Wireless Internet For a Rural Community

There is a new product going to be available shortly called WiMax which will allow high speed wireless internet, it is being installed and tested in the Malaga province, only catch is that Intel do not release the chip that connects to it until early 2007.

In the mean time there is a very good product to speed up broadband below 2mb and dial up connections see more at http://www.onspeedspain.com (http://www.spainexpat.com/spain?URL=http://www.onspeedspain.com).

Hope this helps?

S

Hey Techman,

That's interesting. I've been keeping an eye on WiMAX for a while now and it definitely shows a lot of promise. We'll see if Intel can get the distribution of the chip up to the level of wifi though...

Onspeed indeed looks interesting. Do you know if it's useful for wifi relayed connections? I've set one of those up but it suffered from a lot of lag. How does the onspeed work exactly?

Hi there

The Wimax technology would be fantastic especially here in Spain it would help those of us who are in areas reliant on telefonica (not always a good situation to be in)

The onspeed software works by crunching the packets of data and stripping out the parts that other beers cannot reach if you get my meaning :o) I have a a 512 connection and the onspeed gets me broadband tests showing 1.8mb which for me is fantastic. It does only work up to 2mb connections though, 2mb and above the software is not effective. The most effective I have seen it is on dial up connections increasing 56k connections up to 1.2mb very impressive.

They let you have a 2 week trial I believe and if it is not effective then unsubscribe (I love trial software) give it a go its www.onspeedspain.com (http://www.spainexpat.com/spain?URL=www.onspeedspain.com).

Hope this helps?

S

WiMax Broadband is working well in the Costa Blanca. It does not need a landline and more importantly does not need Telefonica. It costs 35 ? per month and normally achieves between 1.5 Mb/s and 2.5 Mb/s. WiMax can be used in most areas of Spain, even the most remote areas as the theoretical range is around 70km. We have antennas covering the Costa Blanca and other areas of Spain.

Once you have broadband, you can also use VoIP telephones and enjoy free and cheap international calls.

What about the Marbella area?

We do not provide broadband in Marbella at the moment. In order to justify the costs of setting up a new access point, we would realistically require 35 clients within a 20km radius. If we receive a sufficient number of enquiries in that area, we shall contact you. Let us know if you have neighbours that would be interested and it would help your cause.

Regards

Broadband Spain

Conecta4 also supply Rural with wireless and telephone

I live in the Campo and have been a customer of there#s for almost 3yrs, and find them to be very proffesional.

Thankyou

We had tried for weeks to find a wifi type connection. After contacting all the people advertising in the "Sur in English" the "Friday-Ad" and other misleading adverts, we had begun to think that we would be left with no other option than to go for the painful option of Telephonica !!

Thats when we found something that sounded to good to be true. Someone on our Urbanisation had found a company vipservice4you@hotmail.com. They have a range of antennas that they use to pick up wifi signals in your area. we rang 651426798 on a Saturday and by Monday lunchtime I had my internet connection (coming from a free provider, no catches) and have not looked back since.
So what with free internet and free phone calls to 44 countries, including The UK, USA and Canada, provided by VIP through VOIP, we are both well impressed, not to mention happy with the incredible savings.

Jim&Tash

I recently had IberBanda installed in my cave, which uses WiMax technology to provide a telephone line and an Internet connection from a wireless link.

The equipment consists of a small square aerial, which needs a line-of-sight to a nearby transmitter. This is connected to a small oblong box (IDU) inside the cave, which connects to the mains and links to another small box which provides an RJ11 socket for your phone, and an RJ45 socket for your PC or Router.

Installation is free, and for ?45 per month, you get unlimited Internet access and free national calls to landlines.

More info at www.iberbanda.es

Hello,

We run a WISP in Cehegin Murcia and are doing well at providing for English community internet and communications systems and English support. We would love to hear from people looking to setting up thier town. Please take a look at our site. http://www.rednetwifi.com
We have overcome so many issues on setting up a large wireless network and would offer our services for anyone looking to do the same. If you have any questions i would be happy to help.

Regards

Darren - REDNETwifi

Is this available in the Alpujarra region?

> Is this available in the Alpujarra region?


IberBanda (see link above) are showing availability in the Golco, Mecina Bombaron, Montenegro and Yegen areas.

iberbanda works for me no complaints

Hi All,

I live in the Mijas Costa area (as I'm sure you guessed from the username)

I recently started using a WiFi service (won't mention who)

To be honest it was very bad. Connection issues, slow speed, terrible range etc.
All for 35 euros a month!
Not good.

So... Being a bit of a tech head I shopped around for the best service I could from
Mobile networks.

Surprisingly I found it to be the best move I ever made.

I took out a contract (the only downside) with Orange (formerly Amena)

I got a the hardware for free

I now pay 6 euros a month for the first 2
then 35 thereafter

The connection is fantastic, whereby I can connect wherever there is mobile signal.
Luckily for me this is normally at least 3G.

