transpac

Am I reading the description of the ฿29 a day plan correctly, in that it gets you up to 2GB per day, and then slows down to 64Kbps thereafter?

Yes, for the 24 hours after you subscribe (rather than midnight to midnight).


And that the next day, you just subscribe again, pay ฿29, and get 2GB more?

Yes.

I'm not certain if this plan auto-renews, or not? I suspect it doesn't, but they should send you some terms.

Note that this is normally 1 GB for 24 hours, but they have a 2x promo until 11 Jan 2017.

dtremit

The catch for me is that I'll be there 11 days -- so a one week plan won't do the trick. I think ฿49 for the SIM plus ฿29/day will end up cheaper than the two week all-inclusive packages.
I also expect to make zero (or close to zero) voice calls.

Good point on maps; I will check out maps.me, and Google Maps also has an offline feature now as well.

We happen to be leaving Thailand on 11 January, so this would seem to work out rather well.

Is it typically possible to renew sooner than 24 hours, in the unlikely event that I chewed through 2GB in a single day? (I think that's unlikely, given I normally do ~10GB a month at home, but...)

transpac

Is it typically possible to renew sooner than 24 hours, in the unlikely event that I chewed through 2GB in a single day?

Yes.

There may be slightly more expensive plans for 5, 7, 10, 15, 30 which might be simpler than renewing every day?

http://www.ais.co.th/one-2-call/addon/maxspeed.html

I recently did the 5 GB/7 day/150 baht plan for a second phone during a brief trip to act as a hotspot for WiFi-only devices, and stream/torrent some TV shows. Two of those, back-to-back, would give 10 GB over 14 days with just two subscriptions, for 321 baht (with 7% VAT).

I use DTAC post-paid (8 GB w/rollover to 16 GB, 300 minutes) for my daily driver, but keep a lot of SIMs on hand for visitors, or use in back-up devices.

dtremit

Thanks for the link to that. I'd mostly been focused on dtac and truemove since their websites were better accessible in English. The similar options from them seemed a fair bit more expensive.

transpac

All three major service providers here pretty much copy each other so there is very little difference in price, and if one introduces a new promotion the others copy it. Sometimes it is hard to find a similar price/package, either because they haven't added it yet, or because it's still not on the web-page (but in Thai outlets like FB). On the post-paid side there is a bit more differentiation.

Usually the English pages are a few weeks/months behind the Thai pages - the time it takes someone to translate them - so many just use Google Translate which works fine for most stuff about mobile service.

eccentricfusion

Google Maps offline doesn't work with Bangkok, unless something has changed recently.

transpac

I don't think the stock Google Maps off-line feature ever worked here. I used to hack it using the Ownhere method but honestly gave that up ages ago as we have nearly 100% 3G/4G coverage at very low prices. Streetview is very handy for finding spots, and familiarizing myself with a neighborhood, for the first time.

There are three or four truly off-line maps for Thailand available for free, just look in the Play Store.

I use a Garmin in the car; it's a unit I bought in the U.S. but modded with TSM.

transpac

Fingerprint ID mandatory to register SIMs

All mobile operators will have to introduce the online fingerprint ID system by March, but mobile users can choose whether or not to put their fingerprints in the system for their own security.

"Any violation will face penalties ranging from a fine, to a ban on receiving new mobile numbers from the regulator, to a licence revocation," said NBTC secretary-general Mr Takorn.

Mr Takorn urged all mobile users to participate in the fingerprint system to ensure greater security in mobile banking and prevent the risk of fraud, which is likely to increase in a cashless society.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/tech/loca...-register-sims

rjh

Not exactly on topic, but perhaps close enough.

I used a Project Fi phone in Bangkok with no issues in January, 2017, mostly for data (at US$10/GB). Worked great. First time in a long time that I didn't buy a Thai SIM.

Also, FWIW, Project Fi worked great at NRT and in Cambodia, but data didn't work in Lao, although the Project Fi coverage page says data in ao works.

Talked with Project Fi support while in Lao and the fact that data is not working in Lao is a known issue. They credited me with the $$ amount I pay for data/month as compensation. Ended up buying a Lao data only, 4G SIM for a separate phone I had brought as Plan B.

timster

Free Sygic maps work well offline in Bangkok. They cover all of Thailand but I haven't checked their quality much outside Bangkok.

tide

While you cannot download offline maps for Thailand, you can make Google Maps work offline. While in wifi coverage (e.g. free AOT wifi at airport, hotel wifi), route to destination - at this point, the map and route will be cached and as long as you don't close app, you should be good. Then, to save data (or if you have no data), you can turn airplane mode on, and you will still get turn-by-turn directions off GPS. The only things that will be missing is spoken street names, re-routing and real-time traffic (of course).

Same thing as above with Waze.

Of course the better option is to use an app with true offline maps (I use Here) but some may want to use Google/Waze due to saved waypoints or UI familiarity. There are 3 major global maps providers: Here/Navteq/Nokia, TomTom/TeleAtlas and Google.

transpac

Tourist SIM-tracking plan axed

Plans for special SIM cards for tourists have finally been scrapped by the national telecom regulator after facing strong opposition from the government, which says the idea would do more harm than good.

The plan also drew heavy criticism at the first public hearing from participants who said it could lead to a potential threat to travellers' privacy.

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) initially approved in principle a requirement that foreign visitors to Thailand use special SIM cards in their phones that could be tracked by the authorities in the interest of national security.

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/gene...king-plan-axed

Dalo

I have spent a lot of time in Thailand and have been more satisfied with AIS 1-2 Call system . If you are having problems in BKK a good place to go for help is BTS Asok station. From the Northwest exit take the bridge heading (north ) into the Terminal 21
mall then escalators up to sixth floor . The AIS shop is easy to spot near the escalator . I found competent assistance in very good English . There are many other AIS shops but I remember how to give directions to this one and I found good help . AIS sim cards can be purchased at 7-11s or topped up most anywhere but , they may not be able to help you set up your account . Lately you must show passport to get a sim card .

ft101

AIS sims can not be bought or topped up at 7-11s any longer. Family Mart for top ups now if you used to use this route.

transpac

AIS and 7/11 could not agree on a commission rate re: top-ups, and think this impasse continues, so you cannot top-up an AIS SIM at 7/11. I think you can still top up DTAC SIMs at 7/11; maybe that contract has a different termination date?

I think you can still buy AIS, DTAC and obviously, TrueMove H SIMs at 7/11.

7/11 and TrueMove H are owned by the same Thai conglomerate, CP Group.

There are top-up machines in front of every 7/11, which can be used to top-up any SIM. For top-ups less than 100 baht there is a service fee; there may be added credit bonuses for using these machines. These orange Boonterm machines are everywhere, including inside every BTS station.

AIS continues to have the most subscribers (~ 41 million) with DTAC and TrueMove H at roughly 24 million each.

For total spectrum I think the rankings are TrueMove H, DTAC and AIS (most to least).

I think any of these three should be fine, unless you are in some unusual location, in which case it is best to ask a local what works there, for them.

AIS has shops everywhere, as do DTAC and TrueMove H. AIS has a shop inside the Siam BTS station, head towards exit 5, make a left, u-turn. The AIS shop in Terminal 21 seems to always have quite a few customers queued. You can buy SIMs pretty much anywhere; there are counter outlets everywhere. The basic SIM is 49-50 baht, then you can add value, and then subscribe to a mobile data plan.