Coming from the US, I cant believe how much money I was paying for my cell phone bill

[Sojuncoke]

used to pay $75-$100/month. Now I am literally paying $8.50 USD (300baht) max a month

This True Move plan is a 1.5GB unlimited plan. Use WiFi at home and when I'm out im not using youtube or anything.

Thsi is also on a good phone I bought for 5000 baht Meizu M2 note. Soon to be Meizu M3 note

how much did you pay for your cell phone bill in your home country and how much do you pay now?

Any other good promotions out there?

Edited July 22, 2016 by Sojuncoke

[Jiu-Jitsu]

I pay the equivalent of 150 baht per month in the UK. That gets me unlimited data. I pay more in Thailand. Though I could cut it down to much the same as I pay in the UK, as I don't use more than 1GB monthly on my phone.

It's a phone for goodness sakes.

USA doesn't offer great value. What is cheap is usually crap....apart from petrol.

[BudRight]

This is really not an apples-to-apples comparison. A 1.5GB plan would not be 75$ in the US. T-mobile with 5GB (LTE) is $30 per month.

[kbelyeu]

My post paid plan with AIS is about 1200 baht a month for just about all options. My wife has less Internet on her plan (believe it or not) and is about 750 baht.

Kurt

[CaptHaddock]

I pay 199 baht/month for DTAC prepaid internet with 1.5GB, of which I never use as much as half. My wife uses her True service a lot more which costs 738 baht/month. All pretty cheap.

[oxo1947]

used to pay $75-$100/month. Now I am literally paying $8.50 USD (300baht) max a month----OP

.

It helps if you don't have any friends to talk to.....................

[balo]

When I visited the US and asked for a local sim card I couldnt believe how expensive it was there. Finally I found a place selling T-mobile for $40 with internet that would last me 2 weeks. Someone is earning good money over there.

[Don Mega]

I pay 100b a month with unlimited calls and internet

[DepDavid]

Verizon 150 bucks a month 2 phones.

[zierf1]

Considering a decent apartment in Thailand can be had for a measly US$100, that shouldn't be a surprise. The whole country is a ripoff.

[mtls2005]

There are some decent plans in the U.S. for $40/month (unlimited calling, text and 3 GB of LTE data).

In the U.S. we pay for both out-going and incoming calls; here in Thailand we only pay for out-going calls.

Here in Thailand I pay ~ 50% of what I paid in the U.S. - 650 THB/$19 USD for 300 minutes + 8 GB (roll-over) 4G (post-paid).

I think the "structure" here (government 'oversight', open/equal competition, market capacity, local wages) are some of the primary drivers for lower prices.

The market here is still primarily pre-paid (90%); there are no MVNOs ( to speak of, even though providers are required to set aside 10% of their capacity for MVNOs).

[daveAustin]

Better deals in UK, where most include free calls and texts for the same initial outlay.

[Jdiddy]

I have AIS, True and DTAC sims as i wanted to give them all a go out of interest as im a heavy internet user, currently on dtac's 24gb internet for 1100baht or something

[JAFO]

Verizon 150 bucks a month 2 phones.

Was about same for me on AT&T. Here is the big kicker though, go over your usage and the price soars rapidly. My $156 a month for 2 phones was also locked into a 2 year contract with steep penalties to get out. Change providers at the end of 2 year deal and all sorts of BS fees come in even though contract is complete.

I initially tried the T Mobile route when I moved back to the US for a job, that's a huge scam. It isn't $40. That's to lure you in price. When it was all said and done with all hidden costs, taxes etc it was $70ish per line, so 2 phones is ~$140 and T Mobile service is quite poor.

Here in Thailand my AIS service is 690bht a month, no contract.

Straight math in USD;

US annually $1,872

Thailand annually $228

Service the same in regards to internet speed and accessibility.

On Edit, In the US your phone is locked to the provider until you pay off the phone and complete the contract. Here in Thailand all phones are unlocked, in fact my Samsung here in Thailand is dual SIM.