However the hardware supports the new 3G+ and generally I get this signal giving me a 1.8mb connection.

Admittedly not everyone/everywhere will get this but I have to say I've had zero problems with connecting.

The only problem I had was that my laptop runs on Windows Vista which is not compatible with the hardware and there are no known dates for a software (driver) upgrade for this.
However, after a couple of hours digging, I found a fix that works perfectly. Now, no problems at all.

I'm not saying there aren't some great WiFi / WiMax services out there, just that there weren't any for me!

Now I take my laptop anywhere I want and if i find a really good WiFi service (unsecured for free access, ssshh!)
Then I don't bother using the card, but I know that generally wherever I go, I can surf the net.

Vodafone are also offering a really good package which includes the same as above with a free mobile and free national calls (in Spain) for (dont quote me!) 49 euros. Again one downside would be the contract.

Hope this helps!

We're looking to move to the Nerja, Frigiliana area about 45mins from Malaga. We will also be in a long term rental place... what are the chances of us being able to get access to come kind of wireless or broadband?

What are landlords like about letting you get something like this in rented places and is it easy to do?

We are in a rented apartment and our landlord has allowed us to install Broadband / Telephone, Sky, and is generally ok about making changes.

I guess your question can only really be answered by your landlord though, as some may have a problem with it.

I know that on the Coast though, there are many WIFI providers which reach quite far and wide, however I'm not aware of any in the Nerja area.

I would suggest asking your landlord and taking a look at www *dot* telefonicaonline *dot* com for the latest offers

Hi

We are considering a permanent move to Spain during 2008, Internet is critical (no I will say CRITICAL) to me being able to continue my business and I have heard conflicting stories regarding provision in rural Spain.

My sister has lived for 30 years in El Grau on the coast from Castelon de la Plana and we are looking for property west of Castelon between N234 from Sagunto and n232 in the North.

Sis uses ONO for her connection but that will not be available in the region we are looking at, I need peace and quiet for my work - well the creative bit, if that sounds a bit grandois I apologise it's not but I do a fair bit of writing.

I would welcome any ideas from members as to what is available bearing in mind here in the UK I have been working with 6Mb for the last year, I would appreciate any advice.

cheers

we couldnt get any off the company to give us Broadband We where to far from the the local exchange so we used mico links and work well cost was that much and works well

> Hi

We are considering a permanent move to Spain during 2008, Internet is critical (no I will say CRITICAL) to me being able to continue my business and I have heard conflicting stories regarding provision in rural Spain.

My sister has lived for 30 years in El Grau on the coast from Castelon de la Plana and we are looking for property west of Castelon between N234 from Sagunto and n232 in the North.

Sis uses ONO for her connection but that will not be available in the region we are looking at, I need peace and quiet for my work - well the creative bit, if that sounds a bit grandois I apologise it's not but I do a fair bit of writing.

I would welcome any ideas from members as to what is available bearing in mind here in the UK I have been working with 6Mb for the last year, I would appreciate any advice.

cheers


Thre are a few options available, but it is also dependent on availability in your area,

Telelfonica dial, ( Thru tracs or landline), but not suitable ref your statement

SkyDSl, this uses either a mobile or landline for uplink and uses a sat downlink, the download speeds can be quite fast, but obviously the uplink is limited (http://www.teles-skydsl.co.uk/index.php?c=info&s=howitworks )

Broadbanl if you have a landline or apparently one of the new tracs systems,

Wimax/3G if available in your area, you need to research neighbours etc for info

Microlink, this is usually run by a local or operator, who covers a specific area, so this is really down to luck of the draw, again you will need to canvass neighbours and local retail outlets for info. ( for some strange reason these types of offers seem poorly advertised) (I hve been running off a micro link system for about 2+ years now and am reasonably happy. (for example in the Elche, Pinoso, Elda area there is a company called Comenersol offering a reasonable level of service, another company to try would be citrus red s.l.)

Sat uplink, Sat downlink, These are reliable and offer good speeds, they are also available in any area, subject to a good line of sight to the Sat and you have a suitable location for the dish, Ideal for the remote location. Install cost is high at about 2000? with monthly charge at about 65?

If your requirement is critical, and speed is important, the Sat to Sat is ideal, but expensive.

I have Contact numbers for Comenersol, Sat-to-Sat, and Citrus Red S.l. if you require.

Hi Mike

many thanks for this valuable information. It would appear a lot of pot luck regarding connection but there does appear to be a solution for most areas in Spain. Best idea will be to identify the top areas we wish to live and attack the options then, obviously not as straightfoward as the UK.

Your help is appreciated.

cheers

skydsl net is good but speed uplinking via a phone line are slow ( same as dail up ) that what you using know few mates that have used them in the pasted so do what we did got a micro link we bought off a company in Ireland , that cam out to spain fitted and had up and run fast and with day we payed for it that were in touch with company and paper work was sorted by them and 3 week later we had up and running that even have a spanish back account you can pay in two

jurdy

Thanks Jurdy

I would be interested in their contact details if you have them to hand

cheers

Dave

Hi Jurdy - like Mike I'd be interested to have details of the microlink providing company

Jeff

In reality it really depends upon your requirements!

