# Broadband questions?



## SonnyFelton (Oct 23, 2012)

Hi there, im sorry if theres a thread already on this but i couldnt seem to find one and if there is i think mines a little different. 
Ive been living in Mallorca for 6 months now and its closing in on the winter and i need to get wifi sorted, ive not needed it so far because next door let me give him so money a month to use his, he is now moving house!

I have 2 questions really, my 1st is would my best bet getting broadband from telephonica/movistar?

And second is, what internet package do i need? I dont understand all the up to 20mbps, 30mbps/3mbps etc?

I would like from my internet to be able to download as much as i like, use programmes like skype without any buffering and use streaming sites like bbc iplayer etc without any buffering problems etc. So would somebody be kind enough to post some links or explain to me what i need 

thankyou


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/120857-movistar.html

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/128242-sky-anytime.html

http://www.expatforum.com/expats/spain-expat-forum-expats-living-spain/70444-moving-mallorca.html

Heres a few threads that maybe of use to you. Have a nose thru them. Hopefully someone with the right info will come along and be able to point you in the right direction

Jo xxxx


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## RichTUK (Oct 15, 2012)

Hey Sonny, we looked at Movistar (Telefónica) but for the prices they wanted it didnt seem worth it. If you like to watch UK TV online then the 10mbps package from Movistar is fine but it will cos around 45 euros all together with a landline phone, thats what my girlfriends parents have. We decided though to go with ONO, its around 35 a month, we get 12mbps which is slightly better, they dont seem to cut back our service at peek times either unlike Movistar, and we also get a landline phone and TV package with that price.


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## SonnyFelton (Oct 23, 2012)

Thanks for the info guys.

Just to carry on from your comment richTUK...with regards to the 10mb you suggested, if i only need this, home come theres like 50mbs packages about, are these for familys with more than 1 laptop, games console etc? Also would the download speed be the same throughout all the packages if its 10mb or 50mb?

Also i gave ono my phone number the other day and they rang, i asked coudl they speak english but they said no, got a friend to speak to them for me and once he said were i lived, palma nova, mallorca, they hung up =| lol


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## RichTUK (Oct 15, 2012)

SonnyFelton said:


> Thanks for the info guys.
> 
> Just to carry on from your comment richTUK...with regards to the 10mb you suggested, if i only need this, home come theres like 50mbs packages about, are these for familys with more than 1 laptop, games console etc? Also would the download speed be the same throughout all the packages if its 10mb or 50mb?
> 
> Also i gave ono my phone number the other day and they rang, i asked coudl they speak english but they said no, got a friend to speak to them for me and once he said were i lived, palma nova, mallorca, they hung up =| lol


That sucks, maybe ONO dont deal in Mallorca. 

In regards to explaining the 10mb and 50mb... here goes. Your download speed, i.e 10mb, 12mb or 50mb determines how fast your internet will be, for instance anything over a constant 2mb per second connection will allow you to open small things like text webpages at the same speeds of a much greater 50mb connection, but say you wanted to load a HD youtube video on you small 2mb per second internet connection it could take 5 or 6 mins just to load up and allow you to watch just 30 seconds of the video, however with a 50mb connection a minute of a youtube video will load up in less than a few seconds (in theory). 

So for general browsing online you will be hard pushed to see a difference between the smaller 10mb and the larger 50 mb, but if you wanted to download a "legal" film online and the video size was 1gb, the 10mb connection will get you the video (in theory) in 16 mins as it would downloads at a maximum of 1.25mbps, where as the 50mb connection will get you the same video in 3 mins as it will have a maximum connection of 6.25mbps.

Also if you like to watch videos online with a 10mb connection it will be fine, however if you service becomes slow at times it could effect your ability to watch the content as it could buffer alot, but with a larger internet connection the service can still take a hit and run slower but its more than likely you will still have enough bandwidth to watch the stream without it buffering, Plus service providers look after the customers paying more for a service in general and when you buy a connection over 30mb you are less likely to see the connection fluctuate due to being cut back at peak times, where as a cheaper 10mb connection will be cut back a fair amount most days.

