3bb vs ais fiber vs true online ( fttx)

[muratremix]

1 hour ago, nategi said:

Hey guys, I've been reading through this forum but it seems like so many people have different internet experiences even with the same company and plan. I'm moving to Bangkok soon from New York City, will be working online mostly accessing American websites at night (Thailand time). 

 

I need the fastest internet I can possibly get as well as a way to change IP address through router (not proxy), currently I can log in to my router and switch the MAC, reset, and usually get a new public IP, not sure if these Thai companies are allowing use of your own modem and router or if the ones they provide have these options?

I have a cat also so very limited on apartment options, looking at Manhattan Chidlom, The Lakes, Ficus Lane, it's difficult to tell if they all have every internet option. I realize I won't be able to match speeds I have here accessing American sites but I'll be cutting my cost of living significantly so a little lost income is okay. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

You don't get too many choices (usually just one!) when you live in a condo. Also, chidlom is not exactly a money-saver place, it is expensive. 

 

AIS Fibre and 3BB Fiber is highly recommended. TOT is crap, CAT is a bit better than TOT but still not my first choice.

 

for American IP you need vpn on router. However it doesn't mean you can watch american netflix. Netflix can detect proxy/vpn much better than we can detect Ladyboys from 100m distance.

 

If you have family in the states with good internet connection, having a vpn server set in united states could give you access to all US content including netflix.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

It sounds like the prior poster's needs are more focused on internet for work purposes than watching Netflix in Thailand.

 

Quote

I'm moving to Bangkok soon from New York City, will be working online mostly accessing American websites at night (Thailand time). 

 

That said, for a consumer grade account (assuming the poster isn't inclined to pay for a much more expensive business grade account), 3BB and AIS fiber are probably the best available options in the market. Whether they're available in any particular condo building is always a c**pshoot.

 

As for the prior poster's router question, I'm not aware of anyone successfully using their own commercial modem-router as the primary modem-router with a 3BB or AIS fiber service. But people certainly can and do buy and use their own wifi routers to daisy chain onto the ISP ones, and allow their own routers to handle DHCP and wifi broadcasting.

 

 

[Pib]

6 hours ago, nategi said:

Hey guys, I've been reading through this forum but it seems like so many people have different internet experiences even with the same company and plan. I'm moving to Bangkok soon from New York City, will be working online mostly accessing American websites at night (Thailand time). 

 

I need the fastest internet I can possibly get as well as a way to change IP address through router (not proxy), currently I can log in to my router and switch the MAC, reset, and usually get a new public IP, not sure if these Thai companies are allowing use of your own modem and router or if the ones they provide have these options?

I have a cat also so very limited on apartment options, looking at Manhattan Chidlom, The Lakes, Ficus Lane, it's difficult to tell if they all have every internet option. I realize I won't be able to match speeds I have here accessing American sites but I'll be cutting my cost of living significantly so a little lost income is okay. Any help or advice is greatly appreciated!

 

What Internet Service Provider (ISP) will be available in your Thailand residence will vary...you may have a choice of several or may only one choice.    And the type/speed of internet available might be fiber, cable, VDSL or ADSL...will depend on where you live.   If only ADSL the max will probably be around 20-30Mb...if VDSL around 50 to 100Mb max....if Cable (DOCSIS) 1GB max....if fiber optics around 1GB max.  But 1GB plans are very pricey....200 to 300Mb and below plans are affordable.   

 

And just because a ISP says it provides "fiber" to your building that does not mean it will be real fiber optics (i.e., the glass cable type) as it could be just fiber optics "to the building" then the rest of the way up to your residence on the X-floor it's VDSL at around 50-100Mb max.   This is how AIS Fibre provides in fiber optics service to many buildings since the buildings were originally built without fiber optics runs....justs xDSL runs up the building.   And True may say they provide fiber optics service to a building although it may really be Cable (DOCSIS) service as True uses the "fiber" name for both it real fiber optics service and its Cable (DOCSIS) service.  But True also has real fiber optics plans.

 

If you can only get ADSL...it will probably be around 20-30Mb max....I'm sure if  you have your own ADSL/VDSL router you can use it just by entering the ISP connection credentials.   Or you could just have the ISP set their router to bridge mode where it's acting only as a modem feedthru to your personal router which is in total control of your home network.   

