Internet in Thailand

Internet Service Providers in Thailand

Broadband Internet is readily available in major cities and towns, but is still to be sought after in smaller villages and in the countryside. Thailand obtained internet access in 1996, the third country in Southeast Asia to do so. In 2019, About 50,9% of the population has access to the internet. TOT operates a nationwide local rate number, 1222, allowing dialing to most Internet service providers.

The majority of broadband internet access uses Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) and VDSL. Some areas are covered by Cable Modems and G.shdsl. Consumer broadband Internet bandwidth ranges from 2 Mbit/s to 16 Mbit/s. Medium and large businesses use Leased Lines or Ethernet Internet/MPLS where fiber optic cables link many office buildings in the central business district areas such as Sukhumvit, Silom and Sathorn areas to the Thailand Internet backbone. Universities have access to fast Internet access, including the Trans-Eurasia Information Network (TEIN2) research network.

A 3G UMTS/HSDPA network was launched in Bangkok and vicinity in December 2009 with speeds up to 7.2 Mbit/s on the 2100 MHz band. Major mobile network operators in Thailand are testing their 3G networks in limited urban areas on the 850 MHz and 900 MHz bands. The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) has plans to auction out 4 further licenses to operate 3G UMTS/HSDPA networks on the 2100 MHz spectrum in 2010. A 3G CDMA network with speeds up to 3.1 Mbit/s is available in 51 provinces nationwide.

There are initiatives to offer mainstream FTTH (Fiber to the Home) providing bandwidth of up to 100 Mbit/s bundled with IPTV and VoIP. FTTH with speeds up to 30 Mbit/s is available in limited areas in Phuket.

Thailand saw a rapid growth in the number of broadband users in 2005 with the initiation of unmetered broadband in 2004.

There are 1,116,000 (2008) Internet hosts in Thailand being the highest in South East Asia.

As of 2008, there were 16,100,000 Internet users in Thailand.

Internet Service Providers

Wired Internet

True Internet	ADSL2+, VDSL2, Cable Modem, G.shdsl/SDSL, Leased Line, MPLS	6 Mbit/s, 8 Mbit/s, 10 Mbit/s, 14 Mbit/s, 16Mbit/s, 30Mbit/s, 50Mbit/s, 100Mbit/s[	True utilizes both CAT IIG and its own international gateway.
3BB	ADSL2+, Leased Line	5 Mbit/s, 8 Mbit/s, 12 Mbit/s, 16 Mbit/s, 20 Mbit/s	Jasmine International used to be joint with TT&T and operated under the name ‘Maxnet’. Now operates under the name ‘3BB’ (Spell “Three Broadband”).
TOT	ADSL2+, Leased Line, FTTH(Available in some areas)	6 Mbit/s, 9 Mbit/s, 12 Mbit/s, 15 Mbit/s	TOT offers FTTH (Fiber to the home) package in Phuket with the speed up to 30Mbit/s. TOT is expanding their broadband Internet services in provincial areas where it owns almost all of the fixed line telephone infrastructure.
CAT Telecom	ADSL, G.shdsl/SDSL, Cable, Leased Line ,FTTH	4 Mbit/s, 10 Mbit/s	CAT Telecom has teamed up with some local cable television providers to provide broadband via Cable up to 10 Mbit/s.
KSC Internet	Dial-up, ADSL, Leased Line		Owned by True Corporation but branded for the upper-end market. Founded in 1994 as a joint venture between Internet Knowledge Center Co., Ltd. (IKSC) and the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT), KSC was the first commercial Internet service provider (ISP) in Thailand.
CS Loxinfo	Dial-up, ADSL, Leased Line, Satellite		Part of the Shin Corporation telecommunications conglomerate.
Buddy Broadband	ADSL		Operated by Advance Datanetwork Communications (ADC), part of Shin Corporation telecommunications conglomerate. Buddy Broadband (commonly known as BuddyBB) is offering Internet access only through ADSL technology. Unlike other ISPs, BuddyBB has integrated its Internet service with IPTV service. The other difference is that BuddyBB has only the connection speed of 2 Mbit/s but with only 256 kbit/s for international connections for its cheapest package. Higher-end packages have higher international connection speeds. Full BuddyBB service with IPTV is only available in Bangkok and nearly provinces, however, it also operate its ADSL Internet service in major cities such as Chiang Mai and Phuket with different packages and pricing through resellers. They offer higher speeds up to 8 Mbit/s in Chiang Mai.
Internet Thailand	Dial-up, ADSL, Leased Line		First commercial ISP in Thailand.
Pacnet	Dial-up, ADSL, G.shdsl/SDSL, Leased Line, Ethernet		Focusses on corporate customers.
Jasmine Internet	Dial-up, ADSL, Leased Line		Jasmine Internet is not endorsed with Jasmine International.
ISSP	Dial-up, ADSL, Leased Line
Samart	Dial-up, ADSL, G.shdsl/SDSL, Leased Line
A-Net	Dial-up, ADSL, Leased Line
Otaro/InterNetwork	Dial-up, ADSL, Leased Line
Proen Internet	Dial-up, ADSL, Leased Line
Thai-Fi	G.shdsl/SDSL, Leased Line, Cable	4 Mbit/s, 5 Mbit/s, 8 Mbit/s, 10 Mbit/s, 12 Mbit/s, 16Mbit/s	Thai-Fi is the registered trademark of JCMR Co., Ltd., a Thai company founded in 2003 by US and Thai citizens which provides wireless network design, installation, configuration, security, and maintenance to apartment, condominium and office buildings, offices, hotels, caf้s, restaurants, individual residences and businesses using 802.11 technology.
TCC Technology	Fiber,MPLS,Leased Line
TT&T	ADSL		TT&T no longer operates as an ISP due to the company’s recent restructuring and debt rehabilitation plan. All of the previous TT&T and Maxnet Internet customers were transferred to 3BB.

