Getting connected

Internet services in Chiang Mai

Getting on to the net in Chiang Mai is relatively easy; however, you may want to check out your options first. There are internet cafés all over the city, most costing 20 to 30 baht an hour (depending on the speed of their connection); all have ADSL (broadband), and the more expensive ones usually have good, fast computers and networks, but the more users in the café, the slower it can get. Furthermore the entire network slows down after 3.30pm with the additional load of school children playing games on line (a chronic problem). However, it is just as easy to get connected in your apartment or house by simply picking up a pre-paid card and dialling into the ISP using your phone line.

Most will find the old dial up method unbearably slow but if you would rather not pay to get ADSL installed in your temporary place of abode, then you should make sure you have direct, unsuspended, telephone access to the network (as apposed to via condo switchboard that charges by the minute or cuts you off every 15 minutes to free up lines). If you have a laptop it’s easier to buy a usb plug-in wireless receiver and sit in coffeeshops like Starbucks and Wawee which are usually free or have pre-paid access cards.

Getting ADSL installed in your new pad (if it doesn’t have it already), is a bit of a riddle. There are three main service companies, TOT, TTT (Maxnet) and True, and all three under deliver and are oversubscribed. Unfortunately (relative to efficient economies of scale in developed countries), broadband service here is poor value for money. The basic packages are 1000 baht for 1mb per second but you rarely get this and in some instances they only guarantee this speed from sites hosted in Thailand! They offer business packages for roughly 3000 baht which are supposedly not overloaded but we’ve found these also slow right down after 3.30pm when the kids all come home and jump on the gaming sites.

Ultimately it depends on which area you are in, and some businesses resort to subscribing to two lines as backup and to guarantee fast speeds. Other packages offer higher speeds for more monthly fees, but none are relatively good value. However, there is no bandwidth limitation on download per month. This ADSL penetration has reached the edges of the City District of Chiang Mai, and other pockets that are populated with a critical mass of those who can afford broadband. It’s rather hit and miss, so check first before renting or buying a place. Ask your neighbours who the supplier is in your area and then contact their offices. You might have to wait up to a month for a technician to arrive and install it. Expect it fail fairly regularly after that.

Apparently they are slowly expanding the footprint of reach, but True have announced they will not lay any more cable, preferring to wait for a wi-max licence (same as wifi, but covering a whole city). However, the standard industry broadcast frequency for this is already allocated to the military and it’s unclear when they will release it for public benefit. Don’t expect wi-max to arrive much before 2009.

A final option is IPStar, offered by CS-loxinfo, which is now owned by True. It’s a unique system which relies on a satellite receiver dish and transponder to receive and send extra-terrestrial signals and requires hardware and an expensive installation fee (15,000 baht unless they offer one of their frequent specials). However it’s speeds a limited to 500 kb/p/s and it can be unreliable with delays in servicing.

None of the internet services in Chiang Mai are particularly reliable, and even then they all rely on a single supply cable from Bangkok managed by CAT. When they have problems and the whole city is affected, they are unapologetic, no refunds or compensation or contingency plan is offered. The Thais simple deal with it like everything else and say ‘mai pen rai’ (never mind). Therefore, relying on broadband services here for doing business can be testing.