laptop internet
 

I'm sure this has been done to death already but I'll ask anyway.

My wife and teenage sons are coming to Spain again July 10th but only for 2 months, alright for some, I have to work.:(

Which is the simplest way to get broadband internet on their laptop?

They do not want to use a landline, they am looking for a USB connected modem.

What they'd like is a "pay as you go" sevice if any such thing exists in Spain.

Any advice warmly wellcomed.:drinkwine: (I wish)

Re: laptop internet
 

I have looked for a PYG dongle in Spain without success. They are rumoured to exist on Vodaphone but not in our corner of Spain Ayamonte. Maybe in Madrid.

Re: laptop internet
 

You can get them in most shops around here, also Vodafone wifi tinternet if you already have a Telefonica landline to swop for the Vodafone one.

Re: laptop internet
 

As far as I know, It is only Vodafone that do pay as you go. It is very expensive though. See the attached link.
http://www.vodafone.es/particulares/...dem-usb/#/home

Re: laptop internet
 

Hi

Cheapest contract is 45 euros a month for 18 minimum months - 800 plus euros.

PAYG mobiles available here Orange, Yoigo and Vodafone I believe. However the costs are astronomical for anything other than light usage.

Can you use an internet cafe to actually send / receive the data, put in onto a pen drive and then work on it on your laptop?

Davexf

Re: laptop internet
 

Simyo has a USB dongle plan, 5GB transfer at 3G speeds (after 5GB the speed gets lowered to 128kbps, 2x speed of dial-up) per month for 25 euros/month. https://www.simyo.es/simyo/portal/st...data-priceplan

If your family is going to be in an area with good 3G cover it could be an option. Simyo has a 3G coverage map, I don't know how accurate or reliable it is though - I've never used 3G.

For light internet browsing 5GB should be enough, you wouldn't get far downloading films. To give you an idea if you are unsure, films are approx 700MB each so you could get ~7 films with 5GB. Web pages, on the other hand, can vary between 10 - 500KB. At 500KB (most pages are less than this) per web page, you could visit over 10,000.

Youtube could be a big drain, I don't know what the average size is per minute of video.

Unlike Vodafone, there isn't a permanence contract with Simyo, so it might be what you're looking for. The other option, of course, is to use internet cafés.

Re: laptop internet
 

well if your laptop has wifi built in, your best bet is to find a "wifi hotspot", areas that provide free wifi, although quite how you find that out i dont know. I know the dreaded mcdonalds, and also starbucks in the UK offer free wifi, may be possibly worth checking out to see if they do in spain.?

course that wont give you wifi at home though but its a start..........

Re: laptop internet
 

a lot of bars offer free wifi - they do expect you to buy a drink but I reckon that's a cheap price to pay!

Re: laptop internet
 

look at
[URL="http://www.euphony.es/euphonyprod_en/public_html/internet/eudata_en.php"] they say €99 to start then €24 pm only pay on a monthly basis. but 1gb pm download limit.

Re: laptop internet
 

Internet access in Spain is not the best - it's slow, expensive and seems to be fairly unreliable too. The going rate for a landline connection appears to be something over €40 a month for a basic connection - provided of course that you can actually GET a landline off Telefonica.

So far as a PAYG connection goes, I had to spend €69 for a dongle which gives a small (150MB) amount of connectivity. Depending on what your mobile coverage is like, you might get a fast, 3G connection with this dongle - or it might be as slow as 56kb (i.e. modem / 2G speed) - or it may vary between the two.
You can buy 1GB of connectivity for €59, which lasts 3 months (it expires either after 3 months, OR when you've used your 1GB - whichever comes first).
It might not sound like much, but you won't be spending time on YouTube or downloading movies or <cough> as the speed isn't up to it and the connection tends to die at regular intervals.. So it's good enough for a bit of light surfing, checking-in online for your flights, reading email and (of course) visiting certain forums.

