Its too expensive I may leave

[Suradit69]

I suppose I know the answer to this and I also realize it's one of those topics that's been regularly beaten to death, but these things are relative and do change over time ...

For a number of years I had a TOT landline and Internet connection. It started out well and degenerated over time. The phone connection was never a problem, but the Internet connection became pulling-out-your-hair aggravating.

Switched to 3BB maybe two or three years ago and had very few problems since then and those problems were always sorted out quickly by their technicians. Currently it's meant to be 13.0/1.0 Mbps and, according to various speed tests it was often in that vicinity. Certainly I found it quite adequate for my needs.

Now for the past 6 weeks or so the service seemed especially erratic. Sometimes excellent. Sometimes abysmal. The week following Songkran everything was great again, but this Monday the speed dropped to below 5 /0.5 Mbps, sometimes less than 0.5/0.05 Mbps.If I am downloading something even moderate sized file, a speed test produces really slow results and accessing Internet websites during the download is painfully slow.

I've called 3BB over the past weeks, and especially this week, many times. I had the condo guy who deals with telephone & Internet "things" call them. They come out, fiddle with things, decide all is well and leave, with no discernible change in service and they have taken to chanting the mantra: "the problem is inside the building." The condo technician says there's a 50/50 chance they're right, so I'm paying to have a new cable installed. I have a feeling this is going to be a futile effort and the new cable will join my three routers in not solving the problem.

I can cope with the slower speeds if there is no realistic choice, but it is galling to be paying for what was 2 to 3 times faster download speeds while getting dial-up connection service. I'm afraid to dump 3BB and return to TOT because I have a feeling that will just be trading a headache for an upset stomach.

Anyone in the Central Pattaya have glowing testimonials for TOT these days. Other than 3BB and TOT is there any realistic third option in Pattaya?

Edited May 1, 2014 by Suradit69

[Brevity]

I live south of Pattaya and have had TOT (10/0.68) for some time. It has usually worked well, delivering the promised speeds most of the time but in the past 5 or 6 days, I have lost the ADSL connection for 26 hours last weekend, 3 hours on Tuesday, and 12 hours by the time I left for work this morning. Phoning their 1100 service number is just an exercise in frustration, as the people answering it don't have a clue and just recite the list of stupid questions they have.

Here's an example:

TOT rep: What lights are on on your router?

Me: Just power, wifi, and ethernet going to the computer.

TOT rep: Is the ADSL light on?

ME: No! Just power, wifi, and ethernet going to the computer

TOT rep: How many lights on on your router?

ME: The power light, the wifi light, and ethernet light. That's three.

TOT rep: Oh....big problem in you area, sir.

That is the usual conversation, so I've even tried to save time and frustration by asking the service rep right away if there is a problem in my area. Amazingly, they go through the same set of questions then announce that there's a big problem in the area. I am convinced that those who answer the phone at 1100 don't actually understand English or have a clue about telephony/internet and just go through a script that they've been given.

So OP, it appears that TOT is degrading as bad as the Thai government system, and I can't

recommend them.

Anyway, I have had it with depending only on TOT and want a second service, even a slower 3B service, so please tell me how I can do that. I paid a 3k deposit to TOT when I got my phone line and had to wait a week or two for it to be installed. Will I have the same situation with 3B? Does 3B install a new separate line?

.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Brevity

[Suradit69]

I live south of Pattaya and have had TOT (10/0.68) for some time. It has usually worked well, delivering the promised speeds most of the time but in the past 5 or 6 days, I have lost the ADSL connection for 26 hours last weekend, 3 hours on Tuesday, and 12 hours by the time I left for work this morning. Phoning their 1100 service number is just an exercise in frustration, as the people answering it don't have a clue and just recite the list of stupid questions they have.

Here's an example:

TOT rep: What lights are on on your router?

Me: Just power, wifi, and ethernet going to the computer.

