ON MY recent trip to Phuket, Thailand, earlier this month, I
purchased a prepaid Hi-Speed Net SIM by TrueMove so I could surf on
my smartphone ("Slow broadband: IDA's rules are not effective
enough", by Mr Jeremy Chen; yesterday).
First, it was cheap at 70 baht (S$3) and bought from a street
vendor at some local carnival. It provided 100MB of 3G usage,
access to Wi-Fi hot spots around the island, some free SMS and MMS,
and calls as well. Top-ups were also easily purchased at 7-Eleven
stores.
To my surprise, the Internet speed was efficient and quick, and
the 3G signal seldom dropped even though most parts of Phuket are
rural. A quick check on TrueMove's website on my return showed that
the costs of its monthly price plans are a lot lower than what
Singaporeans are generally paying.
My StarHub $98-monthly 3G plan pales in comparison when using my
smartphone's online features. My 3G speed tends to slow down, and
the signal falters or disappears altogether even while I'm
travelling around town.
There should be no reason for customers to experience worse
service here than in Phuket. Being a First World, first-class city,
it is time our Internet service providers (ISPs) buck up and
improve their service standards, or at least reduce the prices of
their plans to what our neighbouring ISPs are offering.
Lim Whei Lei
