Internet Options

[PigDogg]

Are there pay cards that gets you internet access from your laptop in the LOS if you're building doesn't have cable or wifi?

[ezflip]

By "pay cards", do you mean pay as you go type of deal? Like mobile phone pay & talk cards? If so, no.

But if you need internet access without wifi or hard line connection (ADSL/Cable) then you might consider a CDMA modem. It uses the same tech as mobile phone to connect to the internet. A quick search on google tells me that CAT does offer CDMA modem with a yearly subscription. I had previously made a search of this nature last year for a friend of mine living in Udon and at that time the modem was selling for about 6000bt. Forgot the monthly fees, sorry.

Hope this helps to point you in the right direction.

[ezflip]

Forgot to add that CDMA is not the only type of modem available. There is also EDGE, GSM and GPRS modems. Depends on the company.

[kahuna]

One 2 Call sells dedicated sim cards that you can use in your phone or compatible modem...
The one I had was 250 baht a month for more minutes than I could possible use...
You gotta go to a One 2 Call store to get one however...

[Foggy]

How was the service and speed with this type of provider ??

Thanks in advance..

[Lefty]

I checked out EDGE at Tukcom and they are advertising their top speed at about .5 mbps. If you just want to surf the web or do email that is ok, but forget about watching any sports streams. You could still watch like youtube videos, just have to take longer for them to load.
In comparison, wifi often shows a connection speed of 12 mbps or higher. Compared to the DSL I had at Yensabai Condo, this wifi really rocks for speed.

[EyeMahk]

Get a 1-2-call SIM from AIS, put some money in the phone then call 1175 and tell them you want to use GPRS/Edge on your phone.  They will send you the settings over the air, you accept them and you are then up and running using data. You plug in your phone to your laptop with a data cable and use your minutes for "dial up".  When a call comes in, it suspends the EDGE connection, but I use it on a separate SIM card with a spare, cheap EDGE-capable phone I picked up on eBay for $30.


As Lefty said, it is not fast enough for streaming video but for browsing the forum, it is fine. Speed depends on where you are in relation to the tower, and also how busy the phone network is. When using Edge, it is not "fast" but it does the job for email and text. Anywhere I have been in Pattaya is very good.

Normal cost is 1 baht / minute but you can buy a package (6 hours for 50 baht, 20 hours for 100 baht, unlimited for 1000 baht) which, as you can see, brings your cost way, way down.  The SIMs that kahuna refers to are actually normal AIS SIM cards, pre-loaded with a data package.

DTAC and True support GPRS/Edge too but nowhere near the speed and coverage and cost of AIS 1-2-call (this is from experience, I have tried them all).  Cost might be very different, though. I've been with 1-2-call for two years and couldn't be happier with cost and coverage of GPRS/Edge.

AIS GPRS/Edge has never failed me, anywhere in Thailand.

[dummy_plug]

I take it 3G is still not prevalent in Thailand, not even in BKK areas?

[rxpharm]

3G reported as delayed yet again, probably not until some time next year at earliest.

[BAM]

Last time I was in Pattaya the hotel wifi sucked so badly that a friend loaned me his Hutch adapter. It actually worked very well... I was impressed with the speed. It showed a 'sync' speed with the cell tower of 3 Mbit. However actual network speed was about 0.5 Mbit which for Thailand was a great speed... and totally mobile. We used the computer from Jomtien Beach and and did a Skype video chat with friends back home showing them the beach.., the video was smooth.

http://www.hutch.co.th/mbi/1x/promo_special_en.htm


Photo of a Hutch CDMA-EVDO EC226 in action.... it's a little oval radio on a USB wire..

[dummy_plug]

Huawei actually makes good networking equipment. But they have CDMA networks in Thailand? I did not know that...

[Guest]

(ezflip @ Oct. 15 2009,20:58) By "pay cards", do you mean pay as you go type of deal? Like mobile phone pay & talk cards? If so, no.

But if you need internet access without wifi or hard line connection (ADSL/Cable) then you might consider a CDMA modem. It uses the same tech as mobile phone to connect to the internet. A quick search on google tells me that CAT does offer CDMA modem with a yearly subscription. I had previously made a search of this nature last year for a friend of mine living in Udon and at that time the modem was selling for about 6000bt. Forgot the monthly fees, sorry.

Hope this helps to point you in the right direction.

The monthly fee is 850 baht a month unlimited use...I have one and it is great.

Be careful tho there are 2 types...

Option 1 - Local use i.e Pattaya are only
Option 2 - National use.
Think the modem price is different but the monthly fee is the same

I get pretty good speeds, as good if just a little slower (in bad weather) as the Maxnet 3Meg

[Ivor Biggun]

Hotels offer things like 'Cyberpoint' cards at different rates. There's another company as well but I can't remember the name. Search for wireless networks then go from there. I'll have a look with my wifi tomorrow but it can get expensive.