Rural Internet

Hi there, I'm not a complete dummy with internet & computers but I'm certainly not an expert either.
I will be bringing my laptop to my girlfriends village & want to be able to phone my kids in NZ, maybe do some internet banking etc.
I have seen this Edge USB Modem here http://www.edgethailand.com/product_info.php?products_id=45&osCsid=6382dabd4c5dc82b01b528a9c761e410 & am thinking that this is what I need - perhaps.
Then I saw this here http://www.trademe.co.nz/Computers/Networking-modems/Modems/auction-272640635.htm which works out cheaper. Apparently this Huawei modem works with all GSM simcards. So if this is the case the NZ one is cheaper (yes it's 2nd hand; but what can go wrong with them?) & I can get it now instead of shopping on my holiday.
Also the girlfriend thinks that I'm setting up internet on her daughters desktop pc. Am I right in thinking I could just leave them this modem & simcard for them, assuming they have USB2?
Any help & constructive suggestions gratefully accepted.
Cheers

If you are living in the sticks then GPRS is undoubtedly the way to go.
The price of 3,500 baht (for the new one) is very competitive against anything I have seen in Udon - prices here are about 5,000, but that is for a Solomon product, so don't know how they compare to the Edge product. I would think a considerable saving on the Udon price could be made in BKK.
When I connected to the internet this way I did through 1 to call. Go to the Telewiz shop on the second floor of the Complex & they will set up a sim so it works with their internet package. You have to pick a 'package' to connect with, this really equates a monthly charge with hours available. From memory, the last time I helped anyone through this, just before Christmas, it was 500 baht a month for 300 hours. I think a more expensive, unlimited, package is available along with several cheaper ones for less hours. If you exceed your hours in a month then you are just changed at the normal connection rate (which is pretty steep), unused hours are lost.
Monthly top up is achieved in the same way as a normal phone.
Yes, once set up you can transfer from 1 pc to another. There are a couple of set up files that you may have to install to make the modem work however even that might not be necessary if the item is completely 'plug & play' as it is the phone number to dial for connection that is important, & that is what Telewiz set up on the sim when you sign up for a package.

Thanks for the very informative reply BH
I will certainly call into Telewiz as you suggest. Is it wise to take the laptop when I visit them? Just to make sure it all works etc.
What do you think about buying the Huawei modem from NZ? Are Telewiz likely to be able to set that one up too? It claims to work over all GSM networks.

Cheers

Bob's advice matches my experience.

I use my Nokia N72 phone. It was about 6,000B but serves double duty. I used a Solomon GPRS modem before and found it to be absolute junk. You can still make/take calls while surfing online with the Nokia phone.

One-two-call has a 250 hour package for 500 baht, plus tax. Check the connection in your rural area as not all carriers have clear and continuous connection (True is worthless here)

In fairness to Telewiz I do not think they are very computer savvy...
Setting up for the internet is really as simple as them setting up the sim to dial a number & then putting the sim in a modem. The first time I had it set up for me was when I bought the Solomon modem (there was a computer exhibition on in the Complex that day) & they added the software to my laptop as well.
I set up a mates PC to use it in December myself & had a few issues, but those were of my own making!!! I thought an old sim would work in the modem & it would not... So, the 'plug & play' had already kicked in (& failed a bit) by the time I had a good sim to use. I am sure that IF I had been sensible enough to have got a working sim before I tried to plug it into his PC then Windows would have installed no issue, as it was I had to move a few files over.
If you DO have your laptop with you in the Complex when you get the sim & have a problem there is a good pc shop just about as far towards the right hand corner as you can go on the second floor of the Complex. The name is in Thai, sorry, in the very right hand corner is a shop selling software & games, this shop is just before it into the building. They have blackberries & the like (rather than phones) on display as well as PCs.

Tex's suggestion is another good way of solving the problem & gives rather more flexibility than the modems do.

i bought a huawei on ebay and brought it to thailand,it didn't work,the guy in the central plaza(mr.service) tried everything too,so i bought a new stick from him,ZTE MF 626 3gusb wireless modem for 2600 baht to go with it a 1-2-call sim for 50 baht and a 400h flat for 400 baht,he recommended the 1-2-call as it is better for the rural areas,luckily we got now a mast near the farm and i got full reception now for both internet and mobile phone
the speed is pretty fast,better than i expected and the modem was plug and play,very easy
he managed to fix the huawei stick for me and i sold it back to him for 1500baht,so i only lost about 500 baht,compare to what i paid on ebay

can only recommend the guy,very friendly,helpful and knolageble and also speaks good english

bc

Hi guys
I can second changs recomendation of Mr Service on the second floor. I also bought my connection from him and I often pop in to chat with him if I have any problems. and does speak good english

cheers

Bill

what type of connection speeds are your all getting with the USB plug-in?? I've got an EDGE card for my laptop and even though I'm just outside the ring road with great reception rarely get much above 60kbps...

at the moment out in the sticks i have

send(kb) 1248.871

receive(kb) 3111.688

is it that what you mean?

don't know where i find how many kbps

Taxman,
All your prayers would be answered if the girl's house has a telephone line (preferably TOT). I live out in the sticks and know several who live even more out in the sticks, but we're getting decent ADSL speeds.......I'm paying 700 baht a month and getting 2.5mbps download (not all the time, but speeds rarely drop below 1.5mbps). Unlimited use.

Of course, if there are no telephones in the village, then you'll have to seek alternative ways to get your internet fix.

just found this
doesn't sound to much and as i don't download things here,just a few piccis upload to the net,its fast enough for me

Thanks guys for some great replies.
I'm not sure if the girlfriend has phones in the village, but she has talked about an internet shop not far away so I guess that suggests there may be phones there. Anyway I can find out next time I speak to her. I don't arrive until April.
It looks like I'm going to be able to get a Huawei modem here in NZ (2nd hand) for the equivalent of about 500baht, so as it's not a lot lost if it's useless I might take a punt & get one. That decision would also be dependent on if a proper phone line was available though.
Cheers

DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT AIS 3G AIRCARD BOOSTERS OR SOMETHING TO BOOST MY RURAL NO PHONE LINE SPEED.?

dake wrote:DOES ANYONE KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT AIS 3G AIRCARD BOOSTERS OR SOMETHING TO BOOST MY RURAL NO PHONE LINE SPEED.?

I just changed from mobile GPRS to an Aircard EDGE modem, the same speed as before: 460 kbps.

That's life in rural Isaan

Joe

THANKS JOE .WHAT U MEAN A EDGE MODEM.IAM A BIT NEW 2 ALL OF THIS .I GOTA AIS 1 2 CALL SIM IN A AIRCARD ON A LEAD HANGING OUT THE WINDOW.IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE I CAN BUY 2 UP THE SPEED? BOOSTER ROUTER OR SOMETHING? KHUP.