BajaNomad - INTERNET ACCESS OPTIONS

INTERNET ACCESS OPTIONS

LOSARIPES - 3-9-2009 at 03:28 PM

Do you know of someone who couod set me up with internet access? I do not have physical phone lines where I live (El Centenario in La Paz area) and am having trouble with my existing provider. My system drops too frequently and can't get a hold of the gent who installed it. -I will hold his name for the time being just to give him the benefit of the doubt, in case it is not his fault-.... but he wont answer phone, e-mail and paper notes left in his house for him.... hmmm....

Pescador - 3-9-2009 at 03:42 PM

Los Frailes, who is the hughes net installer, par excelante, who lives in San Lucas is the guy you want to talk to. He has systems all up and down the peninsula and does an excellent job of installation.

comitan - 3-9-2009 at 03:57 PM

LOSARIPES

You should investigate Telcel 3G internet 1.5 for 437.00 per month unlimited service.

Call me if you want more info. 122 6779 Wiley

[Edited on 3-9-2009 by comitan]

oldlady - 3-9-2009 at 04:38 PM

LOSARIPES, I'm in phoneless El Centenario too. losfrailes set up my system
on sat a year and half ago with nary a burp since. He is near Santa Rosalia. Came down and did it all (TV too) in an afternoon.
Full service? He did everything. Send him a U2U and I am sure he will call you and explain it all. U2U me if you want more info.

Good Luck!

N2Baja - 3-9-2009 at 05:25 PM

Comitan: is that $437 per month in pesos or u.s. dollars?

Wiley is right

Al G - 3-9-2009 at 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by comitan
LOSARIPES

You should investigate Telcel 3G internet 1.5 for 437.00 per month unlimited service.

Call me if you want more info. 122 6779 Wiley

[Edited on 3-9-2009 by comitan]

Check your home for Telcel reception...3 bars or better and 3G telcel service will blow the doors off HughesNet. I am in Todos Santos and most of the time HugesNet cannot deliver dial-up speed...$2000 later and that's all there is. This system was not installed by Los Frailles, but I question if he could do better, as HugesNet is a deal of last resort and is way overloaded. With 3G it does not matter where you are if your have cell phone reception. I have used 3G since it was first released in the states...not as good as hardwired, but almost and you can go anywhere with a laptop.

Al G - 3-9-2009 at 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by N2Baja
Comitan: is that $437 per month in pesos or u.s. dollars?

Nobody would pay $437 dollars would they??
At todays rate that equals $28.19 a month.

pacside - 3-10-2009 at 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Al G

Quote:

Comitan and Al G are correct. Telcel 3G modem is the way to go. I just set it up and it works at my casa without any landline or other services. I would first check to ensure Telcel cell phone works...if Telcel cell works then pretty sure the Telcel 3G modem should work.

I did my transaction at the Telcel office next to the Plaza Copan in Cabo...it is one of the larger offices and the staff there I found to be more knowledgeable and helped me set it up and everything. They require an 18 month contract or you can go month to month. The 18 month contract is less expensive as it is what Comitan quoted above per month (in pesos) and you don't have to purchase the modem. It does require 3 telephone numbers (that one confused me and I could be wrong) and a MX credit card.

I chose the month to month route and the modem cost me about 130 USD and each month is 700 or 800 pesos.

Another cool thing; I set up MagicJack and can sit on the beach with my laptop with my Telcel 3G modem and MagicJack phone plugged in and call anywhere in the world for free or very little. Although I have not figured out how to dial a local Todos Santos phone...anyone know? I tried 011 52 with and without the 1 before the 612 and number. Didn't work. Tried directly...didn't work. But I can call the U.S. no problem with very clear reception.

pacside

LOSARIPES - 3-10-2009 at 11:52 AM

Thank you all.... great info....

Wiley and/or pacside:

longlegsinlapaz - 3-10-2009 at 08:58 PM

I'm also on satellite internet in the Lomas Centenario area with no phone lines...yet.

I know Wiley said "unlimited usage", but are there any other "hidden" costs? That SOUNDS like one of those "too good to be true" deals.

Pacside said he paid about $130 USD for the modem....Wiley, did you have to buy the modem with the 18-month contract plan as well? Can either of you tell me if there were any other upfront costs? Wiley, I assume you signed 18-month contract, but pay monthly?? Could you really stay logged on 24x7 if you get a good cell signal? No per minute fees? Wiley, is the monthly charge locked in for at least the first 18 months?