Edited July 24, 2016 by JAFO

[mtls2005]

On Edit, In the US your phone is locked to the provider until you pay off the phone and complete the contract. Here in Thailand all phones are unlocked, in fact my Samsung here in Thailand is dual SIM.

There are dozens of MVNOs in the U.S. offering extremely inexpensive service - which is delivered by AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, T-Mobile networks, on which you can bring your own device, and have absolutely no commitment. You can buy an unlocked phone in the U.S. for about the same price, or a lot less - depends on the exact model - as here in Thailand.

All have fixed price monthly pay as you go plans which all are all inclusive (except for applicable taxes). Most people can get a plan for $40 - $50, which includes unlimited voice, text and 3 - 5 GB of 4G data.

IME, T-Mobile service (both mobile and customer) is awesome, but coverage is always an issue in remote and rural areas.

[Pib]

Yeap, mobile plans in the U.S. are much higher than in Thailand. And you'll also find that internet plans in Thailand are significantly cheaper....not more reliable in many locations, but cheaper.

[BudRight]

If you are stupid and buy a subsidized handset then yeah it's really expensive. There are many ripoffs and some good options for cheap phone service in the US. You just have to shop around. It's like when I read that someone thinks the whole country is expensive because of price for a beer in a beach bar in Waikiki or in Manhattan. There's high variability and you have to shop around.

[bkksteve123]

I pay 699+ for 10GB plan with True (postpaid).

In europe I typically paid between 10-20€ per month, but had less data.

I would say that prices here a slightly cheaper, but not by much.

[spacemand]

I saw a US friend discussing plans on FB and I was shocked what he were paying, my Danish plan is less than $30 a month for free calls, texts and 20gb of transfer and its one of the more expensive plans but I like all the data. You can get free calls, texts and 5GB for $15 or so.

[manfredtillmann]

When I visited the US and asked for a local sim card I couldnt believe how expensive it was there. Finally I found a place selling T-mobile for $40 with internet that would last me 2 weeks. Someone is earning good money over there.

t-mobile is german?

don't you have 'ALDI' in the usa? they are by far the cheapest providers in germany and in australia.

i pay less to them in a year than what i pay to AIS in 4 months.

[Jedsada3]

In France my professional phone provider was Orange. The bill was every month about 150 - 200 €.

My private phone provider was SOSH (managed and provided by Orange!) and I paid only 19.99€ for:

• unlimited calls in France
• unlimited call reception within Europe
• unlimited SMS and MMS within Europe (send and receive)
• unlimited Internet in France
• Internet in Europe was limited but as I never used it I don't know what was the limit.

Here in Thailand I have a SIM card from TRUE and when I call to Europe it cost around 2 THB/min. But most of the time I call over the home Wifi and Line, WhatsApp or Viber and it's for free.

[mtls2005]

t-mobile is german?

I think some of us are talking about T-Mobile US, which is the third largest mobile provider in the U.S. There are probably the most un/non-traditional mobile service provider in the U.S., John Legere can be a hoot, vs. the various interesting MVNOs.

I think T-Mobile AG (Deutsche Telekom ) remains a majority share-holder in T-Mobile US.

It started out as VoiceStream, ages ago, which was the first GSM operator in the U.S.

[anto]

When I visited the US and asked for a local sim card I couldnt believe how expensive it was there. Finally I found a place selling T-mobile for $40 with internet that would last me 2 weeks. Someone is earning good money over there.

t-mobile is german?

don't you have 'ALDI' in the usa? they are by far the cheapest providers in germany and in australia.

i pay less to them in a year than what i pay to AIS in 4 months.

Aldi the grocer provide a phone service as well in Australia ? Curious as i am just about to go to Aus .

[manfredtillmann]

When I visited the US and asked for a local sim card I couldnt believe how expensive it was there. Finally I found a place selling T-mobile for $40 with internet that would last me 2 weeks. Someone is earning good money over there.

t-mobile is german?

don't you have 'ALDI' in the usa? they are by far the cheapest providers in germany and in australia.

i pay less to them in a year than what i pay to AIS in 4 months.

