Worth buying a 4G aircard?

[edwardandtubs]

One can buy them for about twice the price of a 21 Mbps aircard and they support speeds of 100Mbps. But what are the chances of getting speeds over 21 Mbps in Thailand any time soon?

[brucegoniners]

Not if you have a smartphone. You can tether it to your computer. That way no monthly fee. Just make sure you've got lots of data if you're planning to use it much.

[muratremix]

How much you're talking about?

They sell 4G mifi for 2590 baht online, which also supports 43 Mbit DC-HSPA+

So if you live in a prime area, you may benefit from DC-HSPA at 43 mbit (more like 18-20 mbit max in real) by buying lte aircard / mifi device.

[toolpush]

I have a True WiFi 4G Air Card and supposedly the 4G service. I am half a kilometer from the True Tower. It is lousy. However, at Swampy Airport it is blazingly fast. Go figure.

[muratremix]

I have a True WiFi 4G Air Card and supposedly the 4G service. I am half a kilometer from the True Tower. It is lousy. However, at Swampy Airport it is blazingly fast. Go figure.

Make sure skippybangkok don't see this. He will make sure problem lies in your end

Can you try connecting in 3G mode by selecting WCDMA 3G mode? You may get better speeds via DC-HSPA+ 43mbit mode.

[edwardandtubs]

How much you're talking about?

They sell 4G mifi for 2590 baht online, which also supports 43 Mbit DC-HSPA+

So if you live in a prime area, you may benefit from DC-HSPA at 43 mbit (more like 18-20 mbit max in real) by buying lte aircard / mifi device.

I was talking about the one sold by True for 2,200 baht but I suppose the mifi option would be better. I assume if 4G was rubbish I could easily connect to a 3G network? Also can you recommend any 4G mifi device?

[muratremix]

http://aircardok.tarad.com/product-th-0-4418042-Sierra+Wireless+AirCard+754S+Mobile+Hotspot+MIFI+4G+LTE+%E0%B9%83%E0%B8%AB%E0%B8%A1%E0%B9%88%E0%B8%AA%E0%B8%B8%E0%B8%94+%E0%B8%A3%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%84%E0%B8%B2%E0%B8%9E%E0%B8%B4%E0%B9%80%E0%B8%A8%E0%B8%A9.html

Sierra Wireless AirCard 754S

This one does not support 4G on 2100 mhz band, but supports 42 mbit dc-hspa+ which works on TOT 3G/ TRUEMOVE-H/DTAC/AIS

Supports 3.9G: 850/1900/2100 Mhz. (42 Mbps.).

I guess it is hard to find mifi device that supports 4G on 2100 mhz band because it is not a world standard.

[lomatopo]

Hard to say without understanding your budget, requirements, expectations.

Currently only TrueMove H offers LTE, DTAC is planning on offering it starting next month.

You'll have to get a post-paid account, and while they (TrueMove H) are waiving the 99 baht/month premium, that may not continue.

You'll burn through your FUP in a few days, and then your speed will be limited to 128 - 384 Kbps.

If you do want to buy an LTE-capable device make sure it supports band 1 and band 3. I would not recommend buying a branded air-card/dongle/MiFi device as these can be locked here - phones cannot be locked - but maybe they can be easily unlocked? Un-branded devices are easy enough to source.

3G will probably satisfy most mobile data application requirements.

[muratremix]

Can you recommend that particular model?

Sierra Wireless AirCard 754S

I thought of buying this for a long time but too lazy to order one and I still have zte mf60 (21 mbit) that works (need to give it to somebody before buy another mifi)

[edwardandtubs]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Can you recommend that particular model?

Sierra Wireless AirCard 754S

I thought of buying this for a long time but too lazy to order one and I still have zte mf60 (21 mbit) that works (need to give it to somebody before buy another mifi)

The one on the website you posted seems to be a refurbished AT&T product. There's probably nothing wrong with it but that explains the reasonable price.

Hard to say without understanding your budget, requirements, expectations.

Currently only TrueMove H offers LTE, DTAC is planning on offering it starting next month.

