If you're looking for an internet service provider in Thailand I have some anecdotal advice for you. Do not sign up to TT&T's MaxNet service.
The internet is generally inconsistent in Thailand at the best of times but for the last week or so I've had a mixture of intermitten usage and no access at all to sites hosted by blogger or wordpress - so most of the web's blogs. I've also had patchy and limited access to Wikipedia, YouTube, Twitter and a host of other mainstream websites.Incredibly frustrating and it has meant my postings to JF have been limited too.
From talking with Thai expats on Twitter (if you’re not on already, you really should be!) it's clear that MaxNet is to blame as other customers are experiencing these access problems.
One guy suggested that it might be linked to the current government crackdown on controversial websites, particularly in relation to the UDD (Red Shirt) protests - see here for details. I don’t believe this to be the case as, to the best of my knowledge, other ISPs are operating a regular service in spite of restrictions.
Bottom line, avoid MaxNet, which definitely doesn’t live up to its name, and spend your hard earned baht elsewhere.
[UPDATE: If you're interested in the internet, technology and social media check out my new blog over here.]
34 comments:
Jon sorry to hear about your Internet strife.
I have a TOT landline and their 100MB service(more like 56kbps some times)but generally very good.
I now know the local TOT engineer and on a couple of occasions he's helped me out.
Can't say I have noticed any access problems to certain sites.
Yep, Ive had indy for 7 months ..bottom line is, and they tell me every month "you should upgrade to premier sir". I could write a book on my grim saga with customer services and engineers on Maxnet but to cut short and give the latest probs:
2 days ago Salt Lake and Las Vegas pings at 280ms DL of 1.8MB and UL of 250KBPS. So that's ok and p2p Gaming no prob. Now pings 2000ms+, DL 180kbps and UL ...wait for it 20KBPS. No p2p anymore and web page loads slow so slow. Because i'm on indy? I don't think so.
The engineer came last Sunday and said "no cannot connect to IP114's on Indy" but hey I do often and it don't work. "I fix it" ..no he hasn't. Because i'm on indy? Nope
I ask Maxnet "why 222 better than 117?" No answer. Because i'm on indy? Don't think so.
Like I said, I could write a book ... I'm off to TOT soon. AVOID maxnet unless you want a several month long headache like me. Griddy.
I was looking on this page because I was having the problems described on this page but with TOT, so somebody adviced me MAXNET. Oh well, maybe it is just Thailand... after reading this I will probably not change.
Hi Mike, great to have someone you know. Thailand is a classic of example where connections are everything.
Anon1 - christ, I thought I had it bad but you've got/had some serious issues there. Glad to see you have a handle on how to control it though.
Anon2 - I make no apologies for saying that everyone should avoid MaxNet but you are right, the internet in Thailand is part of a broader issue of technology and infrastructure in the country.
Gawd, AVOID Maxnet like the plague. For the past week I have not downloaded email because it keeps cutting out. It is a waste of time talking to anyone at Maxnet as they are useless. When I first got the installation the engineers kept trying to connect my wireless laptop to my wireless router with a fat cable, until I cut it into pieces in front of them & got a professional to complete the installation. I am from Africa but Thailand is certainly far worse. Total incompetence, no way you can speak to anyone with authority or capability. It is like going back 20 years. No wonder the place is in a mess, no one is accountable for ANYTHING.
Hello, Griddy again ...well my saga continues with Maxnet ...here's the latest since last post 23rd April. Please believe me that all is true what i say.
I have phoned them 5 times, I have sent another 20 or so E-mails, I have been promised that the Customer Services Manager will call me ...He/She has not.
My major latest problem is IP assignment ..as you know it is 'dynamic assignment' so you get what they give you.
However, they have just added another IP that doesn't work 112.
So I'll break it down: 112 doesnt work with the www, 114 also the same and a Maxnet engineer told me at my house that I should not connect to 114 on an Indy package, 117 is slow and connects to only about 50% of the sites I want to access. But wait ...222 is fine 99% of the time.
