Tt&t Adsl

[grrr]

I've been patiently waiting and watching ADSL prices go down here in Chiang Mai...and then last week got promotional mail from TT&T. The "Meet & Greet" special...999 baht per month, unlimited worldwide internet (using CAT Hi Net as ISP) claiming 2048Kbps (ha!), no sign-up/installation charge, and a free ZyXEL Prestige 630 modem. Hmmm. I went ahead and signed my life away for a year. It should be installed within 2 weeks they told me. Anyone else give this a shot?

[organic]

No, but I'd be very interested to know how it turns out in practice, it's something I've been considering.

[holm188]

signed up too. So we'll see how it goes when it is set up.

[Phil Conners]

If they would offer this in Pattaya I'd be having it in an eyeblink. They don't even offere ADSL in this area although it has been promised "by the end of the year" .... of 2003.

[ChiangMaiThai]

I signed up too. I asked them how it was possible that I'd get 2mbps unlimited international and domestic for less than it would cost me in the US. They told me that it would really only be this fast at 3 or 4 in the morning. This is because the connection is shared by 50 people. So when less people are on, the connection will be faster. They said in peak times, the worst case scenerio would be 40kbps. Quite a contrast to the super high speeds they are advertising. We'll see how it turns out...

[Zendesigner]

hi chiangmai thai

is this the same as the TOT promotion of 600 bath for 512k ?

And are you in the city where it is possible or outside?

i'm on first ring road so maybe they wont have it there yet ?

B

[holm188]

Hi B,

I think it is not the same as the TOT thing (which I understand is for thai sites only).

First check on the TT&T site (www.ttt.co.th) if you phoneline is inthe service area then probably check with TT&T directly for the promotion.

I'm just outside of 1st ring road and am in the service area.

[ChiangMaiThai]

hi chiangmai thai

is this the same as the TOT promotion of 600 bath for 512k ?

And are you in the city where it is possible or outside?

i'm on first ring road so maybe they wont have it there yet ?

B

Hi Zen. No, I think this is something different. TT&T only. I believe its available to anyone with a TT&T phone line. I'm right in the city. Inside the moat. I saw people at the promotion switching to TT&T for a few thousand baht to get the deal. They were supposed to install it this week. Now they say next week. It still sounds too good to be true. I'll make a report once they actually install it.

[monty]

This was in Bkk Post wednesday, Database section:

2Mbps DSL service for rural areas

TT&T, CAT offer unlimited access

Karnjana Karnjanatawe

CAT Telecom and TT&T last week launched a 2Mbps broadband Internet access called "Hi Net" in provincial areas including Chiang Mai, Phuket and Khon Kaen for a monthly charge of 1,000 baht. The package offers unlimited usage time and access to any web site, however the access speed to sites outside Thailand is limited to 40 Kbps.

According to CAT Executive Senior Vice President Sompol Chanprasert, the service fee follows the policy of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry to introduce low-cost broadband Internet access to end-users. The target is individuals as well as small- and medium-sized enterprises in Bangkok and up-country, with CAT Telecom's high-speed Internet service mainly intended for corporate users.

The 2Mbps Internet access will support video conferencing, video streaming as well as e-learning for local usage.

"The connection speed will depend on the number of users and bandwidth consumption at a given time while the average throughput when downloading information over an international link is around 40KBps," he said, adding that although this seemed to be low, this average number was almost double the speed in Korea, where the majority of Internet use was for accessing domestic web sites and the average throughput of international Internet access was 23KBps.

"Hi Net" was launched in Bangkok and Chiang Mai last week is a response to the introduction of TOT's broadband Internet service at the end of January with two packages of 256Kbps and 512Kbps Internet services at prices of 500 and 600 baht respectively.

The TOT service was not yet widely available, said ICT Minister Dr Surapong Suebwonglee, adding that many users still queued up for ADSL access and the launch of the CAT and TT&T service would extend availability for end users, he noted.

According to TT&T Senior Vice President Supot Tiarawut, around 8,000 ports for the initial phase that included the areas of the three "IT cities" of Chiang Mai, Khon Kaen and Phuket.

