Thailand has three national companies from which to choose:

True Move, Dtac, and AIS

Note:  Dtac prepaid is often called Dprompt, AIS Prepaid is often called 1-2-Call.

Charge Rates and Options

The 1 baht per minute payment-method is cheaper than paying by the kilobyte downloaded. All three providers offer prepay as an option. True Move only offer billing by the kilobyte downloaded and not by the minute.

For the cost conscious the best method is to go on line, download e-mails, the news and whatever else, go off line to write e-mails, and then go back on line to send. With careful use, costs can be kept to an absolute minimum. To use this method, download your e-mails by using Outlook Express. Outlook Express is designed as an email package and comes as part of Windows, so make full use of it!

AIS

AIS now offer three Pre-Pay packages. Three of the options are 30 baht per month for 4 hours, 50 baht per month for 10 hours or 200 baht per month for 60 hours. The 60 hours per month plan (2 hours per day) works out at 0.06 baht per minute and is very good value for money. The SIM is easy to configure, too: add 200 baht of credit using an ordinary voice top-up card, dial *138 and follow the instructions.

If you go over the 60 hours then you will be charged at 1 baht per minute. If you do not want to sign up for post pay and you intend to use the internet for more than 2 hours per day then there is always the option of buying two SIM's and having up to 4 hours per day at 0.06 baht per minute. At the time of writing, this offer will give subscribers the cheapest pre-pay terms and conditions, by far.

Pre pay is ideal for anyone who stays in Thailand for a few months, goes back to their home country for a while and then returns for more holiday later in the year. The pre-pay card can be charged with credit as and when it is needed, and allowed to run down to zero credit just prior to leaving Thailand.

An example of AIS's post-pay deal is the 400 hours contract for 900 baht per month. Four hundred hours works out at nearly 13 hours per day, this is probably ample for most people. The rate per minute is 0.03 baht.

Until late 2005 AIS had a GPRS network that failed to perform as well as it could, downloading and uploading seemed to take ages, the network often seemed to freeze up in the middle of downloading a page and generally the service was less than satisfactory.

The situation has now changed dramatically for the better, AIS has spent $US 30 million between January and July 2005 upgrading their GPRS network. Siemens Mobile undertook the work. The result is that download / upload rates are very much improved, the service is free from all its previous faults, and we are pleased to be able to recommend AIS to users all across Thailand.

True Move (formaly Orange)

"Unlimited-use contracts" on a post-pay basis are available if you are a heavy user and can also meet the provider's criteria. True Move need a copy of your passport and a copy of your work permit. If you do not have a work permit then you can't have the contract. If you want to go with True Move then there is always the possibility of putting all the paperwork in your (Thai) girlfriend's name.

The True Move post-pay contract, as well as offering unlimited use for GPRS, also offers the use of free WiFi at any McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). GPRS coverage with True Move is very good and the package costs 1500 baht per month. I have recently heard that MacDonald's and KFC have not had WiFi installed yet. Still, if you have a W/LAN card and also like fast food then it might be worth bearing in mind for the future.

You can also buy a pre paid card for 200 baht. You can make calls inside Thailand and overseas. Key 009 then your international number. You can make calls to most Western destinations. The international call rate is 20 baht per minute.

Dtac

For prepay users, the Dtac tariff is 1 baht per minute inside Thailand. Coverage is excellent, the service is reliable, and once the SIM has been configured for data, it can be used all across Thailand. As usual toping-up the SIM is straightforward, buy an ordinary voice top-up card in 7 Eleven and top up in the usual way.

Dtac offer an unlimited-use post-pay-contract for 1250 baht + VAT per month. The criteria are: copy of passport and a copy of your driving license, and or, work permit. European driving licenses are valid and can be used to apply for a Thai license at the relevant Government office without taking an additional test.

A motorcycle license qualifies, as well. Dtac are the obvious company to go for if you're living in Thailand but not working.

If you are staying in Pattaya then I would recommend the Dtac office in Big C Extra as the best place to apply for a post-pay package. The staff know how to process an application and everything should run smoothly.

Dtac also offer a prepaid service through http://www.happy.co.th
If you have a bank account in Thailand "Happy" is a very convenient service as you can top up your account via the internet.

True to form, Thailand offers very good value for money and the network is just as good, if not better than, the European equivalent.

Setting up your SIM card

Your data SIM has already been pre-configured to run on your PC Card. If you buy another SIM or leave Thailand for any length of time then you will have to do the pre-configuring again, yourself.

Dtac

If you buy a new Dtac SIM you will need to activate the number by putting the SIM in your phone and making a call. No less than three hours later you can phone the relevant technical support number and ask for GPRS to be switched on.

The following day you can phone again and ask for 1 baht per minute as the preferred payment method, if you have a prepay card. You will then need to wait 24 hours while this is put into operation. This is quite an involved procedure, unfortunately. The best number for contacting Dtac, at the moment, is: 0-22202-7000 or *1800 and 9 for English.

It is also worth mentioning that it's not a good idea to let the SIM run out of credit. Dtac have a habit of resetting the SIM to its default values. This means that you will then have to go through the procedure of phoning them up to have the SIM configured again.

AIS

Configuring a pre-pay SIM with AIS is a lot more straightforward: place the SIM in a mobile phone, dial *138 and follow the instructions. If you want to change packages then put the SIM back in the phone dial *138 again and follow the instructions.