Mobile I'net Connection In Pattaya

[PMK]

A friend is coming to Pattaya for a few months and needs a mobile Internet connection. He has a GSM modem but needs something better than gprs. I tried a Hutchison data card a few years ago and it was great when/where it worked but coverage seemed to be extremely limited. Any experiences good or bad lately with data cards or suggestions on another technology?

Thanks,

Peter

[youngkiwi]

From my information, I don't believe there is any other option other than GPRS in Pattaya for mobile connectivity. EDGE is available in some locations throughout Thailand but I don't think this service is offered in Pattaya.

[bob4you]

1-2 Call has special GPRS internet rates with your regular sim card. You prepay for 25 hours for 100 Baht, must use in 30 days then it automatically recharges. Great for e-mail, surfing net but not good for downloading or uploading big files or files with a lot of pictures. I use it regularly, don't have telephone or cable available at my Udon home and choose not to have phone at Pattaya home. Speed is 115.2 kps.

When you hook your phone up via USB or bluetooth it still is available as call in or out phone and messaging while you are on line.

Edited October 17, 2006 by bob4you

[monty]

Hi PMK,

Hutch is indeed the best option for acceptable mobile internet speed. Coverage is indeed spotty, although it seems that pretty much all of Pattaya and the surroundings has reception (including around Lake Mabprachan!)

Both AIS and Dtac have gprs, where I live (Mabprachan) only AIS has Edge capable cells, Dtac is just plain GPRS. I think in the city Dtac also is Edge capable.

Hutch is a bitch to subscribe to, need either a Thai national or a workpermit, and no pre-paid possibility.

AIS and Dtac on the other hand are very easy, with their data offerings on their pre-paid packages. No paperwork or subscriptions at all!

Practical speeds on the networks are roughly as follows:

Hutch: up to 143 kbps, average probably around 60-70kbps.

GPRS: up to 48 kbps (with a class 10 or 12 gprs modem), average probably around 15-25 kbps.

Edge: up to over 100 kbps, average maybe 40-60 kbps on a good day.

Do note that all these networks basically are phone networks, and as such will always give priority to voice calls. This means when the cell you are connected to has a lot of voice connections going on, internet will drop signifficantly in speed or stop altogether!

Of the three, Hutch has the best load balancing, and is stable enough to allow for marginally acceptable VOIP usage (skype).

With the two other networks (gprs and edge) data really comes through in bursts, so only usefull for data transfer!

If you use your browser smart, even gprs is quite usefull for surfing, just install an ad-remover (lot less data to transfer) and you can also stop both explorer and firefox from loading pictures...

Also, if you have sites to browse, investigate if they have a pda or lofi version! These are mostly text only versions and will load pretty quick even on the slowest connection!

examples:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/lofiversion/index.php/

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/index_lite.php or even lighter : http://www.nationmultimedia.com/pda/

Cheers,

Monty

Edited October 18, 2006 by monty