3BB vs. True Internet 30Mbps Promotion

[Pinot]

I was about to upgrade from 10 Mbps to 30 Mbps with my provider 3BB when the True sales person walked in and said they were having a promotion. Instead of 1290b per month with 3BB, True was only charging 799b for the same speed. That's only 200b more than what I'm now paying for 10Mbps. True also comes with free TV cable (100 channels I rarely watch Thai TV) and a new sim card with 250 minutes. They said this was a limited time offer, by the way I'm in Phuket. There is a 2000b deposit on the router.

I was wondering what people's experience has been with True and what I can expect in terms of speed? I want to stream NFL games and the old 3BB connection was limiting.

[ukrules]

Do you know if this is fibre directly into the router ?

I guess this would be a 'new type' router which accepts the fibre instead of the old telephone style cable which ADSL uses.

[stoneyboy]

Do you know if this is fibre directly into the router ?

I guess this would be a 'new type' router which accepts the fibre instead of the old telephone style cable which ADSL uses.

I can't comment on True or 3BB but my recent upgrade to TOT fibre is exactly that I now have two boxes one for the fibre and one for the wireless router which connects to the first box. Edited September 5, 2015 by stoneyboy

[crab]

True may not be perfect, but I have in the past achieved much greater satisfaction from True than from any other Thai ISP I have used. 3BB has so far been a ghastly disaster, and I'm about to see whether I can get some or all of my money back and return to the moderately moldy TOT (True not, alas, being available here).

[speedtripler]

Do you know if this is fibre directly into the router ?

I guess this would be a 'new type' router which accepts the fibre instead of the old telephone style cable which ADSL uses.

30mb doesn't necessarily guarantee its fibre all the way to the box in your living room

It might be fibre to a certain point, like the nearest main Rd etc and then let the connect to the copper to come the rest of the way

I think copper line can support up to 42ish MB/s as long as your not too far from the nearest enabled exchange, after a few km the speed starts to taper etc

They both sound good but I think I'd prefer the fibre because your more likely to get free upgrades to higher speeds in future because of the limitations of ADSL

[StatlerandWaldorf]

As I used to work in the Telecoms industry I will help a little with this topic of fibre.

FTTx has been talked about for many years FTT meaning 'Fibre To The' and the x being the wild card which could be fibre to the kerb or what was the holy grail in the past FTTH 'Fibre To The Home'.

Coincidentally, I just had the 3BB installers at my house today to install FTTH 30Mb, so this is full fibre to the home and they feed in the fibre and connect directly via an SC connector to the wireless router. I opted for them to provide the router and it is a decent Huawei Optical Network Terminal with WiFi.

I have had this for only a few hours but I did a speed test both to servers inside Thailand and to San Jose in California and both showed around 34Mb down and 3Mb up, which surprised me for the San Jose test, being international.

Anyway, the guys did a decent job, under supervision, they wanted to run the fibre along the floor in my spare room/office which is not a good idea with fibre and it looks unprofessional, so I helped them to run it in some plastic conduit which I already had installed myself previously.

BE AWARE, you cannot bend fibre optic cables like you do with copper cables, if you bend at 90 degrees, if the fibre core does not break you will increase signal attenuation significantly, it must be gentle curves. To give a practical example, you should be ok to loop it round a large Leo bottle (the thick part) without causing too much trouble.

[DinoSabanovic]

Why do you need higher speed?

YouTube fullhd have 6000 kbps bit rate and 720p have 2000 kbps (last time i checked).

Only thing I would like is higher upload speed. I have 3BB 10 Mbps and it's great.

They actually give me 11.5 Mbps and I have zero problems with internet.

[Lefty]

To watch NFL football get their game pass AT nfl.com,$129/year to Thailand. Can watch every game in HD.

it's the best money I HAVE SPENT

[StatlerandWaldorf]

As I used to work in the Telecoms industry I will help a little with this topic of fibre.

FTTx has been talked about for many years FTT meaning 'Fibre To The' and the x being the wild card which could be fibre to the kerb or what was the holy grail in the past FTTH 'Fibre To The Home'.

Coincidentally, I just had the 3BB installers at my house today to install FTTH 30Mb, so this is full fibre to the home and they feed in the fibre and connect directly via an SC connector to the wireless router. I opted for them to provide the router and it is a decent Huawei Optical Network Terminal with WiFi.

I have had this for only a few hours but I did a speed test both to servers inside Thailand and to San Jose in California and both showed around 34Mb down and 3Mb up, which surprised me for the San Jose test, being international.

Anyway, the guys did a decent job, under supervision, they wanted to run the fibre along the floor in my spare room/office which is not a good idea with fibre and it looks unprofessional, so I helped them to run it in some plastic conduit which I already had installed myself previously.

BE AWARE, you cannot bend fibre optic cables like you do with copper cables, if you bend at 90 degrees, if the fibre core does not break you will increase signal attenuation significantly, it must be gentle curves. To give a practical example, you should be ok to loop it round a large Leo bottle (the thick part) without causing too much trouble.

