Broadband in Spain

[Graf1771]

Hi, I wasn't sure where to post this but i'm thinking about moving to Spain and i'm trying to find out about the possibility of getting a broadband connection.

If there is anyone from the Malaga / Fuengirola area i'd be grateful for any help!

The actual town i'll be going to is Alhaurin el Grande.

Thanks.

[Deejayn]

Hi

I've no personal experience of Spanish services, but I do have several business contacts in Spain and Mallorca who have.

From those contacts I've heard about two Spanish based service providers.

The first, and what appears to be the widest used, is Terra.es, who are I think the Spanish equivalent of BT - and the consensus here appears to be "don't do it with terra unless you really have no option.

The second is Tiscali Spain - where my contact moved after awful experience with terra, and who by comparison with terra my contact thinks are very good indeed.

Good luck!!!

[stevealmond]

Hi

I live in Spain, on the other side of the strait of Gibraltar towards Cadiz. Broadband is widely available throughout Spain, with there being many service providers. I use telefonica which is the equivalent of BT ( Terra isn't ) and provide all the cables throughout Spain. You therefore have to have an account with telefonica just to get a phone line. I find that the service provided by telefonica is very good and when there has been a problem in the past it has been dealt with very efficiently. I wouldn't touch terra or retevision with a barge pole.

Good luck with your move.

Regards

Steve

[graham harris]

I live on one of the smallest islands in the Canaries and have broadband. Like the other respondent I have nothing but praise for telefonica, the national operator.

The only point to bear in mind is that you cannot have a telephone until you have a bank account and so the best thing to do is open a bank account early. This is because all bills are paid by direct debit and the minute you move to broadband you have to pay monthly.

If you can't speak spanish don't worry when you speak to the operator ask for an english speaking operator and they will explain everything to you in English. They offer a great service.

Good luck in your new venture

Graham

[Graf1771]

Thanks everyone for those replies!

That's the kind of information I was looking for. :-)

[computergenius]

I live about 5 km from Alhaurin el Grande...

There are a number of ADSL suppliers in Spain, but they all use Telefonica for the final link to your house. I would suggest that you use Telefonica for your connection, since they are no worse than the others, and if you have any problems, you will not get passed backwards and forwards.

In general, you should be able to ADSL in the village. You can check if your line is available by typing your telephone number into a web site - however, the web site lies a lot, don't trust it.

However, most ex-pats live OUTSIDE the village, and some cannot even get a land line...

If you need any help, you are welcome to contact me direct.

[oxygene]

Europes third largest Internet company has just rolled out to Spain.

We are looking for people to reccommend them to friends, families and anyone they bump into.

Offering up to £100 per 3 connections to ADSL.

Please contact direct at

info@easy-broadband.co.uk for more info.

SUBJECT= SPAIN

Spain is going to be a massive market and possibilities to make a fortune are real.

We should have a number and area checker available soon.

Deejayn, does your friend also, want to get paid for recommending friends?

Cheers

[Alan01]

The actual broadband in Spain is good and fast. Telewfonica are not so good but all are similar.

There is no support in English for Telefonica Internet. Yes you can get an English speaking person for your telephone line But NOT for your internet connection.

[computergenius]

The actual broadband in Spain is good and fast. Telewfonica are not so good but all are similar.

If you can get it...

2.5 years after the original post, I still cannot get ADSL on a land line, and Telefonica cannot tell me when it will be available. The price is also very high, compared to other countries.

I have to use a radio connection to my house, as the land line is not good enough. This costs about 45 Euros per month for broadband only, at 256k. When I see the prices that my friends pay back in the UK, I could cry... and it doesn't work all the time, anyway!


There is no support in English for Telefonica Internet. Yes you can get an English speaking person for your telephone line But NOT for your internet connection.

If you move to another country, you should try to learn the language of that country.

[dirtydavid]

Hi Pete

Very suprised to hear you cannot get broadband on your land line, unless you are too far from your local exchange. Just like every other telephone operator they can only deliver if the distances are right. Where conditions are right, Telefonica are very efficient at rolling out broadband, and at great speeds as well.

Everyone who has a land line in our small village has broadbacn at speeds of up to 8mb. I am just over 4km from the exchange, being well outside the village, but still get a very healthy 4mb, people 2km further from town than me are using a 2mb connection without problems.

I would say that unless you do speak good spanish, good enough to kick them into action, or have a good friend who can argue on your behalf, the local ops will probably say its not available, rather than upgrade the circuits. Telefonica stated a few years back that they wanted out of the fixed line market, and want to move toward broadband wireless connections.

Talking of broadband wireless, have you investigated these services, there are many companies advertising the services around spain.

David

[computergenius]

Hi DD.

At the time I applied, I was told that I was too far from the exchange, we about 5km outside the village. However, Telefonica forgot that I had applied, and asked one of my neighbours if they wanted broadband, because they could get free calls. They didn't have a computer, so said no, but mentioned it to me.

I just asked for 1Mb, as it is sufficient, I need constant access to my server, but don't bring a lot of info backwards and forwards, apart from the main backup once a week.

As far as speaking Spanish, I have no problem, and my Spanish neighbours couldn't get it either.

As to broadband wireless, I used Iberbanda, who were the same price (45E) for 256k, and Telefonica are for 1Mb, and Telefonica have free (non-internet) calls as well, so I switched. Needless to say, Iberbanda never asked why I was cancelling, so made no attempt to provide an alternative offer.

There are alternative ADSL suppliers, but they all use Telefonicas lines, and if there is a problem, they just play ping-pong, and say the problem lies with the other party. At least with Telefonica, they have no-one else to blame if there is a problem. Fingers crossed.

[ebropc]

If you can get it...

2.5 years after the original post, I still cannot get ADSL on a land line, and Telefonica cannot tell me when it will be available. The price is also very high, compared to other countries.

I have to use a radio connection to my house, as the land line is not good enough. This costs about 45 Euros per month for broadband only, at 256k. When I see the prices that my friends pay back in the UK, I could cry... and it doesn't work all the time, anyway!




If you move to another country, you should try to learn the language of that country.

Have you tried a company called Eurona? They are cheaper than some.. Also a new Satellite has been launched and goes live in June.. Providing a 10mb link and its based in the UK so you can also use Iplayer etc... have a look google ebrovalleycomputers.eu
Its Satellite broadband at a lower cost than it used to be, and you can install it yourself! And available throughout europe.