Thought I'd post a few guide lines to dialup internet and telephone companies here in Hua Hin. This comes after several people have asked me why their phone bill is astronomically high and the telephone organisations are blaming users computers.
Firstly the rules:
1) Local dialup internet is 3 Baht per CONNECTION (unlimited time), local numbers (Prachuab Province) are as follows:
TOT : 1222
TT&T : *998
CS : 032529606, 032529999, 032529609
Lox : 032547447
These will all cost you 3 baht every time you connect. If you are in Cha-am (or anywhere north of HH airport) you need to dial the local number for Phetburi province.
2) A modem takes anywhere between 10 and 30 seconds to connect.
3) It is highly unlikely a virus will cause your computer to dial the internet.
Given this set of rules it comes as some surprise to me that local telephone organisations can blame the internet for a high bill if the above has been abided by. Beware of both TOT and TT&T staff who will try and blame you or your computer for the bill. Take an example of a 5,000 baht bill blamed solely on the internet (I choose this figure as two aquaintences have approached me with bills like this in the last 6 weeks).
Do the math, 3 baht per connection, 5,000 baht for the months bill. Your modem would need to dial the internet 55 times per day, thats once every half an hour, 24 hours a day for an entire month. I'm sure most of you don't even leave the machine on for an entire month and I'm sure you would notice the modem chirping away as it connects every 28 minutes.
The phone companies are ripping you off, it has been proven (with TOT anyway) by another member of this board that there were technical failures at their end causing the miscalculation in the bill. DO NOT PAY THEM. Investigate first and you'll more than likely find out that they (maybe not intentionally) are pulling a fast one. A virus is the first excuse the telephone company will make in its efforts to blame you. There is no virus that I have ever come across (in 15 years of work in IT) that will dial the internet at regular intervals throughout the day.
Armed with these guidelines you should be able to be online permanently with a phone bill of around 400 baht per month (provided you use one of the many unlimited access accounts available in town). CS-Lox charge by the hour and so are more expensive to buy.