Wireless Internet

Advance Info Service (AIS)	GPRS, EDGE, UMTS/HSDPA 3.5G	Up to 3.1 Mbit/s	UMTS/HSDPA 3.5G is available in limited areas: Chiang Mai, Chon Buri and Ratchaprasong Area in Bangkok on the 900 MHz band.
DTAC	GPRS, EDGE, UMTS/HSDPA 3.5G	Up to 7.2 Mbit/s	Mobile Internet services recently underwent heavy rebranding as ‘DTAC Internet’. UMTS/HSDPA 3.5G is available to a select group of 2000 users for testing on the 850 MHz band
True	GPRS, EDGE, UMTS/HSDPA 3.5G, Wi-Fi	Up to 7.2 Mbit/s	UMTS/HSDPA 3.5G is available in inner Bangkok areas on the 850 MHz band to all users free of charge during current testing period. True has the largest coverage of over 15,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in Bangkok. This boost has been coupled with the Bangkok Green Wifi project, covering many outdoor areas on main roads.
TOT	UMTS/HSDPA 3.5G, Wi-Fi	Up to 14.4 Mbit/s	UMTS/HSDPA 3.5G coverage is Bangkok and vicinity on the 2100 MHz band
CAT Telecom	3G CDMA EVDO	Up to 3.1 Mbit/s	Coverage is non-central 51 provinces
Hutch	CDMA2000 1xRTT and 3G CDMA EVDO	Up to 153 kbit/s (for 1xRTT) and 3.1 Mbit/s (for EVDO)	Coverage in 25 central provinces; coverage is mostly 1xRTT except for some areas in Bangkok, Chon Buri and Hua Hin.
iMobile 3Gx	HSDPA 3.5G	Up to 7.2 Mbit/s	UMTS/HSDPA 3.5G coverage is Bangkok and vicinity on the 2100 MHz band. Currently offering 3G services on TOT 3G’s network. The network is run by Samart.
iKool 3G	HSDPA 3.5G	Up to 7.2 Mbit/s	UMTS/HSDPA 3.5G coverage is Bangkok and vicinity on the 2100 MHz band. Currently offering 3G services on TOT 3G’s network. The network is run and operated by Loxley.
Mojo 3G	HSDPA 3.5G	Up to 7.2 Mbit/s	UMTS/HSDPA 3.5G coverage is Bangkok and vicinity on the 2100 MHz band. Currently offering 3G services on TOT 3G’s network. The network is run and operated by Mconzult.

Internet ADSL Broadband High Speed in Bangkok and Thailand

Rights to operate as an Internet service provider in Thailand are granted by the NTC (National Telecommunications Council).

Most of broadband Internet access in Thailand is offered through ADSL technology. Previously before 2002, broadband Internet access was offered at more than 25,000 Baht a month for a typical speed of 256 kbit/s. Later in 2002, TOT sparked a low-cost broadband Internet war that caused rapid growth in broadband Internet demands and has changed the way all the ISPs operate. With a ground-breaking price for an unlimited 256 kbit/s, TOT gained its popularity among online gamers in Thailand. However, TOT was unable to provide services to the majority of people in Bangkok due to the fact that half of the fixed line telephone system was operated by Telecom Asia Co.,Ltd (now known as True Corp) under a concession. At the same time, Asia InfoNet has started its own ADSL service with a “free online game airtime” strategy since they also operate Ragnarok Online, the most famous online game at that time. Outside of Bangkok, TT&T teamed up with CAT Telecom to provide unlimited 2 Mbit/s ADSL service after three months of operation.

It is commonly believed that the popularity of online gaming at that time was the ignition for the demands of broadband Internet in Thailand.

Most broadband Internet users in Thailand complain about the ISPs not being able to provide the speeds they promised. Many Internet service providers have high contention ratios on home ADSL packages, sometimes up to 1:50. There was also limited international bandwidth due to CAT Telecom being the sole provider of international Internet gateway, but this has improved since the liberalization of Internet gateway operations in 2005. At that time, most ISPs focus on expanding their domestic connections to accommodate online gaming demands. This led to a come-back of premium ADSL packages at a higher price point for premium home users and corporate customers. Although many users still argue that these packages will still not improve the international bandwitdh availability for home users. Internet service providers are usually also criticized for throttling BitTorrent traffic.

Recently, there were dramatic increases in international bandwidth after the NTC authorized more ISPs to set up their own international Internet gateways to cope with the growth in demand for contents requiring higher bandwidth.

Internet access in Thailand rates

In early 2009, Jasmine International launched ADSL services under the ‘3BB’ brand in major cities offering speeds up to 3 Mbit/s for 590 Baht. This prompted True Internet to expand their services to 8 Mbit/s from 5 Mbit/s and matched 3BB prices.

In mid 2009, 3BB offers minimum speed 4 Mbit/s for 590 Baht and expand their services from 8 Mbit/s to 10 Mbit/s 1,490 Baht / month, prompting True Internet to temporarily offer free upgrades for current 8 Mbit/s users to 12 Mbit/s. All of Maxnet’s customers were also transferred to 3BB as part of the TT&T debt rehabilitation plan proposed by the debt holders. As of October 2009, True offers speeds up to 16 Mbit/s.

TOT and ADC have a local loop unbundling agreement allowing for ADC to provide ADSL services on TOT phone lines. Since most telephone wires in major cities are still on poles and not underground, there is no limit to how many phone lines can enter a building. This has prompted for many Internet service providers to offer DSL services without any phone services. A new wire is simply run to the premises requiring the service, bypassing the need for any further local loop unbundling agreements.

-Thailand News (TN)