Horses for courses as they say!

Dial up works well for some people, 3G works very well for others, then you have Wifi & WiMax, which gives you an Internet Access Point mainly in areas where there is no landline infrastructure or where good old Telefonica can?t or want provide a landline.

3G for instance is good, but quite expensive for what you get. If however you only want to check emails and book flights, you probably can do this with 3G. So for a business man or woman on the move it can be a very good solution to give Internet Access on the move as an ad hock solution.

If like me you need internet access connected all the time, every moment that I am in the office, the computer is on and connected to the internet, 3G would cost an absolute fortune!

Also, 3G set up for older people, who make up the majority of expats living in Spain, is an issue, although it is quite simple and straight forwards most of the time. It is of course when you have a problem you need an increased level of technical understanding to resolve the issue. Then of course as you have purchased your 3G from Spain, it depends upon how helpful the shop you bought the 3G from will be.

The best solution is always a Copper Cable e.g. a Telefonica Landline, this is of course always there and does not suffer from the need to rely on someone keeping the system going & maintenance and up keep like, many systems do here in Spain.

There are many Wifi / WiMax systems provided by individual Companies all over Spain, now. They all require at the transmission end, an ongoing up keep and maintenance, most of the companies are using the same equipment but the service varies widely from Company to Company. This is because the Content Management System that control access and delivery of your internet, is not managed well.

The better the system is managed the less time outs you will have and the better consistent speeds you will receive.

Iberbanda is a national company partly owned by the Spanish government and Telefonica. Therefore we are back to the fantastic service that Telefoncia offers its clients!

We supply any system anywhere in Spain, for Internet Access and Broadband.

Whatever your requirements, whether it be Landline, fixed internet access, high speed internet access, Wlan, WWAN, Direct two-way Broadband to your property, Satellite Broadband systems, Wimax.

You will find that we at Satcomms will be able to help you resolve you problems. http://satcomms.info

Satellite Broadband systems is not cheap when you take the set up cost off it and you need a dish , and some place have a ban on dishs . With in next few weeks i will have system that cost 200 - 250 euros once off cost to link to the net , have been testing it aroud the Alicante and Andalucia area . will know more in few days

But for once off cost and holiday makes can rent this aswell from 3 days, works on laptops home pcs bussines computers
jurdy

need know more pm me here

Most rural areas are covered with iberbanda, a WiMax broadband solution that provides both internet as phone services. If you send me a pm with postcode or beter exact address of the place i'll check if there's coverage and help to contract services. As this service has symetrical speed, it's excellent for people who need it for work, upload speed is as quick as download speed, and ideal for servers that need to deal information over internet.

Regards

Pieter Vos

Just read all your comments and if you can help me that would be good too!

We are moving in April ( 4 weeks) and will need the internet altough not for work but for pleasure so still need a good connection. Our house is in La Marina (urbanization Buena Vista) near Guardamar del segura ( Alicante)

I have asked my friend to contact Telefonica to book an appointment as I hear that they take ages to set them up, once done I am not sure what is the best in terms of Internet whether I should stay with them or not.

Any comments would be very welcome, especially if you have had experience on doing the same in this area ( install phone and getting internet)

Muchas Gracias!!

Mauricette Graham

Hi Mauricette

I checked and currently there's no Iberbanda service, i'll check next week for updated coverage maps of that area. For phoneline + dsl , pm with your exact address and i'll check if distance between location and home is ok to put dsl.

Regards

Pieter

I do believe that there is no coverage for Iberbanda in that area.

However i know Buena Vista area well and there is WiFi broadband in the area.

I have lived in the area for 5 years.

Contact

www.broadbandspain.com

They offer a good service.

www.satcomms.info

offer broadband throughout Spain.

Brilliant thanks for letting me know because I think i'll die without Internet! I guess the most difficult is getting Telefonica to install a phone line, I was told by a neighbour that it's extremly difficult in the unbanization to get one so we'll see. At least I have a good spanish friend who is already on their case so I am keeping my fingers crossed!

I'll have a look at the website and once again thank you for your help!

Mauricette

In urbanisations the problem can be if they need to put pole. If the previous owner already had phone line then it's normally easy and quick. Anyway PM with your data and monday i'll try to check telefonica coverage.

Regards

> Brilliant thanks for letting me know because I think i'll die without Internet! I guess the most difficult is getting Telefonica to install a phone line, I was told by a neighbour that it's extremly difficult in the unbanization to get one so we'll see. At least I have a good spanish friend who is already on their case so I am keeping my fingers crossed!

I'll have a look at the website and once again thank you for your help!

