Thailand internet WHY SO SLOW AND OUTDATED!

[DGIE]

yeah, slow indeed.not happy when watching youtube

[Wordworx]

I reside at a good hotel in Chiang Mai. Speed is excellent (relative to SE Asia) and very reliable service, overall. (Right now download speed of 3.95 Mbps.) If you want to experience some really crappy service, try Laos or Indonesia. (My experience in Bali and Sumatra was that speed was excruciatingly, hair-pullingly slow and often useless -- worse than 1995 AOL dial-up. But did get some surprisingly good speed way out in the sticks of Java; guessing because I was maybe one of three people using it for miles.)

Also had great service is Chiang Rai, Bangkok and to a less extent down south. Could be whatever service you have is substandard and some operators and establishments, like hotels and apartment buildings, will throttle back the bandwidth, especially on downloads.

And, yes, compared to other industrialized nations, US is a joke. Monopolization and failure to invest in / upgrade infrastructure. Another big F-U from the same corps that provide lousy mobile service at absurd locked-in contract rates and charge $150 a month for TV "packages", 95% of which are garbage. But you have to buy it all to watch the programming you actually want. (Monopolization and corrupt control by vampire corps: What's not to like?)

Edited December 6, 2013 by Wordworx

[craigt3365]

I reside at a good hotel in Chiang Mai. Speed is excellent (relative to SE Asia) and very reliable service, overall. (Right now download speed of 3.95 Mbps.) If you want to experience some really crappy service, try Laos or Indonesia. (My experience: Bali and Sumatra were often useless, but did get some surprisingly good speed in the sticks of Java, guessing because I was maybe one of three people using it for miles.)

Also had great service is Chiang Rai, Bangkok and to a less extent down south. Could be whatever service you have is substandard and some operators and establishments, like hotels and apartment buildings, will throttle back the bandwidth, especially on downloads.

And, yes, compared to other industrialized nations, US is a joke. Monopolization and failure to invest in / upgrade infrastructure. Another big F-U from the same corps that provide lousy mobile service at absurd locked-in contract rates and charge $150 a month for TV "packages", 95% of which are garbage. But you have to buy it all to watch the programming you actually want. (Monopolization and corrupt control by vampire corps: What's not to like?)

Right. The US is listed as the 8th best country in the world for internet. And only a bit below the next 3-4. Hardly a joke.

As for mobile service, you are only locked in if you want a free phone. As for TV packages, I had one last year for $75 that was fantastic. Most stations in HD. If you didn't like it, you have several other choices. Hardly a monopoly.

[robertson468]

Because not only is it a third world country with the Internet infrastructure run by lazy idiots, but it's also a paranoid one who insists on intrusively monitoring internet traffic.

And USA and UK don't monitor the internet - c'mon, get off your "everything in Thailand is crap hobby horse" and look at the real World. Sure it is a developing Country and we might be about to enter a period of major turmoil, but did you not expect this in a developing Country? Simple solution, go home and enjoy your homeland.

[Wordworx]

I reside at a good hotel in Chiang Mai. Speed is excellent (relative to SE Asia) and very reliable service, overall. (Right now download speed of 3.95 Mbps.) If you want to experience some really crappy service, try Laos or Indonesia. (My experience: Bali and Sumatra were often useless, but did get some surprisingly good speed in the sticks of Java, guessing because I was maybe one of three people using it for miles.)

Also had great service is Chiang Rai, Bangkok and to a less extent down south. Could be whatever service you have is substandard and some operators and establishments, like hotels and apartment buildings, will throttle back the bandwidth, especially on downloads.

And, yes, compared to other industrialized nations, US is a joke. Monopolization and failure to invest in / upgrade infrastructure. Another big F-U from the same corps that provide lousy mobile service at absurd locked-in contract rates and charge $150 a month for TV "packages", 95% of which are garbage. But you have to buy it all to watch the programming you actually want. (Monopolization and corrupt control by vampire corps: What's not to like?)

Right. The US is listed as the 8th best country in the world for internet. And only a bit below the next 3-4. Hardly a joke.

As for mobile service, you are only locked in if you want a free phone. As for TV packages, I had one last year for $75 that was fantastic. Most stations in HD. If you didn't like it, you have several other choices. Hardly a monopoly.

Never heard US as being ranked that high. In any case, we're going to have to agree to disagree. But for possible reference see Ookla speedtest. Based on essentially real-time monitoring US is currently ranked 32, just above Russia and just below Ukraine. [http://www.netindex.com/download/allcountries] Anyway, not looking it get into a beef over this -- off topic. Maybe some other time.

[Tywais]

Right. The US is listed as the 8th best country in the world for internet. And only a bit below the next 3-4. Hardly a joke.

Two sites show it at 8 based on penetration and speed:

http://mashable.com/2013/10/22/high-speed-internet-access/

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eglg45fmkjh/no-8-usa-6/

One lists it at 14 for speed

http://www.bloomberg.com/slideshow/2013-01-23/top-10-countries-with-the-fastest-internet.html

And one lists it at 11 for speed

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/top-10-countries-with-the-fastest-internet/

[zig]

$40 US, what percentage of average workers net income is that in Latvia?