So, whats my problem?, I can use the internet ...here's the problem: 222 is pretty much the last IP address you get assigned ..last thursday it took me 1 hour and 25 minutes to get on a 222 address (router off and on, and so on), tonight 28 minutes.
Thursday, after to and fro phonecalls: The customer services managers response via one of his/her underlings was 'sir, just switch your router off and on untill you get a 222 IP address'
WONDERFUL ANSWER: considering I have given them all this info and so has their engineer that there is a problem. It seems acceptable to Maxnet not to fix a problem or thay are too stupid to understand the problem.
It seems reasonable to Maxnet for me to sit here and switch my router off and on and so on for it seems like an eternity somtimes, because thet are incompetent, stupid and have no idea about the customers needs/or give a damn.
Bottom line: Maxnet is rubbish (polite term chosen here, I would really like to swear!). Don't sign up with them, they do not deserve a single Baht from anyone.
I AM OFF TO TOT, just like my friend 3oo metres away from mr who has vitrually no problems at all.
Sry for the rant, Griddy
Been here for 6 years, tried TOT, CAT, Maxnet, LoxInfo, True.
All of them garbage, they all work well for a while and then nothing but problems.
TTT is now getting very bad. Nothing to recommend, all horrible.
Will this situation ever change? I doubt it, not in a year, not in 5, not in 100...
The concept of service and liability just doesn't exist with these people. Never did and never will.
Griddy again, sry spoke too soon about praising 222 IP's. These are also now up the creek since 1.00AM Saturday morning. Connectivity poor and ping rates internationally very high and DL UL very low.
Just sent them an E-mail to icare@ttt.co.th (this is where you can complain LOL) and got the usual 'Postmaster failure delivery' notification back. This is also hilarious as you get this pretty much all the time outside office hours. I reckon they do this as they are flooded with enquiries/complaints ..probably the latter.
Oh well, as to above posts: TIT, I too have been here too long too to expect any better. Sad isn't it?
Just my thoughts:
1)Deliberate manipulation on int. traffic to get users onto premier? 2)oversubscription?
3)Poor infrastructure 'fon tok maa laew?'
4) Rajabhat computer degrees abound?
5)No idea how to be an ISP provider (maybe they should sell Kanom ...probably better suited to this)
Remember you crazy kids, try not to give Maxnet your money!GRIDDY
not agree !!!!
I Love it , i use Premier Package and never breakdown ,
i 've been use TOT , suck!!!
Been using Thai internet since the days of infancy (around 15 years ago), when it was only available in the universities. After that, I was one of the first few customers of ADSL (True's, then Asianet). It's really been hit and miss, mostly miss. I've been mostly with True, but that's not because of choice... True has the best BKK coverage by far. It's True or nothing in many areas, which means "really lousy" or "nothing". True has frequent network glitches... had one time when major sites (MSN, HP, etc) were unreachable, except by proxy, for months. Their performance is also iffy, going from great to godawful, but usually the latter. A lot of protocols also seem to not work, period.
Maxnet recently came to my area, and their premiere service is actually about the same price as True's normal service, so I'm giving it a try. User comments on Maxnet vs True (from Thais) have given Maxnet the thumbs up (maybe in a case of "bad vs worse", "bad" wins). CAT gets even better scores, although I guess that's because it has the smallest coverage area, hence less users.
If you want broadband nirvana, Thailand's not the place. Move to South Korea or Japan. There you'll enjoy cheap, good broadband, and pay US$5 for a bowl of noodle from a street vendor. Mind you, it'll be a *big* bowl.
Anon, very true, if I wanted super-duppa broadband with all the mod cons I'd have stayed in London.
All I need is a reliable connection for work and play - Maxnet is usually good but is prone to suffering major connection issues every two/three months which frustrate me no end.
I'm not in BKK so my experience of various ISPs will be different to many of the posters. Maxnet remains my best option as I'm close to the switch/hub here in Saraburi.