 

Now if your ISP provides Cable (DOCSIS) or fiber optics service you "will" have to use their provider router but you can have them set it to bridge mode and then use your personal router.   I have service with AIS Fibre, a 200Mb down/50Mb up fiber optics plan (fiber all the way to my house) and  I had AIS set their provided router to bridge mode to where it does nothing more than convert the fiber optics signal into a PPPoE/ethernet signal that feeds my Asus 86U router that controls my home network.

 

Your ISP will force an IP address change occasionally and it will change anytime the ISP's router is rebooted such as you rebooting it or a brief power outage causes a reboot.

 

And yes, plan on slower speed back to the U.S./Farang Land from Thailand.  While you can get internet plans up to 1Gb speed at a price that is the "domestic/in-Thailand" speed; the speed outside of Thailand/your international speed will be lower....probably a whole lot lower.   No shortage of posts on ThaiVisa of folks with high speed plans, but the international speed provided by those plans can leave a lot to desire many times for many people.

 

 

 

 

 

...

Edited November 13, 2017 by Pib

[dr_lucas]

ADSL service is gradually being phased out in most places in Bangkok. VDSL has a very limited availability.

As you will be living in the CBD, you are most likely going to have access to Cable DOCSIS and/or Fiber as the best/fastest options.

AFAIK, DOCSIS is exclusive to True corporation, while fiber is available through several companies.

 

Local ISPs normally provide:

1) First device: Modem router with wireless capabilities

or

2) First device: Modem router + Secondary device: an additional wireless router/hotspot

or

3) First device: Modem/bridge (without routing capabilities) + Secondary device: an additional wireless router

 

Normally DOCSIS modems/modem-routers are assigned a long-term leased IP binded to the device's MAC address,  so even if you reboot the home modem/modem-router, your public IP will remain the same until the lease expires (depends on how long the ISP has set expiry time) or until they reboot their routers or remotely release and renew your IP. You may contact the ISP and request to get a new IP (sometimes it can be challenging to request and explain that, depends on who you speak with).

Fun fact:

As the connection is exclusive to that DOCSIS modem MAC address, you can't use a device with a different MAC address without losing internet connectivity thus you won't be able to connect to that ISP cable with a different device (to replace their first device) unless you know how to correctly do MAC spoofing and copy their modem/moden-router MAC and connection method.

 

On Fiber (and xDSL), however, you won't need to mess with any MAC changes etc. A simple reboot of the modem/modem-router and you will get a new public IP address.

This is correct for NAT networks. I am not sure about CGNAT tho (AIS is using CGNAT in more and more places lately, but customers seem to be able request to be taken off of it and get a normal IPv4 public IP, as @Pib did).

 

Yes, you can connect your own router to the ISPs first device  in addition to it. If you get a secondary device,  you can use your own router to replace the secondary device. In most cases you can also login to the first device if you have the device's administrator's credentials (that you should get or demand to get during installation) and configure it to do all sorts of things like - disable/enable firewall,  bridge mode,  wireless (if available),  DHCP etc.

Sometimes DHCP is disabled on the first device, thus if you connect your computer to it directly with an ethernet cable and don't get a valid IP address - you will need to set your PC to have a static IP+Subnet+Gateway which match the network details of the first device

(typically in Thailand it's

IP: 192.168.1.xx OR 192.168.100.xx OR 10.0.0.xx

Subnet: 255.255.255.0

Gateway: 192.168.1.1 OR 192.168.100.1 OR 10.0.0.1 respectively)

to be able to access the first device.

I've read reports, as above, that you may need to contact an ISP  to remotely change the first device to bridge mode (or you may even need to flash other firmwares on it to unhide or be able to change some settings), but never had first hand experience with that myself, so I am not sure.

 

You didn't specify which American websites you mostly  access, but for normal browsing and Youtube, Facebook, Google, and CDN based content (eg. Amazon, Akamai, Cloudflare  who operate local servers) you probably won't notice any speed issues with any of the available ISPs.

Thailand is currently well connected to the rest of the world and like any other country, the local speeds are higher than international speeds, especially during rush hours (6pm - midnight), however international speeds are relatively quite good for most purposes nowadays, especially for multi-threaded usage.

 

Welcome to Bangkok. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2017 by dr_lucas

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

12 hours ago, dr_lucas said:

@PibVDSL has a very limited availability.

