Phuket Internet Services

Despite the Thai Government's stated intention to turn Phuket into a regional IT hub, Internet services in Phuket remain relatively basic and costly. However, costs are showing signs of decreasing even if connection speeds don't appear to be getting much faster.

Phuket currently has five types of internet access:

Dial-up 56k *
ADSL broadband *
Leased line
GPRS (mobile phone)
Satellite broadband

* For dial-up and ADSL, you will need a phone line, which is not always straightforward. (See telephone lines).

Dial-up 56k

Once you have a phone line, you can get connected by simply purchasing a pre-paid dial-up kit. These can be purchased from 7-Elevens, bookshops and computer shops. Dial-up kits will usually allow you a certain number of hours online, though there are also those which give you unlimited number of hours within a specified timeframe, such as 2 weeks or 1 month. You can also pay a monthly fee to an Internet Service Provider. These also can be for a certain number of hours per month or unlimited.

ADSL Broadband

If you want something a bit faster than ordinary dial-up, you can get ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) Broadband. To be able to use ADSL, you must be in an area that has ADSL coverage. You also need to sign up with an ISP which offers ADSL and buy or rent an ADSL modem. Connection speeds vary from 128kbps to 2mbps downstream.

You tend to get what you pay for, so a 1mbps ADSL connection which costs 1,000 Baht with one ISP, might work out the same or slower than a 256kbps connection that costs about the same. This can be due to a number of factors, though contention ratios are probably the most significant. Contention ratios is the ratio of the number of users who are on the same line and share the available network bandwidth. So if you have a high contention ratio you could end up with a very slow connection, if a lot of users are online at the same time.

Leased Line

This is normally only a viable option for businesses as it is rather expensive and unnecessary for home users. The advantages of a leased line are that you don't share your connection with anyone else and therefore get a guaranteed bandwidth. You also get a static IP (Internet Protocol) Address, which is necessary if you want to host your own mail server. Most of the major ISPs offer leased lines, though as with ADSL, location may be a limiting factor in availability.

GPRS

If you live in an area where its difficult to get a telephone line you might want to consider using a mobile phone to connect to the internet. GPRS provides an “always on” connection, with speeds comparable to normal dial-up. You will of course need to connect your mobile to your computer. Methods include using a proprietary data transfer cable, bluetooth or infrared. All the main mobile phone operators provide GPRS as an additional package to your monthly subscription.

Satellite Broadband

The main advantage of satellite broadband is that because you connect via satellite, you are not limited by geographical constraints. If you live in an area without phone lines, this is currently your only option of getting online. (You can of course use GPRS via your mobile phone but its not really a viable option if you plan to do a lot of surfing). The downside is that its not cheap, and at the moment only CSLoxinfo are offering it as their IPStar package.

Internet Service Providers

They provide services like internet access, domain name registration and hosting, dial-up access, ADSL broadband access, leased lines and colocation.

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