jane11e

Hi!
We'll be moving to Valencia in May, and want a furnished apt with an internet connection. Do most apartments come with Internet all ready to go?

If not, and assuming the one we end up renting does not come with Internet, how long does it typically take to get an Internet connection up and running? Any idea what it costs per month to get a high speed connection?

Thanks in advance!

snikpoh

A company called ONO do a very good deal - TV, Internet and phone. I think the internet speed is quite high.

The other option, of course, is Telefonica.

cricketman

Both our flats were unfurnished (in Barcelona and CDS) and had no internet connection. But telefonica were great and fitted it within 3 days of asking them to for both flats.

There have been lots of bad stores about telefonica on this site though, so maybe that isnt typical

lyric030250

If the apartment is wired for a telephone then I have found Telefonica (moviestar) quick and reliable.

Even with their problems I feel it is always better to go with the primary provider than a third party provider and cut out the "we say they said" syndrome. On of my friends has just been six weeks arguing with Orange for instance, for what transpired to be a Telefonica problem.

snikpoh

... an update. ONO are not a third-party supplier but are an alternative for people living in towns.

They use fibre optics and so can offer fast ADSL speeds.

I don't actually use them myself but know of them because my tenants all use ONO in the flats I rent out - tidy installation and good service.

lyric030250

OK I had never heard of them

Mitzyboy

Theres also RTN, who I guess are a third party .... but they have good reviews from people I know who use them. I'm just plucking up the courage to use them as they will save me the value of eight menu del dias a month

You just need to check if they cover the area you are in

NadiaN

I live in Valencia city and have been using ONO for about 4.5 years now. I'm very happy with them.

I have the full package from ONO - phone, TV and internet for about 75 euros per month (including taxes). The package includes lots of TV channels, and for most of them you can change the sound to "version original" and watch the shows in English. My internet is on the 12 Mb/s connection plan, and the speed is excellent - it's usually a bit over 12 Mb/s actually. My connection is not ADSL but cable - the cable modem plugs into my cable TV decoder. So any place you move to, if they have cable outlets in the walls, you should be able to get your internet from ONO. You can also ask the landlord - they should know if the place can have ONO or not. Most places in the city of Valencia are covered, as far as I know.

According to ONO's site - www.ono.es - after you sign up with them, it takes 3 to 5 days to get connected.

I have had only a couple of problems with my internet connection during the last 4 years (once the cable modem burned out due to a power outage), and every time when I've called them in the morning they've sent someone over the same afternoon to fix the problem. I never get any major outages. Sometimes they do some maintenance work on the connection late at night - after 1am - but if you are not a night owl like me then you would never know it

When I moved to a different apartment I called them and got them to move my phone number to the new place. I had them switch me over from the old place to the new place on a specified date (the day after the move). I had internet and phone in my old place until the last day as I had requested, and the day after my move they came out to connect everything at the new place.

The only thing is, I do not think they have service in English, or if they do, it is not very good. A friend of mine who doesn't speak Spanish tried to call them to ask about their coverage in her area, she got through to the English service where they told her to leave a message, and they never called her back. I had to call and talk to them for her. But if you can find someone to translate for you, I would go with ONO.

jane11e

Thanks all! This is very helpful. I do speak Spanish, so that part's no problem.

Can you order month to month, or do you have to commit to a longer period? (We'll only be there 3 months).

Thanks!

cricketman

Yes that changes everything, you will need to commit to a 12 month contract at least.

For 3 months I'm not sure what you can do they may even want a 12 month contract for a dongle

You need to make sure that the flat you rent comes with internet, given that you will doing a short term let that shouldnt be so difficult

Good luck!

AdrianTO

For 3 months your only option is to either find an apartment that is already wired with an internet connection, or get a prepaid internet dongle when you are there. If you are a heavy internet user, the prepaid can get expensive. If you are using it for emails and casual browsing, it should suffice. But, if you are going to be using it for daily work, the prepaid dongle can easily cost you 100 Euros a month in usage charges.

snikpoh

Alternatively, of course, for low usage and for a limited period, why not consider using an internet cafe (or somewhere that provides WiFi access) - there seem to be lots around.