sim card use in Laos

[pgardiner]

I am intending to travel overland in Laos in the dry season. Will my Thai sim card be usable for my mobile phone and laptop or will I have to but a Laos one?

[balo]

If you stay in Vientiane or close to the Thai border you can use a DTAC sim card. The coverage is good enough there.

Edited July 16, 2015 by balo

[KhunBENQ]

AIS prepaid has roaming in Laos.

Crazy expensive.

I was in Vientiane and used the Thai mobile to call to Thailand.

Some 2x Baht vanished in an instant.

[pgardiner]

So would it be better if I bought a Laos sim card and can you buy credit as in Thailand at the 711?

[stoneyboy]

So would it be better if I bought a Laos sim card and can you buy credit as in Thailand at the 711?

Yes and yes.

In fact they've had 4g for quite some time,they seem to be well ahead in the telecoms market.

Edited July 16, 2015 by stoneyboy

[thaibry]

From time to time I go to a friend's bar on the banks of the River Mekong in Nong Khai. The reason but I mention this is because you are advised to make sure that your Thai SIM has roaming disabled. This is because although you are in Thailand you often pick up the signal from Laos and are consequently charged roaming rates for your phone calls and data. This has happened to me and it is very expensive.

Edited July 16, 2015 by thaibry

[dddave]

Best to just take your Thai SIM out of your phone when in Laos so you don't get calls from friends who don't realize you are out of country or spam SMS's for that matter. As others have mentioned, money on your phone can evaporate very quickly.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

I've found using the Lao M-Phone pre-paid 3G SIM works quite well upcountry, and NOT expensive at all. I use it mainly for email, not for phone back to Thailand.

Mac

[phuketrichard]

Lao sims are great, i was on the river outside Luang Prabang and had internet :-)

Thai sim will only work ( regular service) to about 500 meters into Laos, after that it switches to the Laos network and the roaming charges are high

[thai006]

ais 12 call will only work near the mekong river in savanakhet city , i try to buy 3g lao sim card because is really cheap 1GB of net 5000kip but when they put my sim , the net was not working so ,go back to ais

[meltingpot2015]

ais 12 call will only work near the mekong river in savanakhet city , i try to buy 3g lao sim card because is really cheap 1GB of net 5000kip but when they put my sim , the net was not working so ,go back to ais

Your phone is probably SIM locked to AIS.

What was the name of the lao 3g sim card anyway, I may try it on my phone (which is SIM unlocked) and post the result on here.