Re: laptop internet
 

USB Dongles on the major networks are readily available, but coverage is patch and tends to be in or near large population areas, for example, also you could try and see if the new offer on Vodafone UK for EU roaming at same price as UK is available on their Mobile Broadband also.
http://www.mantiseno.com/index.php?o...d=18&Itemid=21

Re: laptop internet
 

Coverage is very patchy, we did use them at our first, temp, apartment, and got good coverage and speed, we moved to our long term apartment, and reception was abysmal, 5 mins to download a page, we gave it several days trial, but then cancelled. Euphony is orange.

Re: laptop internet
 

Hi mikelincs,

If Orange doesn't cover, it doesn't mean Movistar or Vodafone don't - I know Vodaphone will guarantee if it doesn't work where you live in 48 hours, you can return the dongle and get your money back; (I interpreted for some friends when they bought a Vodafone dongle).
Davexf

Re: laptop internet
 

True, but my comment was about Euphony, whoi use orange solely.

Re: laptop internet
 

Hi Mikelincs,

Yes I agree but I was trying to be positive to the origianl post question - is there an internet broadband available. I have to admit I forgot the "Non large" players like Yoigo

Davexf

Re: laptop internet
 

These may be worth looking at:

http://www.fon.com/en/

Re: laptop internet
 

What exactly is this? Does it allow you to use the internet by just using this router without signing up?

Re: laptop internet
 

So far as I'm aware you can use wi-fi via the Fon system in two ways. The first, is when you agree to have a router located at home (there's a deal to do this with BT in the UK), and then you can access wi-fi free anywhere in the world - obviously not all places will have this, but Spain is well-endowed in this respect. The other way is to buy Fon passes which will allow access limited (I think) by time.
However, although it sounds good in many respects, there may be a limit on how much bandwidth you can use.

http://www.fon.com/en/info/whatsFon

Buying pre-paid wifi:

http://wiki.fon.com/wiki/FON_Prepaid_WiFi

Re: laptop internet
 

Disclaimer: I don't have one of these.
It looks like if you already havea phone line and broadband contract, you plug one of these in, instead of the router you normally get. Then it creates 2 wifi networks: a private one for your own nefarious purposes and a public one that anyone nearby who pays Fon, can get access to - using some of your your broadband speed. You also make a little bit of money as your cut, from Fon. ALSO, you are also allowed to use other people's Fon wifi's for free.

What is not clear to me is what's to stop you buying one of these for 50 euros if you don't have broadband, just putting it in the back of a cupboard and just freeloading off a neighbour who has a Fon wifi that is connected to broadband. It sounds like for the 50 euros it costs to buy this box, you could save yourself the 40-odd euros/month broadband rental PLUS however much a phone line would cost. There must be a catch :unsure:

Re: laptop internet
 

It will be good if you don't need to sign up for the ASDL & can use 1 of these to connect to the internet.

Re: laptop internet
 

You have to sign up to allow other people to use your home connection.
It will only be any good if someone else is signed up to it where you are going to be.

Re: laptop internet
 

I know that I can use the internet without my IP from my wireless laptop using an unsecured connection.

Re: laptop internet
 

Do you know they can access info on your laptop at the same time ?

Re: laptop internet
 

Yes being an unsecured connection but I don't access my imp website using the laptop. I use my IP using the desktop for imp sites.

Re: laptop internet
 

I have had a Vodafone PAYG dongle for about 10 months. I do not live in Spain, but frequently visit.
My house is about 1/4 of a mile away from a Vodafone mast, so my reception is very good. I have had no problems with it as yet.
You can top up at ATMs and it is very simple.
Be aware though, if you buy one in the U.K and use it abroad Vodafone will charge you £10 per day. You must buy one that is sold and configured for your Country of use.
If there is no Vodafone shop near where your family are going, Carrefore also sell them, as I am sure will many other places.

