BajaNomad

telcel 3G internet service

grmpb - 2-9-2010 at 05:26 PM

been trying to get 3G internet service for my computer. every time i go in to see if it has arrived (they have to order it here in bahia asuncion) they say they need more information. i have already gave them copies of fm3, letter of residency from the mayor, electric bill, now they need proof of income and name and address of my last employer. but maybe this delay is a good thing. i have in the meantime been doing some research and today i found on there web sight a way to check to see if there infact is 3g service here. it said to look on your celphone and if it says GSM that means no 3G service here? any help with this would be greatly appreciated.

Russ - 2-9-2010 at 05:44 PM

I can't help you with your problem in Asuncion but there are quite a few people in Punta Chivato that have gone with the telcel USB modem and although it isn't 3G they, for the most part, are happy. They just went into Santa Rosalia and bought it, paid for some time and plugged it in. Walla! internet!

grmpb - 2-9-2010 at 05:53 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by lencho
Quote:
Originally posted by grmpb
been trying to get 3G internet service for my computer. every time i go in to see if it has arrived (they have to order it here in bahia asuncion) they say they need more information. i have already gave them copies of fm3, letter of residency from the mayor, electric bill, now they need proof of income and name and address of my last employer.

Proof of income, for Telcel? Never heard that one before. :rolleyes
i think the reason for that is that it is an 18 month contract to get the unlimited service. i have heard that they also have a pay as you go service also. does anyone know what the charges are fot that?
--Larry

grmpb - 2-10-2010 at 06:48 AM

thanks for the info. now i would really like to hear from someone who is using on of these. how much slower is your internet service in an area that has GSM as opposed to 3G?

snowcat5 - 2-10-2010 at 08:04 AM

Hola, I use the telcel plug-in at my place on the East Cap, near San Jose. It took several trips to the telcel store and a couple of weeks to get it right. Eventually it works OK. When you limit-out your minutes the speed drops off alot. But, it does work and saves me trips to town to the internet cafe. I understand the Amazon.com sells a small dish antenna to help improve remote reception that works with the telcel system, but haven't tried it personally, yet. So far for me, if you have cell signal you can surf the net.

monoloco - 2-10-2010 at 08:11 AM

I don't know about Asuncion but mine worked fine in Abreojos.

Bajajorge - 2-10-2010 at 09:12 AM

I hear from the people in San Felipe the Telcel 3G works OK. I'm headed down in a couple of days and I'm going to give the 3G a try.

DianaT - 2-10-2010 at 11:21 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Russ
I can't help you with your problem in Asuncion but there are quite a few people in Punta Chivato that have gone with the telcel USB modem and although it isn't 3G they, for the most part, are happy. They just went into Santa Rosalia and bought it, paid for some time and plugged it in. Walla! internet!


Russ,
Can you find out a little more information like how much, how much time, etc.?? Also, if it is not 3G will it still work in other parts of Mexico. A trip to Santa Rosalia would be easy compared to dealing with this TelCel---very nice young guys here, but they really do not have a clue. And our phone does say GSM.

We and others have been waiting for grmpb to have success and instead all he has had is real frustration. I asked at the TelCel here and I swear, they wanted not only more than was required for an FM3, but they wanted my first born and my dog!

So, we decided to let grmpb be the first----

So, any more specifics would be greatly appreciated.

Diane and John

grmpb - 2-10-2010 at 11:24 AM

ok just found out that the prepay service costs around 600p a month and you have to renew every month to keep it going. the contract service costs around 430p a month. both of these rquire the purchase of a usb modem for around 1100p.

DianaT - 2-10-2010 at 11:31 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by grmpb
ok just found out that the prepay service costs around 600p a month and you have to renew every month to keep it going. the contract service costs around 430p a month. both of these rquire the purchase of a usb modem for around 1100p.


So, if one is out of the country for a month or two and does not pay the 600pesos, can they reactivate when they return?

And do they require all that garbage for the contract?

[Edited on 2-10-2010 by DianaT]

BajaGringo - 2-10-2010 at 11:56 AM

I have Telcel internet via USB for when I am on the road down here. Works great and only costs me 280 pesos a month. Not sure why some of you are paying so much more???

monoloco - 2-10-2010 at 12:13 PM

The lowest priced Tecel Banda Ancha 3G service that we have been quoted is the 430 peso plan. Is your plan connected to some other kind of Telmex or Telcel package perhaps?