I think that depends if you mean as a standalone subscribed service vs what you actually end up getting when you're in a high-rise condo building.

 

My impression is, while lots of highrise condo building may have fiber or DOCSIS directly to the building, it's the buildings themselves that don't allow the ISPs to start running fiber direct to each and every potential subscriber's unit.

 

So instead, the residents end up with VDSL connections into their individual units that may be feeding off fiber or DOCSIS lines to the building at large. And of course, those run at slower speeds than would be possible if the subscriber had fiber running directly into their individual unit.

 

 

[dr_lucas]

@TallGuyJohninBKK

Any specific condos (names) that you know for a fact that do this VDSL thing?

[Pib]

I expect fiber to the condo building with VDSL runs up to the person's residence is common in many condos simply because the condos were built before fiber optics became popular and the condo owner does no want to retro fit the building to handle fiber optics nor allow an ISP to try to run fiber optics lines within the building....only allows use of the currently installed cooper xDSL/phone lines.

 

That's why AIS Fibre has in it's Terms & Agreements the following statement which is really sayings the max speed will depend on on the quality of the xDSL/phone lines installed in your condo building which the final X-meters will be run over.    Plus, 75Mb is generally the upper limit for VDSL unless you have really good cooper lines then you can reach approx 100Mb. 

Quote

For condominium, maximum speed 75 Mbps depends on the quality of the cable line of the building

 

Do I know what condo building only have VDSL capability?  Nope is the answer.  A person would need to contact the ISP for that info.   So, so many small and big condo building in the country.

 

And the two times I've been in an AIS Service Center in a mall over the last year while waiting for my queue number to be called I looked at the AIS Fibre router on display---it was a VDSL router although the name on the router said AIS Fibre.   AIS Fibre is provided by two methods:  1) Fiber to the Home....fiber every inch of the way to the AIS-provided router which then uses a Fiber Optics router for the termination like in my case, and 2) Fiber to the Building/Curb and then the remaining X-meters of distance to your residence if via VDSL where a VDSL router is used for the termination.

 

From the AIS Fibre website, here a list of the xDSL routers they utilize when VDSL is used for the final X-meters of the run to your residence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2017 by Pib

[dr_lucas]

You know assumptions and expectations are one thing while reality can be completely different sometimes.

While there are many condos that are old; statistically (according to ISPs sales and marketing claims) most condos' juristic persons and committees allow ISPs to install their fiber equipment & cables as they

- Realize that it actually helps appreciate the value of the units.

- There are also lots of tenants and owners that put pressure on managements to do that.

- In most cases the installation requirements are very simple and sensible.

If talking about expectations - my logic is that If installation done right (concealed, non-obstructive, very low or no power requirements),  managements should really have no real reason to object anyway, on the contrary.

Last I heard from sources at True and 3bb - VDSL account numbers in Bangkok are really low. Not really sure about AIS, but I expect the same low numbers there unless they made financial decision to temporarily cut costs and/or shift budgets elsewhere.

@nategi is interested in some very high end newly built condos in the CBD, so I doubt infrastructure is going to be an issue for him. I am quite sure fiber is available there. A quick phone call to the condos can clarify what the available options are.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, dr_lucas said:

@TallGuyJohninBKK

Any specific condos (names) that you know for a fact that do this VDSL thing?

There have been LOTS of past posts here by members talking about only being able to get VDSL service in their condo units because the fiber or cable lines are only allowed to go to a main junction box for the building -- not direct to the individual unit.

 

In the case of fiber, I believe, they're actually paying the ISP for a regular fiber account subscription -- not a specific VDSL subscription -- but the available speeds in their case are limited to what VDSL will support, as Pib explained above, meaning that the top speed 200 Mbps fiber plans probably don't serve any purpose in those cases, since the VDSL lines won't support those top speeds.

 

Edited November 14, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Pib]

3 hours ago, dr_lucas said:

You know assumptions and expectations are one thing while reality can be completely different sometimes.

While there are many condos that are old; statistically (according to ISPs sales and marketing claims) most condos' juristic persons and committees allow ISPs to install their fiber equipment & cables as they

- Realize that it actually helps appreciate the value of the units.

- There are also lots of tenants and owners that put pressure on managements to do that.

- In most cases the installation requirements are very simple and sensible.