Mauricette


well we all dead if we didnt have the net .........
Telefonica to install a phone line ......wait for it and wait and wait and !
wireless has it draw backs aswell .....
picking the single from the sky can cost lot off momey
roaming charges for you Mobile Phone is around 6.98 cent per Mb yes 6 euros and 98 cent
your down load be carefull just saw a guy bill for 1,400 euros for spain , he was 4 week in spain with out inter net and do most off his surfing via here phone (( o my f**king god )my phone bill would be 150 euros per month ) it wasnt work just surfing play games and so on , Real the guy to lazy to go to hotel that has free wifi and dose not like internet cafe as not safe

Another option you've got is check if there's GSM 3G network, in this case you could get a 3G modem and get a "Tarifa plana" contract with movistar, 56?/Month no limits over GSM network.

Regards

roaming charges are 6.98 per Mb watch out if your roaming jurdy

That's why to get a spanish SIM Card, get a prepaid one, or make a contract without any device asociated (Then you can cancel contract without having to pay penalty). With this you calls to UK or other countrys will be cheaper too, and in the case of movistar you can add the "Tarifa Juntos", for an selected country calls will be even cheaper.

Thanks for your advices, I have contacted one of the website previously stated as they cover my area without having to get telefonica as I don't think they cover where we are. I guess the options is to have a mobile phone + a wi fi wireless for the internet. I am waiting to see if they are going to contact me. In terms of mobile I think it's best to get a pay as you go to start with and then get a contract later on if needeed!

I'll keep an eye to your comments as you guys looks like you really know what's going on out there!

Once again thank you for all your help!

Mauricette

real think only time i have to used my phone is when i out , and have no inter net , skype are google talk what i would uesd all the time

Hi Mauricette

If you get a SIM in spain, remember that you need a operator unlocked phone (Or a free phone that's not bounded with any operator), otherwise the SIM wouldn't work. The same applys if you use a usb 3g modem or a 3g pcmcia card. Perhaps another good option, but difficult to find is an offer from movistar called "Pack degustacion", this includes usb modem with prepaid card for 200 mb.

Check if previous owner had phone line at your new home, and if you send me a private message i can check with telefonica internally how it's over there.

Regards

Pieter Vos

Hi Jurdy - still don't know who your Irish company was. Coulf you post details please.

Jeff

ok we are now here and have taken a vodaphone mobile contract for both of us, plus the internet via vodaphone for 39 euros per months, it as been ok so far and the speed is good, never heard from the website i hva e contacted for the wifi internet in this area wich is a shame, i nedeed the web quickly so there.

hopefully all will be working ok for a while

mauricette

For wif broadband internet coverage in Torrox Nerja Frigiliana Competa Canillas de Albaida Try www.nerjasolutions.com ( dynamic broadband ) there service is fast reliable and economical. 29 euros a month Inc. Speeds above 2 Mbps.
No contact terms and PAY AS YOU GO. 952527145

Be aware these so called 'free' wifi guys just connect you to someone elses broadband buy hacking the password. Never reliable let alone legal. Remember if it sounds to good to be true!! Always check they are registered with the CMT (spain OFCOM) before you sign up with any provider.

We had Telefonica up until we moved to Monda 6 months ago. Telefonica were fine, their service was good and they installed in quikck time, until...............we tried to cancel our contract with them. Our line is still connected despite phone calls and faxes confirming we no longer wanted the line because we were moving.

We have now received a letter stating they want to collect over ?237 for un paid bills - laughable! Of course we will NOT pay as we have all the details confirming that we did indeed cancel, typical of Telefonica. I have come to learn that there are many customers out there with similar problems. Telefonica have just lost many small claims against them for this type of service (on Spanish news), I cannot remember the amount in ?s that was mentioned but it was a considerable amount lost.

We then decided to use Connecta4, they came to the house we wanted to buy and confirmed internet could be installed in the house, and also confirmed we could have 2MB line that we wanted and needed to run our business.

Since then we have had nothing but trouble, they installed and then told us we could only have 1MB line (not on), they then started charging me too much from the bank account, the people on the telephone are rude and couldn't care less if the internet is down or not, I seem to spend a lot of my time calling and complaining the internet is down. We got to the end of our tether a few months ago and have just had another internet supplied and we now run the 2, we are testing a new service for InfoCasa and so far the service has been great, we now get 4MB, their service and installation is cheaper than Connecta4 and their monthly fee is less than Connecta4 for 3MB a month more!

Unfortunately, they are only supplying the Marbella and Fuengirola area at the moment but I know there are plans to expand but they want to get the service right before they start handing it out to clients (which is what every company should do!), I imagine we will test for them for a further month and then InfoCasa can start rolling it out.

It is strange because we get better internet in our campo house than we ever did with Telefonica, who would have thought that would ever be possible!

I will ask Jason about the time scales for providing his service to one and all and let you know.

Does anyone know where I can find coverage maps or information for areas of good 3G coverage online, specifically for the Loja/Huetor Tajar area of Granada?

3G is about our best bet for anything fast enough soon in our rural location, providing that as suggested Orange & Vodofone collaboration with upgrading antenna's is still in progress.

