True DSL almost unusable, with VPN ok

[vi2004]

I am having these problems already for a couple of months but it seems to get worse every day.

I have a True DSL 13/1 package in Bangkok. I know this is nothing fancy, thinking about switching to AIS Fibre.

Most of the day (not only at the busy evenings) I have problems opening normal websites in Europe.

Either they time out or the stylesheets and images are not loaded.

As soon as I turn on my VPN everything is loading.

I almost always have problems with Skype. So I thought Skype might be better with the VPN turned off. But still many times friends in Europe are having problems understanding me. Today Skype was/is totally useless.

So is this just me? Is there anything I can do?

Is this True having problems? Would switching to AIS Fibre even help?

How is it possible that normal websites that are definitely not blocked for content reasons are only accessible after the VPN ist turned on?

Oh .. one more thing. At times that my DSL line is useless as described above my DTAC 4G loads the websites without a problem.

[sniffdog]

3bb 100/10 fiber is great!

[Pib]

If you are sure you have a good local connection, it just True's low international bandwidth at peak times. Really shows starting in the late evening up until about midnight. And Sunday evening/night is the worst during the week.

Best just to use VPN like you are doing which should speed things back up. I use a VPN connection via Singapore and True keeps on zipping along nicely....turn off the VPN connection and things slow down. A VPN connection can make a big difference. And that VPN connection does not necessarily have to be back in the country/area which you most surf sites at...a VPN connection to Singapore may speed things up greatly as most traffic in and out of Thailand seems to go via Singapore I think.

If you have the chance to switch to AIS fibre I would do it in a heartbeat. Unfortunately for me, AIS or 3BB is not available in my western Bangkok moobaan....my choices are TOT ADSL or True DOCSIS (cable/FCI), the later of which I have. It does just fine most of the time, but at times I need to use the VPN connection to speed things back up. Yeap, a VPN connection can really help in many cases.

[lopburi3]

If everything works will with VPN I would be using it full time. You are not downloading heavenly by chance? I had what appeared to be limitations made when on ADSL at times if heavenly downloading. Sometimes reset of modem to get a new connection solved but using VPN was most reliable (and multi connections). I also seemed to be able to avoid if setting download programs to about 60% of available bandwidth.

[muratremix]

Problem lies within True's transparent proxy. So if you use a proxy on singapore vps (digitalocean) your browsing problems will end.

[vi2004]

Thank you for your answers.

I am using Cyberghost at the moment but I am thinking about switching to Express.

Almost always connecting to the Singapore server.

Any recommendations regarding the VPN provider?

As far as I know in our buliding the only other alternative is AIS Fibre. I wonder if the fibre cable will be installed all the way into my apartment.

Otherwise for the last meters they will use copper? Not sure if that takes the advantages of fibre away then.

Anyway .. I think I will go for it. Even their smallest package has 5 Mbps up. So hopefully also the international upstream will be a little bit better and with that my Skype quality. But that's just hoping.

[muratremix]

AIS uses vdsl2 for end connection. But smaller packages comes with shared IP address. Dynamic IP provided for 50mbit and up (888 baht + vat)

[Lannig]

If it works full-speed when using a VPN, the connection to the ISP, be it fiber or otherwise definitely isn't the bottleneck.

It mostly lies within the ISP's proxy as mentioned by Muratremix and it could have something to do with weird things that seem to be happening at all Thai ISPs these days. There are signs that we're moving to something that resembles a single gateway. At least all banned web sites seem to be redirected to a default error page coming from a web proxy appliance hosted on TOT network (whatever your ISP is).

The famous "single gateway", if it's becoming a reality, will undoubtedly become a "single bottleneck".

You might be seeing the early effects here. Possibly.

[WhizBang]

I have come to the conclusion that True DSL is crap. I had it for years but got fiber recently. Well, True says it's fiber, but it was coax they ran to the room.

Anyway, my old DSL was 13/1 and most of the time I was lucky to get anything even close to 13 down. Most of the time I was struggling to get faster than dialup speeds.

My new 'fiber' is 30/3 and so far (only 1 week) it has been stable and fast. Not 30 fast, but I have been getting pretty stable 1000 to 1200 KB/sec on my downloads.

I would have considered AIS fiber but it is not available in my area. So far my switch from True DSL to True 'Fiber' has been positive. Only time will tell if it lasts.

