Hello all,

Hope this is in the right thread. If not, I apologise, but was not sure where exactly it should go.

My family and I are possibly moving to Spain in the coming months, but once we are there we require good internet connection for work, but we also need it for television purposes (Now TV, Amazon Prime, Netflix) for my elderly parents.

Does anyone know the best possible company/provider for internet from home?

We've been looking into it, and we have been advised that the best way to continue watching UK TV programmes/accessing UK services is to have a VPN-enabled router in order to watch UK TV. Are there any providers whose routers are VPN enabled, or would one have to purchase one? If so, does anyone have any recommendations?

Do we in fact need a VPN enabled router for this? Is anyone out there who has had the same issue with any advice on how we can do this? It would be gratefully appreciated.

Thank you.

Hi and a warm welcome to the Spanish forum on BE. Myself and Fred James are the moderators for the Spanish forums whilst BEVS moderates Europe. Moderators are there to ensure that the site runs smoothly within the rules of BE. This is so that members gain the information that they are looking for and find their experiences on the forums to be friendly and worthwhile.

Problems and complaints should always be addressed to a moderator who will look into the matter and deal with it efficiently and fairly. Our members who post in the Spain Forums are usually friendly and helpful with a wealth of knowledge about the issues of living in Spain. I hope that you enjoy your time participating in the forums.

Please let me know if you need any further help.

Rosemary

It's much easier to use a Smart DNS service which will be just as effective as a VPN for accessing geo-blocked UK sites and it does not require a special router. In many cases the new DNS can be set up un the device itself.

Look at SmartyDNS.com

It would help if we knew where you plan to move to.

Most of Spain can get UK TV via FreeSat.

Movistar offer a very good internet service of 300Mbs for about 58€ (inc IVA). This is fibre optic so you would need to be in an area that has this facility installed.

By using the above, you won't need to worry about VPN's, smart DNS's or any other such technology.

Filmon.com is free and has virtually all the UK channels - plus about 600 others!

Just to be a bit pedantic, your correct of course, but for the BBC iPlayer and TV catch-up services, if you've missed a programme or not recorded it, then some form of VPN or blocking method would be necessary to watch or download. Also, I listen to the BBC radio player and to download programmes on to my devices I have to use a VPN.
Off the topic of the original question I know!

Would such a thing work with devices such as an Amazon Firestick or a now TV box (I've read that you need a VPN enabled router for this one)? You'll have to bear with me, as I'm not au fait with such things, but wouldn't they just work on blocked sites from a PC and not devices?

Thanks

Many thanks Rosemary

We use a VPN enabled proxy router to be able to access BBC iPlayer and ITV Hub and similar. This gets us round the geolocation restrictions on those using a Now TV box so we can watch live and catch up BBC and ITV and Ch4 and Five. But if we try to access Now TV on the Now TV box, it somehow detects that we are not in the UK - possibly they have a blacklist of IP addresses that are used by the proxy services - and does not allow any access to the Now TV features.

We've never tried the SmartDNS thing but may give that a try some day.

The paid for HD version is better with no adds. and the ability to record programs!
Another alternative for internet & TV, is Europa Network, they are excellent for internet & UK TV. Check 'em out!

Depending on where you go / region / province there are some super offers for fibre optic service done by a variety of companies, not just the few major suppliers. That solution gives you the speed you will need plus if you add an Android box to Netflix/Amazon TV , you will get all the TV you need. FilmOn has limited recording capability unless you are a subscriber - normally sufficient for a 1 hour TV episode. VPN not needed

That's great. Thanks for the advice everyone. I guess next stop is to find out what area and what providers are available, and then make any further decisions from there. Thank you all once again!

Ok,

Now, we have arrived (finally) in the area we're going to be staying in (just outside Barcelona), and we seem to have a choice of: Movistar, Vodaphone, Orange, Yoigo, MasMovil, Jazztel and Lowi.

Does anyone have any recommendations on packages / speed and - most importantly - which one will also allow us to get our Now TV / Amazon Prime / Netflix, or British TV in general?

Thanks once again in advance!

In Barcelona area I'm pretty sure you are in the footprint for satellite TV - which will give you UK live TV and Sky channels (if you have a subscription)
For the other you should: a) find out the signal strength in your specific location (this can usually be achieved by seeing how many bars on your mobile, although more accurate methods are available as apps); b) get quotes to find out which ISP will give you the best service at the best VFM, remember connection and standing charges to add on top; c) make a decision.

There are various ways of accessing the geo-blocked UK services from simple android boxes, fire stick, NowTV boxes, and many have been explored at great length on various threads on this forum over the years. The thread search tools are fairly simple to use to explore the forum.

If all else fails contact the TV Guy!

Is that the 'freesat' that others have mentioned previously?