Hi,

3G is normally quite bad outside centric places. At granada, covering too Loja and Huetor Tajar areas we could provide you with Iberbanda Wimax access. PM for futher info.



> Does anyone know where I can find coverage maps or information for areas of good 3G coverage online, specifically for the Loja/Huetor Tajar area of Granada?

3G is about our best bet for anything fast enough soon in our rural location, providing that as suggested Orange & Vodofone collaboration with upgrading antenna's is still in progress.

I gave up on all these promises from various suppliers after I had tried a few and experienced botht the erratic connection and terrible service support, and eventually fitted a SatSpeed system,,
Install cost was relatively high 950?, but service has been 100%, and the phone (VOIP) is excellent.
This type of system will work in virtually any location as it is direct Satellite Transmission/Receive.
Cost per month vary on usage, but typically from 30?(2GB) to 100?(10GB) per month.

Hola

I live in Monda, we also have a property in Torreblanca that we rent out. When we lived in town we had Telefonica (nightmare as I am sure most of you are aware!).

Anyway, we used Connecta4 when we first moved, they came round and looked before we bought the property and said "tep we can give you a 2MB line" - this was a complete lie! They couldn't provide 2MB at all, we spent 6 months with them being frustrated, annoyed and upset, they didn't care that they told us we could have 2MB but knew full well they couldn't provide, we needed a strong connection for our internet business so connection was/is vital for us.

We moved over to Mercury Internet 6 months ago now and we have not looked back, we have a permanent 2MB connection that I can even use Skype with, fantastic!

Skype was nigh on impossible before and with majority of our clients using Skype it was imperative that we could use it to save money on calls!

Since joining Mercury's service we have saved over ?20 per month on our internet, it is even cheaper than what we had with Telefonica which was a shock, our internet has been down twice when they have installed new equipment, they have battery back ups so when Connecta4 lost their service 2 months ago we were still up and working.

Should you want more information from me I am happy for anyone to contact me off or on the board, I think that Mercruy can connect most people in majority of areas now, they certanly have Marbella, Fuengirola, Monda, Co?n etc covered anyway.

Happy New Year to one and all

Fruity :)

Wireless Internet (http://www.mercuryinternet.com)

Mike,
What is the quality like on the SatSpeed system? I mean do you experience any packet loss that would disrupt VOIP communications? I need a rural solution that lets me run my VOIP business phone.

Hola davyjones

We use Skype on our wireless connection (we live in campo Monda), we have Mercury Internet, we moved over from Connecta4 some time ago

A lot of our clients use Skype so it was a necessity for us to have this so we could continue to keep our business costs down :)

Hope that helps a bit

Simone

Does anyone have up to date information on how to get decent, cheap broadband in Spain that would suit someone who only spends 3 to 4 months a year in Spain?

Hi there,
Having had enought of Telefonica and my TRAC telephone I have just had TOOWAY satellite installed.
The system is up and running with good connection, it says 100.00Mbps speeds,
But think my pc is too old to cope!
Has anybody else have this system and encountered any problems?Any help would be most gratefull
Thanks, Gill
ps.
Having reall problems trying to install SKYPE too!

> Hi there,
Having had enought of Telefonica and my TRAC telephone I have just had TOOWAY satellite installed.
The system is up and running with good connection, it says 100.00Mbps speeds,
But think my pc is too old to cope!
Has anybody else have this system and encountered any problems?Any help would be most gratefull
Thanks, Gill
ps.
Having reall problems trying to install SKYPE too!


Hey Gill,

Would you recommend the company you are with now ? I depend on having fast internet for part of my job
and could do with a good hassle free company. What is there customer service like if you don't speak Spanish?

Thanks

Hi
We have a tooway system from TARIAM and we are on the campo. It actually runs at 3.6Mbps all the time Rental depends on the amount of data downloaded/uploaded but as we have no langline or 3G there is no other option.
Nigel

Well, those of you who have read some of my posts before, not always in this thread mind, will know that I've also had fun and games looking for "the" rural internet solution to suit my needs. We are in a location that's about as rural as they come.

I opted for 3G via Telefonica earlier last year and initially it worked reasonably well. Although the signal strength shown on the Escritorio Movistar software, never went better than 2 of 5 bars, the connection speed was actually quite good. Latency was also pretty good, with ping tests rating an average of 200ms, which I didn't think was bad for something other than a land-line connection.

Unfortunately however, through the course of the year, the quality of the service got progressively worse. In the end, the only way I could even get 1 bar signal strength and any connection, was if I wrapped the USB extension cable (which is only 1m length) around my leg... my body acting as a sort of earth plane!

Fed up of this and continued lack of any support....

Telefonica: "You're not in a 3G area"
Me: "But why do I often pick up 3.5G then?" (Which is impossible if you're "not in a 3G area")
Telefonica: "You're not in a 3G area...."
Me: "Ok then... if that's the case... why was I sold this, if I'm supposedly not in a coverage area in the first place?"
Telefonica: "Sorry, you're not in a coverage area"

...you guessed it, sod Telefonica!