TOT rep: Is the ADSL light on?

ME: No! Just power, wifi, and ethernet going to the computer

TOT rep: How many lights on on your router?

ME: The power light, the wifi light, and ethernet light. That's three.

TOT rep: Oh....big problem in you area, sir.

That is the usual conversation, so I've even tried to save time and frustration by asking the service rep right away if there is a problem in my area. Amazingly, they go through the same set of questions then announce that there's a big problem in the area. I am convinced that those who answer the phone at 1100 don't actually understand English or have a clue about telephony/internet and just go through a script that they've been given.

So OP, it appears that TOT is degrading as bad as the Thai government system, and I can't

recommend them.

Anyway, I have had it with depending only on TOT and want a second service, even a slower 3B service, so please tell me how I can do that. I paid a 3k deposit to TOT when I got my phone line and had to wait a week or two for it to be installed. Will I have the same situation with 3B? Does 3B install a new separate line?

.

Thanks for your reply. It sounds like TOT hasn't changed much from the time when I left for 3BB.

I thought when 3BB installed the service they claimed they put in a new line inside my building. At the time it seemed a VAST improvement over TOT, but these days 3BB seems more reluctant than ever to deal with anything beyond where their cable reaches the building ... and that also provides an additional excuse when things turn sour, it's either the router or the line inside the building that "must be" causing the problem.

I now have 2 D-Link routers and the original Billion router supplied by 3BB. I get pretty much the same result whichever one I connect. So tomorrow the building tech will install a new line from the ground floor up to me on the fifteenth floor, but even he is not brimming with optimism regarding the result.

I guess I'll stick with 3BB and, if the cable doesn't make a difference, I'll continue to call their customer support. If the building guy calls them, someone from 3BB does actually make an appearance more often than if I go through the English telephone rep. Since there was a sudden drop from 13 to below 5 on Monday morning and it hasn't gone above 5 Mbps since then, I'm pretty sure it was a 3BB move, intentional or otherwise. As long as I'm not downloading something, I can use the Internet with reasonable speed. That still sounds better than your experience with TOT ... for the time being.

I forget what the 3BB deposit was. I lost the land line phone (which was OK for me). Just had the 3BB Internet connection after they did their installation. I think they ran a new line from the ground up to my condo, but I have no proof of that or of the quality of the cable they used.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Suradit69

[patsfangr]

I too am a 3BB subscriber. I've lived here (Nongprue) for 8 years. I began with TOT. It was so bad that, after about a year, I jumped to C.A.T., at nearly double the cost. The speed and dependaability, though better than TOT (like saying it was better than using carrier pigeons!), was very poor. About 3 years ago, 3BB became available in my area, and I jumped on it.

Like the OP, I was very pleased with it until very recently, when the speed began to drop. I must add that I have not had any significant problems with dependability. It very rarely goes down completely, and I am online for many hours, almost every day.

I will note that I have, on several occasions, when the speed is just too slow to accept, I have called, and requested a "reset." Almost every time, I see an immediate improvement in the speed.

Being the suspicious soul that I am, I suspect that their lines are now so overloaded that they sometimes switch users around among higher and lower speed lines. Call to complain, and they put you back on the high speed line you should have all the time. That is all pure speculation, on my part. It's just the most obvious conclusion from the improvements I get when I call. But I also base it, in part, upon the fact that 3BB has expanded very fast in the areas they service. That definitely does affect the speed they can provide from their servers, if they don't expand them enough to keep pace with the demand.

Just my thoughts on the point made by the OP.

Oh, I should ad that my line goes directly into my house, through a hole drilled in the wall. So it's their line all the way.

Edited May 1, 2014 by patsfangr

[Suradit69]

I too am a 3BB subscriber. I've lived here (Nongprue) for 8 years. I began with TOT. It was so bad that, after about a year, I jumped to C.A.T., at nearly double the cost. The speed and dependaability, though better than TOT (like saying it was better than using carrier pigeons!), was very poor. About 3 years ago, 3BB became available in my area, and I jumped on it.