If talking about expectations - my logic is that If installation done right (concealed, non-obstructive, very low or no power requirements),  managements should really have no real reason to object anyway, on the contrary.

Last I heard from sources at True and 3bb - VDSL account numbers in Bangkok are really low. Not really sure about AIS, but I expect the same low numbers there unless they made financial decision to temporarily cut costs and/or shift budgets elsewhere.

@nategi is interested in some very high end newly built condos in the CBD, so I doubt infrastructure is going to be an issue for him. I am quite sure fiber is available there. A quick phone call to the condos can clarify what the available options are.

 

 

From the True 2017 Business Performance Briefing, 25 Aug 17.  Note the pie  chart...68% of Thailand internet users are still on xDSL.  

 

 

 

[dr_lucas]

Well noted, @Pib

I was talking about Bangkok, not the entire country.

[Pib]

Yeap...understand...but I expect there is plenty of VDSL still used in Bangkok...both within moobaans and in high-rises.  And specifically it's "FTTx (fiber optical network) + VDSL" where a fiber optics trunk line feeds into the moobaan or to the building where it terminates at a cabinet with the final X-meters to the house/condo on X-floor being over copper using VDSL.  However, the ISP will now call this a "fiber" connection although it's not fiber all the way to your residence. 

 

Below is an article from ZTE a major maker of routers which talks about True's plan to implement greater use of FTTx + VDSL.   

 

TOT used the same upgrade method around 2 years ago in my Bangkok moobaan where they ran fiber optics into various new electronic cabinets mounted on poles around the moobaan and from those cabinets xDSL/phone copper lines feed the internet signal to the houses.   Basically they got rid of the copper trunk line and the old electro-mechanical cabinets at ground level with a fiber optics trunk line and electronic cabinets but the final X-meters to the house is still over phone lines.

 

http://mwc2017.zte.net/true-thailand-deploys-fast-operates-city-optical-network/ 

Quote

In 2015, after a series of tests, verifications and test pilots, True developed entire network transformation and construction programs with FTTx using GPON technology. It plans within 3 years to achieve FTTx + VDSL network construction. FTTH is for the key commercial users and high-end users. For the wide-coverage home users, because of the limitation of ODN network construction, FTTB + VDSL with next generation Vectoring access technology is adopted to meet demand. All this will stabilize True’s fixed-line broadband market and reduce existing CAPEX and OPEX so that True can upgrade its network at a lower cost and develop fixed-line broadband subscribers.

 

Edited November 14, 2017 by Pib

[nategi]

Thanks everyone for all the responses! Just letting you know I'm reading all the responses and it helps a lot. Sounds like I need to make some calls to condo buildings and ISP's.

[Pib]

And when you make those calls just don't accept simple answer like, "Yes, True or AIS provides "fiber" to the condos" because just for example with the True's SuperSpeedFiber plans it can either be fiber all the way to your router, DOCSIS/Cable all the way, or VDSL for the final X-meter. 

 

Now although Fiber Optics is not being used as a DOCSIS "trunk line" which uses RG type cable nor the final X-meters to your router which uses TV type cable (RG-6 or RG-11) this is still called a a True SuperSpeedFiber plan since fiber optics is used upstream of the DOCSIS trunk line...the DOCSIS trunk line hooks up to a fiber optics backbone.  So, True was not technically not lying as fiber  optics was used in part of the line but the name of their plans imply fiber optics all the way to your router.

 

And like earlier posts have already pointed out VDSL can be used in the final X-meters for True or AIS FTTx plans which is really a hybrid type setup...a FTTx + VDSL setup.  But the ISPs are still going to advertise these plans as "fiber" plans because fiber optics is a buzz word/phrase that most any layman relates to fast speed.  But when you start talking DOCSIS (cable) and even VDSL many people eyes just glaze over.    Since fiber dazzles the brain and DOCSIS or VDSL befuddles the brain the ISPs quite often mislead customers by using (overusing)  the fiber word.

 

Now it really shouldn't matter whether you have fiber all the way to your router,  DOCSIS/cable to your router, or it's a hybrid  FTTx + VDSL if you are getting the speed desired.   But one good thing about fiber optics is its simpler/less prone to break down due to less electronics used in the trunk like and will not conduct electrical surges which can smoke your router.  

