Internet in Vera, Almeria

Having been let down by the wi- fi operator that was supposed to have been broadcasting from August 2008, I find myself looking for an internet option at our apartment. I have tried enquiring about the various dongles from the mobile companies, but coverage is not so good, neither are the prices!! I have looked at a microwave system, but that is €45pm for a 512k connection. I have tried to get a hold of Telefonica for their offerings, but they won't respond by email, I have to telephone them which is expensive from the UK. I have seen on their website that I can get line rental + 1meg with a 2gig download limit for €39.80 +iva (still expensive!!). I have also seen the same offer on the Telefonica in English website, but seem to recall they are not such a good company to go with. I've looked at direct telecom but they too are more expensive than I really want to pay. Indalo TV was another option, but they don't want to answer emails.

We don't have a line installed at the moment, so whatever happens, we need to sort that too.

Any suggestions for our area at Puerto Rey, Vera please?

Mark

Mark

Someone on Thalassa has recommended Servcom in Turre but I don't have any tariff details I am afraid.

Servcom's no is 950 479 029 & there is a lady called Angela who speaks English.

Noreen

Thanks Noreen, I saw that post and have pm'd them to see if there is any further info. Was your complexes wi- fi system specifically for businesses, or would they do private too?

Mark

The WiFi on Thalassa came about when the telephone system in the lifts was changed. It was a "bonus" of the system that was installed.

It is ok at the top end of the development but patchy at the bottom. I understand that we need to get booster aerials fitted to provide good coverage across the whole development.

Noreen

Ahh well, worth a try. Thanks Noreen.

No worries Mark.

Hope you had a good trip.

Weather wasn't up to much apart from the 2 glorious days on Christmas day & Boxing day. Still better than here though!

I still can't get Telefonica to answer an email. Surely it would be better to give the info in writing than to try and think about what you are saying? I know I should know more of the language, but I can read Spanish better than I can listen to it. I have decided on the capped package, but don't really know the next step to take. Telefonica experience needed please .

Mark

Marksfish...

Stay well away from telefoniceinenglish... from personal experience they dont practice what they preach and will chicken out at the first obstacle; also they will charge your bank account  100 Euros plus as an administration charge immediately they take your order then if it all goes wrong it can be a problem getting your money back. They have been the subject of much negative press on this and many other forums. They have absolutely no direct connection with Telefonica and act only as an independent sales agency for them.

As far as Telefonica themselves are concerned a new installation normally attracts no installation charge and includes a free wifi router and some free calls within Spain it depends on what their current 'offer' is! Snag is that there must be an operable telephone mast somewhere close that they can hook into. Since you are talking about an apartment block its reasonable to assume that this already exists. You also need to be present when they come to do the install. If you get the option buy a phone at the time of placing the order rather than renting one; its a much sweeter deal than paying rental indefinitely; we paid 29.99Euros for ours.

As for running costs... well we pay 39.90 for a 3Mbps service with no download restriction; we also pay about 14.50 pm for line rental. We dont get any free calls, but since most of our calls are to the UK they wouldnt qualify anyway. Our average phone bill including the ADSL is between 55 and 75 Euros per month.

We have two computers hookedup to the service and one or other or both is online 24/7. We download lots of material and have never had any capping problems. Our only operational problems occur when the whole village decides to go online at the same time and the lines get swamped and things then slow down dramatically. This shouldnt be a problem in an urban area but where we are out in the sticks it does happen from time to time.

Next time you are over here talk to them; they have an English speaking rep who can answer all of your questions. The telephone no is 1004; this gives access to an automated switchboard, listen to the options and then at the point where you have to make a choice just say 'ENGLISH'. This can be a frustrating time and you may have to make several attempts before you finally make contact with the English operator.

On a service front; we have had the ADSL service for nigh on two years and in that time it has broken down twice; on both occasions we established contact with 1004 using a mobile, got to talk to the English speaking rep, reported the problem and she attended to getting an engineer out to sort out the problem.

Hope this helps a little.

fb

1st edit...Something just occurred to me and I dont know if it will work but maybe worth a try; you could try to phone them from the UK by dialling 0034 1004 and see if it works...

2nd edit Just found a contact phone no for telefonica por extranjeros...(Thats you!) in languages other than Spanish no. is  00 34 917 073 921

This message was last edited by foxbat on 1/5/2009.

Thanks for the reply.

I don't need the unlimited downloads for my connection, so the 2GB cap is exactly what I want/ need. I have read the Telefonica in English website and yes, I know they are only agents. I have also seen that they charge admin fees for the connection a line of €68 and for adsl connection €40.60, plus €35 for the router! At least though reading their website tells me the packages available from TF.

The free line connection if taken with adsl is only available until 11th January. I have the phone numbers for Telefonica, but I envisage a long telephone call which from the UK is going to be expensive. I would prefer initial contact and discussions by email. I am happy to order by phone, but I need all the facts in front of me first.

Mark

edit: Connection on this account is around €85

I bit the bullet after finding 18185.co.uk which allows me to telephone Spain for 1p per minute. For my required line, I had to pay €107.04 for the first months payment. This included line installation, adsl activation and first months line rental/ broadband. In months 2 & 3 I would pay €23.87 and for the next 9 months €33.87. Fine by me . Time to order, but I can't . You have to order 14 days in advance, you aren't able to order in advance and they won't install with the keyholders in attendance, bummer.. Still, I know what to do now and it was a painless experience talking to them. Roll on the end of January .