Around 5%, but then again most people do not need 400 mbps connection. You can also pay just 10-15 USD and get 5MBps connection.

[attrayant]

A global rating of 57th place seems low, but more than 13Mbps is really not that bad. There is really no way that strangers on the internet can diagnose your particular slowness experience. There are simply too many variables involved. Maybe...

You're sharing a trunk with other subscribers (often true of cable broadband), or

You've got your own dedicated DSL/ADSL line but it's running over dirty copper or your house is too far from the DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM), or

The web sites you're trying to load are having their own network issues or are overloaded, or

There may be server-side delays, or

The site might be waiting for remotely hosted content to load (sometimes the site won't finish loading until the advertisements have loaded), or

You're simply a high demand user, trying to download multiple HD files while watching you tube or netflix

And many more possibilities. Most of the time, it's not the fault of the network - it just seems that way.

Of course, there are network related possibilities:

In an attempt to squeeze as many customers as possible onto as small a link as possible, the provider has oversubscribed the backbone, or

Some sort of packet sniffing is going on, with a small delay added in case the provider decides to shut you down based on what you're viewing, or

Content filtering is in place, requiring all requests to go through a blacklist filter before they get routed to the internet

And probably others I'm not thinking of at the moment.

All we can do is speculate. If it's really an ongoing problem for you, get an expert to your place and he can do a packet analysis and see with a fairly high degree of certainty where the delay is coming from.

[edit]

When I was in the USA just three years ago, I had basic DSL at about 768Kbps down and 128Kbps up. I was happy with that, although my needs were basic. I could stream netflix while loading web sites without any issues. I sometimes wonder what people are doing that they need more than 5Mbps.

Edited December 6, 2013 by attrayant

[Wordworx]

Right. The US is listed as the 8th best country in the world for internet. And only a bit below the next 3-4. Hardly a joke.

Two sites show it at 8 based on penetration and speed:

http://mashable.com/2013/10/22/high-speed-internet-access/

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eglg45fmkjh/no-8-usa-6/

One lists it at 14 for speed

http://www.bloomberg.com/slideshow/2013-01-23/top-10-countries-with-the-fastest-internet.html

And one lists it at 11 for speed

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/top-10-countries-with-the-fastest-internet/

2013_10_22_Internet.jpg

For what it's worth, following is a tech writeup from a day or so ago with a bunch of other guys arguing in the comments section. I guess it depends on how you rate "speed" and when you rate it. http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20131127/15072925396/us-works-its-way-up-to-middle-pack-broadband-speed.shtml

[craigt3365]

$40 US, what percentage of average workers net income is that in Latvia?

Around 5%, but then again most people do not need 400 mbps connection. You can also pay just 10-15 USD and get 5MBps connection.

I think to get that back in the US (and I'd bet not many places would even have it), it would be some $300. I was paying $25 for a relatively OK 10Mbps in Nevada (rural). Here, $21 or so for a relatively OK 8Mbps.

Great speeds inside Thailand, spotty for international sites.

[khunPer]

It's getting better

a little better

all the time...

[Mudcrab]

$40 US, what percentage of average workers net income is that in Latvia?

Around 5%, but then again most people do not need 400 mbps connection. You can also pay just 10-15 USD and get 5MBps connection.

I think to get that back in the US (and I'd bet not many places would even have it), it would be some $300. I was paying $25 for a relatively OK 10Mbps in Nevada (rural). Here, $21 or so for a relatively OK 8Mbps.

Great speeds inside Thailand, spotty for international sites.

We are currently in ( country) North Queensland, Australia. $89 dollars a month getting around 200-250KB/SEC if I'm lucky Stop complaining it ain't all third world country stuff. Yet we can call home (to family in Thailand) on the internet phone at 0.9 cents unlimited time. We also have a lot of other things to keep us occupied apart from the internet. Having a life comes to mind. My apologies to the generation XYZ's.

[puipuitom]

Because it's done the same way as building condo's with street connection: huge sale of connection, but at the end... all has to go over one small street connection.

I was guest in 2010 in a Condo of a building voer 23 floors, 3 towers and I suppose a thoudand condo's. My internet speed went sometimes back to 2 kb/sec. ( TWO Kilobits per second ), but all was sold as high speed connection. Yes, sometimes that was correct, when all were asleep, and their computers did their jobs in file transfer, so.. 05:30 in the morning.

In Breda - NL, a private house, I have as MINIMUM: (down) t/m 150 Mbit/s; (up) t/m 15 Mbit/s

[ev1lchris]

At home I get 5 - 8 Mbps, with True and AIS WiFi hot spots in malls 10 - 15 Mbps. It's okay.

[Pib]

Right. The US is listed as the 8th best country in the world for internet. And only a bit below the next 3-4. Hardly a joke.