Inquiring minds want to know. :bounce:

pacside - 3-11-2009 at 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by longlegsinlapaz
I'm also on satellite internet in the Lomas Centenario area with no phone lines...yet.

I know Wiley said "unlimited usage", but are there any other "hidden" costs? That SOUNDS like one of those "too good to be true" deals.

longlegsinlapaz,
ok i'm looking at my bill. i got this on march 2nd but for some reason bill says feb 27th...go figure. in any event i went for the month to month which requires you to buy the modem. the modem was 1335.45 pesos + 133.55 IVA = 1469.00 pesos which is about $95 usd (i stand corrected as i said about 130 usd in my above post).

then for the first month they charged me 800 pesos which is about 51 usd. it is 800 pesos per month on the month to month contract. from my understanding it is for unlimited usage and is pretty fast (3G). it sounded too good to be true for me too but i've had it on now for all day at times and it is still working fine. i did have some problems after the first few days with it not working too well...not sure this was the solution but it did help alot I downloaded the firefox browser (i think i was using an old version of internet explorer browser). i still occasionally get times when it takes awhile and bumps me out but it is very usable. it may be the area i'm in that causes that but not sure. it never disconnects me it just sort of doesn't reach the server and you have to try to reconnect that usually works.

the 18 month contract from what telcel told me requires you to sign up for 18 months, does not charge you for the modem and charges a lesser monthly fee. if i were down here full time i would get that plan. again, you need a mx credit card and '3 telepone numbers'....i may have misunderstood that last requirement as that just doesn't make sense.

so no other upfront costs, no other charges if running 24/7.

pacside (a she btw)

longlegsinlapaz - 3-11-2009 at 12:38 PM

Thank you for all that additional information Ms. :lol:

pacside!

Good to know about the browser...I do use Firefox. Do you use a regular cell phone in the same area? If so, have you noticed any difference in your voice cell reception versus your internet reception? It seems to me at though if you have a good strong cell signal than either should work equally well.

Kinda hard to move a desktop around to find the most optimum signal!

Unfortunately, the place in my casa that I lose my cell signal is in the area I have my PC set up. :no:

I don't have a Mexican credit card. And you're right!! If you're in an area where you CAN'T GET a land line, how on earth do they expect you to provide them 3 contact numbers?? Maybe Comitan will eventually wander back through here & clarify that 3 phone number part.

comitan - 3-11-2009 at 12:42 PM

I signed up for the 18 month contract, no charge for the modem could not pay anything for 2 months then I have to pay after the contract date because it won't show on their computer, yes 24/7. Excellent, excellent plan, and yes if the peso gets devalued more I like the contract. The contact numbers are just references and they do call them. They can be gringo or mexican friends. You can get a USB extender cable up to 3 meters, no longer or you will lose signal

[Edited on 3-11-2009 by comitan]

longlegsinlapaz - 3-11-2009 at 01:51 PM

So how are you paying? Mex credit card? Or will they let you just go pay at Telmex or at the main Telcel office on 5th of Feb each month? Thanks for the clarification on the 3 phone numbers being reference contacts, that makes sense.

comitan - 3-11-2009 at 02:33 PM

I pay at the telcel across from El Arco in the new shopping center, the 5th Feb. is toooo busy but you have to go there to get the service pick a number and wait.

schwlind - 3-11-2009 at 04:05 PM

Sounds like Telcel's 3G may be the way to go. This may be a dumb question, but can you use a wireless router with a 3G modem???

Three years ago, we had a Starband system installed. The equipment cost us $1200 and we had to sign a 3 year contract at $49.99/month.

One good thing is that with this type of system and a wireless router, we can use a computer anywhere in and outside the house. We share the monthly cost with 3 friends who who live nearby and can also pick up the signal from the router, so except for the up front costs, the monthly cost is minimal.

One thing we learned the hard way (seems all our lessons are learned that way) is that with the Starband system you are limited to a 7 day rolling 1G broadband limit, so if you're downloading a lot of files or uploading stuff, you can very quickly find yourself in a pickle. If you exceed the 1G limit Starband can cut you back to a speed worse than dial up or cut you off entirely until you're back within the 1G limit.

We mostly want to be able to pick up email and surf the web, but a friend that lives there year round does a lot of uploading and downloading large files, which as I said, can create a problem.

Linda

Johannes - 3-11-2009 at 04:56 PM

You can by a card for your laptop at Tigerdirect and use your simcard from your 3G phone to get the service for US$60.- . See description at
<http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4341142&CatId=2688>