Austin Allegro

Dear all

I am planning a six month stay in Malta in a rented flat.

I work online and consequently must have a good reliable internet connection (about 17mbps).

Is there any way of doing this with some sort of dongle, or will I need to sign up to a broadband contract with a telecoms agency?

teejaydee

I don't live in Malta and have no knowledge of the ISPs there, but my experience in other countries leads me to think of two issues:

• The dongles, which provide access to the internet at mobile telephone speeds, are likely to prove expensive and will be too slow for your needs.
• The home broadband solutions will provide the speed and reliability you require, but ISPs will generally ask you to sign a 12 or 24 month contract.

Hopefully someone who lives in Malta can supply specific advice. By coincidence, I am considering doing the same as you (spending six months in Malta), hence my interest in this thread.

Austin Allegro

Thanks for the reply. It does look as if a 12 month contract is required, so if I left after six months I'd effectively be paying double and providing free wifi for the next tenant!

I'm also looking into renting places short term, say one month at a time, through air bnb. It's more expensive that way but wifi, utilities etc will all be included. I'll be living out of a suitcase anyway so moving will be no hassle.

teejaydee

I was in the same position here in Malaysia. I examined the dongle option, but found it would be too slow and expensive (the ones here come with a data cap). In the end I went for a 12 month contract for 8mbps fibre. I was staying for a year so that was OK, but I had to pay an installation fee and a deposit.

When I was in Singapore, it was common for those leaving to transfer their internet contract to someone who had newly arrived. There was no cost - both parties were happy, as was the ISP. I took over the last eight months of a two-year contract. Of course I have no idea if the same thing could be done in Malta.

Another idea is to "share" your neighbours connection. If you are living in a block of flats the signal should be strong enough. I have read of people doing this - the best way is to speak with the neighbour and offer them some cash - tell them you are just in Malta for a short time and need to send a few emails from time to time (i.e. you don't tell them you want to max out the bandwidth 24/7).

As for the utilities, I try to get the landlord to leave them in their name - it saves a lot of hassle, although sometimes (when providing proof of residence at a bank for example), it's good to have a utility bill in your own name.

On the general topic of renting, I understand it's a "buyers' market" in Malta, and so there should be lots of flats available.

Gozit

Pretty sure Melita internet doesn't require a contract. See Melita » Fibre Power 30 If you need faster there is Fibre Power 60, 100 and 250 as well.

teejaydee

The Terms and Conditions contain the following: "the Customer agrees to enter into an agreement with Melita plc for a minimum period of twenty-four (24) months (“24 Month Term”) starting from the date of activation of the service".

Gozit

Ah. Apologies... Why would they want to put that right front and centre in the first place? Not like that would be helpful or anything /s

On that note, I think all you're left with then is mobile internet unfortunately, unless maybe you can call Melita and ask about waiving the contract term... You can do 10GB 4G for 25 EUR/month with Vodafone. I think your best bet though is to call up Melita and/or GO and explain the situation and ask to be put on a month to month contract. I can't fathom that there's simply no way to get broadband fixed internet access without a contract.

teejaydee

To be honest, the only reason I thought to check the T&Cs was I have recently encountered the same issue in Malaysia. The adverts always focus on the speed and the low cost, never the tie-in period. I also found I had to pay an installation fee and a deposit because I was a foreigner.

It's worth contacting Melita or GO - even if the month-to-month cost is higher. Thanks for the tip. I think one reason for the contract is that the ISP typically provides the modem and router. Presumably they see this as having a two-year lifespan before becoming obsolescent, and build its cost in to the monthly payments.