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Postal & Phone Services

Thailand has a full range of communications services, including an efficient postal delivery system, pay phones, internet access, and mobile telephones.

Postal Services

Thailand's postal network reaches to even the most remote villages, with standardized international registered mail services available at all post offices.

Postal services are cheap and well organized. Post offices sell stamps, as well as hotels and many convenience stores. Hotels will generally post your letters too. Letters sent at the standard rate by airmail will take about a week to reach Europe or America. The cost depends on the international postal zone of the destination country.

Regular post is not recommended for parcels or high value items. For a slightly higher fee, letters or packages can be sent by registered Express Mail Service (EMS). The cost here depends on the destination and the size and weight of the package sent, and whether it is sent by air or surface mail. Parcels must be wrapped in approved packaging, which can be purchased at the post office.

Poste restante facilities are available at main post offices nationwide. You have to present your passport and pay a small fee to collect mail from the poste restante counter. Sometimes mail is filed under given names instead of surnames. Avoid this problem by asking whoever is writing to you to capitalize and underline your surname.

Main post offices are open from 8.00 am to 8.00 pm Monday to Friday, and 8.00 am to 1.00 pm on weekends and holidays. Opening hours for small branch post offices are 8.00 am to 4.30 pm on weekdays, and 9.00 am to 12.00 am on Saturdays. The Central Post Office is located on Charoen Krung (New) Road, Bangkok.

Courier Services

International courier companies such as DHL, FedEx, UPS and TNT operate from Thailand and are a good but expensive way to send packages back home. Certain handicraft shops will arrange to send your purchases home for you. The major courier companies in Thailand are:

Telephone Services

The telephone system within Thailand is run by the state-run Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT), while international calls, mobile telephone and Internet services are operated by the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT).

International direct dialing telephone services are available in all tourist centers and at most hotels and guesthouses. While the Internet is still not widely used in many remote areas of the country, access can be found wherever there are tourists at very inexpensive rates.

International Calls

International Direct Dialing is available from hotels, guesthouses, private phones and international pay phones (usually blue or yellow). Leading credit cards and international phone cards may be used from the pay phones. To call directly, dial 001 for an international line, followed by the country code, area code and the telephone number. Alternatively, dial 100 for international operator-assisted calls.

The minimum service charge is one minute. Three international call rates are available depending on the time of day: standard rate is from 7.00 am to 9.00 pm; economy rate is from 9.00 pm to 12.00 pm and 5.00 am to 7.00 am; reduced rate, the least expensive, is from 12.00 pm to 5.00 am. A hefty surcharge will probably be added to calls from hotel rooms or guesthouses.

Large provincial post offices and the central post office on Charoen Krung Road, Bangkok, have a CAT center providing international calls with reverse charge or credit card payments, and fax services. The CAT centers are open 24 hours. Private shops offering international call services are available but the rates are always higher than the government centers.

Lately, private entrepreneurs have set up temporary international phone desks on the street using mobile phones. The cost of this service is slightly higher than standard CAT rates, but they are easy to find and convenient to use.

Local Calls

Local phone calls can be made from public pay phones except the blue and yellow international pay phones. One Baht, 5 Baht and 10 Baht coins can be used, as well as phone cards (available in denominations of 50, 100, 200 and 500 Baht) in the green pay phones. Certain pay phones in hotels and private establishments only accept 5 and 10 Baht coins.

Calls from pay phones within the same province cost 1 Baht for three minutes (except for calls to cellular phones in which case the charge is 3 Baht per minute). Within the province, there’s no need to dial the area code. For calls to other provinces, the area code must be dialed first. A list of Thai area codes can be obtained from any post office. 01 must be dialed for mobile phones. Malaysia and Laos are also covered by the long-distance domestic service. For Laos, dial 007 followed by the country code 856, then the area code and number. For Malaysia, dial 007 followed by the country code 60, then the area code and number.

Mobile Telephone Services

Four cellular telephone systems are in use in Thailand: New 800 (analog), Cellular 900 (analog), Digital GSM 900, and Digital 1800. All four systems provide reasonable reception in the main urban centers. In the mountains or rural areas of the country, reception can be patchy or non-existent. Visitors bringing their own mobile phones to Thailand can use them provided they have international roaming turned on. The phone charge is calculated from the home country to the destination number and is likely to be very high.

Digital GSM and Cellular 900 mobile phones can be hired from FoneRent, a service of AIS, during your stay in Thailand. For details call +66 2535-3598 - 9. Full payment by credit card is available and there is a counter at the international airport.

Internet Services

Internet usage in Thailand is growing rapidly, especially among students and in the metropolis. Estimates for the number of users is as many as 1.5 million, including abut 800,000 free accounts for students. Internet services are available in all the large provinces at Internet cafes, hotels and guesthouses, and restaurants and bars. Rates vary from around 2 Baht per minute up to 6 Baht per minute.

There are 17 Internet service providers (ISPs) in Thailand. Fees range from as low as 4 Baht an hour to 20 Baht, depending on the package you buy. Actual transmission speed is usually around 56 Kbps these days on ordinary telephone lines, depending on the ISP. Contact points in many up-country locations are notoriously unreliable. A high-speed cable system has been launched by UBC but this is primarily designed for business users and the monthly charge is very high.

High speed internet access is available, but it is still expensive. 2.5 GL services are making an appearance and Thailand is expected to offer an increasing number of 2.5 and 3 GL services from now on.

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