Re: laptop internet
 

Wot? the Fon thingy.
Their blurb says it comes set up with two separate Wifi networks. One is secue and private - that's the one the "owner" uses. The other one is unsecured ad public. The two wifi's only ever meet at the Fon node - not at your lappy. So it sounds like there's no connection between your computer and anyone who connects to the "public" side.

Re: laptop internet
 

Any unsecured network.

Re: laptop internet
 

Yikes!

The "Basic" vodafone looks better:
http://www.vodafone.es/idioma/ingles...b3d4u00z1zr9kh

Although it's not clear what the cap is on the 19€ PAYG package.

Base in Belgium charges €10/month for GSM data w/ 200MB cap, no contract PAYG.

I would like to find something similar to Base in Spain. I only need it for a week.

Re: laptop internet
 

After 1 Gig, the speed drops to 128k. You still have to buy the dongle first though at €59.

Re: laptop internet
 

In that case GSM data in spain is not as bad as folks implied. So 19€ for 1GB.. takes 3 months to expire.. that's relatively decent.

Modems are normally around €60. I got my modem in Belgium (where locking is illegal), so I can use the Belgian modem anywhere.

Can tourists buy PAYG GSM chips? Or is this only for residents?

Re: laptop internet
 

The first Gig comes with the dongle. I think, in fact, I am sure you will not be able to access the network unless it's with the Vodafone dongle.

Re: laptop internet
 

Proximus in Belgium sells the Vodafone dongles. They are unlocked by law. They are configured for Proximus and the supplied driver is limited to that configuration, but generic drivers are downloadable, and fully configurable. So I can use any sim chip in my modem.

I would only need to be able to buy the chip by itself, and I would need to know the configuration settings. Does anyone know the configuration settings for vodafone in spain?

Re: laptop internet
 

I understand all of that , but the PAYG sims are locked for data unless purchased with a dongle, else we would all be doing it!

Re: laptop internet
 

Why don't we all get one of these, to circumvent the locked chip?:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.12167

If that's not an option, I wouldn't mind replacing my modem with one of these:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/06/16/v...telefonica-es/

but I won't buy a mifi if the hardware itself is locked. What am I likely to encounter in Spain - is all the hardware locked?

Re: laptop internet
 

The Simyo one I posted on the first page is unlocked unless I'm very mistaken, the company ethos is 'locked stuff is bad'.

The price also seems to be a lot better than Movistar or Vodafone, so if the coverage is good it would be a good option. Simyo uses Orange's network.

Re: laptop internet
 

Movistar stocks the mifi devices, but Novatel could not tell me if Movistar locks the mifi hardware.

Does anyone know?

I called Movistar, but couldn't get through to a CSR that speaks English.

Re: laptop internet
 

When I first arrived I needed instant internet access as I work online and needed to check e-mail at least once a day and had a 2 week wait until my internet was installed in our house. I got round this by going for a drive with my laptop around the nearest big towns ( Denia and Pego ) and had no problems finding good reliable wireless that wasnt secure. I'm not suggesting you do this as it isnt strictly legal but it worked for me to get me over a period of time until i was connected at home.
Also try not to do this to late at night as the screen glows and makes you look very sinister and dodgy and might attract the attention of either the police or the local smash and grab brigade :unsure: neither of which would be helpful lol.

Re: laptop internet
 

They can only access what you choose to let them access. IE. what you have in your "Shared" folder or you can block them all together by selecting "public location" when connecting.

Re: laptop internet
 

Be very careful of using a UK dongle here. I used mine last year when in my motor home doing a tour and used it once to download e-mail and about 30 minutes of standard page surfing and got hit with £80 for the pleasure when i got my next bill :thumbdown: I think it was about £3 per mb i found out later.:blink:

Re: laptop internet
 

Simyo does not seem to be an option for tourists. They don't sell it in shops, and the online sales don't ship outside Spain. So a tourist would have to go to the trouble of using a forwarding service to get a Simyo chip.

Also, I think Movistar is the only option for folks who want to use a mifi.