Like the OP, I was very pleased with it until very recently, when the speed began to drop. I must add that I have not had any significant problems with dependability. It very rarely goes down completely, and I am online for many hours, almost every day.

I will note that I have, on several occasions, when the speed is just too slow to accept, I have called, and requested a "reset." Almost every time, I see an immediate improvement in the speed.

Being the suspicious soul that I am, I suspect that their lines are now so overloaded that they sometimes switch users around among higher and lower speed lines. Call to complain, and they put you back on the high speed line you should have all the time. That is all pure speculation, on my part. It's just the most obvious conclusion from the improvements I get when I call. But I also base it, in part, upon the fact that 3BB has expanded very fast in the areas they service. That definitely does affect the speed they can provide from their servers, if they don't expand them enough to keep pace with the demand.

Just my thoughts on the point made by the OP.

"I have called, and requested a "reset." Almost every time, I see an immediate improvement in the speed. "

Thanks for your comments. When you call do you use the 1350 support number and specifically ask them to reset your connection ... in English?

I agree with you about their expansion of service. TOT seems to be (almost) universally loathed and there's not much else to choose from, so I guess 3BB is being swamped. Too bad pricing isn't tied to what they actually deliver rather than some supposed package that is unrealistic.

Edited May 1, 2014 by Suradit69

[Pattaya Pat]

I have just switched from TOT to 3BB, the speeds are pretty much the same although I am now paying more for 3BB.

I have subscribed for a 13mb/1mb package, when I do a speed test the download can be anything between 5mb - 10mb but the upload speed is never more than 0.45mb and usually below 0.30mb which is poor.

So in short, they are both as bad as each other.

[Brevity]

Thanks for the info about 3BB, guys.

It sounds like all the Internet service in Thailand is just getting overloaded making it slower and less reliable.

[patsfangr]

I too am a 3BB subscriber. I've lived here (Nongprue) for 8 years. I began with TOT. It was so bad that, after about a year, I jumped to C.A.T., at nearly double the cost. The speed and dependaability, though better than TOT (like saying it was better than using carrier pigeons!), was very poor. About 3 years ago, 3BB became available in my area, and I jumped on it.

Like the OP, I was very pleased with it until very recently, when the speed began to drop. I must add that I have not had any significant problems with dependability. It very rarely goes down completely, and I am online for many hours, almost every day.

I will note that I have, on several occasions, when the speed is just too slow to accept, I have called, and requested a "reset." Almost every time, I see an immediate improvement in the speed.

Being the suspicious soul that I am, I suspect that their lines are now so overloaded that they sometimes switch users around among higher and lower speed lines. Call to complain, and they put you back on the high speed line you should have all the time. That is all pure speculation, on my part. It's just the most obvious conclusion from the improvements I get when I call. But I also base it, in part, upon the fact that 3BB has expanded very fast in the areas they service. That definitely does affect the speed they can provide from their servers, if they don't expand them enough to keep pace with the demand.

Just my thoughts on the point made by the OP.

"I have called, and requested a "reset." Almost every time, I see an immediate improvement in the speed. "

Thanks for your comments. When you call do you use the 1350 support number and specifically ask them to reset your connection ... in English?

I agree with you about their expansion of service. TOT seems to be (almost) universally loathed and there's not much else to choose from, so I guess 3BB is being swamped. Too bad pricing isn't tied to what they actually deliver rather than some supposed package that is unrealistic.

Just a couple of quick correction, Suradit; one for me, and one for you. :-)

The number I call is 1530, not 1350. And, yes, I always go to the English line, which requires them to call back now. They always do. (By the way, the girl I spoke with today had nearly perfect English. A rarity. I usually have trouble understanding Thais on the phone - MUCH more so than in person. Not so with this girl.

