# the internet and power cuts in rural areas.



## casaloco (Mar 30, 2011)

I have tried to do a search on this but couldnt come up with much.

can anyone give me their opinions on high speed internt that would be available out of town. companies/costs etc.

also how often do people suffer from power cuts and how long do they usually last.

many thanks
Terrie


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

casaloco said:


> I have tried to do a search on this but couldnt come up with much.
> 
> can anyone give me their opinions on high speed internt that would be available out of town. companies/costs etc.
> 
> ...


Where I am, the internet is ok, certainly for me. It goes down, maybe once a day, on and off for about two or three hours. Power cuts arent as bad here as they were in my last place (Alqueria), but we probably have a bit one (more than two hours) every couple of months and probably every few weeks we get several little cuts for a few seconds

Jo xxx


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

If you live in the campo then an internet connection will depend on what is available and visible to you. You may be lucky to have a telephone line but if there isn't one there don't expect one to be installed. You can nearly always get a mobile connection but that can be iffy and expensive. Best thing is if you can see a transmitter from an internet provider. It's much better now than it was a few years ago. As for speeds again that will depend on who you are with. In our case it took two months to find anybody who could provide us with a service and that required a repeater unit being attached to somebodies villa perched high up on a hill because they can see the transmitter and we, being nestled in a valley, can't. We get 3mbps download which is enough for most things, although upload can be a bit slow making Skype video calls hit and miss. Power cuts happen and when they do our internet disappears until the power is restored. Nothing you can do about that apart from a stiff gin and tonic. My advice is do your homework when moving to a new place, The owner or agent will always tell you that internet is available but don't take their work for it. Get one or two of the free magazines for ex-pats such as Marketplace or Soltalk (available here in Nerja) and you will find many companies advertising internet services. Costs vary and is generally more expensive than UK but you shouldn't pay more than 29 euros a month. Hope that helps.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

casaloco said:


> I have tried to do a search on this but couldnt come up with much.
> 
> can anyone give me their opinions on high speed internt that would be available out of town. companies/costs etc.
> 
> ...


Depends ... things are much better than two or three years ago, and you have to be fairly remote these days not to get ADSL internet coverage at a reasonable speed. I'm in the Sierra de Cadiz and 50km from the nearest city and we get about 6 Mbs for €29 a month plus €20 for telephone line rental.

Make sure you rent somewhere which already has a telephone line, otherwise this can take ages in rural areas.

Powercuts - yes, we get them but not as much as when we first moved here. If you need the internet for work, invest in a battery-operated back-up system like this:


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I Alqueria we used wifi, which was good, unless the fire plane went over (WTF?) or there was a power cut

Jo xxx


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## jimenato (Nov 21, 2009)

casaloco said:


> I have tried to do a search on this but couldnt come up with much.
> 
> can anyone give me their opinions on high speed internt that would be available out of town. companies/costs etc.
> 
> ...


Hi.

What do you mean by out of town? We are in a small pueblo and have very good landline internet from telefonica/movistar. It is expensive around 40€ pcm but reliable and about 6mbps.

If you mean away from a landline there are basically two options: a dongle working off the mobile 'phone network - again around about 40€ but, depending upon where you are, slow and unreliable. I threw mine out in frustration years ago but it might be better now. The other option is a line-of-sight antenna on your roof from someone like Iberbanda. About the same price and reliable but not exactly fast about 1 mbps I think.

Powercuts here are frequent, particularly in bad weather and last anything from a split second (these can be very damaging) to hours.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

jojo said:


> Where I am, the internet is ok, certainly for me. It goes down, maybe once a day, on and off for about two or three hours. Power cuts arent as bad here as they were in my last place (Alqueria), but we probably have a bit one (more than two hours) every couple of months and probably every few weeks we get several little cuts for a few seconds
> 
> Jo xxx


Those little cuts are so annoying! They knock out my internet radio and it takes 20 minutes to reboot!


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Alcalaina said:


> Those little cuts are so annoying! They knock out my internet radio and it takes 20 minutes to reboot!


 Arent they! I have to reset my alarm, the sky box and you just start rooting around for the torch, candles etc and then it comes back on!.......AAAAGGGGHHHH! 

Jo xxxx


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

the odd thing about the internet though is the unpredictability of what speed you can get

it can vary ridiculously from one end or side of the same street!!


& powercuts - you just get used to them even in town


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## casaloco (Mar 30, 2011)

Alcalaina said:


> Powercuts - yes, we get them but not as much as when we first moved here. If you need the internet for work, invest in a battery-operated back-up system like this:
> Back-UPS CS 350 USB/Serial: APC: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories



Never thought of something like this, definately a good idea.

i dont want to be too far out in the sticks, just somewher quiet by a little town, depends on price obviously.
we get alot of those little power cuts at home too (and some for hours) but it isnt so important here it would be there.
if i have to get orders out, i need to have power. thinking a deisel generator wouldnt be a bad investment!!


