Best Internet provider in Jomtien?

[KittenKong]

My reply was in relation to LAN cable being used for CAT fiber optic internet.... in which case TV coax was not being used.

I had no idea fiber optic is very commonly distributed (in condo builidings) via TV coax. I had no idea that anyone used TV coax for fiber optic. That would seem like a bad idea. How do you know what is very common or what most people use? Are you in the business?

It makes no real difference how the data arrives at the building. These days fibre is becoming common but just a couple of years ago it was all being done over coax (except for individual ADSL, of course).

The internal LAN distribution can easily be done over TV coax and this is obviously a cheap and convenient solution as nearly all older condo buildings are equipped with TV cables already. It works well enough if the cable and amps/splitters are in good order. Newer buildings may also be pre-fitted with dedicated Ethernet cabling which is better but increases the cost.

Recently in our building they fitted a fibre modem that replaced the coax data supply to the building, but none of the internal wiring was changed. This is generally known as Fibre To The Kerb or Fibre To The Building and is what is most often sold here by the likes of Sophon etc, even to domestic clients in individual houses. It's also the most common system of cheap fibre roll-out in the UK, only there they call it Fibre To The Cabinet (which refers to the switching box somewhere in the road outside).

There is also the option to pull a dedicated fibre cable right to the condo unit (or house) and fit a modem there, though obviously this costs more both for installation and on a monthly basis. It seems that this is what you have and is usually called Fibre To The Home.

It all really depends on how much you want to spend. Most domestic users are content with the cheaper options.

[BeefSlapper]

See if u can get fibre 3BB in ur place thats best.

If not Get TOT fibre optic.

Then is True

In that order.

Edited June 22, 2015 by BeefSlapper

[funlovinkid]

Sophon dont do DSL: they do cable (and fibre) broadband. You should check which cable TV supplier your building uses as normally this supplier will also be able to supply broadband (cable or fibre) to your unit. You may also find that other cable suppliers may be able to do it.

That charge for installing DSL will probably be very similar for any provider. True DSL is also an option depending on which floor you live on (for some unknown reason True will not do DSL to high floors, even though the cable is entirely run inside the building).

I find 3BB DSL to be quite reliable and fair quality, though of course YMMV. Previously I had Sophon which was very reliable until they changed the type of cable modem they used to a router that was incompatible with my equipment. They were not in the slightest bit interested in doing anything to solve the problem, though it would have been relatively simple for them to do so. So they lost a long-term customer (just one of many, I think).

KK, would you mind explaining what the problem was between Sophon's equipment and yours, in terms of compatibility? I've scheduled them to come do the installation tomorrow, but they weren't able to successfully explain to me over the phone how I'll be able to connect my Windows PC (which doesn't have WiFi capability) to their cable modem in order to gain Internet access. They mentioned something about a "USB" connection, but that still won't do the trick for me, and I'm wondering if this is exactly the issue you encountered with them.

[KittenKong]

KK, would you mind explaining what the problem was between Sophon's equipment and yours, in terms of compatibility? I've scheduled them to come do the installation tomorrow, but they weren't able to successfully explain to me over the phone how I'll be able to connect my Windows PC (which doesn't have WiFi capability) to their cable modem in order to gain Internet access. They mentioned something about a "USB" connection, but that still won't do the trick for me, and I'm wondering if this is exactly the issue you encountered with them.

The problems I had with the new Sophon equipment were to do with VPNs and port forwarding for VOIP and other server requirements. Not something that is likely to bother the average domestic user.

The entire problem could have been easily sidestepped if Sophon had bothered to find out how to put their slave router into bridge mode. This they would not or could not do, so they lost a customer. I certainly wasn't going to waste time with them.

The slave router that they supply now has built-in wifi and Ethernet connections. To connect a desktop PC you would normally use an Ethernet cable (all desktop PCs have Ethernet sockets) and these are widely available very cheaply in big supermarkets and electronics shops. Just get one as long as you need. Wifi just works, assuming that your phone or tablet or laptop or desktop has wifi. Most laptops also have Ethernet sockets.

USB is not used for this.

[rickthailand]

i had sophon now for 2 months and the speed is fast and very reliable. had 1 problem (my

own fault) phoned the call centre and had someone at my condo within 2 hours

so far very impressed with them

rick

[funlovinkid]

KK, would you mind explaining what the problem was between Sophon's equipment and yours, in terms of compatibility? I've scheduled them to come do the installation tomorrow, but they weren't able to successfully explain to me over the phone how I'll be able to connect my Windows PC (which doesn't have WiFi capability) to their cable modem in order to gain Internet access. They mentioned something about a "USB" connection, but that still won't do the trick for me, and I'm wondering if this is exactly the issue you encountered with them.

The problems I had with the new Sophon equipment were to do with VPNs and port forwarding for VOIP and other server requirements. Not something that is likely to bother the average domestic user.

The entire problem could have been easily sidestepped if Sophon had bothered to find out how to put their slave router into bridge mode. This they would not or could not do, so they lost a customer. I certainly wasn't going to waste time with them.

