Crap Internet: Wireless Options

[corkman]

Dear All,

My (old) condo building cannot get high speed internet.

In the Western world it is possible to get an a wireless option. I guess it's 3G based or something like that?

Is such an option available in Bangkok? I don't mind paying a little more for it. Currently I pay 599 baht for True.

[MJCM]

Yes available, but pricing depends on your needs

If you are into streaming video and downloading torrents expect a hefty bill, but for normal (email and light surfing) there are enough 3G packages available

Edit: Check out your current Provider (True) as they have 3g (even 4g) Packages available.

Example: https://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/package?ln=en

Edited May 22, 2016 by MJCM

[crabdog]

4G brah. Works good.

[crazygreg44]

first off, check the signal strenght you receive inside your condo, using your smartphone and maybe those of friends, from different providers like true, 3bb, and ais. You might find that one provider delivers a stronger signal than the other one. Pick the one that shows 5 bars full signal strenght.

when living in Pattaya, I used a prepaid AIS 4G Sim-card 6 GB/month and tethered with my notebook, excellent but not always the same at certain times. Streaming was not always flawless, but surfing the net, emails and social networks work superbly.

When the 6 Gigabytes were reached, I topped up the Sim Card and bought extra 1 Gigabyte. I could repeatedly do sop until the next month payment was subtracted from the SimCard. AIS 4G prepaid 6 Giga is currently 799 THB per month

[mostexpatsrlosers]

True offers a wifi USB card that works all over BKK and most parts of Thailand.

[BKKSnowBird]

I had a USB modem from DTAC that worked fine. They had a promotion that basically paid for the modem once I added funds to the SIM. Go to one of the stores and see what they can offer.

[gandalf12]

Many times I see the comment that sometimes the network is faster than at other times so let me throw in a few things that need to be considered related to speed.

1. There is a fixed bandwidth accessible by everyone. Let's say it is 1000 units and 100 people are accessing it then there is only 10 units available to each subscriber. Now most people go offline and there are only 2 remaining, this allows you to have 500 units of bandwidth. This of course is very simplistic as it doesn't really work quite like this but the idea is there.

2. Weather. Affects radio signals very badly especially when you get to a carrier frequency of over 300 MHz which all WI-Fi is over. The signal suffers sever attenuation when there is heavy rain as a result. Sun and heat also affect the signal. Heat can result in ducting which may not allow you to get a good signal but someone a few kilometers away may get a wonderful signal.

3. With any bandwidth you have it may at times be almost impossible to stream a video but audio has no problem. Video requires in general around 2MHz bandwidth (CIF4 24fps)

These are only a couple of issues affecting a radio signal. For more consistent results a fiber network is required. However, there is variations in available bandwidth depending upon the number of end users online at the time.

In short you will never be able to guarantee a fixed bandwidth availability unless you pay through the nose to get a very high QoS from the supplier

[gandalf12]

Addition to post #7 of mine. Most customers do not realise it but there is a hierarchy when it comes to bandwidth allocation. Companies occupy the top levels of the tree and the individual customer is way down at the bottom. This means a customer may lose their bandwidth if a high level business requires it to meet the suppliers QoS.

Similarly, messages sent by individuals are considered low priority and if bandwidth is low for a major customer, the individuals messages will be dropped from the service in order to supply the big player

[jacko45k]

4G brah. Works good.

What is 'brah'?

I imagine a 4G dongle or tethering to a phone would work, Wi-Fi hotspot or USB internet sharing.

Certainly in Bangkok.

[Gary A]

I have two air cards that put out a WiFi signal also. They are branded True but fortunately also work with AIS. They cost about 2,000 baht. If you buy one, make sure it will also work with 4G. One of mine is 4G but the other is only 3G.

[rasg]

4G all the way for me. We've used DTAC and True. True is better in Mukdahan. DTAC in BKK in our epxerience.

No matter what you have, unless you have fibre when everybody is speaking to their loved ones between 7.00 pm and 11.00 pm, BKK time, it drifts in and out even using Skype.

[corkman]

Thanks everyone.

Do a lot of streaming. I tend not to download these days. No idea what my total use is, but we can assume 2hrs of TV per day. Is there an accurate way to measure that? I assume if I am streaming at a certain resolution then the total data use will be consistent?

As I say, I don't mind paying more (say up to 1000 baht total). I get good signal on AIS 3G on my phone.

[ozyjon]

I've always had trouble with wifi in Thailand

so i stay in hotels with strong wifi signal,

when i stay at friends homes i use a usb

drive with low success, any advice will be good.

[Jiu-Jitsu]

Thanks everyone.

Do a lot of streaming. I tend not to download these days. No idea what my total use is, but we can assume 2hrs of TV per day. Is there an accurate way to measure that? I assume if I am streaming at a certain resolution then the total data use will be consistent?

As I say, I don't mind paying more (say up to 1000 baht total). I get good signal on AIS 3G on my phone.

You're better off with a 4G MiFi or similar and to couple it with variable packages, rather than a single monthly package..