Thats me trying to explain it simply, sorry ;p . hope it helps though.


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## SonnyFelton (Oct 23, 2012)

That my friend was a perfect description in what i needed to know, thanks for taking the time to type that to me because its been very helpful!

Ive found a few packages around in the past few days and found a couple i dont mind paying for 30mb which by the sounds of it will fill my fill my needs very easy!

You are my new best friend  ha


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## RichTUK (Oct 15, 2012)

SonnyFelton said:


> That my friend was a perfect description in what i needed to know, thanks for taking the time to type that to me because its been very helpful!
> 
> Ive found a few packages around in the past few days and found a couple i dont mind paying for 30mb which by the sounds of it will fill my fill my needs very easy!
> 
> You are my new best friend  ha


haha no worries


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## codex70 (Jun 24, 2012)

I'd be really interested to know how you get on. Where in Mallorca are you based? I did notice that there were some wireless broadband options on the island, you might want to look at ib-red and conectabalear.

You need to be careful to look out for download limits as well as download speed. In the UK it's common to be capped at say 10GB per month for downloads. If you're watching internet based TV, you'll eat that up in no time.


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## RichTUK (Oct 15, 2012)

codex70 said:


> I'd be really interested to know how you get on. Where in Mallorca are you based? I did notice that there were some wireless broadband options on the island, you might want to look at ib-red and conectabalear.
> 
> You need to be careful to look out for download limits as well as download speed. In the UK it's common to be capped at say 10GB per month for downloads. If you're watching internet based TV, you'll eat that up in no time.


Very true, ive been trying to hit my internet hard and do constant speed tests and ive downloaded atleast 25gb of data this week and my speeds have always been between 11.50 and 12.40 mb, and for the 12mb service we have thats brilliant, much better than the UK in my experience. However im with ONO and as I said in an earlier post my girlfriends parents, who live about 3 streets away are with Movistar and they were getting capped most evenings around 5pm onwards. Most service providers will not cap you if you pay for a 30meg or higher service, but yeah, its always best to ask them before hand just incase as they are all different and each provider manages their connections in a different way.


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## samfg (Oct 23, 2012)

RichTUK said:


> Most service providers will not cap you if you pay for a 30meg or higher service, but yeah, its always best to ask them before hand just incase as they are all different and each provider manages their connections in a different way.


I suppose you mean Spanish ISPs? I've also noticed that in certain times (usually afternoon) my broadband connection is slower than usual but I've never heard that any of the Spanish providers would actually do this.. Although wouldn't be surprised if they did.

I'm pretty sure that if you call for example Movistar "customer service" and ask _the monkey_ whether they restrict use of their connection at certain hours of the day a) he/she doesn't know what this means b) he/she doesn't admit that Movistar would do this.


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## RichTUK (Oct 15, 2012)

samfg said:


> I suppose you mean Spanish ISPs? I've also noticed that in certain times (usually afternoon) my broadband connection is slower than usual but I've never heard that any of the Spanish providers would actually do this.. Although wouldn't be surprised if they did.
> 
> I'm pretty sure that if you call for example Movistar "customer service" and ask _the monkey_ whether they restrict use of their connection at certain hours of the day a) he/she doesn't know what this means b) he/she doesn't admit that Movistar would do this.


Yeah Movistar defiantly do it at peak afternoon times in Alicante at least, its best to ask the people in the Movistar shops, they are usually really really helpful and tell you pretty much everything, they even try to save you money. I think its cos people can see their face so the shop workers see it more beneficial to be helpful than if they were hidden behind a phone and could get away with being rude. Even down to changing your service I would do it in the shop rather than calling them up, they saved my girlfriends father loads of disconnection and reconnection charges when he moved house last week, which coincided in his Movistar contract coming to an end. 

Anyway my point is, you cant fault the shops so ask there about the small print!!


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## samfg (Oct 23, 2012)

Yeh, that's true.. Depending of the people who work in these little shops. Experiences I have are not that good because everytime I've got some problems they just tell me to call 1004 and try to solve the problem with customer service.

