Internet SIM Cards

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can123
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Internet SIM Cards

Post by can123 » August 3, 2022, 3:43 am

We hope to be in Isaan before Christmas and will be living near the Udon Thani/ Khon Kaen border. I have realised that my wife and I are heavy users of broadband, our current usage is about 9 Gb every day. I have tried hard to find out which Internet provider we should use but some web pages are in Thai language only. We will be living "in the sticks" and not in a city centre, I have read that AIS has the best coverage. The house we will be living in is legally owned by my wife and her mother lives there now. We paid for three security cameras and Wi-Fi to be installed at the house but had no say in the service provider. We just sent the money and left it to the family to sort things. They are not technically minded and I fear that questioning them about their broadband package will not help me much. I imagine that they are on a low tariff but having said that their use of Facebook messenger service gives excellent results so they have reasonable speeds.

I intend maintaining a house based broadband service but, in addition, I will be using a "USB mobile Wi-Fi dongle (Huawei) which uses a SIM card when we are out and about on our travels. Our past experience has shown us that hotel internet speeds can be very low.

Our UK provider is Zen Internet and I have been with them for 18 years. The customer service is superb. We have unlimited broadband at home on a monthly contract and our speed is 50 Mb/S as full fibre has not reached us yet. So, can some kind person please point me in the direction of the best service provider and indicate appropriate packages for both our home and mobile broadband, please ?

Thank you.



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Khun Paul
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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by Khun Paul » August 3, 2022, 7:18 am

To be honest and not being a GEEK, I have a Fibre Optic at home which is fine and do not have or hold an Internet SIM , so many places have Internet coverage for free that places including Hotels I go to have enough coverage For what I want. Thailand you chill if you want to experience full blown Internet Coverage 24/7 maybe you need to assess your requirements .

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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by Jello » August 3, 2022, 9:05 am

I can’t say who the best provider is but this is what I use:
Pt-link SIM card router with Dtac SIM card unlimited plan

https://www.tp-link.com/th/home-network ... tl-mr6400/

https://www.dtac.co.th/en/dtac-promotio ... 0150708794

Supporting 4 people who are heavy internet users, multiple WiFi cameras, and HDTV.
Not perfect but works good most of the time, occasional problems streaming TV.
8)
UFF DA!

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Udon Map
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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by Udon Map » August 3, 2022, 9:28 am

Khun Paul wrote:
August 3, 2022, 7:18 am
. . . if you want to experience full blown Internet Coverage 24/7 maybe you need to assess your requirements.
Or maybe different people have different needs for internet access. Not everyone has needs identical to yours. :roll:

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parrot
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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by parrot » August 3, 2022, 9:41 am

There's a host of fiber providers.....3BB, True, TOT, AIS......unless you're really out there, at least one of those companies provide service. Wait til you arrive, survey the neighborhood for quality of service, and go from there.

As for mobile service, here's the AIS page https://www.ais.th/en/

Depending on how long ago your 'past experiences', I think you'll find most respectable hotels have better service than just a few years ago (customers have their priorities!!).

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parrot
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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by parrot » August 3, 2022, 9:44 am


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Khun Paul
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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by Khun Paul » August 3, 2022, 11:54 am

Udon Map wrote:
August 3, 2022, 9:28 am
Khun Paul wrote:
August 3, 2022, 7:18 am
. . . if you want to experience full blown Internet Coverage 24/7 maybe you need to assess your requirements.
Or maybe different people have different needs for internet access. Not everyone has needs identical to yours. :roll:
That is why I said what I said, do not need a PUBLIC snide comment from yourself thankyou /

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can123
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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by can123 » August 3, 2022, 2:14 pm

Thank you all for your help. We are heavy users but expect that to drop markedly when we are in Thailand. Our last month's usage was 380 Gb at speeds of 50 Mb/S. We will wait until we are actually there but I am certain that we have both home based and mobile broadband.

It is our initial intention to take our Vonage box to Thailand and use it for VOIP telephone calls but this too is likely to fade away as we become more occupied in Thailand.

Thank you, everybody.