I called them to check on my sign up date. It was January of 2010. Over 4 years ago; not 3 as I originally stated.

As for their speed pledge, it was very nearly on the money, consistently, for the first 2 years I used them. That's why I tend to believe it's the demand that's causing the problem, one way or another.

I have a package that they no longer offer. It was called "Premium International". It pledged 3MB on international lines (Most of my internet usage is from US sites.) I now rarely get over 2, and usually a bit less. Sometimes, usually in the morning, it's below 1. At the moment, per a test I just ran on Speedtest.net, it's "blazing fast", at 2.95. This morning, though I didn't test it, I'm sure it was down around 1. Slow even processing email.

The package costs me 1090 baht, plus VAT; total 1166; but, as I said, this package is no longer offered. Not sure why not; but I'd guess that they no longer have confidence in their ability to provide that speed consistently. Which, as noted, they don't. I asked them a few months ago if I could "upgrade" to a faster package at a reasonable increase in cost. They said no, and recommended that I stick with this one.

[Suradit69]

I too am a 3BB subscriber. I've lived here (Nongprue) for 8 years. I began with TOT. It was so bad that, after about a year, I jumped to C.A.T., at nearly double the cost. The speed and dependaability, though better than TOT (like saying it was better than using carrier pigeons!), was very poor. About 3 years ago, 3BB became available in my area, and I jumped on it.

Like the OP, I was very pleased with it until very recently, when the speed began to drop. I must add that I have not had any significant problems with dependability. It very rarely goes down completely, and I am online for many hours, almost every day.

I will note that I have, on several occasions, when the speed is just too slow to accept, I have called, and requested a "reset." Almost every time, I see an immediate improvement in the speed.

Being the suspicious soul that I am, I suspect that their lines are now so overloaded that they sometimes switch users around among higher and lower speed lines. Call to complain, and they put you back on the high speed line you should have all the time. That is all pure speculation, on my part. It's just the most obvious conclusion from the improvements I get when I call. But I also base it, in part, upon the fact that 3BB has expanded very fast in the areas they service. That definitely does affect the speed they can provide from their servers, if they don't expand them enough to keep pace with the demand.

Just my thoughts on the point made by the OP.

"I have called, and requested a "reset." Almost every time, I see an immediate improvement in the speed. "

Thanks for your comments. When you call do you use the 1350 support number and specifically ask them to reset your connection ... in English?

I agree with you about their expansion of service. TOT seems to be (almost) universally loathed and there's not much else to choose from, so I guess 3BB is being swamped. Too bad pricing isn't tied to what they actually deliver rather than some supposed package that is unrealistic.

Just a couple of quick correction, Suradit; one for me, and one for you. :-)

The number I call is 1530, not 1350. And, yes, I always go to the English line, which requires them to call back now. They always do. (By the way, the girl I spoke with today had nearly perfect English. A rarity. I usually have trouble understanding Thais on the phone - MUCH more so than in person. Not so with this girl.

I called them to check on my sign up date. It was January of 2010. Over 4 years ago; not 3 as I originally stated.

As for their speed pledge, it was very nearly on the money, consistently, for the first 2 years I used them. That's why I tend to believe it's the demand that's causing the problem, one way or another.

I have a package that they no longer offer. It was called "Premium International". It pledged 3MB on international lines (Most of my internet usage is from US sites.) I now rarely get over 2, and usually a bit less. Sometimes, usually in the morning, it's below 1. At the moment, per a test I just ran on Speedtest.net, it's "blazing fast", at 2.95. This morning, though I didn't test it, I'm sure it was down around 1. Slow even processing email.

The package costs me 1090 baht, plus VAT; total 1166; but, as I said, this package is no longer offered. Not sure why not; but I'd guess that they no longer have confidence in their ability to provide that speed consistently. Which, as noted, they don't. I asked them a few months ago if I could "upgrade" to a faster package at a reasonable increase in cost. They said no, and recommended that I stick with this one.

