Internet Access?

We are moving out to Spain soon, and need to get on the internet urgently for my husband's work.  Has anyone got any advice/ good deals/ things to avoid, please.  We will be living on the Costa Blanca.  Thank you,  Donna

Personally, I prefer to stick with Telefonica. Although there are many companies offering services, some with no need to contract your telephone line from Telefonica at all, they all still have to use Telefonica's infrastructure. Hence, if Telefonica's lines are down, it makes no difference who you get your service from. Many would disagree with me, citing cheaper options to Telefonica, which may be true, but my advice is, as always, read the small print very carefully. Many of the most attractive offers only apply for the first month or two. And there are stories of people having difficulty cancelling services they are not happy with.

The standard service from Telefonica is currently 3mbps. Again, other providers offer faster connections, but I'm sceptical. There are techies on here who know more about it than me, but I think I'm right in saying that just because your provider sells you a 20mbps package, does not mean that you'll necessarily be getting any quicker connections than your neighbour who has 3Mbps from Telefonica?

And finally, beware of adverts for "Telefonica in English" or similar. They have nothing to do with the real Telefonica. If you don't speak Spanish, when you call Telefonica (1004) ask for an English speaking member of staff.

Hi Roberto - We are also moving out very shortly to the Costa Blanca area.  We'll be inland in a small town called Cox not too far from Orihuela.  Do you have any idea whether we can get internet that far inland?   Would you also mind me asking how expensive internet is in Spain?

Thanks for your help.

Yes, you can get (maximum) 3Mbps from Telefonica in Cox. The ADSL is about €40 per month, plus the line rental about €18, plus IVA (VAT) total about €67 per month. Other providers, such as Ya.com, may offer better prices, and you may not have to pay line rental to Telefonica - they basically buy the line from Telefonica, so you'll only have the one bill. As I said before though, read all the small print!

If you want to check whether your area has coverage, go to http://tinyurl.com/3ytdwh and check the "Dirección" option (unless you already have a phone line, in which case you can enter your number). Click on "consultar", then onthe next screen click on your area on the map of Spain. Type in your town, click "buscar", select it from the list and click "continuar". You'll be prompted for an exact address next. For SpanishTogs, I just chose Carretera Alicante-Murcia, No.1! You'll be asked to type in a few letters as shown on your screen (to prove you're not a pesky robot!)

Hi again.  Thank you very much for that.  Sounds a bit pricey to me though, so may have to just continue using the library!   I suppose it will get cheaper as the years go by though.

Would you mind if I copied and pasted your reply into the forum for Mirador de la Vega II?   We've got a good community building there who are itching to learn. If not, no problem and good luck.

Thanks again#

Dillys

Before we got a Telefonica land line we were using a company called Iberbanda who supply wireless internet and phones.  They are cheaper than Telefonica but the ADSL speed isn't as quick.

I agree with Rob 100%, if you can stick with Telefonica.  We have heard many horror stories from people trying to contract telephone lines and ADSL through other companies.  All you need to do is call 1004 and just say "English" when the automated messages come up.

Best of luck.

Justin

Thank you very much for taking time to reply - appreciated.

Would you mind if I copied and pasted the text into our Mirador de la Vega II forum?  Lots of our future neighbours are also keen to learn.

If you've any further advice to impart, possibly about television suppliers - that would also be appreciated.

Thanks again

67 Euros a month !!!!

That is a rip off .

SpanishTogs, of course you can copy it all to another message board.  It's still keeping it within the family!!

Justin

Thanks for that - will do.

Cheers

Dilys

SpanishTogs, you're welcome to copy any of my posts to wherever you like - assuming that's also OK with EOS!

Acapulco, 67 euros includes the line rental for telephone @ 18 euros, which unless you opt for one of the companies that have supposedly bought the line from Telefonica, and don't charge line rental, you will have to pay anyway. It also includes IVA, which you 'll have to pay (although if it's a business line, you may be able to claim back etc.) The ADSL service is about 40 euros (plus IVA), which again, you may get cheaper from another provider, but sometimes you get what you pay for. I agree, 67 euros is a lot to fork out every month, but at least I get to spend as much time as I like browsing EOS without having to go to the library!

Muchas Gracias para su ayuda !!  (That's my limit!)

Have pasted it into Mirador de la Vega II.

Cheers

We are in the province of Almeria and we went through a company called Servcom who deal with Iberbanda (we had to get to a satellite connection as no land lines available where we currently live) the cost is €45 per month plus iva.  its called an AVIpack with a speed of 512kbps including free telephone line rental and 300 minutes of free calls within spain per month.  You do have to sign up to a contract of I think 1 year but we were told that no penalty is given if you send an email to Iberbanda to advise of cancellation request.

 We have had no problems at all with this service and find the speed fast enough for our needs.  A word of warning some companies who advertise a satellite telephone and internet charge in excess of €240 for installation and then the monthly fees starting from €40.  I know of someone who had one such company fit his connection and they are always losing the connection and say they have had a lot of attempts by hackers to get into their computer.  (I am not into computer jargon so dont knowif hacker is the right name or how they know someone is trying to get into their computer)

The problem we used to have with Iberbanda was that because it became so popular as more and more people moved into the area, the transmitters became overloaded and it used to grind to a halt all the time.

It's a wonder I ever got any work done in those days!!  Mind you, I was desperate back then and even a dial up would have been a god send.

Justin

Thanks very much for that.  Would you mind me copying and pasting it into our forum thread on Mirador de la Vega II?   It certainly sounds a lot more viable that the Telifonica.  The trouble is that when you add the cost of television onto that it's getting a bit pricey - or maybe I'm just tight!

