Wireless in Thailand
 

Does anyone know where I can use wifi (preferably free or cheap) in Bangkok or Khon Kaen?

Thanks :-:

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Most of the Starbucks in Bangkok have WiFi, a prepaid service offered by KSC. You can buy prepaid cards at Starbucks or any number of retail outlets. A twenty (20) hour card goes for 1,500 baht, although I was buying those for ~ 1,350 from a shop in the Fortune IT Mall.

There are open and free WiFi AP's around town, in malls, hotels, bars, office complexes, but finding them and getting AC power can be challenging. ( The Big Mango Bar has free WiFi.)

Khon Kaen will be a bit more challenging. When I do not have broadband or WiFi access, especially in Issan, I use GPRS. I have pre-paid mobile phone service from 1-2-Call, (DTAC and TrueMove also offer GPRS.), and they offer a lot of GPRS packages. I subscribe monthly for 25 hours for 107 baht (the 7 baht is VAT). I get full GPRS data rates (80 kbp/s) throughout Thailand. Essentially you are using your phone as a modem, and 1-2-Call as an ISP. You'll need a GPRS capable phone. If a 1-2-Call pre-paid subscriber just call 1175, press 2, and the CSR can help you set up GPRS. I use a Nokia handset and Nokia PC-Suite which offer One Touch Access (no configuration), but you can set up this type of connection as a dial-up conection. I believe the number is *99#, with no username or password (CPID serves that function).

Thanks for the very helpful info. So GPRS means accessing the Internet using a mobile phone as a dial up connection. I am also looking into getting a cell phone while there; so what would (roughly) the total cost be for 25 hours (or any other increment) of access once you factor in the Internet provider and the per minute phone charges?

Thanks very much :-:

The 107 baht is the total and entire charge for 25 hours of access. So ~ 4 baht per hour. There are no additional per minute phone charges or ISP charges. It is really quite amazing! But it can be challenging to set up, and does require that you have a GPRS-capable phone.

I did forget another option, and that is to bring your notebook PC into an internet cafe, of which there are thousands in Bangkok, and ask to plug in to their ethernet network and pay the hourly charge, as if you were using one of their PC's. Fees generally range from 30 to 90 baht per hour, and not all shops allow you to do this.

There are lots of internet cafes in Khon Kaen too.

Thanks again for this great advice. Are GPRS phones difficult to find? would it be best to look here (in the US) or on eBay or wait until I get there?

Cheers :-:

A phone which supports GPRS is not difficult to find; it's just a feature.

Do some research on the leading brands, then price compare eBay and Jaymart, which is large retailer here. Jaymart's prices can usually be beaten by ~ 10% at other retail outlets.

I think prices are still cheaper here but with the daily strenthening of the baht aganist the USD, that may not remain the case?

A colleague uses a Nokia 6070 here, which support GPRS. It shows as 4,710 baht at Jaymart but he paid 4,550 at a smaller shop.

You can also buy Thai (1-2-Call) pre-paid SIMs on eBay. Handy if you need to know the number before you depart.

It was free and usable in the foyer of the BKK conrad last week!

i also have lots of hours left on the Holiday inn phuket wireless if anyone wants it

I've found a number of free wireless connections in BKK. In the Sukhumvit area, I was close enough to get the JW Marriott's lounge access(At least I think that was the one) from a couple of hundred meters away (5th floor of my hotel).

There's an open wi-fi hot spot nice and speedy up on Lad Prao road in Bangkok. I know about this one, because it's mine! :D

Cool! Where do you keep the spare key to your house? Also, may I have the combination to your safe? ;)

I'll come say hi when I'm there in Feb. And of course try and use the Internet :)

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I don't understand? insider joke? :confused:

For benefit of any newcomers to Bangkok, I'll write the warning.

What ajc1970 is laughing about is simply that The Big Mango is in Nana Plaza, a "shopping center" of bars/brothels where the main attraction is hundreds of young and pretty Thai ladies available for rent by the hour.

Besides the free WiFi, and the Thai ladies, there are other attractions to The Big Mango which may also tempt the OP.
First, they have a happy hour, with reduced beer prices.
Second, that bar is reputed to make the best hamburgers in all of Bangkok.

So there you have it:
Free Wi-Fi, plus happy hour, excellent burgers, and lots of attention from young and pretty ladies.
That would be The Big Mango.
Sukhumvit soi 4, Nana Plaza, go up one floor above ground level, then walk to the right.

- Peter
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