So the search began again! I spoke to a few people I know and did a little research, then got in touch with Inland Computer Services. http://www.inlandcomputerservices.com/

They were very helpful, came and installed the system within a week. Although I've yet to need any support from them, I feel confident that if I do have need to speak to them with an issue, they are but a phone call away. They are a British run company, based in Sevilla Province, but will generally travel throughout most of Andalucia.

Some things that people need to be aware of if considering this type of system though, is circumstances such as my own. This option, albeit more costly overall than most options out there, ended up as the only option available to me at this moment in time. I've every confidence that Simon at Inland Computer Services will also advise people that this is the case, offering other options if he knows they're available in your area, such as 3G.

I opted for the Tooway KU Band system and the Silver package, at a cap of 6GB per month/4 weeks. Although the newer KA Band systems are advertised as available, I've been advised that currently this system is "full" and that there's no set date for the next satellite launch (supposed to be November 2010 acording to some sources), which will enable more users. Inland Computer Services aren't therefore offering the KA Band system, as they don't believe that people will be entirely happy with it, until there's more capacity available with the satellite launch. As yet, they've no confirmed date from Tooway as to when the launch will be. In all fairness, I got the impression that they would actually prefer to use this system, as it's the better system for the future, but at present, it's not fully available and therefore don't advise it.

My system itself is great when it comes to download speeds, but very sluggish when it comes to upload speeds. The contracted up/down connection is 3.6mbps/325kbps. Using http://www.speedtest.net I've been finding my latency (ping) is around 800 to 1000 milliseconds (500 equates to half a second, 1000 a full second delay), download speeds are around 4mbps to 5mbps (above the contracted 3.6mbps), but upload speed has been pretty sluggish and only scoring 0.01 to 0.02 on speedtest. Hopefully this will pick up as the weather conditions improve both here and in Turin, Italy, where the Tooway earth station is based for the Mediterranean basin.

I've yet to try VOIP or SKYPE, or anything like Ventrillo (commonly used for online games communication), but will give you feedback once I have. I'm told they should work fine though, even if there may by some occasional delay in the transmission.

On the whole though, general browsing of the internet is fine, as are downloads. Uploading images and such at the moment (as I need to do with my company website, or emails to clients) is very slow. Online gaming, which I have participated in for a number of years (I've played Ultima Online MMORPG) on and off for many years, is very difficult depending on the platform due to the poor latency, so anything where latency is very important, then this type of system is not ideally suited. That said though, when it's the only option available for your location, then overall it's actually a pretty good setup. I've not lost connection at all and during installation, I was shown how to reset the system and router should I ever lose connection in severe weather conditions.

So to recap, if you're off the beaten track and no other type of system is proven to work, then this is the last resort that may work for you. My own personal recommendation would be to examine the options in the following order:

? Land-line ADSL or cable through your phone line where the local exchange is capable.
? WiMax (In my area, via Iberbanda or CableSur)
? 3G (Via a USB dongle from Telefonica, Orange, Vodafone, etc...)
? Satellite (Via providers such as Tooway)

Heath...

re-this satellite service...

In a word...OUCH!

1400 Euros initial outlay for a capped service?

Whilst I know that you are stuck between a rock and a hard place in your location that seems a hell of a lot to pay out. Guess its 'short and curlies' time!

For us I think we will stick with our Telefonica DSL service; it may be a little slow at times, when the rest of the village are online and it may die occasionally whilst they carry out upgrades or routine servicing but for 39.99 Euros for a totally uncapped service that is ideally suited to our needs its pretty good value.
And according to Pieter Voss (in another thread on this forum somewhere) T'fonica are in the throws of upgrading the current 3Mbs service to 6Mbs whilst retaining the uncapped service.

fb

Yes Foxbat, Telefonica are in the process of offering upgrades. Friends of mine in many of the villages locally have started getting stuff through the post from them about the upgrade. Some of the WiMax suppliers are offering similar upgrades as well.

Unfortunately, anything other than a land-line connection or WiMax, are capped. These include 3G and Satellite options.

Unfortunately I've had to bite the bullet and go for the Satellite option, simply because the location of our house won't allow anything else to work. There's no land-line, we've no clear line of site for the main Parapanda antenna or any repeater stations for WiMax, plus although the 3G option started out well, it just got progressively worse unfortunately. It is a big layout for the satellite, but when it's a requirement for both personal and business communication, then it's a "need" rather than a "want".

Interestingly, late last year, I read in a small column of Granada Hoy, that Junta de Andalucia are supposed to be investing heavily in both urban and rural internet and supporting service providers, which will provide high speed access to 99% of homes and business' in the region, by November 2010...

...we'll believer that when we see it ;)

That wasn't actually meant to be sarcastic. It's just that given the largely rural nature of much of the region, the landscape and the distances between rural properties, I just don't think it's logistically viable, admirable though the intention may be. Clearly it's not just our region, but the whole of Spain that's lagging (excuse the internet pun...) behind when it comes to east of access to faster internet options. Most towns and cities are well connected, but I think it will be a good few years until high speed internet in rural locations becomes more widespread.

