Free Broadband ADSL upgrade on TOT

Since arriving in Thailand my Internet access has been a 512/256kb/s ADSL connection provided by TOT. TOT provide access to the entire campus (well, at least the dorms), so theres not much choice. Over the first 6 months the connection didn't seem to good (although maybe a combination of the modem problems), often having trouble to connect, and sometimes very low speeds. But the second 6 months it has been ok. Maybe once every few weeks there seems to be a problem for a few hours meaning no Internet access. But the speed has been generally ok. Well, at least within Thailand - international Internet access speed is more like 100 to 200kb/s (as opposed to 400kb/s in Thailand), I think mainly due to the limited international connections going out of Thailand. The Thai national electronics research organisation NECTEC has some excellent statistics and network maps for more details. About 1 month ago (around September/October 2007) I noticed a considerable improvement in speeds. After digging around on some forums I found out that TOT had upgraded users to the next level. I went from a 512kb/s plan to a 1Mb/s plan for the same price of 700 Baht. Cool! The current measured speeds are (at 10:30pm on Sunday night in Thailand - some more speed tests for comparison are at the bottom of this page):

• Within Thailand (tested via ADSLThailand): 1243kbps download; 401kbps upload
• To San Francisco (tested via Speakeasy): 166kbps download; 377kbps upload
• To Adelaide (tested via Speedtest): 110kbps download; 148kbps upload
• To Singapore (tested via Speedtest): 708kbps download; 404kbps upload
• To Frankfurt (tested via Speedtest): 142kbps download; 257kbps upload

As you can see, there is a big difference for international access. The good news for me is:

1. The most bandwidth hungry downloads I do are for Linux, mainly Ubuntu updates. NECTEC run a Ubuntu mirror so most times I can download at the full speed of 1200kbps.
2. Upload access on the international links is not too bad (compared to download). That means for people access this website, the speeds should be tolerable.

Sure, the speeds do not compare to ADSL2/2+ speeds in many places, but for a developing country and the price of 700 Baht, I am satisfied. I just need to learn to read Thai a bit faster so I can access all the Thai websites!

More Speed Tests

From work (SIIT Bangkadi) at 8:30am on Monday 5 November 2007:

• Within Thailand (tested via ADSLThailand): 3325kbps download; 4018kbps upload
• To San Francisco (tested via Speakeasy): 2057kbps download; 47kbps upload
• To Adelaide (tested via Speedtest): 1819kbps download; 35kbps upload
• To Frankfurt (tested via Speedtest): 1540kbps download; 544kbps upload

From home (Thammasat Asian Games Dorm) at 6:00pm on Saturday 16 February 2008:

• Within Thailand (tested via ADSLThailand): 1297kbps download; 421kbps upload
• To San Francisco (tested via Speakeasy): 175kbps download; 112kbps upload
• To Adelaide (tested via Speedtest): 206kbps download; 64kbps upload
• To Singapore (tested via Speedtest): 1306kbps download; 208kbps upload
• To Frankfurt (tested via Speedtest): 151kbps download; 82kbps upload

Created on Mon, 05 Nov 2007, 12:26am

Last changed on Sat, 16 Feb 2008, 7:37pm