Incidentally, the noodles bowls at my favourite Vietnamese in London easy rival the best of Thailand, in terms of taste. Price-wise they at least ten times more expensive though.
Sorry, I have got to disagree.
I had TOT for several years starting at their basic package and gradually moving up to their SME package.
The SME package was very good for a month. Then it changed and couldn't even stream youtube. I gave up and moved to Maxnett, the only other provider in my area.
I changed to their Premier package 3MB D/L 1MB U/L. It gives good international up and down loads and has a constant ping to Japan, America and Hong Kong.
However, they did give me a router that couldn't manage the 1MB upload just 512kb. Luckily I had my own!
I have had it for 3 months now and have not run into any problems.
As for customer service, I found the ladies in the TOT office very friendly and helpful. Mind you it never improved my connection!!
As for Maxnett customer service, I 'm hoping I don't have to find out.
TT&T Premier here in Pattaya is working perfect ! 99% uptime.. and very good int. speed ! Im dl 340kb/s on torrents all time . . But im moving to BKK and there no TT&T there did the office say to me... so im going to ADC buddy 4/4mbits . ., 1800 THB..sounds good.
I have a Premier 3mb/1mb service, I also pay an extra 500baht not to share with anyone else locally, up until a month ago it was excellent (using for almost 3 years), regularly downloading P2P at over 300K a second. That has now all changed and over the last week, nearly impossible to stream from You tube etc.Engineer came over because I was experiencing DSL disconnects, that's now fixed but HTTP access is horribly slow. The engineer told me they have server problems in Korat which is causing the delays. Contacted the 1103 help desk to complain for the last 2 days, no response yet. I will be with holding payment this month until the problem is resolved.
Firstly...
If you are on INDY and complaining...
SERVES you right you damn "cheap charlies"... You breed cheapness everywhere and bitch and moan like there is no tomorrow. Those that are on Premier, tend not to complain so much as they "invested" their baht for a better service. Unfortunately, there is now some issues with the company itself, which is nothing new as it happens in OZ all the time.
To all you whining cheap charlies... Serves you right !!!
I use MaxNet (Premium) from Chiang Mai - 4 Mb line with wireless router. Needed a new line put in (telephone is with TOT) just for the ADSL - had no problems with connection, though there are the following issues:
MaxNet (TT&T) are into url hijacking, by that I mean there was some real problems earlier this year when trying to access Google.com services as MaxNet forced a reroute to Google.co.th - fine for searches and makes some sense given its a local server. However, other services are only hosted on .com and these were broken. After many complaints this was 'fixed' (Google itself got in on the act) - reports are that Hotmail services was likewise.
The other issue is with international sites. It si very commong to get apge not found errors and after 2 or 3 refreshes of the page, they are found - I don't know if the DNS servers are timing out Thai side waiting to get down that stupidly thin international pipe or what (may not even be caused by MaxNet!) - but it can be really frustrating at times.
I have tried most of the TH services one way or another and use a leased line at the office. They all suffer routing issues during busy times and it all down to lack of investment. Thai internet is trying to get 1000 litres/second down a 10mm pipe which of course is normal practice in Thai plumbing. Until a decent backbone arrives its not going to change.
Maxion Phipps (Orange Telecoms)
CyberHippie, why shouldn't people complain even with the indy basic service! have you not heard of the concept that when you pay for something, ANYTHING, we expect it to do what it's supposed to do. In this case b****y work. The price we pay for it is irrelevant!
Hi Guys
I agree 100%. I switched from TOT to TT&T. What a disaster! TT&T sucks! They must be competing against each other to deliver bad service and slow internet connections. I have the Indy package and for the first month everything worked OK..then the problems started. Slow connection speeds even at 5am in the morning and complaining to the help center is just a waste of time. I received messages too from TT&T on my mobile. Foreigners should upgrade to the premium package. What a scam to make more money and deliver bad service.Lame excuses and no solutions. Can't we submit a letter of complaint to the local newspapers? But then of course..we are farang so why should they care.
