Hi All
Anyone taken a laptop to thailand recently and used it for the internet ? I'm looking for the best method of staying online whilst upcountry

It depends how remote you are. Wi-Fi is widely used in all the cities and there are plenty of places to gain free/cheap access, e.g. shopping malls, bars, restaurants. For example, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen and Khorat each have dozens of such places. Many hotels also now offer Wi-Fi as either a free or pay daily service; some cover all or most rooms, others are limited to the lobby.

That will depend on where you are staying. If you are sting in hotels then make sure there is WiFi or wired connections available. Many hotels do offer WiFi internet access, but, as I do before booking any hotel, check that it is available.

This is a REMOTE location. I was thinking more along the lines of a wirless card using GRPR services or something similar

GRPR? Excuse my ignorance, but what's that? Do you mean GPRS?

AFAIK all the Thai mobile networks support GPRS so it will depend entirely on whether you can get a mobile phone signal wherever you are and whether you have the right equipment to connect via your PC (Mobile phone and data cable ... or GPRS modem.)

Thanks Paul. What I'm looking for is a bit more detailed advice - which GRPRS modem card / network/ISP is good and/or cheap

Using your mobile or SIM card as/for the modem could be very expensive. A recent report in the UK is where a 17 year old lad used his Vodafone mobile to connect his PC to the internet; when his mother received the bill she was charged over £3,000 for one month's internet use!

GPRS is great if you are collecting reasonable amounts of email, but if you want to surf the net then you might find this an expensive option.

It is possible in certain countries to buy 'unlimited' monthly access for a fixed monthly fee. Not sure if such a service is offered in Thailand.

Also, GPRS can be painfully slow when browsing especially so if you are used to broadband service.

spot on tobias...... i saw an article with even more money mentioned

i think it was vodafone again. this man was using his phone as his modem for his laptop and ran up a huge bill of about 30k

http://news.zdnet.co.uk/communications/0,1000000085,39291766,00.htm fact... here it is

ws wrong... its only 27k......

in the early days on o2 i used to be able to surf the net on my uk mobile around the pool in thailand, then one time i returned home to a massive bill.

they changed the price plan while i was away without telling me

eeeeeeeeeeekk !!!!

I take you've changed your mind then John?

to be honest...... we always use thai sim cards anyway

i believe i have used their networks for things like msn and am pretty sure it worked ok

my main problem is that my main phone is locked to 3 network

quote:

which GRPRS modem card / network/ISP is good and/or cheap

They're not that cheap. At the lower end of the scale, a PCMCIA card such as the Sierra Wireless AirCard 750 should be around 4,000 baht.

It may or may not come with a prepay SIM card depending on who you buy it from, but you should be offered a choice between all the major networks. Your choice of provider is likely to be determined by who has the best coverage in the remote area you are in.

quote:

It is possible in certain countries to buy 'unlimited' monthly access for a fixed monthly fee. Not sure if such a service is offered in Thailand.

It is indeed. AIS One-2-Call, for example, have a prepay GPRS/EDGE package with various options called mobileNET. Once your SIM is activated (the shop can do that for you) and you have enough credit on the card you dial *138*nnnn# - where 'nnnn' is a four digit number representing the package you wish to buy.

The following is in Thai only:

http://www.one-2-call.com/content/products/promotion_service_gprspackage.htm

Regards

Paul - I knew you'd come up with the goods in the end !

quote:

They're not that cheap. At the lower end of the scale, a PCMCIA card such as the Sierra Wireless AirCard 750 should be around 4,000 baht.

If you already have a phone with a built in GPRS modem (many do) you won't need a modem card. So long as you can link your phone to your laptop (via USB, Bluetooth or IR) and figure out how to configure it, that should do it. All you'll then need is to insert a Thai SIM card in your phone and to sign up for a GPRS/EDGE package. Needless to say, don't use your UK SIM.

A friendly shop may set the whole thing up for you if you can't do it yourself.

Most new Nokias will link with USB and come with the necessary software (Nokia PC Suite IIRC).

Alternatively, an iPhone or crackberry would do the job.

If you're far in the sticks I doubt you'll get EDGE - more likely GPRS. Take along a nail file if you're looking at anything with more than one or two pictures.

It's surprising how Wi-Fi signals can travel in rural areas given decent hardware - or just a Pringles tube for that matter!

Packpao

here is said invention in action

it beats getting your hand stuck in one doesn't it?

http://www.techdigest.tv/2006/06/extend_your_wif.html

quote:

it beats getting your hand stuck in one doesn't it?

I think I'd forget the internet, and down the pringles with a nice glass of Singha beer.
I put the same query out on the dreaded P-secrets forum and got a nice specific reply from "Sexy man", so I've included it for everyone's information:

quote:

buy a solomen gprs modem from tutcom, it city have them on special for 6990 baht they have a 1to call sim card in them especially for internet costs 350 baht a month for 100 hours use, if you go to ais office you can get them to load you up for 12 months at a time or less if you want, i've got 20 hrs a month on mine cost 1200 bahts plus 84 baht vat for 12 months, i don't use mine much as i have broadband at home but when i go up country i do

Thank you Sexy Man (did I just say that ?

Hi John and all,

Have bought wireless modem yesterday for 3990 baht with a 123 call sim card, 50 baht credit, with future charges of 100 baht for 20 hours airtin\me, or 500 baht for 200hours.

Have not had time to get it working yet, but hopefully will do this evening.

Tony & Nang