 

But if you are looking for a plan that gives faster than 75-100Mb speeds you will need to go with fiber optics or DOCSIS which go up to 1GB (pricey) for typical plans...a 200Mb plan will cost around Bt1200 give or take a little.  VDSL will max out around 75 to 100Mb....more likely most ISPs will be conservative in offering 50 to 75Mb max for VDSL.   So when asking the question and since the word fiber might be thrown around too freely you might also want to find out/ask what is the maximum speed plan you can get in a certain building as that should help clarify if fiber optics or DOCSIS will feed all the way to your condo on the X-floor.   Good luck.

 

Edited November 15, 2017 by Pib

[shariq607]

On 11/10/2017 at 2:20 PM, Pib said:

The international speeds you guys are getting on 3BB, like TG's speeds, are definitely much better than what I get on AIS Fibre since around late September on my 200/50 plan.

 

Before late September on Testmy.net I could easily get over 100Mb to Singapore 24/7...more like around 135Mb.  Testmy.net was routinely reporting my speed was the fastest of all testers in the last 30 days of testing.   But since late Sep I'm lucky to get around 30Mb tops to Singapore on testmy.net when using single thread....during prime time down around 10-15Mb.  But do a Global Multithread testmy.net test and it much higher. 

 

Maybe AIS Fibre is throttling single thread operations and has tuned it's network to multithread operations.  But if that was true I still should be getting really good results when using Speedtest.net which is a multithread tester....but my international speeds with Speedtest.net have dropped way off. 

 

As mentioned my Speedtest.net international results have went way down...where I use to pull  over 100Mb speeds to the U.S. west coast....now I only get one-fourth to one-half of that depending on the time of day. 

 

But Nperf.com still reports me getting speeds of 150Mb or more to the U.S. west coast pretty much 24/7.

 

Yeap, my first 15 months with AIS up to late September was happy times speedtests-wise; but since September (and tons of bitching of them about the lower international speed) speeds have not improved back to what they use to be.   But the domestic/within Thailand speed remains full speed...I get a little over 200 down and 60 up.

 

"If," repeat if, my current international speeds are representative of other AIS Fibre customers to include the drop in international speed since late Sept seems AIS has implement some data shaping/rerouting/etc., which probably saves them money on international bandwidth via buying less, using cheaper/slower routing, etc.  But with this being said, my browsing, international video streaming, etc., still moves along just fine...hasn't caused me any real problems except for a few days in October when it got too slow and I could easily notice my browsing was not zippy like it should be and Speedtest.net tests to the west coast showed speeds well under 10Mb....but then that got fixed within a day or two where speeds went up to around 30Mb. 

 

I expect folks on slower AIS plans, say around 30-75Mb, may not have noticed much of a change in international speed. Maybe it's just the higher speed plans, like my 200/50 plan, that have been throttled back to match the international speed of lower speed plans.    But with this being said, my browsing, international video streaming, etc., still moves along just fine...hasn't caused me any real problems.  

 

Then again, maybe it's just my AIS account being punished.  Lord knows I've called them around twice per week since late September bitching at them (nicely to semi-nicely) about the slower international speed.....I always get nice responses like it's fixed now....that's the normal international speed....we'll work the problem and call you back...we deactivated IPv6 on your account so give that a try, etc.  Just a variety of "throw the stick type responses" hoping I'll go chase that stick for a while until I get tired and give up.    But this dog don't chase sticks.

after long technical discussion with a noc engineer from AIS, they finally found the reason for lower international speed for me since September when they changed from 49 series ip to 184. it was some error in their gateway.

 

they did some long technical tests using teamviewer to remotely control my computer for some tests and logfiles.

 

after he made some changes, i can confirm i am once again getting great international speeds.   try checking if the problem has been fixed for you too.

 

before i was getting only 15 mbps to 30 using testmy.net to singapore now its full 200 mbps

 

i am on 200/50 power4 package

 

to singapore

Edited November 16, 2017 by shariq607

[Pib]

My AIS Fibre 200/50 plan is now back to its pre-late September international speeds.   Yesterday/last night it was still not-to-fast for international speed...but as of early this morning she was zipping along again after almost 2 months of reduced international speed.   What changed...what got fixed....I don't know....I just know the fix must have been on the AIS Fibre end and not on my end because I haven't changed a thing....and its been almost a week since I last complained to AIS Fibre about the international speed.  Regardless, thank you AIS Fibre....sure hope the international speed lasts.  