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

casaloco said:


> Never thought of something like this, definately a good idea.
> 
> i dont want to be too far out in the sticks, just somewher quiet by a little town, depends on price obviously.
> we get alot of those little power cuts at home too (and some for hours) but it isnt so important here it would be there.
> if i have to get orders out, i need to have power. thinking a deisel generator wouldnt be a bad investment!!


We have had problems with ISPs but have reluctantly settled with telefonica/movistar.
Internet connection is less of a problem than transport if you do not have a car.
You can drive a UK plated car for only six months (?) if you are resident.


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## donz (May 5, 2010)

it definitely depends on where you live and don't bank on more rural being less stable either

I live in the middle of nowhere in the campo and my nearest village is 15mins away - yet I don't have daily powercuts like some. I do find if I overload the power supply (for instance by having the washing machine on as well as x y & z PLUS then flick the kettle on then it will cut out) but you just get to know which are the big users and don't have one on when the other is on (like the dishwasher and the washing machine at the same time)

Someone told me the other day you can request to have your kw amount supplied upgraded but in the same breath also told me if you are over 10kw then your bill is about to go up 12% soon..... (I think we are on something very low like 4kw)

Anyway, back on track....

Internet wise again be very careful about who you go with - connections here are not cheap like the UK. Out here we use satellite internet as it's the only guaranteed connection. Cost nearly a grand to install but averages around €50 a month for the actual usage. In a more urban area you should get ADSL no problem

You just never know about the availability of certain things until you investigate a specific place - for example my neighbour (5 min drive away) doesn't have mains water and has to pump it up from the river yet we have all our amenities


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## ricardoylucia (Dec 1, 2009)

I am unsure whether to start a new thread or join in on this one......

We live in Jaen province about 10k from our nearest town of Alcaudete and have been on a contract with Movistar for the last 12 months, now they want us to pay just over 70€ a month for nothing.....it would not be so bad if we were getting decent download speeds, of say 6mbps...

Cannot really complain about the Movistar service, except for their charges......and there does not appear to be any alternative.....download speeds vary from under 1mbps to about 1.5mbps, but it is stable...

Power cuts in our area are becoming less frequent - say less than once a month......


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

ricardoylucia said:


> I am unsure whether to start a new thread or join in on this one......
> 
> We live in Jaen province about 10k from our nearest town of Alcaudete and have been on a contract with Movistar for the last 12 months, now they want us to pay just over 70€ a month for nothing.....it would not be so bad if we were getting decent download speeds, of say 6mbps...
> 
> ...


All the ADSL services use the Movistar infrastructure but the download speed can vary enormously. We switched from Movistar to Jazztel last year, paid €35 a month less and our download speed doubled (the real one, not the official one) from around 3 to around 6 mbs.

Are you sure you have no alternative? Check out Jazztel and Orange! Even telling Movistar you have found a cheaper service and are planning to move can often miraculously lead them to offer a better tariff.


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

ricardoylucia said:


> I am unsure whether to start a new thread or join in on this one......
> 
> We live in Jaen province about 10k from our nearest town of Alcaudete and have been on a contract with Movistar for the last 12 months, now they want us to pay just over 70€ a month for nothing-......


That happened to us...so we complained to telefonica/movistar and said we would stop our contract with them.
So they dropped the charge to just under 20 euros for internet and line rental.
I've done that twice.


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## ricardoylucia (Dec 1, 2009)

mrypg9 said:


> That happened to us...so we complained to telefonica/movistar and said we would stop our contract with them.
> So they dropped the charge to just under 20 euros for internet and line rental.
> I've done that twice.


I think I will give that a go and complain and see what happens.....I can only try...


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## mrypg9 (Apr 26, 2008)

ricardoylucia said:


> I think I will give that a go and complain and see what happens.....I can only try...


Well, it worked for me...twice.
But I am a VERY good complainer...


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## casaloco (Mar 30, 2011)

mrypg9 said:


> Well, it worked for me...twice.
> But I am a VERY good complainer...


maybe we could hire your services!!!!

seriously thsnks for the input everyone, its great.

terrie x


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

I moved to the campo a couple of months ago... i must say.. my wimax internet is awsome.. very few problems, and the pwoer is more reliable than on an urb where i previously lived. In the cold I have had kettles, oven, heaters, tumble dryer etc all on full pelt and no trips, nothing.

No power cuts yet apart from one for 3 whole seonds during a strom, and 5mb internet download.. HAPPY DAYS!