Aldi the grocer provide a phone service as well in Australia ? Curious as i am just about to go to Aus .

yes, not only in oz but - i think - in all countries you'll find their stores.

you can buy a 'starter kit' alive for 365 days in oz at all aldi sores for A$5, check out their web site, go from there...

https://www.aldimobile.com.au/

[Pib]

Don't forget the additional federal and local taxes for this-and-that added to U.S. plans. Like below is partial quote in the fine print of a T-Mobile plan where they mention taxes ranging from 6% to 28% to be added to the basic plan costs.

Monthly Regulatory Programs (RPF) & Telco Recovery Fee (TRF) totaling $2.71 per voice line ($0.60 for RPF & $2.11 for TRF) and $0.98 per data only line ($0.15 for RPF & $0.83 for TRF) applies. Taxes approx. 6–28% of bill;

Now in Thailand you just have the VAT of 7% added....none of the variety of taxes added onto U.S. mobile plans.

[Ulic]

$ 75-100 a month in Canada for <deleted> service where I live. The equivalent of 300 baht a

month or less when I am in Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia on side trips. After

investigation by the Canadian government we are told we are getting a fair

deal.

[bkkrooftop]

Verizon 150 bucks a month 2 phones.

Was about same for me on AT&T. Here is the big kicker though, go over your usage and the price soars rapidly. My $156 a month for 2 phones was also locked into a 2 year contract with steep penalties to get out. Change providers at the end of 2 year deal and all sorts of BS fees come in even though contract is complete.

I initially tried the T Mobile route when I moved back to the US for a job, that's a huge scam. It isn't $40. That's to lure you in price. When it was all said and done with all hidden costs, taxes etc it was $70ish per line, so 2 phones is ~$140 and T Mobile service is quite poor.

Here in Thailand my AIS service is 690bht a month, no contract.

Straight math in USD;

US annually $1,872

Thailand annually $228

Service the same in regards to internet speed and accessibility.

On Edit, In the US your phone is locked to the provider until you pay off the phone and complete the contract. Here in Thailand all phones are unlocked, in fact my Samsung here in Thailand is dual SIM.

all true, americans have no idea how the monopolies bend them over everyday..

not only are the monthly bills a ton, but majority of the time you have to get into a contract to even get a decent rate. if you break this contract, you pay a ton.

you can get 30$ - 40$ plans but most of the time you get what you pay for. messages do not come through, bad coverage, etc

as well as, the locked phone scenario like you stated above.

Big companies in usa make so much $,, comcast with cable tv is a whole another equivalent to this scenario.

america is pretty funny- they point fingers to other ctrys trying to say they are so ethical , all the while all the politicians are in bed with all the companies/contractors and so on. this type of economy wont last if the people would wake up.. so far they are snoozing and bickering about race, lgbt, guns and peta.. wont be going back any time soon. def a rip off there

cheap gas and cancer causing snacks tho

[mtls2005]

I pay 6.25% tax with T-Mobile US. I believe this is the standard, universal rate for any/all pre-paid/pay as you go top up amounts. (So $10.63 for $10.)

When I had the $40/month plan I paid $42.50 all in.

I pay 7% tax with DTAC.

(The concession fees here are ~ 35%, telcos pass the 7% to the gov't., and spectrum auction revenue is obviously robust.)

http://www.statista.com/statistics/274326/big-mac-index-global-prices-for-a-big-mac/

$4.93 in the U.S.

$3.09 here

you can get 30$ - 40$ plans but most of the time you get what you pay for.

Yes, you get to ride on the same network for a lot less.

Assuming you are happy with a Google Nexus phone, Project Fi offers an incredible service - I'd consider using this if I lived in the U.S. full time. $20/month for unlimited voice/text, then $10 per GB. And you get to roam on many, many networks, both mobile (T-Mobile, Sprint, US Cellular) and WiFi (incl. VoWiFi). And you get unused data refunded.

Edited July 25, 2016 by mtls2005

[how241]

It can be cheaper, depending on you options.

[T_Dog]

The national carriers in the USA are expensive. There are several smaller firms like Consumer Cellular that have plans as low as 19 dollars a month. Consumer Cellular also has one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the industry so they are worth looking into.