We are actually due to complete on our apartment on 23 April and getting really excited about it now.  Have you been out there a long time?   We have so much to learn, but we're getting there bit by bit!

Thanks again for taking the time and trouble to reply and if you could let me know if you wouldn't mind me pasting the essential bits re internet in, I'm sure our new neighbours will be very interested as some of them will be relying on internet as part of a business venture I believe.

Cheers

Dil

Dil, copy away!!

Justin

I agree totally with Roberto. If Telefonica offer ADSL in your area, go for it. It is more reliable than most of the other service providers. Iberbanda, in my opinion, is the next best option if Telefonica is not possible.

I cannot have a land line as when my urb was built telefonica only put in an exchange capable of holding 10 lines for a development of 42 houses (foresight is a wonderful thing!). Anyway as one of the last houses to be occupied the exchange was full by the time I requested a line.

In my stupidity I went for an infrared modem through orange. What a disaster. I had the thing for 3 weeks then it packed up. I took it back to the shop and they said they had to send it off to be fixed. That was 6 weks ago and they still cannot tell me when I can have it back. I was told it would take 10 days for the repair. I have since tried to cancel subscription as as far as I am concerned they have broken their contract by not providing me with the service I have contracted. They refused to give me a substitute whilst mine was being repaired.

Apparently I can only cancel the contract if I pay them 180€ even though it is them that have not fulfilled the terms of the contract. I told them that this was tantamount to blackmail but they dont care. I call the shop every week but to date I still dont have internet.

 

moondancer,

Have you tried contacting Orange directly rather than just dealing with the shop? If you still don't get any satisfaction from them, go to the shop again and ask for the complaints book. It's amazing how quicly things can be resolved once an official complaint is made (or even just by asking for the book). It is unacceptable that you have been waiting more than 6 weeks, without any kind of update.

When the time comes I think I will follow the advice of Roberto and othersand gofo Telefonica.Obviously we want the best available.

Where abouts are you Moondancer?

In Torrevieja there's something similar to the Office of Fair Trading, I read details on another site.  Perhaps they could be useful as a threat to get something done.

I'm sure I read also that if you ask for a specific form of complaint that also normally makes the company take notice of you.

But then again there are always people complaining about Telefonica and getting nowhere.

Perhaps someone else can expand on my comments with the correct details, if not I'll do a search to see if I can find the specific thread.  It was some time ago so it might take me a while.

Every establishment is required by law to make available to customers a complaint book - known in Spanish as hoja de reclamacion. As others have said, often just asking for it (demanding it) can produce results.

Yes, Telefonica are far from perfect and many people have horror stories to tell (that's probably the biggest understatement you'll read tonight)

I have had my own run-ins with Telefonica in the past, usually due to the fact that they use subcontractors to deal with faults on lines within customer's premises, and when they fail to solve the problem, Telefoncia refuse to accept responsibilty - even though the customer has no direct contact with the subcontractor. However, on balance, I still prfer to stick to the devil I know. Too often in Spain you can find yourself jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Hi, Its Moondancer here,

A little extra to add to the sorry saga.

I have been dealing with the shop in Parque Mediterraneo in Cartagena. My husband spoke to them 2 days ago and the manager in the shop advised that we should fill out a hoja de reclamaciones against the poeple who repair the units. We have done this and the manager had added to the hoja stating that they (the orange shop) agree with our complaint! We shall see what happens now.

As the saying goes 'WATCH THIS SPACE'

Ps: thanks for all the advise.

Hope it gets you somewhere, but sounds a bit like the shop were just passing the buck. Very typical here, I must add, but makes me mad. If you buy a pair of shoes and they fall apart within a few days, you take them back to the shop where you bought them. The shop should replace them or refund your money - not give you the name and address of the manufacturer.

We have the same problem Justin described of no Telefonica service for the foreseeable future and an overloaded WIFI transmitter. I am told that if I take out the correct Spanish mobile contract and buy a device to connect it to my pc I can have reliable service for around 20€ a month. Has anyone any experience of mobile internet in Spain?

We have Orange 'broadband', using the little thingy you plug into your computer. It works but is so s-l-o-w.........nowhere near the speed it's meant to be. It costs 35 euros pm. The only other option was dial up which we didn't want and have been told that is also very slow.

Hi Poppyseed.  Can you tell me a bit more about the Orange 'thingy'.  I've read a bit about them on here and would like to know more.  I have a good telefonica line, but am reluctant to have broadband through them mainly because I'm only there for a couple of months a year amd don't want to pay for a whole year.  Secondly because one of my neighbours has had dreadful internet bills from Telefonica - when they've been in the UK. 

Did you buy yours in the uk or in Spain and do you have to pay for a whole year, or only when used?

Many thanks,  Jane.

Hi Jane, the 'thingy' is like a memory stick that you plug into the computer. At the moment there is a big advertising campaign splashed across billboards etc in the UK for Vodafone for the same thing. We did it in Spain  through a company called 'euphony' and had to take out an 18month contract and it costs 35 euros per month but then no other charges are incurred. I don't think one purchased in the UK would work in Spain but I'm  technically useless so may be wrong about that.

We have a telefonica line but where our villa is they wont provide broadband only dial up which we didn't think would suit our internet usage.

Perhaps you may want to check out the euphony website www.euphony-spain.com. We didn't deal with them direct but via a local agent in our area of Peniscola. I know Vodafone also offer this in Spain and am sure there will be others. A good mobile phone shop should be able to advise you.

 

Many thanks Poppyseed.  I didn't know any of that - I ll certainly check out the web site.

Best wishes

Jane