Internet in Thailand

As of 2004, there are 11,900,000 internet users in Thailand, of whom 570,000 have broadband access. [cite news|url=http://www.mict.go.th/Download/report.pdf |date=May 10, 2007 |title=National ICT Benchmarking Study |publisher=Ministry of ICT]

Broadband Internet is readily available in major cities and towns, but is still to be sought after in smaller villages and in the countryside. As the statistics have shown, the majority of internet users in Thailand still rely on dial-up access. TOT operates a nationwide local rate number, 1222, allowing dialing to most internet service providers for only 3 Baht/call. Dial-up prepaid internet packs can be readily bought in convenience stores such as 7-11, Family Mart and Tesco Lotus Express for approximately 150-400 Baht/month for unlimited access depending on the provider. Subscribers of fixed telephone lines by True Corporation have access to dial up internet for 9 Baht/hour simply by dialing up to a certain number then being billed along with the telephone bill at the end of every billing cycle. [ [http://www.trueinternet.co.th/p_consumer_easyinternet.htm True Easy Internet Product Page] ]

The majority of broadband internet access uses Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL). Some areas are covered by Cable Modems and G.shdsl. Prices for consumer broadband internet access varies from 99 Baht/month to 2400 Baht/month, with the speed ranging from 128 kbit/s to 5 Mbit/s. Medium and large businesses use Leased Lines or Ethernet Internet/MPLS where fiber optic cables link many office buildings in the central business district areas such as Sukhumvit, Silom and Sathorn areas to the Thailand Internet backbone. Universities have access to fast internet access, including the Trans-Eurasia Information Network (TEIN2) research network.

There are initiatives to offer FTTH (Fiber to the Home) providing connectivities of up to 100 Mbit/s bundled with IPTV and VoIP, but this has yet to materialize.

Thailand saw a rapid growth in the number of broadband users in 2005 with the initiation of unmetered broadband in 2004. [ [http://ipcommunications.tmcnet.com/news/2006/mar/133812.htm Thailand: Rapid Growth in Broadband Use] ]

There are 938,784 Internet hosts in Thailand being the highest in South East Asia. [ [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2184rank.html CIA World Factbook: Internet Hosts] ]

Internet Service Providers

There are a total of 20 internet service providers in Thailand. Rights to operate as an internet service provider in Thailand are granted by the NTC (National Communication Committee). [ [http://www.cat.net.th/isp/ ISP List by CAT Telecom] ]

Most of broadband internet access in Thailand is offered through ADSL technology. Previosuly before 2002, broadband internet access is offered at more than 25000 Baht a month for a typical speed of 256 kbit/s. Later in 2002, TOT has sparked a low-cost broadband internet war that caused rapid growth in broadband internet demands and has changed the way all the ISPs operate. With a ground-breaking price of only 500 Baht a month for an unlimited 256 kbit/s, TOT has gained its popularity amongst online gamers in Thailand. However, TOT was unable to provide services to majority of the people in Bangkok due to the fact that half of the fixed line telephone system was operated by Telecom Asia Co.,Ltd (now known as True Corp). After three months of operation, TT&T has teamed up with CAT Telecom and provide unlimited 2 Mbit/s ADSL service for only 999 Baht a month while at the same time, Asia InfoNet has started its own ADSL service with a "free online game airtime" strategy since they also operate Ragnarok Online, the most famous online game at that time.

Most of the early users of the broadband internet service in Thailand usually complained about the ISPs not being able to provide the bandwidth they promised. The problem was because of the hidden fact that certain number the broadband internet subscribers are actually sharing the same bandwidth pipeline. Some of the ISPs even had the share ratio of 1 pipeline for 50 subscribers. (Let's say there are 50 subscribers subscribe for a 2 Mbit/s package sharing the same 2 Mbit/s room). There was also a bottleneck of international internet access at CAT's international internet gateway (Thailand's only internet gateway at that time). At that time, most ISPs focus on expanding their domestic connections to accommodate online gaming demands. This led to a come-back of premium ADSL packages at a higher price point for premium home users and corporate customers.

It's pretty easy to say that the popularity of online gaming at that time was the ignition for the demands of broadband internet in Thailand.