Sorry, forgot to include that typically in the Telecom world speed is measured in bits, not bytes. That's a small b, a bit is 'b' a byte is 'B', obviously they differ by a factor of 8, 8 bits in a byte. 30Mb is 30 megabits per second, however in the past few years with apps like Vuze, they are showing the data rate in MB which is megabytes, 1MB is 8 times faster than 1Mb, 8 bits in a byte.

Data storage and file sizes are measured in Bytes, large B.

Historically data rates in network terms have always been measured in bits, just something to bear in mind if/when you think your data rate is not as fast as advertised.

Edited September 5, 2015 by StatlerandWaldorf

[muratremix]

Internet streaming for TV is waste of bandwidth in Thailand. Please don't do it.

More you do, more throttle from ISP for all users (not just streamers). Get a satellite <deleted>. Or get local illegal streaming services like ilikehd.

[yankee99]

in my experience true high speed cable was giving the speeds advertised but streaming was terrible even youtube wben forced hd was a joke.

3bb ftth although more money was well worth it imho

[WitawatWatawit]

As I used to work in the Telecoms industry I will help a little with this topic of fibre.

FTTx has been talked about for many years FTT meaning 'Fibre To The' and the x being the wild card which could be fibre to the kerb or what was the holy grail in the past FTTH 'Fibre To The Home'.

Coincidentally, I just had the 3BB installers at my house today to install FTTH 30Mb, so this is full fibre to the home and they feed in the fibre and connect directly via an SC connector to the wireless router. I opted for them to provide the router and it is a decent Huawei Optical Network Terminal with WiFi.

I have had this for only a few hours but I did a speed test both to servers inside Thailand and to San Jose in California and both showed around 34Mb down and 3Mb up, which surprised me for the San Jose test, being international.

Anyway, the guys did a decent job, under supervision, they wanted to run the fibre along the floor in my spare room/office which is not a good idea with fibre and it looks unprofessional, so I helped them to run it in some plastic conduit which I already had installed myself previously.

BE AWARE, you cannot bend fibre optic cables like you do with copper cables, if you bend at 90 degrees, if the fibre core does not break you will increase signal attenuation significantly, it must be gentle curves. To give a practical example, you should be ok to loop it round a large Leo bottle (the thick part) without causing too much trouble.

Thank you for helping me to find a use for my empty Leo bottles.

Seriously, I appreciate the info as I'm thinking of doing what the OP is doing, and your input is a big help. Cheers.

[speedtripler]

Why do you need higher speed?

YouTube fullhd have 6000 kbps bit rate and 720p have 2000 kbps (last time i checked).

Only thing I would like is higher upload speed. I have 3BB 10 Mbps and it's great.

They actually give me 11.5 Mbps and I have zero problems with internet.

I have a copper line and although my building is fairly new, it's located in an old soi so the first ADSL can only do 13MB...(first world problems, I know)

I have gotten leaflets for ais and true fibre in my postbox but neither of them can deliver and don't know if or when it will be available

Its very useful for torrents and sharing media content and of course, data hungry activities like watching international TV, streaming movies and sporting events like Ufc fights etc

A lot of the people who live around this area seem to be older generation Thais so if they even use the Internet, ADSL is probably fast enough for them

First company that can deliver me fibre I'll cancel my ADSL as soon as they can install it...

[csabo]

Before you go to deep into analysis, call True and have them come out and confirm they will do an install. They dropped of a flyer to the GF's shop regarding the same promotion in Phuket. She called them, they came out and promptly told her they had no option for her location. Seems marketing and operations failed to communicate on this offer. Good luck though.

[hawksway]

Whoever it is providing, supply your own modem and Router (the Router itself cannot connect to the Internet). These Providers, in districts where bandwidth is limited, sometimes use the equipment they provide to balance out the overall performance and satisfy those who shout the loudest. When you provide the equipment, its much more difficult for them to slow you down. it's called "Line Management". True may be the best in one area and 3BB in another and People can also make the difference. I've used 3BB in Krabi for a long time and only the occasional problem. Fibre is only needed for those dodgy people who download pirated media.

[innerspace]

Twice have had true in 2 different locations and both times speeds ok but reliability terrible...certain sites just go wrong for short periods and voip and streaming barely work. Vpn helps, bypasses the proxies that cause most issues.

3bb adsl and fibre in multiple locations over several years been great.

[thedemon]

Whoever it is providing, supply your own modem and Router (the Router itself cannot connect to the Internet). These Providers, in districts where bandwidth is limited, sometimes use the equipment they provide to balance out the overall performance and satisfy those who shout the loudest. When you provide the equipment, its much more difficult for them to slow you down. it's called "Line Management". True may be the best in one area and 3BB in another and People can also make the difference. I've used 3BB in Krabi for a long time and only the occasional problem. Fibre is only needed for those dodgy people who download pirated media.

And porn. Don't forget the porn..

