll make.

I use smallest one with 200Gb bandwidth (100Gb in proxy terms) and it speeds up my browsing, voip, downloads from http. Besides, it allows me to bypass annoying true online transparent proxy which can cause big problems.

my singapore vps ($7 usd per month) also works great with TOT, allows me to download max. speed.

[pkspeaker]

Going back to the OP:

>My goals are to run 2 or 3 computers at a time on our home network and be able to watch MLB and NFL games on the internet, stream Roku channels as well as surf the web. Not too much to ask I think.

sounds similar to me, i use NFL gamepass and Tennistv..

just one note , check you hardware even when the video streaming issues appear to be bandwidth related..

in my case I had a laptop with an AMD chipset in it, although it has a blueray player in it and easily has enough power to play HD video,it does't work well with flash, it works with flash just not very well; nfl,tennis,youtube are all flash apps.. when I would use it with eg NFL, the bandwidth meter appears to indicate that the computer is unable to receive the necessary transfer rate, and it clearly works better at times when there is low traffic and a higher transfer rate is possible.. but when i switch to an i5 machine, the flash app is able to achieve a much higher rate, as if the internet suddenly became alot faster and the video plays in much higher definition, almost at maximum most of the time, even during high traffic times (i have adsl 16/1M)

[muratremix]

thats right but what you have forgotten is the fact that nearly all isps also utilize both cat's international gateway as well as their own.

I'm not so sure that applies. When looking at this CAT map of their National and International gateways and using True as an example you can see a connection between True and CAT's "National" gateway but not between True and CAT's International Gateway. The True internet block is on the left side of the diagram and it leads to the CAT National gateway (i.e., sites inside Thailand) but I don't see any connection to the CAT International Gateway.

I also looked at these two internet maps from NECTEC and even through you durn near need a magnifying glass and 15/15 vision to use the charts I didn't see a connection from True to CAT's international gateway...maybe that's because True has its own international gateway.

But maybe there are some international connections between CAT and True I just didn't see on these spaghetti maps.

True uses tig = true int. gateway and cat iig mixed. It can be seen in true iig network map.

Got a link? Or is it somewhere on the links I provided and just didn't see it?..if so, approx. where on the map?

Found link for you

http://webcorp.trueinternet.co.th/eh/linkinter/gateway.php