You'll have to get a post-paid account, and while they (TrueMove H) are waiving the 99 baht/month premium, that may not continue.

You'll burn through your FUP in a few days, and then your speed will be limited to 128 - 384 Kbps.

If you do want to buy an LTE-capable device make sure it supports band 1 and band 3. I would not recommend buying a branded air-card/dongle/MiFi device as these can be locked here - phones cannot be locked - but maybe they can be easily unlocked? Un-branded devices are easy enough to source.

3G will probably satisfy most mobile data application requirements.

I read on this forum that True was offering prepaid 4G with its Manchester United simcard, but of course you'd use up your fair usage very quickly.

[davidstipek]

Can you recommend that particular model?

Sierra Wireless AirCard 754S

I thought of buying this for a long time but too lazy to order one and I still have zte mf60 (21 mbit) that works (need to give it to somebody before buy another mifi)

I have a Sierra Wireless Aircard 881...

Says Global compatibility. On back it says MS Class 12, HSDPA CAT8, UPA CAT5, Qualcomm 3G. Use's Sim Card. I have never used I was given it when I came to Thailand (here) and gave the previous owner my Verizonwireless PC5750VW USB Card as they were returning to Seattle (America)

Can anyone tell me how to use and if I need to install software... Where to get a copy... And what I could expect from Card in way of performance...

[muratremix]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

Can you recommend that particular model?

Sierra Wireless AirCard 754S

I thought of buying this for a long time but too lazy to order one and I still have zte mf60 (21 mbit) that works (need to give it to somebody before buy another mifi)

The one on the website you posted seems to be a refurbished AT&T product. There's probably nothing wrong with it but that explains the reasonable price.

Hard to say without understanding your budget, requirements, expectations.

Currently only TrueMove H offers LTE, DTAC is planning on offering it starting next month.

You'll have to get a post-paid account, and while they (TrueMove H) are waiving the 99 baht/month premium, that may not continue.

You'll burn through your FUP in a few days, and then your speed will be limited to 128 - 384 Kbps.

If you do want to buy an LTE-capable device make sure it supports band 1 and band 3. I would not recommend buying a branded air-card/dongle/MiFi device as these can be locked here - phones cannot be locked - but maybe they can be easily unlocked? Un-branded devices are easy enough to source.

3G will probably satisfy most mobile data application requirements.

I read on this forum that True was offering prepaid 4G with its Manchester United simcard, but of course you'd use up your fair usage very quickly.

Refurbished is ok as long as it works without problems. Future 2100 mhz compability would be a bonus but hey, you're buying 42 mbit 3.9G mifi device at similar price to 4g aircard. Considering 4G won't make any difference with 3-5-7 gb data allowances at full speed, it is not very important.

[edwardandtubs]

Are the aircards and mifi devices sold by DTAC, AIS and True locked to their own networks? They seem quite good value and if something goes wrong you could take it back, unlike the refurbished brands sold on the internet.

Edited March 3, 2014 by edwardandtubs

[lomatopo]

Are the aircards and mifi devices sold by DTAC, AIS and True locked to their own networks?

IME, some are, others are not. Again, phones cannot be sold locked here, but aircards/dongles/MiFi/routers can. Often it depends on the exact promotion/subsidy. It is very, very, very easy to find the exact same ZTE/Huawei device unlocked, albeit for a few more baht. But then you have more flexibility. It seems like some/most of these devices are relatively easy to unlock.

FWIW, it's still not clear to me that TrueMove H offers pre-paid LTE in any kind of reasonably-sized package or plan, i.e GB. Of course this makes sense as they are targeting the high end of the market. Yes, that MU pre-paid SIM has 90 MB of LTE, but to me it looks like you pay by the MB after that. You should triple-check wth TrueMove H re: pre-paid LTE plans, assuming you do not want a post-paid plan.

Eventually there will be pre-paid LTE, maybe after the 1800 MHz auction? LTE helps the operators as much as the customer offering them additional capacity, while 3G should be more than satisfactory for most mobile data applications and requirements.

http://www.totalaircard.com/