Nowadays, all these problems have increased since ISPs have made little improvement on both their domestic and international connections. As a result, more and more customers are now unsatisfied with their service. The prices of other premium high-speed internet packages have been lowered to an affordable price (for as low as 1,200 Baht/month for a guaranteed speed of 1 Mbit/s). However, ISPs are criticized for throttling BitTorrent traffic.

Recently, there was a dramatic increase in international bandwidths after the NTC was allowed to authorize more ISPs to set up their own international internet gateways to supply the growth in demand for P2P and online video streaming.

# [http://www.trueinternet.co.th True Internet] (formerly: [http://www.asianet.co.th Asia InfoNet] ) - True Internet provides a wide range of internet services including traditional dial-up, ADSL (from 128 kbit/s to 5 Mbit/s), Cable Modem, G.shdsl/SDSL, leased line, MPLS and Wi-Fi. True is now using both its own international internet gateway and CAT's international internet gateway.
# [http://www.csloxinfo.com CS Loxinfo] - CS Loxinfo is part of the Shin Corporation telecommunications conglomerate. It also provides a wide range of internet services including traditional dial-up, ADSL (from 256 kbit/s to 4 Mbit/s), G.shdsl/SDSL, leased line and satellite (IPStar). CS LoxInfo, the largest Internet service provider in Thailand , is committed to provide top-quality products and services to facilitate your complete online experiences. We offer a comprehensive range of products to seamlessly fulfill the unique residence, education, and business needs. The high-performing networks of both the satellite and fiber-optic systems supports fast access and reliable connectivity across Thailand.
# TOT - TOT operates free dial-up internet services to all their fixed line telephone customers through 1222 internet dial-up number. TOT is also expanding their broadband internet services especially in provincial areas since the company owns almost all of the fixed line telephone infrastructure in the areas. TOT has launched an affordable broadband internet service for as low as 500 Baht a month through ADSL (from 256 kbit/s to 4Mbit/s). TOT is now using both its own international gateway and CAT's. TOT also offers: Satellite/Leased Line
# CAT Telecom - CAT offers only 2Mbit/s cable or ADSL service for fixed home users called Hi-Net. CAT is also authorized by the National Telecommunications Committee (NTC) to fully operate 3G CDMA networks through the country, one of its plan is also to provide wireless internet service through CDMA. CAT also offers: G.shdsl/Leased Line
# [http://www.maxnet.co.th Maxnet] - Maxnet is a brand operated by TT&T. Unlike other ISPs, it focuses more on provincial customers since they do not have broadband internet coverage in Bangkok which is mostly dominated by True Corp. Maxnet is the most important counterpart of TOT, offering similar broadband internet packages at almost the same prices. TT&T also offers leased line for corporate customers and recently Wi-Fi hotspots in Bangkok and unlimited dial-up service for as low as 170 Baht a month. TT&T has its own international internet gateway. Recently, TT&T has sparked another price war by introducing 2 Mbit/s service for 590 Baht a month. It has also launched its Bangkok network through "TripleT" brand.
# [http://www.buddybb.net Buddy Broadband] - Operated by Advance Datanetwork Communications (ADC). Buddy Broadband (commonly known as BuddyBB) is offering internet access only through ADSL technology. Unlike other ISPs, BuddyBB has integrated its internet service with IPTV service. The other difference is that BuddyBB has only the connection speed of 2 Mbit/s but with only 256 kbit/s for international connections for its cheapest package. The higher-end package will only upgrade the international connection speed. Full BuddyBB service with IPTV is only available in Bangkok and nearly provinces, however, it also operate its ADSL internet service in major cities such as Chiang Mai and Phuket with different packages and pricing through resellers. Surprisingly, they are able to offer higher speed up to 8 Mbit/s in Chiang Mai.
# [http://www.inet.co.th Internet Thailand] - Dial-up/ADSL/Leased Line/Wi-Fi
# [http://www.pacific.net.th Pacific Internet] - Dial-up/ADSL/G.shdsl/Leased Line
# [http://www.ji-net.co.th Jasmine Internet] - Dial-up/ADSL/Leased Line
# [http://www.ksc.net.th KSC Internet] - Dial-up/ADSL/Leased Line/Wi-Fi; owned by True Corporation but branded for the upper-end market.
# [http://www.isp-thailand.com ISSP] - Dial-up/ADSL/Leased Line
# [http://www.samartsdsl.com Samart] - Dial-up/ADSL/G.shdsl/Leased Line
# [http://www.anet.net.th A-Net] - Dial-up/ADSL/Leased Line
# [http://www.otaro.co.th Otaro] / [http://www.win.co.th|World InterNetwork] - Dial-up/ADSL/G.shdsl/Leased Line/Gigabit Internet
# [http://www.proen.co.th Proen Internet] - Dial-up/ADSL/G.shdsl
# Far East Internet
# Reach Thailand
# Chomanan WorldNet
# KIRZ Internet
# Thai-Fi
# WorldWeb

