Internet problem/speeds ?

[roamer]

Hi

Once again I`m having internet problems where I`m staying, had to resort to using an old(ish) dongle/air card, not really adequate.

I simply do not understand speeds etc., here is what I`m getting(apparently) with that dongle/aircard:

Sent
Volume 1.0 K bytes.
Max rate 5.3 K bytes.
Average rate 160 bps.


Received
Volume 241 bytes.
Max rate 1.9 K bytes
Average rate 24 bps.

That means nothing to me.

AIS claim with their new 3G service 42 Mbps.

Would that be significantly better?

How good is the new 3G mobile service?

If I buy a 3 G dongle would it work with all networks?True mobile is supposed to be fairly good but would like the ability to change provider if necessary.


I pay 500 baht a month for my current pathetic service, I`d happily pay more for a decent fast reliable connection, 1000-1500 baht wouldn`t be a problem.

I don`t think True will do a package where I am but need to find out about that, 3 BBB are very poor in my area.

What do I look for?

Thanks.

[ferocious]

The speeds confuse me roamer as where I live down here at work is 4meg but back at home I've only got 1meg , well my Internet at home is far better for downloads & streaming TV :scratch: .... I'm sure the AIS sim I bought for my iPad in June is 3G and it ran great and would stream video too not sure on service plans though

[gonzo]

Sent
Volume 1.0 K bytes.
Max rate 5.3 K bytes.
Average rate 160 bps.


Received
Volume 241 bytes.
Max rate 1.9 K bytes
Average rate 24 bps.


Ouch! That's dire mate.

Even if AIS only reaches half the speeds they claim (which is quite likely as they always advertise best case scenarios and potential speeds rather than actual speeds) you'd still see a significant improvement. To put it in context 42mb/s is 43008b/s.

If it's anything like the set-up in the UK each 3G dongle would be locked to a specific network so you wouldn't be able to pick and choose once you've bought one and would have to buy another to switch networks.

[KeeNeow]

The conversion is 8 bits equals a byte so have to divide the bps rate by 8 to get Bps or 8000 to get kBps.
In my condo i have the 6mbps ADSL internet from TOT which costs 738 baht per month.
The last download test on thaivisa.com gave me 5576kbps(697kBps) download from their Bangkok server and 330 kbps(41.3kB/sec) Upload speed
If you connect to a server in the USA or UK you will get a slower speed maybe about 50% or less.
Mostly I download movies from pirate bay and will get about 450kBps maximum but probably average about 200kBps so can download a 500 MB movie in about 40 mins.
Thailand technically has 3.5G which offer wireless speeds of up to 500kBps( 3G is only 200kBps) but will depend upon if you are in the right location and will probably be 2G speeds most of the time which is only half as fast so you will be getting 100kB/sec.
So until the 3.5G service is universal I would recommend getting a landline ADSL service. Only disadvantage is that I think you have to have a one year contract to get it.

[gonzo]

The conversion is 8 bits equals a byte so have to divide the bps rate by 8 to get Bps or 8000 to get kBps.
In my condo i have the 6mbps ADSL internet from TOT which costs 738 baht per month.
The last download test on thaivisa.com gave me 5576kbps(697kBps) download from their Bangkok server and 330 kbps(41.3kB/sec)
If you connect to a server in the USA or UK you will get a slower speed maybe about 50% or less.
Mostly I download movies from pirate bay and will get about 450kBps maximum but probably average about 200kBps so can download a 500 MB movie in about 40 mins.
Thailand technically has 3.5G which offer wireless speeds of up to 500kBps( 3G is only 200kBps) but will depend upon if you are in the right location and will probably be 2G speeds most of the time which is only half as fast so you will be getting 100kB/sec.
So until the 3.5G service is universal I would recommend getting a landline ADSL service. Only disadvantage is that I think you have to have a one contract to get it.

It was only when looking at your figures that I realised mine were way out as I give the figure for kilobits instead of megabits.

There may be 8 bits in a byte but there are 1024 bits in a kilobit and 1,048,576 bits in a megabit. Data transfer speeds are universally measured in bits not bytes......at least for the moment, when we have the technology available commercially to transfer terabits/s then they'll probably move to using bytes (current record is something like 100 terabits per second but only by using 370 seperate lasers).

3G or 3.5G speeds vary wildly depending on which protocol is in use and even then which version of which protocol (e.g. HSDPA which is one of the more common '3.5G' protocols can offer speeds varying from 1.8 up to 14.0 megabits/second with a number of set rates in between). Basically there is no set transfer rate for 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 or 4G as so many different factors can affect the speed.

[roamer]

Hi

Thanks for answers.
Sounds like the AIS 3G service might suffice but I`ll enquire about the TOT package which would seem better.

Condo internet OK currently but was terrible yesterday, not for the first time.

:cheers:

[KeeNeow]

I knew about the 1024 but wanted to keep the maths easy. To be classed as 3G has to be faster than 200kBps according to Wikipedia. but no upper limit.