Hi all,

My wife will be leaving Thailand shortly for England for 2 years but wants to keep her AIS number (that she's had for over 7 years) active, she'll give it to a friend if necessary to keep it active.

Can anyone advise if she could keep it active from England in some way or whether she'll need to hand it off to a friend?

Also what are the AIS rules on this? In my head I'm thinking 180 days but never really checked that.

Thanks for all responses...

Probably best to check with AIS to get a feel for the current promotion/plan and associated top-up/validity scheme associated with the SIM/number/account, and to see what options might be available. AIS, via the new 2100 MHz subsidiary (AWN) is a bit behind re: extended validity. In the olden days AIS allowed for cumulative top-ups, up to 365 days, but on newer SIMs the maximum accumulated validity is +60 days. Some have reported maintaining accumulated validity even after transitioning to AWN.

TrueMove H just transitioned to accumulated validity, so each top-up gives another 30 days, and 12 top-ups would give 360 days. DTAC has the Day Giveaway plan, which allows users to purchase extra validity at the rate of 3 baht/30 days, up to 365 days max.

Very generally speaking, and assuming there is no need to have the SIM in hand, it is always easiest to maintain the SIM in country, given the many, many, many top-up options, along with easy access to customer service.

She can just take it to the UK, maybe send a text now and again, and occasionally top it up online using her Thai bank account.

If possible. as was suggested, take the phone with her and use it ther. Expensive roaming charges though. If a friend will not abuse it, that is an option. AIS says they will hold the number for you but both my wife and myself lost our numbers this way.