[bearpolar]

on 50/10 3bb im only getting 15/11.5 on san jose..

FTTH fiberhome modem. I can't max out my speed anywhere with single thread download, nor get anywhere near 30mb

Edited September 5, 2015 by bearpolar

[CM4Me]

I'm in Chiang Mai, but earlier this week had the same True Prom connected to my house, and its fibre to the box inside my house.

In my talks with True I was told it was 799 plus tax and the contract period is 12 months, after that who knows

[StatlerandWaldorf]

on 50/10 3bb im only getting 15/11.5 on san jose..

FTTH fiberhome modem. I can't max out my speed anywhere with single thread download, nor get anywhere near 30mb

Here's what I got just now.

[NOC]

I've had True in two places, and have since switched to 3BB. True, truly lies, their product is not reliable and they cheat people. 3BB has worked perfectly for me for 2.5 years.

[bearpolar]

i have a feeling every isp in phuket does worse than the rest of thai, probably the link out of phuket is terrible. Got 14/11.5 this morning.. even on trang and malaysia next to me i only get 31/11.5

Edited September 6, 2015 by bearpolar

[muratremix]

Whoever it is providing, supply your own modem and Router (the Router itself cannot connect to the Internet). These Providers, in districts where bandwidth is limited, sometimes use the equipment they provide to balance out the overall performance and satisfy those who shout the loudest. When you provide the equipment, its much more difficult for them to slow you down. it's called "Line Management". True may be the best in one area and 3BB in another and People can also make the difference. I've used 3BB in Krabi for a long time and only the occasional problem. Fibre is only needed for those dodgy people who download pirated media.

ISP can and will throttle you no matter what equipment you use. They control the big valve, you just have a tap.

Fiber is needed for upload speeds over 2mbit so not everybody uses fiber downloads pirated media.

[Don Mega]

Internet streaming for TV is waste of bandwidth in Thailand. Please don't do it.

More you do, more throttle from ISP for all users (not just streamers). Get a satellite <deleted>. Or get local illegal streaming services like ilikehd.

So dont stream tv as it wastes bandwidth, instead use ilikehd.... how does ilikehd work if it is not using bandwidth ?

[thedemon]

Internet streaming for TV is waste of bandwidth in Thailand. Please don't do it.

More you do, more throttle from ISP for all users (not just streamers). Get a satellite <deleted>. Or get local illegal streaming services like ilikehd.

So dont stream tv as it wastes bandwidth, instead use ilikehd.... how does ilikehd work if it is not using bandwidth ?

Their servers are located in Thailand so streaming from them doesn't consume international bandwidth. As opposed to streaming from e.g. the US.

[mahjongguy]

There's a lot of misinformation in this thread. "Fiber is needed for upload speeds over 2mbit" is just one example.

But mostly it seems that everyone has different experiences with the same companies. I have 30/3 service from True on cable modem, not ADSL, and it is terrific. In this neighborhood 3BB is not so great. So, it depends on the technology in your neighborhood, the employees in your town, your own ability to comprehend the service you're getting on a particular day, and more.

[muratremix]

There's a lot of misinformation in this thread. "Fiber is needed for upload speeds over 2mbit" is just one example.

But mostly it seems that everyone has different experiences with the same companies. I have 30/3 service from True on cable modem, not ADSL, and it is terrific. In this neighborhood 3BB is not so great. So, it depends on the technology in your neighborhood, the employees in your town, your own ability to comprehend the service you're getting on a particular day, and more.

ADSL2 does not support upload speeds over 2.5mbit (2mbit after overhead) and VDSL2 is supported by fiber, so it is considered part of FTTX connection, not dsl.

[mahjongguy]

"Fiber is needed for upload speeds over 2mbit"

You were thinking about ADSL, but DOCSIS 3 cable service, running on coax, can provide usable upstream bandwidth of 27Mpbs per channel. I have 30/3 cable service from True in Pattaya, and 50/5 is available.

[Pakaty]

My experience with True & 3BB is not very recent but... I was living on Nanai Rd. in Patong and switched from 3BB (they called themselves TT&T back then) to True 5 years ago due to the terrible service 3BB had given me for several years. My internet was off as much as it was on and the technician they kept sending was an a-hole. After making the switch I was happy. Internet was almost always on and the speed was so much better than 3BB.

Another huge plus was that True let me make the account in my own name and billed me month to month. While TT&T (3BB) wanted me to pay a year up front cause I did not have a work permit or business. So, I put the account in my girlfriend's name. I don't understand why 3BB will let any Thai rich or poor open an account billed monthly but a foreigner has to be gouged for a years payment in advance and we have no way of knowing what kind of service we are going to get. True and TOT don't do that.

[thailandforumaddict]

Any had fiber directly coming into the router ?

I have only seen fiber installation that ends in the building internet box, then standard copper cable brings it to the room and the standard modem.

Do you know if this is fibre directly into the router ?

I guess this would be a 'new type' router which accepts the fibre instead of the old telephone style cable which ADSL uses.