MAXNET..SLOWNET!!
I used to have a loxinfo dial up connection with my old 56k modem and switched to maxnet ADSL "highspeed". Now I am in the position, that, when I want to connect to my bank in Switzerland, I have to wait sometimes for 20 minutes or more just to bring their homepage up! Sometimes it is not working at all.
Then I am using my loxinfo dial up connection again and, what a miracle, it works! slow, but at least reliable! I had the maxnet engineers here, which tried to help in telling me, that my telephone lines are not thick enough! what a joke... As I read all the other comments I realize that these people try to get as much customers as possible and they do not care about the service. Unfortunately I made a contract for one year.
My advice: Do not subscribe to maxnet!!!
I used to have a loxinfo dial up connection with my old 56k modem and switched to maxnet ADSL "highspeed". Now I am in the position, that, when I want to connect to my bank in Switzerland, I have to wait sometimes for 20 minutes or more just to bring their homepage up! Sometimes it is not working at all.
Then I am using my loxinfo dial up connection again and, what a miracle, it works! slow, but at least reliable! I had the maxnet engineers here, which tried to help in telling me, that my telephone lines are not thick enough! what a joke... As I read all the other comments I realize that these people try to get as much customers as possible and they do not care about the service. Unfortunately I made a contract for one year.
My advice: Do not subscribe to maxnet!!!
I have maxnet indy service, was searching for other providers when i saw this forum. I must say i cannot log on to my internet bank in Australia, it always times out... As im an IT majoring in Network Security Student at Monash University, he comes the real problem, uploading assignments have constantly given me dramas... But not all the blamn can be placed on maxnet when acessesiong some sites. there is more to the internet than maxnet, conjestion at the server of the page you loading wether it be from thier lack of bandwidth and popularity of the site.. this gives me problems at smaller sites.. i never have problems with large sites such as google, youtube, microsoft, asp.net... but the issues with my bank and university are due to timming out after the request is made, the internet basics are two processes, http_request and http_response. the differnce between when the request is made and the response time has always been an issue for me..
is this maxnets fault? well isps lease bandwidth the owner of the regions backbone, so justy how much bandwidth maxnet leases will have a bering on internet speed and number of users of the same ISP locale online the same time.. the countries internet gateway and various other nodes that make up the infastructure of the net all play apart in you DL or http_request and response time. other servers between u the client and the site you are wanting to view... with the abundance of dynamic sites using server side scripting such as PHP, asp, asp.net(.aspx) pages and datadriven also play a part in the speed of your request(many of these type of sites servers get bogged down)... so in retrospect alot factors depend on speed of your page loading...
dont get me wrong, it all begins with your conection to the internet thru your ISP and i beleive maxnets infastructure is inadequate for the number of suscribers...
well after all my ramblings, i will be switching to TOT or true but for now i have to stick with maxnet(living in the sticks of thailand lol doesnt help).. i go into mahachai or bangkok and just to do my banking and this is not aceptable for the money i pay each month to maxnet, i could also write a book on my probs with this ISP, if they get there act togther maybe i will stay with them but this is thailand, u never know what to expect..
best to all
Stuart
I live in Sa Kaeo province. Have Maxnet with very good quality untill a few days ago. We called three days and got different promises at every call. No action whatsoever, except a call to ask whether the problem had been solved. Finally I found the solution myself. Todat suddenly back to prehistoric speed.
I did a few tests with speedtest.net. Ping to Brussels
ping 526 (!)
download 0,02 Mbs (!!)
upload 0,04 Mbs (!!!)
sometimes it was so slow I had to put speedtest out of its misery.
HI you all. I live just on the outer edge of Bkk. On true 3 MBS for over a year. No prob 99.99 time great dload - 300 700 KBT upload. Service great, but I speak fluent Thai.
