jason8612

I bought truemove sim. I have 3g in Koh Samui.
They have a 69thb 7 day unlimited plan (net 69) that I am using (limited speed to 364kbps) but it works just fine with nav.

arieltravels

Where can I buy the sim card you mentioned that is 69THB for 7 days, unlimited? I will be in Thailand for almost two weeks.

Tchiowa

I use TM and my wife uses AIS. AIS is so bad in Chaiyaphum that when she is there and I call her I often have to reconnect 3 or 4 times before we get a connection we can use. Don't have the same problem with TM.

jason8612

I bought it at the airport on arrival.
Heres the link on the net 69 promo http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/news...ers/3055?ln=en
Use Google translate to read it (cant find a english version ). It worked quite well while I was using the data

arieltravels

Where at the airport can you purchase? I trust they allow you to renew after 7 days for an additional 7 days? Were there any "hidden fees?" I just want to plug in the sim card and go.

transpac

The three leading mobile service providers: AIS, DTAC and TrueMove H, have booths/shops at SBIA/BKK all on level 2, outside of Customs in the Arrivals hall.

They all offer "tourist" SIMs which typically package voice and data over some period.

http://www.ais.co.th/roaming/visitin...veller-en.aspx

http://store.dtac.co.th/en/happytouristsim

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/3g/s...try/2258?ln=en

Some of these tourist SIMs may have limited 'extendability' re: expiry so if that is important to you remember to review the T's & C's. Most standard SIMs give 30 days expiry, up to 365 days max. with each top-up of as little as 10 baht.

Depending on the number of arrivals these shops can be quite full; I was there last week and there were easily 60 or so people queued at each shop. So you might end up waiting an hour or so.

Or, you can wait to purchase a SIM at any one of the billion or so mobile phone shops or convenience stores here, add value and then subscribe to one of the thousands of plans/promotions.

Both DTAC and TrueMove H have quite a bit of 4G/LTE on 2100 MHz, but 3G here (850 MHz or 2100 MHz) is pretty good. I'm honestly not sure if 4G/LTE is even available on any/many/most/some pre-paid mobile data plans? With DTAC (post-paid, contract), I get 25 Mbps x 3 Mbps on 3G and 16 Mbps x 10 Mbps with 4G.



"I trust they allow you to renew after 7 days for an additional 7 days? Were there any "hidden fees?""

Yes, you can renew, or subscribe to any other promotion/plan.

No hidden fees but 7% VAT may, or may not, be included in the published tariff.


"Where can I buy the sim card you mentioned that is 69THB for 7 days, unlimited?"

These are promotions which can be subscribed to using USSD codes, so you'll need to have a SIM and enough remaining balance - don't forget to factor in the 7% VAT - to subtract from your balance.

Some newer TrueMove H packages in this value category, albeit with a higher speed cap (512 Kbps):

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/topping/index_en.html

jason8612

like transpac mentioned, any mobile shop will sell the sims. Also as soon as you walk you you will see people waiving signs like "tourist sim". they will usually configure the phone and get you up and running (abit a small fee - i.e. they charged me 100thb for the sim with the 69thb data pack and some 15thb credit)

dtsm

The airport kiosks offer the best initial promotion. But if they are busy, go to 4th Floor at MBK. Mobile phone and other devices nirvana...literally 100 kiosks to visit!

transpac

Standard (not "tourist SIMs") pre-paid SIMs are 49 or 50 baht here.

Personally, I wouldn't buy a SIM from some schmoe/somchai hawking one at the airport, nor would I let them handle my phone. For the most part, SIMs/phones do not need to be 'configured' these days, although not every phone can read the APN details which are baked in.

There is no need to go to MBK to buy a SIM, nor do you have to go to a service providers' retail outlet (in fact some do not even sell pre-paid SIMs relying on the channel to handle those small revenue transactions) you can buy a SIM, and add value to your number/account, at pretty much any one of the gazillion convenience stores or mobile phones shops, which at any place in Thailand should be no more than a few paces away.

The shops at the airport do not offer any unique or special promotions, other than perhaps having tourist SIM/plan/promotion/packages in stock, that aren't otherwise available everywhere else.