But if I want to get a new telephone, new service etc then they are eager to help and sell something. And this is not only Movistar, I suppose these shops/retailers are only for selling and for marketing new products but not to solve problems.

You wrote you have 30Mb line from ONO but you only receive 12Mb?


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## RichTUK (Oct 15, 2012)

No with ONO we are on a 12Mb connection. The original poster is going to try and go for 30Mb though I think.


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## samfg (Oct 23, 2012)

Ok. Was wondering if anyone actually could get 30Mb or 50Mb connection. Because i've never seen one here in Spain. Only 10-15 Mb connections.


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## RichTUK (Oct 15, 2012)

samfg said:


> Ok. Was wondering if anyone actually could get 30Mb or 50Mb connection. Because i've never seen one here in Spain. Only 10-15 Mb connections.


A friend of mine from Wales is living in Murcia and he has a 50Mb connection with ONO and he says its great. I think hes paying alittle more than the 35 we are paying, not much more but we have the TV too which he doesnt.

I'm pretty sure ONO go to 100, and im sure ive seem Movistar and Jazz advertise 30Mb and 50Mb, and im sure to that Ono use Telefonica lines (i think) so Movistar should offer 100Mb too

... yeah just checked the Movistar site and they offer 100Mb for 40 euros


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## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

I'm on Movistar VDSL (upto 30 mb) where I normally get 22-23mb. I'm not in an ONO cabled area so it's FTTC and copper to our flat. Pleased with the reliability and I have a separate UK VPN router for my UK TV services running off it. Speed reliable and there are no usage limits on the service - in fact I don't think there are any usage limits in Spain on broadband.


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## samfg (Oct 23, 2012)

I ment that, of course, i've seen these ads offering 30/50/100Mb connections but i've never seen one that actually works with these speeds. 

i've got jazztel 20Mb and the best i can get is ~15Mb. well, i suppose it depends where you live.


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## V-Dog (May 10, 2012)

Optic Fiber 30mb, priced at 60euro per month supplied by Telefonica in the Funegirola / Mijas Costa area - can anyone confirm if Telefonica offer such a package in this area - I didn't think such a high speed was available in this location??


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## samfg (Oct 23, 2012)

At the moment they don't offer. Movistar should start to build the fiber network during this autumn, so this probably means fiber connections are availeble in Fuengirola / Mijas Costa -area next spring. 

Most of the network is already built (i think) but they still have to finish the residential areas and make connections to the main network. And this work should start before end of 2012 but lets see..


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## SonnyFelton (Oct 23, 2012)

I have rang a few places, ono are the ones i wanted to go with but they dont have any in my building so hit a dead end with them. Movistar said they would have me wired up in the next few days but was like 22euros difference to ono  ive tryed jazz but ive failed to get through to any english speaking people who work there and have kind of gave up with them! With ono and jazz, ive heard good things for good prices then movistar ive also heard good things but for 20euros more, i feel like im getting ripped off! Can anyone suggest any other broadband providers?


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## RichTUK (Oct 15, 2012)

SonnyFelton said:


> I have rang a few places, ono are the ones i wanted to go with but they dont have any in my building so hit a dead end with them. Movistar said they would have me wired up in the next few days but was like 22euros difference to ono  ive tryed jazz but ive failed to get through to any english speaking people who work there and have kind of gave up with them! With ono and jazz, ive heard good things for good prices then movistar ive also heard good things but for 20euros more, i feel like im getting ripped off! Can anyone suggest any other broadband providers?


Vodaphone and Orange are the only other ones I can think of and out of those two I would chose Orange without a doubt, but then I would still chose Movistar over Orange.