"The number I call is 1530, not 1350."

You're right. When I wrote that I thought I ought to double-check it, but went with my memory ... almost always a mistake.

I too signed up for some promotion package that is no longer available. I have been upgraded a couple of times to what is now supposed to be 13/1 Mbps and I pay Baht 950.16 per month (I did check my statement for that figure). Probably what I've been getting this past week is closer to what I was originally promised, but these levels are now promised at 1/2 to 1/3 of what I pay each month.

[Pralaad]

Forget both of them, change over to Sophon Fibre Optic cable Internet.

Reliable and fast internet, good customer service that comes out within 24-48 hours.

Do not confuse Sophon Cable TV, not the same company

I have been with Sophon Internet for over 3 years and very very pleased

http://www.sophonbb.net/

[patsfangr]

Forget both of them, change over to Sophon Fibre Optic cable Internet.

Reliable and fast internet, good customer service that comes out within 24-48 hours.

Do not confuse Sophon Cable TV, not the same company

I have been with Sophon Internet for over 3 years and very very pleased

http://www.sophonbb.net/

Pralaad, can you tell me where they have an office, so that I can ask if they expect to expand into the Lake Mabprachan area? I live near the east end of Nernplubwarn, and the areas they list on their website do not include anything on the Darkside.

[Pralaad]

Forget both of them, change over to Sophon Fibre Optic cable Internet.

Reliable and fast internet, good customer service that comes out within 24-48 hours.

Do not confuse Sophon Cable TV, not the same company

I have been with Sophon Internet for over 3 years and very very pleased

http://www.sophonbb.net/

Pralaad, can you tell me where they have an office, so that I can ask if they expect to expand into the Lake Mabprachan area? I live near the east end of Nernplubwarn, and the areas they list on their website do not include anything on the Darkside.

Their small office is on South Pattaya Road, just few hundred meters up from Tuccom going towards 3 road, on the opposite site.

I know dark side, the same service is offered by either Banglamung Cable or Tippany Cable, seen their cars on the road, but can not vouch for the service and reliability

Its discussed here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/187686-banglamung-cable-tv-internet-service/

[Eagleizer]

Forget both of them, change over to Sophon Fibre Optic cable Internet.

Reliable and fast internet, good customer service that comes out within 24-48 hours.

Do not confuse Sophon Cable TV, not the same company

I have been with Sophon Internet for over 3 years and very very pleased

http://www.sophonbb.net/

Pralaad, can you tell me where they have an office, so that I can ask if they expect to expand into the Lake Mabprachan area? I live near the east end of Nernplubwarn, and the areas they list on their website do not include anything on the Darkside.

Their small office is on South Pattaya Road, just few hundred meters up from Tuccom going towards 3 road, on the opposite site.

I know dark side, the same service is offered by either Banglamung Cable or Tippany Cable, seen their cars on the road, but can not vouch for the service and reliability

Its discussed here http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/187686-banglamung-cable-tv-internet-service/

I also recommend Sophon! Very good line and good service. I have been living outside

their area for 9 months,but are now on the move back again. Going to ask where they

can deliver before I look for a house/apartment. Have had a nightmare with to different

ISP`s the last 9 months, and don`t want to experience that ever again!..

[living in Patts]

I've had 3bb for 2 years now in north pattaya and never had any trouble at all except when in the building people moved some wires in the junction box. Put them back as they were and it's been fine since. Really surprised to hear so many different problems with people around the town

[Bugsy1966]

Another thumbs up for Sophon in Central Pattaya. I did quite a lot of research - here and elsewhere - before going for them as, for me, international speed is crucial. Local surfing is unimportant.

I've been using them for 15 months or so on a 2/1 'premium' service at around 1690B per month. Expensive yes, but they do deliver (mostly) that and more 90% of the time internationally and that is what is important to me as I stream Sky tv from the UK using a Slingbox.