Riom - 2-10-2010 at 12:54 PM

The Telcel Amigo prepaid 3G is now around 500 pesos for 30 days (limit 3GB a month at the high speed). Also available for shorter periods. I've written a lot about it at:
http://www.sanfelipelife.com/category/Phone-Internet

The contract options are: 3GB for a similar price, and a higher limit for 10GB a month. For most people, the prepaid makes more sense, as you only pay for it on the days/weeks/months you use it. No need to pay for it every month. No need for all that paperwork.

To answer a question at the beginning of the thread. to tell if you have 3G or not see if your phone has a 3G or UTMS option in the network settings (most won't), and try that to see if your phone reports 3G. If it just says GSM, that's the older, slower system - which means either that there is no 3G in your area, or your phone doesn't support 3G 850 as used in Mexico.

The 3G, where available, is excellent. I've been using it as my main connection for the past 3 or 4 months, routinely get speeds as good as wired DSL. Anyway, there's much more about it at my site mentioned above and below.

Rob

DianaT - 2-10-2010 at 05:22 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Riom
The Telcel Amigo prepaid 3G is now around 500 pesos for 30 days (limit 3GB a month at the high speed). Also available for shorter periods. I've written a lot about it at:
http://www.sanfelipelife.com/category/Phone-Internet

The contract options are: 3GB for a similar price, and a higher limit for 10GB a month. For most people, the prepaid makes more sense, as you only pay for it on the days/weeks/months you use it. No need to pay for it every month. No need for all that paperwork.

To answer a question at the beginning of the thread. to tell if you have 3G or not see if your phone has a 3G or UTMS option in the network settings (most won't), and try that to see if your phone reports 3G. If it just says GSM, that's the older, slower system - which means either that there is no 3G in your area, or your phone doesn't support 3G 850 as used in Mexico.

The 3G, where available, is excellent. I've been using it as my main connection for the past 3 or 4 months, routinely get speeds as good as wired DSL. Anyway, there's much more about it at my site mentioned above and below.

Rob


Now I hope we get as detailed a report for those of us who do not have 3G available. Here at TelCel these workers insist that we do, but that is not what my phone says.

grmpb - 2-10-2010 at 06:29 PM

apparently it has to be one of those fancy expensive phones that are capable of using 3G. the cheap ones like i have are only going to show GSM because they are not 3G compatable? so now back to the question, do we have 3G here or not? we need to find somebody with one of those tricked out 2000p phones to find out?????

DianaT - 2-11-2010 at 05:01 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by grmpb
apparently it has to be one of those fancy expensive phones that are capable of using 3G. the cheap ones like i have are only going to show GSM because they are not 3G compatable? so now back to the question, do we have 3G here or not? we need to find somebody with one of those tricked out 2000p phones to find out?????


OK, who do you know who has one of those expenseive phones??

The guys here at Tel-Cel assure me there is 3G here, so I will show them my phone and see what they can show me.

However, if I decide to to try the 3G, I still think I will get it somewhere else where maybe the do not want my life´s history.

Keep up the good work and keep us informed.

comitan - 2-11-2010 at 05:10 PM

Diane

You will have to have a simms card activated where you are going to use it or you will have roaming charges. We tried using ours at San Roque but would not work, did not try in B/A, we had other sources.

grmpb - 2-11-2010 at 05:16 PM

think i'm going to go with dsl since i'm here most of the time. the clincher was 3gb a month then it gets slower if you go over that amount. i'm told that's like downloading 3 movies???

Riom - 2-11-2010 at 07:01 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by comitan
You will have to have a simms card activated where you are going to use it or you will have roaming charges.


There are no roaming charges on Telcel for data (within Mexico), but that is something to bear in mind for phone calls. Normally though you'd want a sim card specifically to use for data, and a separate one (or a different solution) for voice calls. If you have 3G, you can route some calls over the internet to save a lot on international calls.

If you do have the choice of wired DSL instead that's a better deal (unless you need something only part time).

The 3GB download limit on 3G does rule out using it for video - the speed of the 3G is mostly good enough for video but it'll eat through that limit in no time. For general web browsing plus some limited audio downloading, internet radio, or voip internet phones it's fine.

Where I am, the 3G is 5-10 times faster than the alternative (Telnor fixed wireless, no wired DSL available) so I can live with the limits (just about).

Rob

[Edited on 2010-2-12 by Riom]

rts551 - 2-24-2010 at 08:43 AM

We can have the USB option in Abreojos. I am going to try it next month. Different pay options though that I need to explore. The guy here seems knowledgeable.

DianaT - 2-24-2010 at 05:14 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rts551
We can have the USB option in Abreojos. I am going to try it next month. Different pay options though that I need to explore. The guy here seems knowledgeable.


Send him here! They are clueless here. Let us know what you end up with and we are going to check in Ensenada to find out more information.

D