I used to call maxnet customer service officers to let them know the problems that i had, one thing that i always had:- I had to wait for those calls very long long time (they don't know yet what my package was because we didn't talk yet), and after c.s. received those calls, they always replied that we will let our technician to call you back asap. I had tried these kind of stupid things around 5-6 times, finally nobody from tt&t or maxnet called me back yet even one ?!?!?! How come? they dare to promise their customers inspite of they could not do anything?!?!? If the problem came from the customer uses the indy package which is cheapest, so service will be lousy absolutely according to the package! so it's serves the customers rights! fine! I recommend that the company should close the service of indy package and left only premier or higher.., don't be cheating people anymore of indy package quantity (how much money of people spend on this package?!?!?) It's lousy from the beginning, The problem had not been solved yet! How come the result?!?
many of my friends also told me not to use maxnet never and never.
Hey guys, yes indeed Maxnet or tt&t is a pest, call centers are tried to be operated by incompetend morrons, en the 1530 billing department is even worse.
The ping rate between BBK & Amsterdam is somewhere between 700&800 ms, and that is with the premier package, which they adviced me is the best for international connections so got knows what would be a better option to get REAL highspeed internet in this place.
TOT is slow mail therefore no option at all.
And beware, now they ,maxnet,promote more than 10mbps, but that is the same as the indy, it works only if you are the only one on the entire network, huh!
It has nothing to do with a crackdown on certain websites. It is due to the fact that they have throttled the international access to only 10% of what it was under the Thaksin government. They simply scrapped the information plan. I got to know it from some high up people within the CAT and the very same story was confirmed months later by an TOT director.
They are tight lipped about it because employees who are in the know have been more or less threatened with sacking if they would inform their customers. Upgrading to any other service would not make much sense, all services except for Shin Corp's IPSTAR meet the same fate. TOT is distributing IPSTAR too, but they oversell their bandwidth with a factor 20, it is much cheaper than the service from Shin itself but it will not help you much.
About the reason of the fact that the overseas connection has been throttled, this just seem to be an financial reason, nothing more nothing less, although any conspiracy theory will do.
3BBB, TTT or Maxnet, it took me weeks to figure out what is what and its all the same. I sigend up due to their promotion at my condo for 3MB (previusoly at True 1MB for 500baht more), thought that was a great deal. Now after 4 weeks, i have neither received my contract, my customer/ account number or a working line, although the internet has been installed. Without a customer number, they dont answer your complaints. So I have had my line registered under my mobile number to at least, so i hoped, receive a ticket for assistance, nobody ever called back. The technical manager from my condo finnaly tried to help me called the technician in for 3 times trying to fix my line as I neither can use my VOIP, cant get access to my own server in Europe or to up or dowload my mails and cannot get online banking working. The technician, did the speedtest and showed me 3MB, when I did the same with my iPhone and a WiFi speedtest i am getting 100KB. I have run out of explainations and patience, in the process cancelling the contract and trying to get my True back. So keep the fingers off 3BBB! I can only disagree with CyberHippy, what BS is he talking about with premium/ indy package. If I am getting an offer of 3MB, i certainly assume that the line works as anticipated, what difference whould a premium 3MB or and indy 3MB package be, 3MB is 3MB,one must assume? Or did I not listen to the sales rep who eventiually told me that the premium package is the real deal and the indy is the scam package?
yes the indie service is a shared bandwidth connection as im lead to beleive. theres the problem in a hat
I agree, over the past 5 years TT&T has cost my company countless baht in lost contracts due to connection failures. Granted, I live on Samui and most of the fault is with the incompetence of the local technicians. However, TT&T has had 5 years to sort that out and have done nothing.
After my most recent 4 day without service stint, I am switching to another provider. Screw TT&T!
i get 5 minutes connection then nothing for 10 minutes all day every day
there must be better,
i signed up for 12 months are they going to try and make me pay when i cancell tomorrow
What other option is there? ToT is even worse then TT&T. I'm on a "Premier" 3mb package and every other week I'm calling support due to slow speeds. One tech told me to get a special 10k baht line, you can imagine the kind response I had for that idea.
Post a Comment