The speeds I get are very stable at around 3-4M down at all times except 6pm-midnight Friday-Sunday. Then it often dips to as little as 1-1.5 but that is still enough to stream in SD so I've been happy with their service. There have been a few significant outages (1-4 hours) since I've been using them but only one that was overnight. Lots of 5-15 minute outages (1-2 per month maybe) but I get the impression that this is typical of most/all ISPs.

I've only had to call them out once and they were here 2 hours later.

Like all Thai internet options it's far from perfect but if you are relying on 1m+ international speeds at all times then I'm not aware of a better option at the moment.

However, I will soon be moving to the northern side of Mabprachan lake (close to the water treatment plant) so the search will start again. I'm aware of BTV servicing that area - anyone on here with experience of them/their international speeds/packages? Other ISPs that cover that area?

[Suradit69]

Forget both of them, change over to Sophon Fibre Optic cable Internet.

Reliable and fast internet, good customer service that comes out within 24-48 hours.

Do not confuse Sophon Cable TV, not the same company

I have been with Sophon Internet for over 3 years and very very pleased

http://www.sophonbb.net/

"Do not confuse Sophon Cable TV, not the same company "

Thanks for the reference and link. I did assume they were the TV people, so I never considered them seriously. Just gave them a call and they do serve my building.

The building tech is installing the new cable today. If that doesn't improve the 3BB connection ( and I'm not very hopeful) I will definitely give them a try. They are a bit more expensive in monthly charges, but well worth it if they provide reliable service.

Now (that I know about them ) everyone keep quiet! If they become too popular they might head downhill like 3BB.

[Degobuy]

I live in Centrel Pataya and have 3bb, I notice only for a short period of time it slowing down,then back to normal.I'm happy with 3bb.

[Suradit69]

I live in Centrel Pataya and have 3bb, I notice only for a short period of time it slowing down,then back to normal.I'm happy with 3bb.

For the past three years or so I've been very happy with 3BB, but just lately the service has gone downhill for me. Depends on your location and how many people they hook up where you stay. If there are too many connections in one location the service worsens ... apparently. Or there may be a technical problem they haven't identified. In the past when I've had a problem it's been sorted out quickly. Now they claim the service is OK and it must be a problem in my building. We will see once I get the new cable installed. I hope that solves the problem, but this is getting very much like TOT when I gave up on them.

[Pattaya Pat]

I live in Centrel Pataya and have 3bb, I notice only for a short period of time it slowing down,then back to normal.I'm happy with 3bb.

For the past three years or so I've been very happy with 3BB, but just lately the service has gone downhill for me. Depends on your location and how many people they hook up where you stay. If there are too many connections in one location the service worsens ... apparently. Or there may be a technical problem they haven't identified. In the past when I've had a problem it's been sorted out quickly. Now they claim the service is OK and it must be a problem in my building. We will see once I get the new cable installed. I hope that solves the problem, but this is getting very much like TOT when I gave up on them.

In my experience here you pretty much get what you are given. I cannot ever recall complaining about lack of speed and the error being 'permanently' fixed. At best you may see an improvement for a couple of days before it will return to norm.

In short, complaining about it is pretty much a waste of time and energy.

[MJCM]

I have both 3BB and TOT and live in Central Pattaya, since a couple of weeks I don't have any problems with both of them before that TOT was bad, but I had a new cable put in and since then everything is oke.

The only site which gives me sometimes troubles is TV, but I solve that by changing DNS and a Flush of the DNS

I use this program http://www.sordum.org/7952/dns-jumper-v1-0-6/

[Suradit69]

I have both 3BB and TOT and live in Central Pattaya, since a couple of weeks I don't have any problems with both of them before that TOT was bad, but I had a new cable put in and since then everything is oke.