The company will invest around 400 million baht to upgrade its telephone network to support ADSL technology for an additional 30,000 users this year.

[monty]

Only speeds within Thailand can reach 2Mbps...

International will be limited...

once they mention 40kbps (bit !!!) which would be just as slow as a modem connection...

Further on in the article they say 40 kBps (byte)... This would be 8 times faster as a modem, a little bit faster as a 256 kbps connection...

We'll just have to wait on the reports of our honorable testers...

Monty

[ChiangMaiThai]

The package offers unlimited usage time and access to any web site, however the access speed to sites outside Thailand is limited to 40 Kbps.

Definitley would have been nice if they mentioned this at the promotion. They told me that worst case scenerio would be 40kbps during peak times as the line is shared between 50 users. I guess they forgot to mention that all international sites were limited to 40kbps. I guess we'll wait and see. And what domestic sites are worth visiting?

[sabaijai]

That's slower than dial-up for international, so why would anyone take this deal?

[ChiangMaiThai]

That's slower than dial-up for international, so why would anyone take this deal?

Well firstly, its connected all the time. Also, I spend well over 1000 baht a month on loxinfo plus the local phone bill from dialing up a few times a day. Also, dial up is rarely the 56k they advertise. So in those respects its still a reasonable deal. But I sure would have liked to have been told about this 40k limit for international sites. Far from broadband...

[genjoet]

Is this a limited time promotion for the free installation? If so, when does it end and where do you call to get it?

Thanks

[sabaijai]

I went down to my local TT&T office to pick up the forms. The promotion is good till 31 Aug 2005.

It says the 999B does not include tax. To those of you who have ordered it, how much was tax? The usual VAT (illegally applied at 7% although the consumer is supposed to carry only 3.5%, the seller the other half)?

Also question for Chiang Mai Thai, what's the real average for LoxInfo? I've had LoxInfo dialup since 1997, have been pretty happy with the service overall. Though like you I spend well over 1000B a month on my Lox bill and phone charges.

thanks

[ChiangMaiThai]

sabaijai, I'm not sure of the true average for loxinfo. I'm guessing around 40k. But of course downloads are much slower than that. Funny, they told me that the promotion for the free modem and 2mbps unlimited was good for only 3 or 4 days. Who knows. I'm just interested to see TT&T's version of broadband.

[sabaijai]

Funny, they told me that the promotion for the free modem and 2mbps unlimited was good for only 3 or 4 days.

Yes, that's what the advertisement outside the office said, too, just two days a weekend or two ago. But on the application form it clearly says the offer's good till 31 Aug 2004 (not 2005 as I erroneously typed in my last post!), and when I asked they said no problem, I could have the same deal, same terms, etc.

So download for DSL should be faster, right? I've never had DSL before, haven't got a clue what the expected speeds should be.

I guess it's impossible to say till you have it up and running. I can't decide whether to order this right away before they change their minds about the deal or wait and see how other forum members fare after they get the system online.

[JJDinsay]

I would wait I guess - no need to get burned for a year on a deal that has gotten some already bad reviews. Besides with the competition already heating up for Broadband there's bound to be better deals comin down the pipe.

[ChiangMaiThai]

wait a few more days til some members have their connection. if international is really only 40k, then i've got to say that we've all been taken.

[Guest IT Manager]

Yesterday one of my clients had TT&T/JiNet hooked up in his apartment, outside the old city. (Other side of the river near the US Consul).

200 K Download, 90K upload. Very good.

Cost 3,500 baht. All I had to do was go in and make the wireless work again, which it now does.

I'm impressed, and he seems to be.

IT/Nerd

[ChiangMaiThai]

Yesterday one of my clients had TT&T/JiNet hooked up in his apartment, outside the old city. (Other side of the river near the US Consul).

200 K Download, 90K upload. Very good.

Cost 3,500 baht. All I had to do was go in and make the wireless work again, which it now does.

I'm impressed, and he seems to be.

IT/Nerd

What about the 1000 baht a month program? Has anyone been hooked up yet? I'm still waiting and waiting...

[Guest IT Manager]

From who?