Mark

Okay all change . I am going down the Iberbanda route now. TF want to charge an €80 connection fee and €35 for a router. I knew all that beforehand so that isn't the problem. Having had many discussions with Jane, it has been decided the best route to go down is the wireless system at €39 per month with free installation and equipment, thus making a saving in the first year. It has also been pointed out that you don't need to go all the way to Turre to gain the service, it is available from Inforgalte (used to be DePau) at Bouganville.

Paperwork all ready to be sent off to arrange the installation. It would have been so much easier if the wi- fi being peddled by the satellite people in Puerto Rey had come up with the goods though!!

Mark

I've just found one from another forum & is in English too:

www.europa-network.com
Mob: 7cents a min mobile to UK
Land: 1 cent a min to UK landline
€19.95 a month ADSL

Will certainly look at this one when I move to Spain.

Hmm, I can't find those prices on the website . I have seen however that it is an adsl connection though which will need a telephone line, so don't forget to add this into the costing. The cheapest adsl I can see there is €27.50, but only if you are in zone A, I feel that this is equivalent to the adsl "MAX" system in the UK which is rate adaptive and only those closest to the excahnge will be in zone A.

There is a wireless option with a €199 +iva installation cost, then €19.95 per month thereafter, so it would take 20+ months to break even with the Iberbanda system.

Mark

I've sent them an email as I can't find the price in their site too. Will see what they have to say.

I got a reply from them today. Not sure if I post it here. Justin, please delete it if I can't

[quote]

Thank you for your email, these services can be used on an active Telefonica line….

Here are a few of our call rates....

UK landline 2.9 cts per min (however if you pay €5 a month, you can ring for 1cts a min)

Spain Landline 3.3cts per min

France Landline 4.9 cts per min

Australia Landline 9 cts per min

USA Landline 4.9 cts per min

WE DO NOT ADD CONNECTION CHARGES ON ANY OF OUR CALL

 Free to join, no cancellation fee.

 We will allocate to you free of charge either a UK 0844 or UK 0870 number. These numbers allow callers in the UK to call you here in Spain for the price of a local call (0844) or national call (0870).  No set-up cost to you.  You pay nothing to receive the call and no rental costs.  Many callers in the UK are not able to call international destinations especially if calling from work where international calling may be barred.  By calling your 0844 or 0870 number they can call from anywhere

 
These are the internet packages that we currently offer...

 
ADSL

Only €29.50 per month

• 1mb broadband
• Free English technical support
• Sign up fee of €20.00
• Free router (€9.50 postage and packaging)
• If you cancel before 12 months you will incur a cancellation fee of €37.50

 If you spend 30.00 euros on calls per month we can reduce the cost to 19.95 euros

 DIAL UP

 PACKAGE 1                  24/7 dial up €4.50 

• - subject to a minimum call spend of €15 each month (excl IVA).  

 Dial up 24/7 unlimited €4.50, Minimum Bill €19.50

 
PACKAGE 2                       24/7 dial up €14.95

• -all your call spend will be added on top of this price

 [/quote]

Forhotspot and/or Marksfish

Any chance you could post an update on your current situation vis a vis your telephone/internet experiences.

I would love to hear how it all panned out and what your thoughts are on how well the services that you choose (if you did actually get any) have lived up to your expectations.

With any luck I shall be going down this route myself shortly just up the road from you so any info on what (not) to do would be most useful.

Sorry I've not moved to Spain yet. I, like you, am looking for a good & reliable service too.

I had my Iberbanda service connected in February. Installation was free on a 12 month contract and entailed an engineer coming to site and putting a small dish on the side of the apartment (about the size of the old Ionica dishes if you remember them!!). A 1mb connection costs €45 inc iva per month but it does appear to be unlimited download. I purchased my own (cable) wireless router in PC World for £20 and connected it fine. Speed tests show the 1mb connection performing "iffy" to be honest. Tests range from 800kbps down to 200kbps at a few times. Pings are very high which a) says to me the network is congested and b) sometimes services like Skype don't behave very well. It is supposed to be the same upload speed as download, but that is a fallacy.

Since installation, I have found the downstairs neighbours are on a 3mb Telefonica package for the same price as my 1mb, so come February, I may reconsider the situation.

Mark

Come on Forhotspot, pull your finger out and get over here, you´re missing all the fun, honest!

MarksFish, thanks for that, I must say I´ve heard nothing but bad things about iberbanda and their service so I won´t be putting them on my shortlist. I´ve also had too many bad experiences with Telefonica to consider using them either which rather cuts things down a lot.

On the other hand I have heard nothing but praise for Albox-online, I´m not sure if they cover your area but if they do it might be worth a call.

I´m looking for a 20mb sync. (upload and download) line or connection and they  assure me that they can provide that, at a price, what the price will be I have yet to hear but it´s not going to be cheap.

Anyway, thanks for the swift respones and the update, please keep me informed if you do decide to change systems.

wishing the best of luck to you both,

sms ,I can't wait to move over to Spain. Luckily I've sold my house in 9 days & I'll be homeless after Sept. The market is getting hotter here in Vancouver. Do you mind telling me which companies are on your shortlist besides Albox?