True Internet holds the largest share of the broadband market since the company has one of the largest telecommunications infrastructure in Bangkok. This includes the fixed landline telephone and cables for True Visions cable TV service.

Internet Backbones

International Gateways

There are six international internet gateway operators in Thailand.

* International Internet Gateway (IIG-CAT) by CAT Telecom
* International Internet Gateway (IIG-TOT) by TOT
* True Internet Gateway (IIG-TIG) by True Internet Gateway Co., Ltd (Subsidiary of True Corporation)
* ADC International Internet Gateway (IIG-ADC) by Advance Datanetwork Communications Co., Ltd (Subsidiary of Shin Corporation)
* TT&T Thailand Global Network (IIG-TTGN) by TT&T
* CS Loxinfo International Internet Gateway (IIG-CSL) by CS Loxinfo (Subsidiary of Shin Corporation)

True Corporation and Shin Corporation were granted Type II International Internet Gateway and Internet Exchange Service License from the NTC (National Telecommunication Committee) in 2005. CAT Telecom holds the largest share of the market. [ [http://202.44.204.43/internetmap/view.php?filename=inetmap092007.gifNECTEC IIR Current Internet Map] ]

International & Domestic Bandwidth

Thailand has a total international internet bandwidth of 30,726 Mbit/s (June 2008). [ [http://internet.nectec.or.th/webstats/bandwidth.iir?Sec=bandwidth NECTEC IIR Current Internet Map] ]

Thailand domestic internet bandwidth is significantly higher at 216,960 Mbit/s (June 2008). This is because of an increase in provision of local contents. Internet users in Thailand usually get maximum speed of their connection to content providers within Thailand with very minimum ping of 10-50ms but a speed of 70% or less for international connection with higher pings of 70-400ms.

Domestic Internet Exchange

There are 7 domestic internet exchange points in Thailand.

* CAT Telecom National Internet Exchange by CAT (CAT-NIX)
* TOT National Internet Exchange by TOT (TOT-NIX)
* True Internet Gateway National Internet Exchange (TIG-NIX)
* Advance Datanetwork Communication National Internet Exchange (ADC-NIX)
* CS Loxinfo National Internet Exchange (CSL-NIX)
* TT&T Global Network National Internet Exchange (TTGN-NIX)
* NECTEC IIR Public Internet Exchange (PIE, Research Only)

CAT-NIX, TOT-NIX and TTGN-NIX are primary internet exchanges used by commercial internet service providers. CAT-NIX is now largest internetexchange point in Thailand with more than 100Gbps domestic bandwidthto all ISP.

Before 2003, IIR Public Internet Exchange was the largest internet exchange point in Thailand and government have order all ISP to switch to new National Internet Exchange that operate by CAT Telecom in August 2003.

The IIR Public Internet Exchange is now maintained by NECTEC and is left in used only for academic and research purposes. The only commercial internet service provider connected to the IIR Public Internet Exchange is Internet Thailand. [ [http://internet.nectec.or.th/webstats/internetmap.current.iir?Sec=internetmap_current NECTEC IIR Current Internet Map] ]

General Information

* Country code top-level Domain (ccTLD): .th
** Second Level Domains
*** .ac for Academic Institutions
*** .co for Commercial Companies
*** .in for Individuals or any others (from 2002)
*** .go for Governmental Organizations
*** .mi for Military Organizations
*** .or for Registered Non-profit Organizations
*** .net for others (not commonly used from 2002)

References

http://www.internet-thailand.com