 

Speed tests below done earlier today using Speedtest.net, Testmy.net, Nperf.com, and NetFlix Fast.  Many of the tests done over the last hour within the Thailand night prime time internet usage window of 6pm to midnight (i.e., heavy usage).   I only did download tests with Testmy.net.

 

Below tests done using a 5Ghz band Wifi connection....my laptop a few meters from my Wifi router.  Speeds may have been a tad faster if I had done them with an ethernet connection.

 

Speedtest.net to Bangkok (just a check of my local connection)

 

Testmy.net Single Thread To Singapore at 3:10pm 

 

Testmy.net Single Thread To Los Angeles at 6:45pm

 

Speedtest.net Multi Thread to San Francisco at 6:18pm

 

Nperf.com Multi Thread  to Singapore at 6:53pm

 

Nperf.com Multi Thread to Los Angeles at 6:59pm

 

NetFlix FAST Multi Thread test at 7:02pm

 

Once again, I'm hoping these international speeds which are very similar to my pre-late September (i.e, up until around 23 Sep) speeds hold out....only time will tell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pib]

Prime Time Single Thread test 7:42pm Bangkok time.

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

There was an interesting article in the BP the other day regarding 3BB's announced plans to offer what they say will be the first 10 GB commercial internet service in Thailand. Can't link to the article here, of course, for obvious reasons. No info given on likely pricing or how the service will be packaged/marketed.

 

The article says they plan to have the service available by March 2018, and hope to move from their current 3rd place FIBER ISP market share (behind AIS and True) to first place by 2022. For fiber subscribers, the article says 480,000 for AIS, 430,000 for True (wondering how they loosely define "fiber"), and 270,000 for 3BB.

 

But the article also included broader fixed (non-mobile) broadband subscriber numbers (as opposed to the fiber subset mentioned above):

True -- 2.9 million subscribers

3BB -- 2.77 million by 3BB

TOT -- 1.8 million by TOT

AIS -- 480,000.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

On a side note meanwhile, been seeing tons of advertising lately from AIS about their "1G" mobile service, but had no idea what it was about. So after seeing about 3BB's 10G plans above, I sat down last night and read up on AIS's mobile 1G. IMHO, it's pretty much a joke. Never been so much advertised for so little.

 

Apparently, their 1G service relies on a combination of using their regular LTE service while simultaneously also using their Super Wifi service. So, it ONLY works when you're in an area that has an AIS Super Wifi hotspot, which mostly seems to be limited to malls and such (forget anything at home). And then, to make it even 'better,' the whole 1G thing only functions on about FOUR mobile phones from Samsung, the newest S7 and S8 models.

 

So if you don't have those particular mobile phones AND you're not also connected to AIS SuperWifi at the same time, you can forget AIS 1G. As I said, never been so much advertised for so little.

 

[Pib]

11 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

There was an interesting article in the BP the other day regarding 3BB's announced plans to offer what they say will be the first 10 GB commercial internet service in Thailand. Can't link to the article here, of course, for obvious reasons. No info given on likely pricing or how the service will be packaged/marketed.

 

Thanks for the crossfeed....I just read that 7 Nov BP article. 

 

In the article a 3BB vice president said 3BB's "target" is to have a 50% market share of fiber optics subscriptions by 2022.

 

I expect True, TOT, AIS, and other Thai ISPs have similar grand targets but how close the come to hitting that target is a different story...preaching to the choir I know.  

 

Just good to have competition because IMO the prices for internet plans, especially fiber optic plans, have dropped greatly over the last 1 to 2 years because of 3BB and AIS's aggressive entry into the fiber optics broadband market. 

 

Without  the 3BB/AIS entries in fiber optics broadband we would still have the high prices of True....does my heart good to see True having to greatly reduce their internet plan prices due to the 3BB and AIS competition.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The reason I was particularly interested in the 10G fiber discussion from 3BB above, and of AIS's fledgling 1G amalgam contraption, is of course the coming arrival of 5G service in the U.S. that's supposed to provide mobile gigabit service suitable for home internet use. The promise is, no more need for cables and fiber to the home.

 

But, how that fits into Thailand's plans for future internet service, and on what kind of timeline, is unknown to me. Maybe someone who reads the various ISPs investor relations material would know better.