Unfortunately, living in the "now", one can't afford to wait for something that's as yet, years away...

> Hola davyjones

We use Skype on our wireless connection (we live in campo Monda), we have Mercury Internet, we moved over from Connecta4 some time ago

A lot of our clients use Skype so it was a necessity for us to have this so we could continue to keep our business costs down :)

Hope that helps a bit

Simone


Hola,Simone
I live in Guaro.Do you happen to know if Mercury also works here?We have Vodafone,and we have just signed for another 18 months with them and if I want to give them up now,I will probably be penalized,but I am interested in Mercury since I am not totally happy with Vodafone.
I am also looking for a job in the area,preferably part-time :).
Thank you !!

> [quote author="Fruity" date="1233160596"]Hola davyjones

We use Skype on our wireless connection (we live in campo Monda), we have Mercury Internet, we moved over from Connecta4 some time ago

A lot of our clients use Skype so it was a necessity for us to have this so we could continue to keep our business costs down :)

Hope that helps a bit

Simone


Hola,Simone
I live in Guaro.Do you happen to know if Mercury also works here?We have Vodafone,and we have just signed for another 18 months with them and if I want to give them up now,I will probably be penalized,but I am interested in Mercury since I am not totally happy with Vodafone.
I am also looking for a job in the area,preferably part-time :).
Thank you !![/quote]

Hola

I will find out for you ASAP, we are following each other on Twitter

Can you add your CV to AmbientJobs so they can see what suitable job you can be matched with?

Speak soon

Simone

Hola

I have spoken with a friend of mine who lives in Guaro and apparently Mercury Wireless is just coming to your town :)

So you might be in look for changing from Vodafone, I hate them too, bloody useless!

I use Movistar for my Blackberry service and Mercury for my Wireless internet, I am so pleased to be without Telefonica land line and ADSL as that was a small nightmare but we won?t go into that here as there is a thread already running dedicated to Telefonica LOL

If you want any further information from me, then let me know

Simone :)

Thank you,Simone !!!! :-)

Hi,

I previously worked fopr Mercury Internet for 7 years and have now setup my own I.T Company www.soltecspain.com installing Wireless Internet on their Infrastructure.
Contact me if you need further information.

Have just dropped a line to Soltec to see if they can help.. But.. if anyone has other ideas/contacts that may be able to help us out of our situation...

We live in the Valtocado area (between Mijas Pueblo and Alhaurin el Grande).
We were a customer of Fonetica/Alo for past 3 yrs. Former have now done a bunk and latter have no local tech support so have
decided to shut down the system. Leaving over 100 local residents with no phone/internet service!

We have tried most of the 'known' local providers, but due to our location, it seems no one, but no one can get us a signal.
We are getting desperate as ALO is about to be cut off in next few days!

People we have tried -
Y Internet, Connecta 4, Mercury. Iberbanda.
(Were thinking of VIP Hotspot - but they have really bad feedback from people who have used them).

'If' it is a case of satellite system, does anyone have the technology/back up to do so?
(Sorry if previous replies have covered info on various systems that are available. Just point me to them and give me an 'idiots guide! lol!).

Hoping somewhere, somehow, someone can help us!

That is awful that you cannot find anyone to help. I know that Mercury are in Guaro but it seems you have tried them, that is terrible they are going to leave you in that situation!

If I had a good suggestion then I would try and help you, we had Telefonica on the coast and are now with Mercury after a disaster with Connecta4, although we do still have their equipment so if anyone wants to buy a Connecta4 aerial, give me a shout, I will never need it, was a waste of money!

:)

Have heard good things about Mercury (they are not the cheapest, but great back up/service)...
Still awaiting a site survey.
ps - they have many agents along the coast. Not sure whether it is best to go direct or use one of them
(will give some feedback if we go ahead with an installation!).

Have been looking into possibility of Satellite system if all else fails.
Tarinam are a branded, well known, respected system - but a whopping Euro 900 to buy and install (you can buy
the kit only for Eu500, but the rest is the installation fee. Anyone willing (and qualified!) to do it for less?

Have been advised to stay away from the Spanish Satellite system as Astra signal rubbish?
Anyone have any experience of this?
Need to know as much as I can before we go get a loan!

ps will have Alvarion Breeze Access kit for sale (only 2yrs old) when we are cut off in morning!
Drop me a pm!

SJ

There are many companies supplying Wireless Internet access, but only two I would recommend and one who I would stay well away from.

Also the same is true of many people who advertise the installation of Wireless Internet.

Many of these "agents" will visit you and will show you the connection you will receive but in practice what you actually get is completely different.
Some of them install a system which will "Leech" onto a neighbouring property's signal, something which is illegal in most countries.
I've even heard of some who will install your Internet connection and use this to supply other people in your area without your consent.

