Cellphone Internet
- By letgothailandexpatdemo
Once you are settled in Thailand, in fact, one of the first things you may consider doing, is to get a local Thai cell phone and home internet.
There has been much consolidation of the telecom industry in Thailand over the past decade, and there are now only two major players in the market; AIS, and TRUE. While the pricing between the two options is very similar, most people in Bangkok and Thailand in general will tell you that AIS has superior coverage.
A few things to consider:
Prices are much cheaper than in the West, especially the U.S. You can expect to pay no more than 3,500 THB/month in total for two cellphone wireless plans, and basic home internet. It is best to purchase your devices outright, and then pay the monthly service fee. You don’t need hundreds and hundreds of talk minutes in Thailand; most people use the Line Application (similar to WhatsApp), or WhatsApp to communicate, which use data as opposed to carrier minutes. A few hundred talk minutes per month should be sufficient unless you are conducting conference calls for work regularly.
When you travel outside of Thailand, you can get international SIM cards for your country destination from these providers, which will function from one-week to 30-days while you are travelling. This will help to keep costs down and keep your Thai SIM secure from hacking when abroad.
It is best to go to a major store location to sign up. For example, in Bangkok, one option is Central Ladphrao Mall, to get the most selection of devices, as opposed to smaller kiosk locations. Home Internet service can also be signed up for at the Wireless store.
Service is very reliable in Thailand, generally.
You can pay your bill in person each month, or sign up for auto debit if you provide a Thai credit card or debit card, but must have a Thai Tax ID to do so at AIS. You will get an SMS each month stating your bill balance, so it’s not a big hassle to pay manually each month either in-store or through your local Thai bank mobile banking app.
You will need your Passport and rental agreement/contract showing your home address to sign up for service.