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## Happyexpat (Apr 4, 2011)

steve_in_spain said:


> I moved to the campo a couple of months ago... i must say.. my wimax internet is awsome.. very few problems, and the pwoer is more reliable than on an urb where i previously lived. In the cold I have had kettles, oven, heaters, tumble dryer etc all on full pelt and no trips, nothing.
> 
> No power cuts yet apart from one for 3 whole seonds during a strom, and 5mb internet download.. HAPPY DAYS!


There are other options if, repeat if, you don't have access to 3g via one of the mobile phone providers, a good landline or Wimax from a provider.

You can use satellite, 'twoway' from Bentley Walker (they have a website under their own name). I have used the system myself and installed it for others. It is excellent with a variety of packages but it can work out expensive if you are just a casual internet user.

As for power out here. I use a UPS on any sensitive electronics, skybox, tv, computers etc. From experience it will save you money in the long run and if the local press is to be believed the power situation is going to get worse here and in other parts of Europe before it gets better.....its important to remember that everybody talks about 'spikes' but brownouts and overpower can be just as devastating to powers supplies especially switch mode ones as in computers.


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

Where we live the supply is quite stable & cuts are rare.
We have just switched the line to Vodafone as Telefonica will no longer give us the 19.90e package for ADSL, so switching to Vodafone will give us 6 months at half price and 12 months at 19.90 for 3 meg.

A generator is not a good idea as this will likely blow the router (as the last poster spoke about) and may well damage other items.
Happy also talks about a UPS and I think this is like power pack that is constantly charged when you plugged in & will protect by not allowing spikes to pass through, and will also keep running should the power fail via its battery.

I must invest in one of these at some stage as it would save me pulling the plugs out of the sockets if an electrical storm should wander by.


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## Happyexpat (Apr 4, 2011)

You can use a generator with electronic equip providing you use a good Ups which protects against surges and power fluctuations.


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## casaloco (Mar 30, 2011)

Happyexpat said:


> You can use a generator with electronic equip providing you use a good Ups which protects against surges and power fluctuations.


i was thinking more of having a generator to keep sewing machines and lights going.
the ups thing definately a good idea, adrian is a wizz at making and fixing computers, he wouldnt be happy if his computer went bang!!!!!

is it like in Uk where you have to get an electrician with a certificate to do absolutely anything in your home?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

casaloco said:


> is it like in Uk where you have to get an electrician with a certificate to do absolutely anything in your home?


It is like that, altho its hard to believe that some of the electrical work you see around has been done by an adult, let alone a certified electrician

Jo xxx


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## xicoalc (Apr 20, 2010)

jojo said:


> It is like that, altho its hard to believe that some of the electrical work you see around has been done by an adult, let alone a certified electrician
> 
> Jo xxx


:clap2::clap2::clap2:

Thats so true!


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## Happyexpat (Apr 4, 2011)

A child would probably do a better job in many cases!!


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

jojo said:


> It is like that, altho its hard to believe that some of the electrical work you see around has been done by an adult, let alone a certified electrician
> 
> Jo xxx


This is an example of the professional electricians' handiwork in our village (or their grandfathers', more likely):


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## DunWorkin (Sep 2, 2010)

We recently had problems with our aircon. We called in the a/c engineers and when they saw the wiring they were horrified. They said that wires that were carrying heavy duty electrics should only have been used for small electrics like table lamps.

Our house is only 8 years old and the wiring was the original when the house was built.

We had some of the wiring replaced but it is worrying what the rest of it is like. Is it safe?


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

DunWorkin said:


> We had some of the wiring replaced but it is worrying what the rest of it is like. Is it safe?


We had speaker wire running up the side of our wall to give electricity to the bedroom at the last house. this house has insulation tape joining the wires where the junction box should be !!! The outside lights here must be lethal and altho they work, I'm nor sure I'd put them on for long!

Whats frightening is that a professional is supposed to have "signed them off" as safe!!!

Jo xxx


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## VFR (Dec 23, 2009)

jojo said:


> We had speaker wire running up the side of our wall to give electricity to the bedroom at the last house. this house has insulation tape joining the wires where the junction box should be !!! The outside lights here must be lethal and altho they work, I'm nor sure I'd put them on for long!
> 
> Whats frightening is that a professional is supposed to have "signed them off" as safe!!!
> 
> Jo xxx


Yes Jo we had a little of that on our place when we moved here that the former owner (Damien) had decided to install.
Luck would have it though that a local company who are really proffesional were called in to rewire the place from top to bottom & the boss of the company had a good knowledge of UK wiring and just what is expected by a UK owner (I think his daughter lived in the UK)

So there are some good outfits around who pride themselves on the work they do & will tailor (if possible) the installation to suit the owners.


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