Hi, does anyone know of a sim card available suitable for a holiday in Thailand please. Im looking for cheap calls and coverage in Bangkok, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Samui.

Thx..

I just brought mine whilst I was out there from a phone shop, think the sim cost 200 baht and he said if the phone doesnt accept the sim he could unlock it for another 200 baht.

I always buy a "Happy" pay as you go sim on DTAC (service provider) for around 200 baht which includes 50 baht of calls then just top it up whenever I need by buying calling cards from 7/11.

AIS Known as One Two Call has a new tarrif which gives "free" calls within Thailand for 399 baht per month ( sim card about 200 baht).Also using 009 as the dail prefix calls back to the UK are 9 baht per min ( 008 is I think 1 baht cheaper but the quality is not always good).
(To change and listen to tarrifs on one to call dail *777")The free calls are available either 6am to 4pm or 10pm to 6 am the choice is yours. Outside the chosen times the rate is 5 baht per minute. There is also another tarif which I use which gives free calls to any one chosen thai phone number 24 hours a day for 99baht per month. Maximum of three numbers 99 baht each

AIS One-2-Call is generally regarded as having better coverage than the other providers. Mark may discover this when he ventures away from Bangkok and Pattaya next week.

199 baht for the SIM with 50 baht of calls, available from any phone shop, top-up cards available from a multitude of shops, including 7-11 and 108.

Your mobile will need to be "sim-free", i.e. not locked onto your UK network. Many phone shops in Thailand will be able to unlock your phone for a small fee if this is the case, alternatively there are plenty of places selling cheap second hand phones.

If you top-up with 300+ baht at a time, the expiry date of your credit is extended further with each top-up. If you are visiting Thailand again soon, you may be able to extend it long enough to use the same number again when you return.

... and the 009 service mentioned by poosmate is excellent. From landlines, international calls using 009 are only 7.49 baht a minute.

Regards

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AIS One-2-Call

And you'll find a lot of excess capacity of the AIS network due to recent events.

Packpao

quote:

Posted by Maokaang

AIS One-2-Call is generally regarded as having better coverage than the other providers. Mark may discover this when he ventures away from Bangkok and Pattaya next week.

If I cannot get a signal you still won't be able to avoid me, I've got your address.

Sorry..bit confused..doh..! So the 009 can be used from a mobile to the UK right..? What form does that take..009 44 or what..please explain..? Also how does the same sim relate to dialling from a landline..or am I confused..?

The moby is preferred. I have a sharp gx30 which maybe locked I dont know or a crappy old Nokia 3310 which will defo work. Both have previously picked up the Thai networks with no probs as soon as Ive got off the plane but then I wasnt going to use it unless in an emergency due to Vodafones ridiculous charges.

Im leaving in July so need info asap.

Many thanks..Vindy.

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What form does that take..009 44 or what

That's the way to do it. It's a pain as my phone has all the numbers in +44 format but it's worth it for the saving.
To see if the phones are locked, just try another network SIM card, both are easily unlocked.

Jack

You may have trouble getting your Sharp GX30 phone unlocked in Thailand, as 2 years ago no-one could unlock my GX10i. This was due to Sharp phones not being widely sold in Thailand. Things may have changed now though.

The wife recently sent couple over to thailand couple
motorola C15 mobiles £15.00 each from play.com they are sold for T mobile prepay with £5.00 credit These phones are not locked just fit in any sim and away they go great as they have stand by of 500 hours on one charge.

after your holiday just leave it with the olders in the village.

sean

quote:

So the 009 can be used from a mobile to the UK right..? What form does that take..009 44 or what..please explain..? Also how does the same sim relate to dialling from a landline..or am I confused..?

Yes, you can use the 009 service from any Thai phone. If you use it from a mobile it is billed to that phone or comes off the top-up credit automatically, if you use it from a landline it is billed separately by CAT to the home/business having the landline.

009 44 etc. is the correct usage, so when using a Thai SIM card, replace any '+44' in your mobile phonebook with '00944' while in LOS and you'll save a fortune.

Alternatively, if the feature is available on your phone, copy the UK numbers you're likely to use from your phone to the SIM card and replace the duplicate numbers in the SIM with 009. Then make 'SIM only' the active phonebook while in LOS. This will leave the original numbers in your phone untouched and everything's back to normal when you put your UK SIM back in.

Regards

Just like to thank everyone for the advice. On arrival I was given a One 2 Call sim by a friend and it was brilliant everywhere I went with a full strong signal. Small niggle was the top up card was in part in Thai but the 7/11 staff were more than happy to sort it out for me.

Regards..Beast.