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## SonnyFelton (Oct 23, 2012)

Yeh i looked into orange and ive heard bad things. Im currently talking to a "sister company" or something of movistar and said for 53euros they can give me 20mbs? Is that really rubbish? Lol


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## SonnyFelton (Oct 23, 2012)

ive been looking at the 30mb version of this...i dont have a house phone either at the mo so will have to have all of it! Its either this company or jazz but i cant speak to them cos im not spanish  https://www.movistar.es/particulares/internet/movistar-adsl/


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

SonnyFelton said:


> ive been looking at the 30mb version of this...i dont have a house phone either at the mo so will have to have all of it! Its either this company or jazz but i cant speak to them cos im not spanish  https://www.movistar.es/particulares/internet/movistar-adsl/


ring them from someone else's movistar phone - ring 1004 and ask to speak English


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## SonnyFelton (Oct 23, 2012)

i can ring them from my mobile, not as in i cant speak to them. i meant i need the whole package phone line and broadband, comes to 53euros...is that a good price for phone line and 20mb broadband?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

SonnyFelton said:


> i can ring them from my mobile, not as in i cant speak to them. i meant i need the whole package phone line and broadband, comes to 53euros...is that a good price for phone line and 20mb broadband?


yes that sounds OK for 20mb tbh


but you said.........



SonnyFelton said:


> ive been looking at the 30mb version of this...i dont have a house phone either at the mo so will have to have all of it! Its either this company or jazz *but i cant speak to them cos im not spanish*  https://www.movistar.es/particulares/internet/movistar-adsl/


:confused2:


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## samfg (Oct 23, 2012)

> ive been looking at the 30mb version of this...i dont have a house phone either at the mo so will have to have all of it! Its either this company or jazz but i cant speak to them cos im not spanish https://www.movistar.es/particulares...movistar-adsl/


Can't you just print that page and go to any Movistar shop in your area? Pretty sure they'll understand you want to have that one. Probably they speak some English too.

Movistar also has the Fusion package (landline, broadband, mobilephone) also with fiber but not sure if fiber is available in Mallorca.


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## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

Call Movistar customer services, and when they give you the options for buttons to press, just say 'English' clearly (yes, really) and you will be transferred to an English speaking operator. You may need to wait a few minutes but they do have English speaking staff. Don't go to the website 'telefonicainenglish' or similar - they take your cash to just forward on a form... I spoke to Movistar's English speaking team and they were fine. My Spanish is actually pretty good but I was fed up making phone calls to the other utility companies and having to contend with officious people in Spanish so took the easy way out when I knew Movistar did offer telephone support in English.

The only issue you might have with any of the telcos is with the engineers themselves - who largely speak just Spanish. When you go for a VDSL type line (the 20Mb-30Mb service) they will need to enter your property to properly configure the line and test - but they generally just get on with the job.

Good luck!!


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## SonnyFelton (Oct 23, 2012)

sorry xabiachica, what i wrote there was very wrong! and very mismatched! i meant the jazz tel people didnt speak english, no the movistar ones.

the package also i posted for 53euros was for the vdsl 30mb or not 20mb...so it would be 53euros for 30mb which i think im going for, on route to the movistar shop now, wish me luck


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## RichTUK (Oct 15, 2012)

SonnyFelton said:


> sorry xabiachica, what i wrote there was very wrong! and very mismatched! i meant the jazz tel people didnt speak english, no the movistar ones.
> 
> the package also i posted for 53euros was for the vdsl 30mb or not 20mb...so it would be 53euros for 30mb which i think im going for, on route to the movistar shop now, wish me luck


How did it go?


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## codex70 (Jun 24, 2012)

Yes, and where abouts in Mallorca are you? We're intending to move to rural Mallorca in about a years time, but I need broadband to work from home. Doesn't need to be super fast, but does need to be reliable. Be interested to know what the connection is like in rural Mallorca.


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## SonnyFelton (Oct 23, 2012)

RichTUK....it hasn't yet, i've rang and been to few shops and was inquiring about the 30mb but according to them, Mallorca its self is only supporting around 12mb! So it would be a complete waste of time paying for then 30mb connection when i cant went use it to its full means. I've currently been looking in to satellite broadband which can reach up to 18mb anywhere you are, guaranteed for 19.99euros so im waiting for the installation guy to come round and give us a quote to install!


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