TOT vs CAT vs 3BB Fiber compare (April 2017)

[ethaniel]

I have access to 5 lines from different providers (3 TOT, 1 CAT and 1 3BB).

I've noticed that both TOT and CAT have been slow lately, so I decided to do a real test (with using a iperf bandwidth measurement tool).

It is 9pm in Samui right now. Here is what I found out:

 

TOT and CAT suck. Horribly. They take your money and give you shitty service.

I started a iperf server in Moscow and ran a iperf client from each of the 3 TOT lines and 1 CAT line. Here are the results:

They throttle local and international bandwidth to 1-2 megabits (that's 125-250 kilobytes per second) during peak hours. Even though though all of my lines are around 40-80 megabits.

If you tried to run speedtest.net through both of them, you will get FAKE results. They want you to think that you have a fast line when actually you are throttled.

I suppose that they whitelisted the speedtest servers so people wouldn't complain.

 

3BB on the other hand is awesome. They gave me solid 12 megabits to Moscow and that's consistent throught the day. No throttling.

 

Verdict:

If you need stable international connectivity, use only 3BB. Through away TOT and CAT if you have them.

[ikbenhet]

I'm not sure if they still do it but 3bb used to start to throttle after 1GB downstream.

[ethaniel]

2 hours ago, ikbenhet said:

I'm not sure if they still do it but 3bb used to start to throttle after 1GB downstream.

1gb per day / month or per connection?

[ikbenhet]

4 hours ago, ethaniel said:

1gb per day / month or per connection?

1 GB p/24h,  reset exactly at 12 midnight .

Edited April 18, 2017 by ikbenhet

[ethaniel]

6 hours ago, ikbenhet said:

1 GB p/24h,  reset exactly at 12 midnight .

We used way over 1 gb today on the 3bb line. And the test right now (23:55) showed no throttling whatsoever.

But we have the 200 Megabits line (1200 baht per month). Probably it has no throttling.

 

Edited April 18, 2017 by ethaniel

[TheLobster]

1 hour ago, ethaniel said:

We used way over 1 gb today on the 3bb line. And the test right now (23:55) showed no throttling whatsoever.

But we have the 200 Megabits line (1200 baht per month). Probably it has no throttling.

 

Is that correct 200 mb for 1200THB/month. I've got the wrong contract

[ethaniel]

24 minutes ago, TheLobster said:

Is that correct 200 mb for 1200THB/month. I've got the wrong contract

Yeah. This one is wonderful. But you need to have your computer directly wired to the router, or use a AC router to truly enjoy the speeds.

[PoorSucker]

I also have the 200 MB 3BB connection, no throttling.
I use direct cable from desktop and Android TV, six staff looking at soaps on utube.com.
No speed issues.


Sent from my Lenovo TB3-710F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[samuijimmy]

I have 900 baht line, "International" connection with 3 BB no issues either...

 

I have been trying Netflix and not even a hint of buffering both Thai and International Netflix (free trail one month for either.)

 

My Neighbour has 600 baht line international line, and I know she downloads a lot of Torrents (Movies etc) she has no problems either...

You must state which version you want when buying the modem although they do ask... But always pick the "international" (same price).

 

3 BB usually very good at fixing problems once reported. 

[TheLobster]

13 hours ago, PoorSucker said:

I also have the 200 MB 3BB connection, no throttling.
I use direct cable from desktop and Android TV, six staff looking at soaps on utube.com.
No speed issues.


Sent from my Lenovo TB3-710F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Thank you Poor Sucker, sounds great. What do you think the speed would be via WiFi?

[PoorSucker]

Thank you Poor Sucker, sounds great. What do you think the speed would be via WiFi?

The 802.11g standard that normal WiFi uses has a maximum 54 Mbps downstream but in reality it's just around 20 Mbps.

[ethaniel]

22 hours ago, TheLobster said:

Thank you Poor Sucker, sounds great. What do you think the speed would be via WiFi?

I would recommend going with their basic modem and buy a private wifi router (check for amazon reviews first).

The 3bb modem's wifi sucks donkey balls. I think that the main reason they're selling 200mb packages is because they expect noone to be able use that much because of how shitty the built-in wifi is.

[TheLobster]

1 minute ago, ethaniel said:

I would recommend going with their basic modem and buy a private wifi router (check for amazon reviews first).

The 3bb modem's wifi sucks donkey balls. I think that the main reason they're selling 200mb packages is because they expect noone to be able use that much because of how shitty the built-in wifi is.

Thank you. Do you have a router that you would recommend? I've only bought Netgear in the past but that was not in Thailand.

[samuijimmy]

Wow! I use my 3bb wifi a lot, when out side on the porch,  and certainly find it works well...even through two concrete walls.... no  buffering at all! 

[PoorSucker]

I would recommend going with their basic modem and buy a private wifi router (check for amazon reviews first). The 3bb modem's wifi sucks donkey balls. I think that the main reason they're selling 200mb packages is because they expect noone to be able use that much because of how shitty the built-in wifi is.