 

BTW, it wasn't 3BB's future market penetration predictions that intrigued me, since those are usually puffery. Rather, it was the news that they're planning to launch some kind of 10G service within the coming year. That, at least, is something potentially real to hang onto.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Meanwhile, just a heads up to others like me who live along the Sukhumvit corridor in BKK and what you may have to look forward to because of the current cable undergrounding project that's gotten underway:

 

As an appetizer, the MEA had pre-notified my lower Sukhumvit area that the electrical power was going to be cut this past Sunday, supposedly from 9 am to 3 pm, which of course also killed our 3BB fiber internet. As it turned out, though, they had the power back on by shortly after noon, so it wasn't too bad.

 

But then for the main course, even with the electric power back on, our 3BB fiber internet went down in our area early Monday morning and has remained off since then. The 3BB Call Center could give me no explanation for why over the phone. But when the 3BB tech guys came out this (Tuesday) morning, they confirmed what I had expected, that the 3BB outage was somehow related to the cable undergrounding project.

 

OK, so I was expecting them to tinker today and then have our fiber internet back on today. Apparently NOT. In the end, for the desert course, the 3BB techs said it may take them 2-3 days more before our internet service can be restored, perhaps not until Thursday. And of course, no advance warning from 3BB that anything like this was going to happen. So meantime, we're relying solely on tethering via our AIS 4G mobile service.

 

So, if the cable undergrounding project is coming your way in BKK, be forewarned...

Edited November 21, 2017 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[Pib]

TG,

Once your 3BB internet comes back online but sure to do some international speed checks versus just some local speed tests to ensure your connection is still working 100%.

 

Back on/about 23 Sep is when my AIS Fibre international speed went downhill and didn't return to normal until 16 Nov.  And on/about 23 Sep is also when the electric company began some major electrical  upgrade work in my area of western Bangkok.  Nothing going underground; just more above ground high voltage poles & lines for a couple kilometers stretch along a major road very close to me.  That electric work continued until the first week or so of Nov.  

 

Maybe it's just coincidence the major electrical work by the Bangkok Metropolitan Electric Company (MEA) and my AIS Fibre international speed going south occurred during approx the same time period....then again maybe not.   I did lose AIS Fibre connectivity from about 1pm to 4pm on 23 Sep and when calling AIS around 2pm about the problem the CSR was initially clueless about AIS going down for me and probably my area.  But I did get a SMS about 30 minutes later saying it was a wide area outage.   Once the connection came back it was that day or maybe the next day I notice my international speed was far below what I had been use to.  

 

I still wonder if my reduced international speed for almost 2 months was caused by the major electric work which caused AIS Fibre to run out to the affected area and do some fiber trunk line rerouting/temporary repair due to the major electrical work which was probably not coordinated well between the electric company and companies such as ISPs that hang their internet trunk lines on electric poles.   

 

But hey, AIS Fibre during this same time was also moving people from their 49.XXX series IP address servers to 184.XXX IP address servers, standing-up a new business unit to handle their IPTV/Playbox operations, etc.  These internal AIS Fibre changes  could have been the total problem versus the major electric work happening at the same time in my area of Bangkok.  

 

 

[Pib]

10 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

On a side note meanwhile, been seeing tons of advertising lately from AIS about their "1G" mobile service, but had no idea what it was about. So after seeing about 3BB's 10G plans above, I sat down last night and read up on AIS's mobile 1G. IMHO, it's pretty much a joke. Never been so much advertised for so little.

 

Apparently, their 1G service relies on a combination of using their regular LTE service while simultaneously also using their Super Wifi service. So, it ONLY works when you're in an area that has an AIS Super Wifi hotspot, which mostly seems to be limited to malls and such (forget anything at home). And then, to make it even 'better,' the whole 1G thing only functions on about FOUR mobile phones from Samsung, the newest S7 and S8 models.

 

So if you don't have those particular mobile phones AND you're not also connected to AIS SuperWifi at the same time, you can forget AIS 1G. As I said, never been so much advertised for so little.

 

 

For those listening in, here's the AIS webpage that overviews the mobile AIS 1G (a.k.a, Next G for Next Generation).

http://www.ais.co.th/nextg/en/?intcid=homepage-en-network_section-nextg

 

 

[manchega]

I am currently having those discussions with AIS you mention Pib.  