[ChiangMaiThai]

From who?

TT&T. Unlimited international and domestic. 2mbps. Free modem. 1000 Baht per month. No deposit. Nothing due up front. Just sign a one year contract.

[Phil Conners]

Available in BKK, CM and Pukeit only

Pattaya is rich, of course, and can afford the usual 3,500 ++ per month

[grrr]

I'm still waiting too ( TT&T Unlimited international and domestic. 2mbps. Free modem. 1000 Baht per month. No deposit. Nothing due up front. Just sign a one year contract).

They told me up to two weeks for installation. After over two weeks a phone call revealed they don't have enough of something(?) and need to order more from Bangkok, up to two more weeks! So...who knows when this will happen. When and if it does, I'll post a review...

[sbk]

Available in BKK, CM and Pukeit only

Pattaya is rich, of course, and can afford the usual 3,500 ++ per month

Not true, they have come to Koh Phangan with a limited number of connections for now. Guess it is a trial balloon. My understanding is that you get the adsl line from tt&t and then they offer special packages through either CAT, Ji-Net (for 3500 baht a month unlimited intl 256kb download) and KSC (2500 baht a month unlimited intl 128 kb download). This includes the line leasing as well as internet package. You can also just lease the line and get your own internet package but some provinces have limited isp's that offer adsl service and it is more expensive than the tt&t package. I have already signed up and don't mind waiting as I have learned infinite patience living in Thailand. As long as it comes (Hey, I waited a year for a phone line, I can wait a few weeks for adsl) I will be happy!

[Guest chingy]

i live in bangkok and have TOT adsl 256/128 for 500baht, the speed is decent during the day time i get around 140-180kbps and during night time i get around 190-210, i wanted to upgrade to 512/256 for extra 100baht or even to 1mb, the funny thing is they do offer higher speed for a decent price, but they do not have telephone line to support anything higher than 256/128( i mean by the public line outside the house), so i cannot hook anything higher than what i have now, its so sad that the infrastructure is so bad.

[ChiangMaiThai]

Has anyone actually gotten this 1000 baht deal hooked up yet? Two weeks ago I was told 'next week'. Last week I was told 'this week'. Last Friday i was told 'before Sunday'. Yesterday I was told 'Today'. Today, i still have no TT&T DSL internet. Also, I'm told that they can't make an appointment in advance. When the guys are ready to hook it up, you better be home. Some things in Thailans just seem plain wrong...

[sbk]

Has anyone actually gotten this 1000 baht deal hooked up yet? Two weeks ago I was told 'next week'. Last week I was told 'this week'. Last Friday i was told 'before Sunday'. Yesterday I was told 'Today'. Today, i still have no TT&T DSL internet. Also, I'm told that they can't make an appointment in advance. When the guys are ready to hook it up, you better be home. Some things in Thailans just seem plain wrong...

Sorry CMT, but how is this any different than having a repairperson come to your home in your home country? My parents had to wait at home for 3 days for the boiler repairman to finally show up. Patience is a virtue, and remember, this is Thailand, count yourself lucky you can even get adsl. Most places in the country don't have it at all.

[ChiangMaiThai]

Has anyone actually gotten this 1000 baht deal hooked up yet? Two weeks ago I was told 'next week'. Last week I was told 'this week'. Last Friday i was told 'before Sunday'. Yesterday I was told 'Today'. Today, i still have no TT&T DSL internet. Also, I'm told that they can't make an appointment in advance. When the guys are ready to hook it up, you better be home. Some things in Thailans just seem plain wrong...

Sorry CMT, but how is this any different than having a repairperson come to your home in your home country? My parents had to wait at home for 3 days for the boiler repairman to finally show up. Patience is a virtue, and remember, this is Thailand, count yourself lucky you can even get adsl. Most places in the country don't have it at all.

Fair enough sbk, in all countries there are a number of professionals who require their customers to be at home during a window of time. Yes, patience is a virtue and so is living up to one's word. Please see Confucious and his ideas on Rectification of Names. In my mind it is simply wrong to fail to live up to one's word without at the very least a sincere apology. In that respect, Thailand has a long way to go.