 

That's OK, but you really not getting over 54 Mbps if your receiver is only compatible with 802.11g, you will still get around 20 Mbps but more users can use it.

 

I use cable for my TV box and desktop.

20 Meter ethernet cable costs 150 baht.

 

 

 

[notmyself]

On ‎19‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 8:17 PM, samuijimmy said:

I have 900 baht line, "International" connection with 3 BB no issues either...

 

I have been trying Netflix and not even a hint of buffering both Thai and International Netflix (free trail one month for either.)

 

My Neighbour has 600 baht line international line, and I know she downloads a lot of Torrents (Movies etc) she has no problems either...

You must state which version you want when buying the modem although they do ask... But always pick the "international" (same price).

 

3 BB usually very good at fixing problems once reported. 

 

Good service huh Jim?. I've been with 3BB since '09 and don't actually remember the last time I had an issue. When they installed it they put the cable low to the ground , I told the fella to put it up higher because otherwise the dogs will have it. Over the next year or so I had to call them out to fix it maybe 5-6 times and they would generally turn up within hours of the call. In the end one chap just moved the cable above the window rather than below it and I've not had one single problem since then. 4 years..... maybe 5. I'm on the same package as you and find it to be what I pay for and stable as Hell. I don't know what my 'net usage is but it must be over 1TB as torrents alone account for 650-700 GB a month.

[samuijimmy]

3 hours ago, notmyself said:

 

Good service huh Jim?. I've been with 3BB since '09 and don't actually remember the last time I had an issue. When they installed it they put the cable low to the ground , I told the fella to put it up higher because otherwise the dogs will have it. Over the next year or so I had to call them out to fix it maybe 5-6 times and they would generally turn up within hours of the call. In the end one chap just moved the cable above the window rather than below it and I've not had one single problem since then. 4 years..... maybe 5. I'm on the same package as you and find it to be what I pay for and stable as Hell. I don't know what my 'net usage is but it must be over 1TB as torrents alone account for 650-700 GB a month.

 

I have had about 4 years now, I think I have called them twice on issues, quickly fixed... I don't have any issue with 3BB... I just wonder why people get throttled on their lines, never known that to be an issue...  just about everyone in my area is using 3BB and no complaints that i have heard of. 

[notmyself]

2 hours ago, samuijimmy said:

 

I have had about 4 years now, I think I have called them twice on issues, quickly fixed... I don't have any issue with 3BB... I just wonder why people get throttled on their lines, never known that to be an issue...  just about everyone in my area is using 3BB and no complaints that i have heard of. 

I remember you asking about internet which turns out to be some 4 years ago.,,,, did you ever use wifi on the can?

 

As for throttling... 3BB does seem to have a dip from time to time between the hours of 00:00 and 02:00 by somewhere in the region of 10-15% which is essentially nothing for most users. If I wished to I could still stream HD. Tell you what mate.... we all use service providers for all manner of things and if they were all as efficient as 3BB then my life would be so so so so much easier. I could go off on one here but I don't want someone to article 44 my sorry posterior.  

[Mole]

AIS Fiber has no throttling throughout the day and I get full 12 MB/s download from RDP in Holland on my 100/10 mbit link.

[Mole]

 

FTP showing current transfer speed from RDP in Holland.

[evadgib]

My 3bb modem serves the whole house inc downstairs TV by WiFi without any probs.

[VasiliyBondarenko]

Hello. What is that international connection? Did someone tested international and non-international connection?

I have a 100/50Mbit 3BB fiber on Samui and get 120Mbit to some local hosts and only 10-12 Mbits to international hosts.

Do i need to switch to that magical international connection? How do I do it? Do i need to pay extra for this?

Can you clarify it please?

Thank you.

[VasiliyBondarenko]

By the way - i tested xDSL 3BB before switching to fiber. International speeds are almost the same! The difference i really feel - is stability under load. I don't feel website browsing slows down if i have multiple big files downloading in parallel. And of course uploads are much faster. International uploads about 10 times faster then on xDSL before.

[ethaniel]

1 hour ago, VasiliyBondarenko said:

Hello. What is that international connection? Did someone tested international and non-international connection?

I have a 100/50Mbit 3BB fiber on Samui and get 120Mbit to some local hosts and only 10-12 Mbits to international hosts.

Do i need to switch to that magical international connection? How do I do it? Do i need to pay extra for this?

Can you clarify it please?

Thank you.

 

iperf shows your upload speed to the international server. 

You need to do a reverse iperf (from server in france to 3bb at home) if you want to test the download speed.

 

[VasiliyBondarenko]

6 minutes ago, ethaniel said:

 

iperf shows your upload speed to the international server. 

You need to do a reverse iperf (from server in france to 3bb at home) if you want to test the download speed.

