Internet in Thailand

Internet in Thailand

Thailand obtained internet access in 1996 as the third country in South East Asia. Since then, the use of the Internet has become more popular in the cities and also more accessible to different areas in the country. About 8.6 million people use the internet every day in Thailand, according to Google Thailand’s 2012 figures, and 24 million people have regular access, representing over one-third the population.

Broadband Internet is readily available in major cities and towns, including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and Phuket, 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. Dial-up prepaid Internet packs can be readily bought in convenience stores and other places. Subscribers of fixed telephone lines by True Corporation have access to dial up Internet by dialing a certain number and then being billed on their normal telephone bill.

The majority of broadband Internet access uses Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL). Some areas are covered by Cable Modems and G.shdsl. Consumer broadband Internet bandwidth ranges from 2 Mbit/s to 50 Mbit/s (Up to 100 Mbit/s in some major cities especially Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Phuket). 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.

A 3G UMTS/HSDPA network was launched in Bangkok and its vicinity in December 2009 with speed up to 7.2 Mbit/s on the 2100 MHz band. In the late 2011, Telephone Organization of Thailand released 3G on HSPA+ technology covering all areas in Bangkok with the speed of up to 42 Mbit/s. Major mobile network operators in Thailand also have released their 3G services at around the same time on the 850 MHz and 900 MHz bands with the same technology and connection speed. 3G CDMA networks with speeds up to 3.1 Mbit/s are available in 51 provinces nationwide. These networks are scheduled to be switched to HSPA+ in the middle of 2012. There are initiatives to offer mainstream FTTH (Fiber to the Home) providing bandwidth of up to 100 Mbit/s bundled with IPTV and VoIP. FTTH with speeds up to 30 Mbit/s is available in limited areas in Phuket.

Thailand saw a rapid growth in the number of broadband users in 2005 with the initiation of unmetered broadband in 2004. There are 1,116,000 (2008) Internet hosts in Thailand being the highest in South East Asia.