When I first moved to Bangkok, Thailand almost a decade ago, I bought a cell phone and got connected. With four Thai cell phone service providers to choose from, I didn’t have much of a clue which company was the best. The only thing I did know was to avoid signing up with AIS as AIS, at that time, was owned by Thai ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and I didn’t like anything he stood for. So, on the recommendation of a Thai friend, I got my cell phone connected with Thailand’s second largest cell phone provider, DTAC. And boy, am I happy I did.
Getting Connected With DTAC – Getting connected to any mobile phone service provider, including DTAC, is the easiest thing in the world. All you do is go to a cell phone shop, to a supermarket or a 7-11 or other convenience store and buy a SIM card that’s connected to a particular cell phone service provider. At the cost of around $5, you’ll get the SIM card, a dedicated phone number and around 30 minutes of mobile phone time. You can also buy refill cards, which look like a credit card, for each specific service provider.
My second day in Thailand, I bought a DTAC SIM card, plugged it into my cell phone and I was ready to go. Along with a refill card for 200 baht (around $6), getting my mobile phone connected to DTAC took less than five minutes and only $11 (which included around 65 minutes of phone time).
Service With DTAC – As I mentioned, I’ve had my cell phone connected to DTAC for almost seven years. During that time, I’ve never had a service outage, never had a problem connecting a call that lasted longer than a second or two, and never had my service disconnected.
I travel often in Thailand to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Kao Yai and even further afield and I’ve always been able to make and receive phone calls, no matter where in the country I was. Unlike other cell phone service providers like AIS, which according to Thai friends seems to have a lot of access problems in certain areas of Thailand, DTAC seems to have service everywhere.
The Cost of Service With DTAC – I have a pre-paid service with DTAC. That simply means, every time my cell phone is running out of minutes, I just head to the closest 7-11 or supermarket and buy a re-fill card to top it up.
On average, I spend around 600 baht ($18.75) a month on phone calls with my DTAC phone. That amount pretty much takes care of all my local calls in Thailand (at a cost of 1-2 baht per minute), and at least 5 calls a month to the US.
DTAC has several types of SIM card you can buy when you get your phone connected, that will give you different promotion deals depending on the card. Some of them are as low as .5 baht per minute (1.5 cents) at certain times of the day. You can also check new promotions on DTAC’s website, to figure out which one is best for you, then change to a new promotion just by dialing an access number on your mobile.
The Staff at DTAC – Occasionally, I go into a DTAC office to buy a new refill card. DTAC has offices all over Bangkok, so it’s easy to get help if you need it. Every time I go into a DTAC office, I don’t have to wait long, the staff is always friendly and helpful, and what I need takes less than a couple of minutes.
I’m so happy I signed up with DTAC when I first arrived in Thailand. In fact, I think it’s one of the best decisions I ever made. In fact, if you’re looking for a reliable cell phone service provider in Thailand, you can’t go wrong with DTAC.