Two sites show it at 8 based on penetration and speed:

http://mashable.com/2013/10/22/high-speed-internet-access/

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eglg45fmkjh/no-8-usa-6/

One lists it at 14 for speed

http://www.bloomberg.com/slideshow/2013-01-23/top-10-countries-with-the-fastest-internet.html

And one lists it at 11 for speed

http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/top-10-countries-with-the-fastest-internet/

2013_10_22_Internet.jpg

To tell you the truth I'm surprised the U.S ranks as high as it did in comparison to the other countries due to the much larger land mass and population which much be reached in the U.S....this large land and people mass to service/reach probably drag down the speed average. Heck, just Texas alone is larger than the size of Thailand (and no, I'm not a Texan). And South Korea which is number one on above chart is about the same size as Kentucky (and no I wouldn't be caught dead in Kentucky). Probably easier/faster/cheaper to wire-up a small country with the latest internet technology compared to a large country.

[Tywais]

Probably easier/faster/cheaper to wire-up a small country with the latest internet technology compared to a large country.

Would be interesting to compare the list with the GDP of the respective countries. Suspect there is a strong correlation.

[Chicog]

Because not only is it a third world country with the Internet infrastructure run by lazy idiots, but it's also a paranoid one who insists on intrusively monitoring internet traffic.

And USA and UK don't monitor the internet - c'mon, get off your "everything in Thailand is crap hobby horse" and look at the real World. Sure it is a developing Country and we might be about to enter a period of major turmoil, but did you not expect this in a developing Country? Simple solution, go home and enjoy your homeland.

Whoa cowboy, get off your high horse, I was simply answering the OP.

Thailand, like several other countries, is obsessed with what its citizens can read and post on the Internet, and that's why I said "intrusively" - them scanning every page and interfering with DNS lookups is a major factor in the slowness of it.

So get lost with your "go home if you don't like it" rubbish, who the hell do you think you are?

[3bj]

They're asking this same question about the internet in the U.S.

Not even in the same ballpark as US internet.. trolololol...

[bubbadaguy]

think it is slow here... try laos.

[hellodolly]

It's getting better

a little better

all the time...

Yes I have been here 7 years and it is far and away better. The progress is so slow that you don't notice it until a period of time has past.

Still it is slower than what I had back in Canada 9 years ago.

[WhizBang]

I am on True and while I find the service variable, overall it is better than the internet I get in the USA. And it is cheaper than the USA with almost double the speed.

[Hardened Spanker]

In my experience the internet in Thailand is surprisingly good.

There is a big difference however between ADSL and Cable.

ADSL connects via a phone line (copper wires) and has the advantage that you have your own line back to the exchange.

With Cable however (coaxial cable) you share the connection with many others in your street.

While Cable has good max speed, it is notorious for slowing down during peak hours.

So check the connection to your modem. Is it Cable (like a TV cable) or is it a normal phone line?

Another possibility is that you are using WiFi and are sharing the modem with many others (in a hotel, etc).

If one or two others are downloading large files, everything slows to a crawl.

I don't believe this is the case with the new DOCSIS set up from True Internet,I believe you have your very own dedicated IP address shared with no-one.

[jackflash]

Having a dedicated IP address has nothing to do with it, you still share the cable itself.

You not only share the cable with other internet users, but also with the TV channels on the cable.

It does depend on how many TV channels the cable provider is prepared to sacrifice to the Internet users.

[Pib]

Having a dedicated IP address has nothing to do with it, you still share the cable itself.

You not only share the cable with other internet users, but also with the TV channels on the cable.

It does depend on how many TV channels the cable provider is prepared to sacrifice to the Internet users.

All true...but cable internet has a ton of bandwidth now...much more than in the earlier days. Me happy with my cable internet plan.

[Turkleton]

All true...but cable internet has a ton of bandwidth now...much more than in the earlier days. Me happy with my cable internet plan.

tons of bandwidth..yes, in theory.

A friend of mine has a TRUE 15/1.5 Mbit plan (cable).

But even his 12call 3G is faster, when it comes to EU servers, especially at peak times.

Edited December 13, 2013 by Turkleton

[Pib]

All true...but cable internet has a ton of bandwidth now...much more than in the earlier days. Me happy with my cable internet plan.

tons of bandwidth..yes, in theory.

A friend of mine has a TRUE 15/1.5 Mbit plan (cable).

But even his 12call 3G is faster, when it comes to EU servers, especially at peak times.

Yea, I have the 15/1.5Mb cable plan also. Started off on the 20Mb/2Mb for a year...then downgraded to the 14Mb/1.4Mb which they had up to about 3-6 months ago which reduced my plan monthly cost from Bt1299 to Bt699....and then about 3-6 months ago I was automatically upgraded to the 15Mb/1.5Mb plan with the same Bt699 monthly cost. Really can't speak to True international gateway speed to EU servers since I primarily visit U.S. and east asia servers....I will say that in late evening up to about midnight my browsing is a little slower but still quite satisfactory...I can still stream video no problem. Also, during the big flood of late 2011 when we had around a meter of water in my western Bangkok moobaan for almost a month my True cable TV and internet never went down....now my neighbors using TOT ADSL internet plans (only True cable and TOT ADSL service my moobaan) they lost their internet within days of the flood waters arriving and they didn't get internet service back until a month later. I guesstimate my True cable uptime over the last few years has been somewhere north of 99.9% (knock on wood)