It does not help to point out that domestic internet speed is pretty much worthless if there is nothing on domestic that could be of any interest.

up to 7 MBs on international connections now.

true however have been phoning me up..

[Pib]

1 hour ago, manchega said:

I am currently having those discussions with AIS you mention Pib.  

It does not help to point out that domestic internet speed is pretty much worthless if there is nothing on domestic that could be of any interest.

up to 7 MBs on international connections now.

true however have been phoning me up..

Good luck in your discussions.  Where you said 7 MBs (as in Mega Bytes) did you really mean 7 Mbs (as in Mega bits)?  If you did mean 7 MBs which is 56Mbs, then 56Mbs  is still good international  speed to the US/EU say for a 100Mb plan....not sure what you have.  I'm on a 200/50 plan...fibre optics connection all the way to my router....no VDSL connection for the final X-meters.

 

But I expect you meant 7 Mbs which is definitely not good to the US/EU.   During my slowest period with AIS Fibre in late Sep/early Oct I was only getting around 10Mb to the US west coast where before I got around 100Mb or more when using Speedtest.net or Nperf.com on my 200Mb plan.   Then as I continued to complain it got a somewhat faster, up to around 50Mb, but not even close to what it use to be before late Sep which was in the 100Mb and higher range.   And as mentioned earlier, my testmy.net single thread speeds had dropped way drown to around 25Mb to Singapore where I use to get over 100Mb single thread speed to Singapore. 

 

Then on 16 Nov like someone flipped a light switch, my international speeds magically came back to what I had been use to with AIS Fibre....almost two months of slow international speeds was fixed.  And it had been about a week since my last bitch to the AIS Fibre Call Center.  Just the day before/15 Nov the international speeds were still not good.   Don't know what AIS got fixed at their central servers or maybe in my local area....just glad it got fixed.

 

Hopefully your international speed will magically get better soon.  I"m now happy with AIS Fibre again...I hope they keep it that way with no more of these almost 2 months long periods of reduced/slow international speed after I had been use to 15 months of good international speed.  But only time will tell....keeping my fingers crossed.   

 

And I too have the option to quickly revert to a True...specifically True high speed DOCSIS/cable....their cable line is still installed in my home and connected to their trunk line....just bring over a cable router, activate my account on their servers, and I could be back online with them quick....no time consuming cable run to do.  Their 200/50 plan which comes with basic 97 channels IPTV and a 4Mb speed unlimited use SIM costs Bt1,399/mo.    But as mentioned I happy again with AIS Fibre with fingers staying crossed.

 

To SF at 2:46pm Thailand time...multi-thread IPv4 test on my 200/50 plan

 

To SF at 2:50pm Thailand time...single thread IPv4 test

 

To SF at 3pm Thailand time....multi-thread IPv6 test

 

To Singapore 3:10pm Thailand time....single thread IPv4 test

 

 

 

 

[Pib]

On 11/16/2017 at 7:44 PM, Pib said:

Prime Time Single Thread test 7:42pm Bangkok time.

 

 

Today, 11 days after 16 Nov when my AIS Fibre international speed returned to what I have been use to for so long is still hanging in there on my 200Mb plan....hope it continues to stay that way.   At around 11:10am Thailand time today I did three testmy.net single thread 100MB manual download tests to Singapore, San Francisco, and London....see results below.    Your results may vary.  Happy Cyber Monday.

 

 

[manchega]

heres to inspiring my continued conversations.  I should let someone Thai speak to the workers as I have a low tolerance for answering same questions over and over

[Pib]

7 minutes ago, manchega said:

heres to inspiring my continued conversations.  I should let someone Thai speak to the workers as I have a low tolerance for answering same questions over and over

I hear you.  Talking to any customer/technical support can sometimes get extremely frustrating when they have a set script to follow in initial contact with a customer, they almost always assume the customer is a dummy by wanting you to do some basic checks (like reboot the router) you have already none numerous times, are just being evasive in their answers because they know exactly why you are having the problem (like its data shaping or a known problem for many customers) but management will  not let customer support reveal  those dirty little secrets.   

 

And then throw in the miscommunication that can occur due to language barriers and it can get extremely frustrating sometimes....been there, done that, got the t-shirt---most recently with AIS Fibre as ranted in my almost two month long issue with lower than normal international speed that just magically went away on 16 Nov for whatever reason/fix AIS did.  

[wpcoe]