Cherrypop

My permanent move to Algarve is fast approaching and I've got to wrestle with the internet / TV / phone package debacle. I've rarely read a good word about any of the providers so will just have to see what's available once I get there.

However, I'm not really sure of a couple of things as I'm used to having unlimited broadband at good speeds in UK; I've never had to think about what I'll need there until now.

Can someone explain to me please:

What sort of data allowance am I likely to need for day-to-day browsing and watching IPTV some evenings?

What (roughly) download speed is considered necessary to ensure a reasonable service?

I'm aware that providers don't have the best reputation for giving the level of service that I might be used to. If I'm going to have to sign a contract in a language I don't have even the most basic grasp of yet, I want to be armed with some questions to try to get some clarity as to what I'm signing up for.

It's a bit of a minefield!

EMR

We no longer bother much with UK tv and the UK IPTV options are in decline and range from average to unreliable.
Friends lost their sports channels completely in November as the site closed down.
More money lost.

Certainly the internet speeds in Portugal are not equal to UK standards

If you must have UK tv then there is the option of a sat dish and box linked to the service that provides tv to Gibraltar may be available .
If you do not want to sign up to a contract then there are devices available from
Vodaphone etc on a top up basis.
You can then check and compare local speeds etc before committing .
We have cable which is more than enough for us.

Loafing Along

Urban or Countryside ? Towns generally have Fibre Optic good speed and reasonably priced packages from MEO and NoS .
We are urban contracted with NoS generally excellent service , Internet, TV, ( English News channels , Series and Movies ( with subtitles ) fixed line and two mobiles with more than enough data allowance. Use IPTV box and Apple TV for specific viewing .Not had a problem in two years.

Cherrypop

I'll be in a town. I'm probably going to watch a bit of catch up UK TV via my VPN but over and above that, probably not too much.

My question really was about how much data I should purchase monthly to cover my needs and what sort of download speeds I'd need to cast to my TV?

Loafing Along

Our contract is 100 Mb ( actually runs at about 60 ) and unlimited.

mfesharne

From what I read the internet speeds here are miles better than the UK.

We have a Meo package for unlimited fibre optic & a phone landline with no TV or cell phones etc, pay just shy of €30 per month & they promised 100 Mbps with hardwire connection which is what we get most of the time....... but I understand 10-20 Mbps is more than ample to stream movies etc.

EMR

Reading about is very different from what most of us actually get in the UK.
We have no buffering signal dropping off in the UK and we are not on high speed broadband.
In Carvoeiro only a part of the area has fibre , the rest of us, the majority still on overhead copper or cable.

mfesharne

Certainly fibre isn't available everywhere but it is in a fair bit & more being rolled out daily.

Ukkram

I am with NOS and have a contract with TV box and Router with unlimited internet. The cost is €39 pm.

This does not include a phone or a sim card for one although the website states that I can join the NOS-FON with my cell phone and get wifi on my phone but so far I cannot get it to work and the NOS people are not very helpful.

barlaventoexpert

Not all towns have teh same ISP's.

Where are you exactly?

Ukkram

Porto district.

MrBife

Original question regarding data use ... IPTV uses 750mb to 1gb per hour depending on the picture quality. HD being the higher figure. So if your data allowance is 100gb per month you are on for about 100 hrs of TV per month providing your other use (email and other download stuff) is not so high.

Woodstore

For standard streaming TV you need minimum 3Mb speed of internet. I have actual 10Mb from MEO which is ample for 2 TVs. I have a standard MEO 12Mb ADSL service which runs on your standard telephone wiring to your house (2 wire).

meo.pt/pacotes/mais-pacotes/adsl/net-voz

This gives you phone + Internet at 12Mb at a cost of 22E/mth with a discount for the 1st 3 months.

I get my UK TV from the 'TVCatchup' app (standard UK channels BBC/ITV etc) which you load onto your Iphone or Ipad. Next you buy an AppleTV box 3rd generation on Ebay (£60) which plugs into your TV and wirelessly connects to your router. Then you open up your TVcatchup on your IPad/Iphone, see TV on working it then click on 'Airplay mirroring' and it will be seen on your TV via the AppleTV box (you have to do a one time setup between your AppleTV box to search for your Wifi Router - very easy). This is the cheapest way to receive UK TV ie it's just a onetime £60 for the AppleTV box and no ongoing monthly charges (apart from the MEO phone+Internet).

Good luck.