The only site which gives me sometimes troubles is TV, but I solve that by changing DNS and a Flush of the DNS

I use this program http://www.sordum.org/7952/dns-jumper-v1-0-6/

Well I was proved wrong (not for the first time). Our building tech installed a new cable from the ground floor connection to 3BB up to my condo and I'm back up to 14.25/0.99 Kbps. I guess (probably not for the first time) the 3BB techies were correct ... the problem was actually inside the building. I guess after three years the cable suffered some abuse in its fifteen floor rise.

Amazing how a relatively simple thing like Internet connectivity can seem so important.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Suradit69

[MJCM]

^ How did it cost you to get the new cable installed ?

[Suradit69]

^ How did it cost you to get the new cable installed ?

The two guys who installed the cable do work for the condo building. The guy who looks after Internet, telephone and cable TV things for the building said to buy 100 metres of cable, which was probably more than was really needed for a fifteen storey rise plus some horizontal travel on the first and fifteenth floor, but I'm sure whatever was left over will be put to good use, which is fine with me. I specified that it should NOT be the cheapest thing available. A friend got that for me @ baht 1050.

As I say, the guys who did the installation work for the building, so there was no charge for their work, but I gave them each a reasonably generous tip. The workers in my building really are quite good, whether it's plumbing or electrical or even getting the Internet guy to call 3BB for me to complain in Thai (which always seems to get a quicker response than me using the English service) so, depending on the difficulty of the task I do always express my appreciation verbally and financially. Seems to keep everyone happy since I usually get things done quickly and well.

So it was about Baht 2000, which I consider a bargain for the reduced aggravation thus achieved. As Pattaya Pat says, nothing is forever, but the previous cable lasted 3 years and this is the first time I've had a problem that wasn't resolved in a day or two, so I'll go back to being a happy 3BB customer. My criticism of them in this case was unfair in any event.

Edited May 3, 2014 by Suradit69

[Beggar]

I had/have the same problem. 3BB in central Pattaya and had a perfect line for many years with 27 dB. Suddenly at the end of last year they split the lines between 3BB and TT&T (telephone what I had too). This was the end of my very good internet connection. They said the problem is inside the condo and gave me a test line with direct connection. This direct line was not as good as the old connection but worked. But I had to remove the test line because the condo manager did not like this outside cable and so I have the old line again. The situation is that on some days I have a perfect internet with 26 dB and sometimes like now a stable connection with only 6 dB (see attachments). But sometimes I have severe connection problems. I am wondering that my line can be very good sometimes and sometimes it is very bad.

So I guess there might be more to the connection problems than my old line. Other people here in the condo complex have the same problem and they all would need a new line too. Strange change. I understand that with the telephone on the same cable there was a higher voltage on the line. And now when I measure the internet line only then there is almost no voltage anymore on it. So the signal from the ADSL exchange might be simply too weak (but the box is only about 50 meters from here). Whatever - endless story since the end of last year. Before I had TOT. Never really worked. But this was many years ago.

[JSixpack]

But I had to remove the test line because the condo manager did not like this outside cable and so I have the old line again.

Replace the old line with a new line, inside, using heavy gauge wire.

If that doesn't work, then it will be clear to 3BB that the problem lies with them. If they can't fix it then, consider changing to Sophon or CAT. Both of these services have their detractors and their defenders like any other. You'll have to try them to determine if either will work well for you.

[tropo]

You pay for peanuts, you get peanuts. Most of you people are paying for shared ADSL. The top speed is not a guaranteed speed, it's a theoretical maximum and will depend on what the other 20 or so people you're sharing with are doing. If your neighbours are bandwidth hogs, you're out of luck. All the complaining in the world won't help you if the ISP's don't throttle bit-torrent downloading. How can they guarantee your speed if you're sharing with so many. It's impossible. Back at home you probably have more reliable speeds because ISP's have a fair use policy which they enforce.

Most of you know about the maximum speed offered with 3G and 4G mobile services, which is 42 Mbps. Have any of you experienced even a fraction of that speed?