The slave router that they supply now has built-in wifi and Ethernet connections. To connect a desktop PC you would normally use an Ethernet cable (all desktop PCs have Ethernet sockets) and these are widely available very cheaply in big supermarkets and electronics shops. Just get one as long as you need. Wifi just works, assuming that your phone or tablet or laptop or desktop has wifi. Most laptops also have Ethernet sockets.

USB is not used for this.

Thanks for that. My PC of course does have Ethernet ports, but it sounded from my phone conversation with Sophon that their cable modem doesn't offer Ethernet ports for that purpose. I appreciate your characterization of their equipment above; I'll just wait for them to show up today with the equipment to see what it has. I also happen to use a VPN service, and I'll just operate on the assumption that it'll work over their equipment. My VPN service worked fine with my previous provider (and I don't think I need port forwarding for this purpose), so hopefully the same will be true with Sophon.

[KittenKong]

Thanks for that. My PC of course does have Ethernet ports, but it sounded from my phone conversation with Sophon that their cable modem doesn't offer Ethernet ports for that purpose. I appreciate your characterization of their equipment above; I'll just wait for them to show up today with the equipment to see what it has. I also happen to use a VPN service, and I'll just operate on the assumption that it'll work over their equipment. My VPN service worked fine with my previous provider (and I don't think I need port forwarding for this purpose), so hopefully the same will be true with Sophon.

Not the easiest photos to see, but they do show the backs of their modem/routers. I expect you will get the white one, though for practical purposes it makes no difference. Just get yourself a suitable Ethernet cable, bearing in mind that they can extend the coax (or the fibre if you are getting FTTH) to wherever you want to put the router anyway. I think it comes with a short Ethernet cable, and I expect the technician will have some spares anyway.

The old coax cable modem that the above replace had just one Ethernet socket in the base and no wifi. As far as I know they dont use those any more, but if you get one of the them then you also just need to connect an Ethernet cable from it to your PC. If you want to have wifi with one of their old modems then you would have to buy a wifi router separately, and Tukcom sell decent ones for under 1000B which is much less than Sophon sell them for.

If you run your VPN from your PC then you wont have any trouble. My situation was different as I use VPNs running from inside my own router, and this was not compatible with the new Sophon routers. I could have got around it a different way, but there was little point bothering. My 3BB ADSL is much faster anyway, for more or less the same price.

[funlovinkid]

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. Sophon Internet just came by yesterday to set me up with their 6Mbps international service, and my international speed tests indicate that I'm getting around 8/3 Mbps, which is fine (assuming the performance remains consistent!).

Special thanks to KK for all the specific information. KK, BTW, the cable modem they installed is exactly what you predicted above - the white one, with 4 Ethernet ports. Onward and upward!

[bartender100]

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. Sophon Internet just came by yesterday to set me up with their 6Mbps international service, and my international speed tests indicate that I'm getting around 8/3 Mbps, which is fine (assuming the performance remains consistent!).

Special thanks to KK for all the specific information. KK, BTW, the cable modem they installed is exactly what you predicted above - the white one, with 4 Ethernet ports. Onward and upward!

I am using this service for stuff I do to the UK, much faster than before.

[bustit997]

I live in a house and have 3BB. They are garbage. I started with their 10 MB pkg and was getting 1 to 2 Mb. Could not do very much. So I opted to upgrade to the 15 Mb pkg and now get 4 to 5 Mb. On a rare occasion I get close to 10. The upload speed is usually 1/2 to just over 1. I watch American TV and download movies and it does not work very well with such slow speeds. I live at the beach at the north end of Jomtien if that matters. I wish I had better choices with other providers but I think from what I read the others are much worse.

[Rimmer]

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[marino28]

I have 3bb at 900thb month and is quite good. My friend that live in another condo 500m from me have the cheaper package and many time he have some problem.

[flyDelight]

6Mbps? Is this serious? OMG I consider moving to Thailand and currently have 200Mbps...

I am not easy to please, but of all the isp's I have tried Sophon is the most reliable, they have a 6MB international service that they don't advertise which is perfect for what I need

[Josasp]

6Mbps? Is this serious? OMG I consider moving to Thailand and currently have 200Mbps...

I am not easy to please, but of all the isp's I have tried Sophon is the most reliable, they have a 6MB international service that they don't advertise which is perfect for what I need

It just depends on where you live. Check Internet connection options before you decide and move in. Most houses can get reliable Internet connection at 30 - 50Mbit over fiber with 3BB, True or AIS. (Don't even think about TOT) Not too expensive 800 - 2500b/m.

3BB will require you to prepay first year, then monthly. AIS do not.

Condos are stubborn and sometimes management has backhand deals with providers not to let other providers in. Be aware of this before you sign the contract.

The problem here is mostly condo management, if you have a house or building in or around the city, you can get fiber. But condo management will usually not let you install, even though there's a perfectly fine shaft all the way to your condo from bottom floor. Usually just because those are the rules...

Best ISP is AIS Fiber, after that 3BB FTTx, True Fiber, True DOCSIS.

Edited January 24, 2016 by Josasp

[Henryford]

Basically you don't have any (or much) choice. TOT is too terrible to contemplate. True don't provide a service to condos, which leaves 3 BB, which i have and find very good, 10mb for 590 baht a month.

Edited January 24, 2016 by Henryford