[Pib]

I have come to the conclusion that True DSL is crap. I had it for years but got fiber recently. Well, True says it's fiber, but it was coax they ran to the room.

Anyway, my old DSL was 13/1 and most of the time I was lucky to get anything even close to 13 down. Most of the time I was struggling to get faster than dialup speeds.

My new 'fiber' is 30/3 and so far (only 1 week) it has been stable and fast. Not 30 fast, but I have been getting pretty stable 1000 to 1200 KB/sec on my downloads.

I would have considered AIS fiber but it is not available in my area. So far my switch from True DSL to True 'Fiber' has been positive. Only time will tell if it lasts.

I expect you have True Fiber Cable Internet (FCI) which is what True renamed their True DOCSIS/cable system from a year or two ago. It's a coaxial trunk line and coaxial line to residence type system used for cable TV & internet. It was mainly a name change for "marketing" purposes as people associate speed with the word "fiber." Technically, True is not telling a lie by calling their DOCSIS system Fiber Cable Internet as their DOCSIS system does hook into their fiber backbone upstream...of course even True ADSL hooks into their fiber backbone. DOCSIS is still very fast....on True's system they have speed plans up to 200Mb whereas True's real fiber connections can go up to 1000Mb speed.

Regardless of the technology, Fiber, DOCSIS/cable, ADSL, VDSL, etc., all that really matters is you get the speed and reliability your are paying for.

[vi2004]

AIS uses vdsl2 for end connection. But smaller packages comes with shared IP address. Dynamic IP provided for 50mbit and up (888 baht + vat)

Are you saying that there is a signifanct difference between the 20/7 and 50/10 package and that it might be worth getting the 50/10 package?

Also it would be interesting if it is possible to switch to their PowerPRO Package. They advertise it with the slogan "100% optical fibre". That means that the PowerHOME packages are using VDSL2 (as you stated) for the last meters as opposed to the PowerPRO packages where they install the fiber into your apartment?

Hmmm? not sure which one to choose. Keep in mind .. I am coming from a crappy TRUE DSL 13/1 connection right now.

[muratremix]

AIS uses vdsl2 for end connection. But smaller packages comes with shared IP address. Dynamic IP provided for 50mbit and up (888 baht + vat)

Are you saying that there is a signifanct difference between the 20/7 and 50/10 package and that it might be worth getting the 50/10 package?

Also it would be interesting if it is possible to switch to their PowerPRO Package. They advertise it with the slogan "100% optical fibre". That means that the PowerHOME packages are using VDSL2 (as you stated) for the last meters as opposed to the PowerPRO packages where they install the fiber into your apartment?

Hmmm? not sure which one to choose. Keep in mind .. I am coming from a crappy TRUE DSL 13/1 connection right now.

After reading footnote, now I don't see anything about dynamic IPv4 for 50/10 package. I guess they also provide shared IP to 50/10 package aswell.

I browsed pantip forum and I saw somebody having 20/7 from AIS with ZTE GPON fiber router. Perhaps AIS choose to deploy fiber to single houses / townhouses and VDSL2 to condominiums.

[crabdog]

My TRUE adsl had turned into a nightmare for the last month or so that I had it. Switched to AIS fiber and it's excellent.

[Pib]

AIS uses vdsl2 for end connection. But smaller packages comes with shared IP address. Dynamic IP provided for 50mbit and up (888 baht + vat)

Are you saying that there is a signifanct difference between the 20/7 and 50/10 package and that it might be worth getting the 50/10 package?

Also it would be interesting if it is possible to switch to their PowerPRO Package. They advertise it with the slogan "100% optical fibre". That means that the PowerHOME packages are using VDSL2 (as you stated) for the last meters as opposed to the PowerPRO packages where they install the fiber into your apartment?

Hmmm? not sure which one to choose. Keep in mind .. I am coming from a crappy TRUE DSL 13/1 connection right now.

After reading footnote, now I don't see anything about dynamic IPv4 for 50/10 package. I guess they also provide shared IP to 50/10 package aswell.

I browsed pantip forum and I saw somebody having 20/7 from AIS with ZTE GPON fiber router. Perhaps AIS choose to deploy fiber to single houses / townhouses and VDSL2 to condominiums.

You guys might have already seen this in the AIS Fibre Q&A area talking about the differences between the Home and Pro versions.

http://www.ais.co.th/fibre/en/support.html