Remember you are responsible for what content is viewed / downloaded from your ISP.
If somebody else is downloading illegal material from your connection then it will be you who is held responsible.

Always ask what experience so called "experts" have (Especially on the Costa del Sol)and if necessary ask for references from previous clients.

Contact me for any questions answering even if I cannot provide the service you require I will point you in the right direction.

If you want to read an article I wrote about wifi leeching it can be downloaded from my website.

http://www.soltecspain.com/documents/wifileeching.pdf

Hola outside world!
Finally got an OK co, with good conn and am just christening the system.
Have to dash.. so will update all with who/where/how/etc! asap!

Sooo glad we didn;t have to think about moving because of this hiccup!

:)

postscript....

Just to say that Neil of Soltech was of immense help. Even though he couldn't provide a service due to our 'unique' location, he helped me through the process of getting the right co, right equipment etc - All free, friendly and professional advice.

I would recommend him without any hesitation if you need an installation on the costa del sol.. Llikewise, he is very knowledgeable about most systems inc IT in general.

He gets 10/10 for my vote!

I have had a number of enquiries from areas I cannot cover.
As a rule of thumb I cannot provide coverage to the East of Malaga.
I cover all areas from Malaga to Estepona including inland areas i.e Monda, Guaro, Alhourin, Mijas, Valtocado, Coin, Yunquera etc.

Hello

Has anyone had any dealings with Nerja Solutions and recommend them as a decent provider of wireless broadband or suggest an alternative for Cerro Gordo, Nerja.

Thanks

Genmanic

> Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is wireless, and is often associated with a telecommunications network interconnections between nodes is performed without the use of a wires.



Daniel!

Go play with your crayons - off you go...

Now you can get fast internet anywhere in europe using the latest internet by satellite from 30 month for 6mb 45e 8mb 60e 10mb inclusive,
with upload speed 4mb no landline needed and skype friendly. so if you are fed up with slow internet call us now. 0034 628008465 installing from valencia to murcia and inland areas.visit www.tooway.com for lots of info.

> Now you can get fast internet anywhere in europe using the latest internet by satellite from 30 month for 6mb 45e 8mb 60e 10mb inclusive,
with upload speed 4mb no landline needed and skype friendly. so if you are fed up with slow internet call us now. 0034 628008465 installing from valencia to murcia and inland areas.visit for lots of info.


Wow, how can it be skype friendly without a landline? How do you get latency so low?

hi i had skype when i had a dongle no problem now the satellite internet has a upload speed of 2mb.

costasat what sat are that on ?

Hi Jurdy nice to speak to you for the first time,
The satellite we use is on eurobird 9a ka band 9d east.
max download 10.2mb max upload 4mb so its pretty quick and works basically anywhere
Thanks Larry

We are having a hard time finding the right service in the Sitges area (08818). Unfortunately, the FAP of satellite solutions makes it unsuitable for us. Streaming for AppleTV/skype/downloading movies/music caused us to exceed the FAP within a week. And we aren't teens using torrents 24/7...

Does anyone know of any good WiMAX provider/resellers in the Sitges/Castelldefels area? We know of Iberbanda, but looking for someone who knows our area AND knows what options might be out there.

Thanks for any feedback!

keatsfan


> Hi Jurdy nice to speak to you for the first time,
The satellite we use is on eurobird 9a ka band 9d east.
max download 10.2mb max upload 4mb so its pretty quick and works basically anywhere
Thanks Larry

Hi keatsfan...

I guess you cant get a landline solution?

Problem is of course that Iberbanda and virtually every Wimax or sat internet operator has FAP's / FUP's that are anything but 'Fair'

We are fairly heavy users of the internet and when we were considering migrating from Telefonica to a Sat or Wimax operator I installed a little gizmo that actually monitors the amount of traffic up and down from our individual computers. Since the 1st Feb we have used a total of 210Gbs.

You could try loading the same device to your computer to see what your actual usage is. Its free and downloadable from

http://www.softperfect.com/products/networx/

You can then get a good idea of how much you would have to pay for a non-landline solution.

fb

> We are having a hard time finding the right service in the Sitges area (08818). Unfortunately, the FAP of satellite solutions makes it unsuitable for us. Streaming for AppleTV/skype/downloading movies/music caused us to exceed the FAP within a week. And we aren't teens using torrents 24/7...

Does anyone know of any good WiMAX provider/resellers in the Sitges/Castelldefels area? We know of Iberbanda, but looking for someone who knows our area AND knows what options might be out there.

Thanks for any feedback!

keatsfan

[quote author="costasat" date="1311036418"]Hi Jurdy nice to speak to you for the first time,
The satellite we use is on eurobird 9a ka band 9d east.
max download 10.2mb max upload 4mb so its pretty quick and works basically anywhere
Thanks Larry
[/quote]

just was in Sitges to day and we have are new system up and runing there , are you in the town are outside ? the area we cove is from the rugby club to the town area ,
Jurdy