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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by tamada » August 3, 2022, 5:00 pm

Hotspotting a 30-day unlimited data package on either one (or both) dual-SIM smartphones should do for starters. Monthly bill is similar to an entry-level household fiber broadband cost of around 700 baht. I have an AIS SIM with a 99 baht/month internet package that I stream foreign radio on when driving. The other SIM has a DTAC data package with a bit more clout that's around 300 baht/month. The only time it got maxed out was when I hotspotted my son who was in full-on gaming mode. A package of 700 baht/month and up should easily satisfy gaming, Netflix or serious FB'ing.

No need for any USB SIM card dongle either if one or other smartphone has the above. I had one of those that was essential for internet on the road maybe five or eight years ago but with smartphone hotspotting, it is now gathering dust in the shed. One shouldn't need to be watching movies while driving into town, passenger or otherwise.

If a more permanent hardware share is still needed at the house, SIM card supporting Wi-fi routers are around 2500 baht and up on Lazada. I bought one online here and used it to provide internet on a work site in Myanmar using one of their excellent SIM data packages.
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can123
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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by can123 » August 3, 2022, 5:43 pm

The mobile dongle will be used by passengers and by me when I am in an hotel. I stayed in a big hotel in Loei once and the wi-fi was poor in the foyer and non-existent in the rooms. I don't like tethering a mobile phone for Internet access and will use my phone simply for talk and texts so it will be on a different tariff with a bare minimum of broadband allowance.

It is nice to see the prices are low. There must be some sort of dongle in our house now or some other device which uses a sim card as there is no landline telephone and no fibre cable.

Thank you very much, very helpful.

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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by sometimewoodworker » August 3, 2022, 5:49 pm

TOT, if it is available in your village has a 300mb/300mb fibre package at ฿360 Baht a month.
Like all fibre packages the install is likely to be free with a 2 year contract
Jerome and Nui's new househttp://bit.ly/NJnewHouse

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can123
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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by can123 » August 3, 2022, 6:06 pm

Thank you. Fantastic price!

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tamada
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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by tamada » August 3, 2022, 7:10 pm

can123 wrote:
August 3, 2022, 5:43 pm
The mobile dongle will be used by passengers and by me when I am in an hotel. I stayed in a big hotel in Loei once and the wi-fi was poor in the foyer and non-existent in the rooms. I don't like tethering a mobile phone for Internet access and will use my phone simply for talk and texts so it will be on a different tariff with a bare minimum of broadband allowance.

It is nice to see the prices are low. There must be some sort of dongle in our house now or some other device which uses a sim card as there is no landline telephone and no fibre cable.

Thank you very much, very helpful.
That's exactly how I used to run my USB/SIM dongle in the car before. In the end it became just another gadget that needed its own topping up and/or charging hence the switch to hotspotting with my smartphone where the technology of being a virtual router doesn't impact normal smartphone use.

My more recent experience with hotel wi-fi indicates that more than a few have upped their game with secure and fast "open" connections on newer gear that's no longer limited to one or two devices simultaneously.

By all means bring your preferred connectivity gadgets with you but be prepared to be surprised by what can be achieved with less hardware and the faster, higher processing power of newer smartphones.
'Don't waste your words on people who deserve your silence'
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can123
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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by can123 » August 3, 2022, 8:15 pm

We like our gadgets :D At the latest count my wife and I had six smartphones just having bought two new ones in the Amazon Prime sale.

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parrot
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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by parrot » August 5, 2022, 5:46 pm

I have TOT (actually, now it's NT National Telecom) fiber in the house. Over the years, my same 490 Baht per month has given me speeds from 25Mbps up to 100Mbps, then 500, and now 1000Mbps....for the same price!

I've never tried their mobile service, but NT offers a variety of good deals on mobile services......such as 40GB for 355Baht/month that also allows 300 Baht of free phone calls per month. I don't what speed that comes at......but as I recall, their sim costs about 50 Baht. For less than 500Baht, it might be worth a try.

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can123
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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by can123 » August 5, 2022, 6:02 pm

Thank you, Mr Parrot.

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Re: Internet SIM Cards

Post by marcusb » August 6, 2022, 12:26 am

I tethered for years using DTac on my phone. Good rates, easy to top up or change/add plans. I had wifi at school all day so my needs weren't that huge, 20g a month.

What impressed me is Ive been out of Thailand 2 years, used the phone in Mexico and currently using it in Canada to tether as its cheaper than Canadian cell packages. Data only I don't use it for calls. Easy to top up online anywhere in the world.

If you have all those phones get a couple different sims and test, I don't think having two providers would cost significantly more.

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