 

well... you are right. thanks for pointing this out.

i did the other way around. made a server on local computer and a client on my server datacenter in Germany.

screenshot made from remote server.

it's 2:15 am, so speeds must be better

but anyway maximim 20.4 Mbits when tested for 30 sec.

12 Mbits when tested for 3 sec.

5 Mbits when 1 sec.

so for most international websites browsing i get around 5 Mbits (may be less), because webpage assets are small and just don't have enough time to go to higher speeds :)

[Makhao]

For professional use I can not recommend 3BB, as they seem to use some kind of proxy, that cuts the line several minutes after a request didn't return an answer. I frequently request statistic data from a website, that takes about 15 minutes to return. AIS and TOT have no problems with that (the browser simply waits that time), but 3bb quits the connection and returns "server not available" after some minutes and doesn't wait for the result. Sure, the webserver could send some data in advance to prevent this, but sometimes you cannot change, how other websites are managed.

Also my VPN to Europe often fails with 3BB due to long latency within handshake, whereas AIS and TOT currently have no problems establishing and keeping the VPN connection.

On the other side I agree, that AIS and TOT both slows down in the evening and especially on weekends, when private users go online. But as I work in daytime, this is not a big problem for me.

Btw, I use fiber 30Mbit with AIS and the (more expensive) business version instead of the private one, but still have issues in the evening/weekend.

[ethaniel]

9 hours ago, Makhao said:

For professional use I can not recommend 3BB, as they seem to use some kind of proxy, that cuts the line several minutes after a request didn't return an answer. I frequently request statistic data from a website, that takes about 15 minutes to return. AIS and TOT have no problems with that (the browser simply waits that time), but 3bb quits the connection and returns "server not available" after some minutes and doesn't wait for the result. Sure, the webserver could send some data in advance to prevent this, but sometimes you cannot change, how other websites are managed.

Also my VPN to Europe often fails with 3BB due to long latency within handshake, whereas AIS and TOT currently have no problems establishing and keeping the VPN connection.

On the other side I agree, that AIS and TOT both slows down in the evening and especially on weekends, when private users go online. But as I work in daytime, this is not a big problem for me.

Btw, I use fiber 30Mbit with AIS and the (more expensive) business version instead of the private one, but still have issues in the evening/weekend.

Send them an email with your contract number and detailed explanation of the situation: 

contact at 3bb.co.th   I had issues with their invisible proxy which would break my connections randomly and they handled it quite well - I don't have any more problems.

[TheLobster]

I'm having more and more issues with TOT, it started about a month ago, anyone else ?

 

Also I'm being told that our Soi is exclusive to TOT and no other internet provider will put a line in here. Anyone else experienced that situation?

 

Appreciate any feedback.

 

Kind regards,

 

The Lobster

[ethaniel]

18 hours ago, TheLobster said:

I'm having more and more issues with TOT, it started about a month ago, anyone else ?

 

Also I'm being told that our Soi is exclusive to TOT and no other internet provider will put a line in here. Anyone else experienced that situation?

 

Appreciate any feedback.

 

Kind regards,

 

The Lobster

Yep. Speeds are slow on both TOT/CAT. Now during daytime as well.

[VasiliyBondarenko]

ok. i have an idea how to test more real-world international speed for browsing.

we take a heavy "static" page and check in real browser.

let's say the the page would be http://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITXac/index.asp

 

now...

- open Google Chrome,

- close all your tabs,

- launch incognito window: http://joxi.ru/KAg0GjETpJkyrl?d=1 (disables all extentions)

- open developer's tools: http://joxi.ru/E2pLgQMUR1eP2Y?d=1

- switch to Network tab and Disable Cache: http://joxi.ru/krD4Dw7i865Rrp?d=1

- now open this page http://www.asrock.com/MB/Intel/Fatal1ty Z270 Gaming-ITXac/index.asp

- wait until Load event - and record that time http://joxi.ru/vAWMZjViJDXBmW?d=1

- reload again 10 times and record all times :) don't skip any measurements! if the test is longer then usual - record it anyway and continue. if you don't see red Load time event for a minute - just record "timeout".

- make one screenshot with any successful run

- record clock-time when you made a test

- post a message with data on this thread :)

 

this will be real data, not some synthetic benchmarks.

ok? 

 

this is my data:

try number: time in seconds.

1: 8,2

2: 7.77

3: 9.15

4: 7.9

5: 7.92

6: 7.96

7: 7.77

8: 7.78

9: 8.0

10: 8.14

----

average: 8,059

min: 7.77

max: 9.15

clock time: 16:30

screenshot: http://joxi.ru/LmG4Dv7iq9Vx2l?d=1

 

connection: fiber 100/50 mbps -> fiber router from 3bb -> cat6 ethernet cable -> linksys ea3500 router -> WiFi on 5GHz through closed wooden door -> macbook pro.

 

Speed to local hosts is a little over 110 mbps 

http://joxi.ru/l2ZM6p3ipWgymJ?d=1

 

Waiting for your tests... :)