Dongles, Any Good Or Not.

[taxexile]

i have a tot broadband internet connection, with a phone line and router.

costs me 700b/month. the connection speed is ok, i dont know how fast it is, and they claim to upgrade it for free every now and again. pages load quick enough, i can watch you tube most times of the day without too much buffering or whatever they call it. but tot does get cut off, sometimes for 2 or 3 days at a time.

i go to the tot engineers office which just happens to be across the road and they are all very helpful, sometimes coming over to check the modem etc, even though we all know the problems are in their systems not mine.

a frien has just bought an AT & T dongle and an AIS sim that slots into it and claims to get wonderful superfast uninterrupted internet. i dont know where this internet comes from, a satellite? a wireless thingy in the street? the phone system? no idea how it all works.

my question is, is this a reliable and trouble free way of getting internet to a laptop in my living room, and elsewhere if i travel around thailand?

how good is this coverage, where does it come from, is there a lot of downtime with this kind of system, and can i use it abroad if i buy a local sim card?

the dongle cost 2600b, the sim 200b and unlimited internet with AIS costs 600b/month.

or should i stick to tot adsl and put up with occasional interruptions?

[genghis61]

I have an AIS Aircard (is that a dongle?) prepaid costs 700/month for unlimited access.

I paid 1700 incl the sim card, recently AIS sent an sms offering them for 1090.

I have no option where I live - rural, no phone lines so wireless it is. I get by on a signal strength of 2-3 out of 5, some days it is 1 and I can't get any connection. Today I was able to download a 60mb cd took under an hour which is about as good as its ever been.

Youtube, streaming videos I can usually forget, but again depends on the day.

I take my laptop when we travel and any town we've stayed in has had full signal strength.

[Begbie]

I did a thread a while back about TOT. The problem was the modem not the service. Go out and splurge 1500 baht on a decent one.

[Mid]

I did a thread a while back about TOT. The problem was the modem not the service. Go out and splurge 1500 baht on a decent one.

wot he said

[baldrick]

as always - before you complain about the internet connection , you should always make sure your end is optimised correctly.

your computers , network and modem/router need to be configured for what you use your iternet connection for.

and on to the "dongles"

as far as I know - except for selected areas on selected bandwidths , AIS , DTAC etc are only offering EDGE - and you being at hua hin I would expect that to be all you will get fromm them - come november , december if we are lucky the powers that be will accept the cash for the 2.1Ghz section of the spectrum and the telecos will think is is wise to deploy HSUPA gear on their towers.

theother option as you are outside BKK is to go to the cat office and purchase a EC150 ( of course it is Huawei ) and avail yourself of EVDO - about 2500 baht for the modem and plans up to 800B a month.

to increase the signal strength , latency and all round goodness you can go the dodgy brothers route of a spider wok , hose fitting and camera tripod - just find the local cat tower and gps it , and via google earth and your position , determine the compass bearing , and construct yourself an aggregator as described

http://www.usbwifi.orconhosting.net.nz/

I could only get the 12" spider wok , but it works , and every one thinks you are a freak

[Boon Mee]

I did a thread a while back about TOT. The problem was the modem not the service. Go out and splurge 1500 baht on a decent one.

I've got TOT "broadband" out here in Nakhon Nowhere and the service drops out from time to time - it's not the modem or wireless router. So, as cheap backup, I've got a 'Dongle' thing from DTAC for ~ $10 a month. Works OK whenever I've needed it and if TOT can keep their equipment working, I''ll cancel this aircard / dongle.

[ThaiAm]

I would like to replace my IPStar setup here in verry remote North East upcountry. It is too expensive at 2700 baht a month for the service and is spotty and often disconnects.

What Dongle type options do I have? I would like to try the TOT dongle but have no clue how to go about getting it going. What would I need to buy and how do I go about getting it set up?

Is now the time to do the change or should I wait for the new stuff supposedly on the way in the next few months?