This week I have discovered that Thailand has fantastic mobile internet access. If you have a newish phone and DTAC SIM card, you can connect your laptop to your phone and surf the internet from anywhere with reception at decent download speeds. No need for wifi spots or wired connections again.
One of the big headaches for me about moving to Koh Tao was how I could get a decent internet connection to use in my home. Koh Tao is a tiny island in the Gulf of Thailand and there are very few houses to rent on a long term basis, and even fewer with a telephone line preinstalled for broadband internet. I didn't want to spend my time looking for wifi spots or using internet cafes.
The solution is using the mobile internet service available from Thailand's DTAC phone network. You connect your laptop to your phone, install some software, and then you can surf the Net at remarkably fast speeds. The connection I've been getting this week on Koh Tao is almost as fast as my (pretty flakey) broadband internet connection in Bangkok.
I tried DTAC's main rival, AIS, as well, but their download speeds were painfully slow, so I gave up on them. Here's the step by step process of how I got online.
1) Get a Nokia E51 or other EDGE (compatible phone. (Search for your phone model + Edge if you're unsure). It has to be an EDGE phone otherwise you won't get the speedy download rates - you'll be restricted to worse than dial-up speed. The Nokia E51 has received almost universal rave reviews for its build quality and ease of use, and I've had no complaints in the couple of weeks I've had it. (Follow the links to find the Nokia E51 for sale on Ebay).
2) Get a DTAC sim card and get a top up card with it for 400 baht. Call *1678 and ask the DTAC operator to give you the 100 hours GPRS package (which is 374 Baht per month). You can choose cheaper packages with less hours if you wish - just ask the operator. (see my previous article How to install a Thai sim card in your phone for more info).
3) Install Nokia PC Suite on your laptop from the disc in the Nokia E51 phone's box, or download it from the Nokia website. (If you have a Mac, sorry - I'm not sure if the software is compatible or if there is an alternative available).
4) Connect the phone to the laptop using the USB connectivity cable in the Nokia box
5) Check the phone - if it prompts you to choose between PC Suite and Data Transfer, choose PC Suite. Make sure the keypad on the phone is left unlocked
6) Open PC Suite on the laptop and select the Connect To The Internet icon
7) Click Connect on the One Touch Access panel that opens up
8 ) The phone should then connect to the network and provide you with internet access. A pop up will appear saying "Nokia GSM Phone (OTA) is now connected" and indicate a download speed of 115kbps.
9) Go surfing. Remember to disconnect when you're done as you are paying per hour of connection.
On the Nokia, the phone will indicate it has an EDGE connection - rather than just a standard, much slower GPRS connection - by showing a small E in at the bottom of the reception bar. EDGE stands for Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution.
A cheaper, but less flexible option instead of buying a new phone is to buy a Sierra Wireless Aircard. This connects the DTAC sim directly to the computer via USB or PCMCIA slot. Sierra Wireless Aircards are the most commonly found, but there are several other brands like Solomon that do the same thing. Sierra are more expensive than other brands but tend to work without any fuss - my friend Ayesha uses the Sierra Wireless Aircard 875 also here on Koh Tao and has found it to be problem free.
I spent a lot of time researching this setup and found a couple of threads on ThaiVisa to be invaluable in recommending the Nokia E51 and recommending DTAC over AIS as the better network.
The big issue is how long DTAC will maintain such good download speeds as more and more people come onto the network. There's little that customers can do about that - it's just a case of crossing fingers and hoping that the network will hold up as it becomes more popular.
The other problem is that there is no accurate, comprehensive map showing the full extent of EDGE coverage throughout Thailand on the DTAC network - it does seem to be pretty universal but there is no definitive map showing coverage. Up in the north of Thailand coverage may be patchy.
For now, however, I am really pleased with how well it's working. I can open lots of sites in tabbed browsing and they load fairly rapidly. A 2 MB PDF attachment downloads in around 10 seconds. It's not super speedy but it's not frustratingly slow either, but then, my broadband connection in Bangkok was always pretty mediocre.
If you have first hand experience of using other phone models/makes to connect your laptop to the internet, do leave a comment so other readers can get an idea of what else works as well as the Nokia E51.
Nokia E51 on Ebay:
[Not an Ebay registered user yet?
]
Find The Cheapest Flights to Thailand
Book Thailand Hotels - Up To 70% Off!
Excellent, just the kind of information I needed for administrating my website from Thailand. Thanks.