I've taken one step to solving the problem. Both of my connections, CAT and 3BB are the premium services, which have lower contention ratios. I pay a lot more than most of you. My 3BB is only 3Mb/1Mb and my CAT is 7Mb/1Mb, but I don't have too many problems with speed being low. I pay a total of near 3000 baht per month for these services. I've always had at least 2 connections.

I'm currently looking at a business fiber optic CAT package. The cheapest and slowest is 30Mb/5Mb at 4,500 per month. That's also shared, so it won't be perfect.

I'm also looking to try the new fiber optic package from 3BB which is being offered really cheap at 1,200 per month for 30Mb/3Mb (full price = 2490 ex VAT), but it's not available in my area yet. It is currently available in some areas of Pratumnak as I had a look at a map at the 3BB office today... but then again, this is cheap, so I don't expect too much.

Once again, even with this 3BB fiber optic service there are 2 packages offered for each speed - Home Use and Business Use. For example, the 30Mb/3Mb for home use is currently 1,200 (ex VAT) and business use is 6300 baht per month. The business packages cost at least double.

On this forum I never hear from anyone who pays for the business packages - it's always people complaining how bad their bargain basement services are.

Yes, you could be lucky and have frugal neighbours who only check their email and do some basic surfing... but let's face it, most expats are very hard on their ISP's, watching Internet TV and downloading day and night.

I'd really like to hear from people who have business packages, because you have to pay quite a bit to have them installed and sign a contract for a year, so you'd want to be sure you're going to get something decent for around 5000 per month.

Edited May 3, 2014 by tropo

[Beggar]

Most of you people are paying for shared ADSL. The top speed is not a guaranteed speed, it's a theoretical maximum and will depend on what the other 20 or so people you're sharing with are doing.

We are not talking about speed problems but about connection problems. Line attenuation or the dB rate has little to do with other users. If you have a good connection and low speed then you might be right. But even with 30 Mb speed - if the server that you call is slow it will not help you much and this has nothing do to with a shared ADSL connection. But who really needs 30 Mb? You can slow down your connection to 6 Mb and you will find out that all streaming services still will work. And if not just the server delivering them might have a problem but not your (shared) connection.

[Beggar]

But I had to remove the test line because the condo manager did not like this outside cable and so I have the old line again.

Replace the old line with a new line, inside, using heavy gauge wire.

If that doesn't work, then it will be clear to 3BB that the problem lies with them.

To replace the old line is not that easy if not impossible if you do not replace many lines of other condos too at the same time. So this is no real option. But I am still confident that 3BB will find an outside problem and fix it. My luck is that my modem does not cancel the connection below 6 dB like some will do and so there is still some internet. But the condo manager said in the meantime if it does not get better I can have a (new) outside line but I have to pay for it. The outside (test) line from 3BB was for free! Perhaps this was the problem so that I had to remove it... Anyhow, I am not alone with this problem here in this condo complex. So 3BB must have changed something. Now we all need new lines? To change to other ISPs would be just like gambling. I had TOT ADSL before but was not happy with it and the TOT customer service quality. At the very beginning I had a dial up connection and this really worked :-)

[tropo]

To change to other ISPs would be just like gambling. I had TOT ADSL before but was not happy with it and the TOT customer service quality. At the very beginning I had a dial up connection and this really worked :-)

I don't gamble when I try out new services. I keep the existing ones until I'm happy with the new ones. It's a bit easier for me because living in a townhouse it's easy to run the lines straight from the poles outside. .

[Turkleton]

I don't gamble when I try out new services. I keep the existing ones until I'm happy with the new ones. It's a bit easier for me because living in a townhouse it's easy to run the lines straight from the poles outside. .

Yeah, but usually you have to sign a one-year contract for a new line.

So, what do you do, if you're unhappy with your new service?

Edited May 4, 2014 by Turkleton