If mobile data is a priority, I might continue to recommend TrueMove H, DTAC and AIS, in that order based on available network, capacity, services and back-haul. AIS has the least amount of spectrum and the most customers, TrueMove H has the next most spectrum and the fewest customers, while DTAC has the most spectrum, and the second most customers. TrueMove H and DTAC have quite a bit of 4G/LTE, while AIS does not have any 4G/LTE. But any of the three should be OK for visitors, and choosing a specific provider is not as important as it once was here.

DTAC still has some double-net volume data promotions available though the end of January (2015)

Current pre-paid SIMs, but note that many previous promotional SIMs are still in the channel.

http://www.ais.co.th/12call/en/sim-card.html

http://www.dtac.co.th/en/prepaid/pro...ended-sim.html

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/3g/s...paid/all?ln=en

transpac

One thing I always forget to mention, mostly because I don't use it, is affiliated WiFi partners/programs/plans.

AIS have their own WiFi network, and is also partnered with 3BB (~ 60,000 hotspots), and True WiFi have 100,000 hotspots, so you may be able to get a mobile data plan with WiFi included, or at the very least, subscribe to a decent all you can eat monthly WiFi plan, on top of any existing mobile data plan. Therefore, TrueMove and/or AIS may ultimately be the best choice?

For example, TrueMove H have a layered mobile data plan which gives 1 GB of 3G (FuP is 128 Kbps) along with unlimited WiFi, for 399 THB/30 days.

http://www.ais.co.th/wifi/en/

http://www.truewifi.net/2011/index.htm

LIH Prem

You can buy either the 49 bt or 299 bt tourist sim at the airport at the mobile companies booth after you exit customes and it works with all those plans. Follow the links to see the codes on the following page.

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/3g/s...try/2258?ln=en

I don't think there's anything special about the sim other than the way it's packaged and that it comes with some credit. It's just a truemove h pre-paid sim, right?

So if you don't have a working sim, stop at the booth at the airport (True, in this case, but AIS and DTAC also have booths at the airports) and buy the one you want. For a week, the 299 Bt tourist sim is great. for longer periods, just get the 49 Bt tourist sim and buy additional credit for the plan you want/need and enter the code on your phone (or they will do it for you) once they set your phone up.

They also have 4G/LTE pre-paid plans (you can search for them). What I don't know, and maybe transpac does know, if you need a different sim for the 4G/LTE pre-paid service or not.

-David

transpac

if you need a different sim for the 4G/LTE pre-paid service or not.


For pre-paid 4G/LTE, in the case of TrueMove H I think you need this specific SIM:

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/4g/s...try/3340?ln=en

and then you need to subscribe to a specific 4G/LTE plan.

For DTAC, I think any standard pre-paid SIM can have a 4G-capable plan (Double Net 399/650/799) layered onto it.


Personally I wouldn't sweat the 4G thing; 3G should be more than sufficient. In fact it might be superior for most mobile data applications?

dtsm

I have found the airport kiosks sell the identical B299 for 30 days package which costs B350 at MBK. Differential isn't much and if the lines are long at airport, still the most convenient.

transpac

"I don't think there's anything special about the sim other than the way it's packaged and that it comes with some credit. It's just a truemove h pre-paid sim, right?"

Maybe, maybe not. It all depends on the T's & C's.

http://truemoveh.truecorp.co.th/3g/s...try/2552?ln=en

which say, among other things,

Receive a minimum of 30 days and can be accumulated up to a maximum validity of 90 days.

so unlike a standard TrueMove H SIM, which may allow for a maximum of 365 days expiry, this SIM appears to have a max. expiry of 90 days. This is why I recommend avoiding free/tourist SIMs, assuming you want to maximize expiry in case you want to keep the number and plan to return.

I maintain many standard pre-paid SIMs on AIS, DTAC and TrueMove H for friends/colleagues/spares for visitors simply by using free-standing top-up machines (found everywhere), which for 12 baht (10 baht + 2 baht fee) give 30 days up to a max. of 365 days. I just top these up at the end of every month, for 144 baht/year.

LIH Prem

fair enough ... makes sense also.

I love how the t&c even for English language are in Thai.

-David