Hi Everyone,
We own a house in a remote valley in the Pyrenees. Up until now we have ot had an internet connection but welcome advice on the best way to do it-Has anyone tried using satellite? is it good/expensive etc. If not what is the best alternative?
Well, I guess I will count myself lucky for now, although it did seem very slow to my silly American ways. At least it is improving the level of workday communication between my husband and myself.
Donna, if you have those speeds, you are light years ahead of much of France, and neither Wimax or Satellite will go anywhere near that fast.
4G , which is coming shortly may be an alternative, but even then, I doubt it will be faster than that, as it is contented , like ADSL.
Perhaps speak to Orange and see if they do a business circuit , instead of a home circuit, as the contention ratio's are often less, but you will pay more for it.
Cheers
Nick
Hi Peter, I did put a link in my first reply. Their site can be viewed in English if you use Google Chrome auto translate.
Cheers
Nick
Info etc here:
http://www.numeo.fr/offres-wimax.html
Regret in French but we are in France after all!
Hope that helps
Bob
I am interested as well. We have Internet via Orange (in the Tarn) however the speed is not good for what we do 54 Mbps. Both my husband and I work at home and do a lot of file uploads and webcasts. We have to coordinate our activites so as not to impact the other.
Hi all This is very interesting but could someone give a web link to Wimax supplier, please
Thanks
Peter Scawen
Hi Sarah
I used Bentley Walker from UK and their Tooway service.
I use it for about a year and a half and found it OK... the signal was ok when it rained but did sometimes go down if the rain was very heavy. The company support was very good in the main.
I plumped for satalite as during our prep to move over I read a lot about poor or no internet connection and as a good connection was vital I decided I would not chance it and bought the dish etc over with me.
Recently a lot of new telphone cables has been installed so I decide to try normal internet via France telecom line and British expat broadband provider. As I am over 6 klm away from the substation the service is OK apart from busy times. I only get about 1.5 to 2 mgs (2 mgs on a good day). They have just installed a WIMAX near our village in the hautes Py. so I may well investigate having read Nicks post.
Don’t by a Satellite dish and modem... message me as mine up in the attic!
Yes we have satellite for our internet connection. When we first came to France we had dial-up connection with Orange, which was terrible. A company called Kiwi came to our village and erected their satellite, which then meant we could get them to install all the necessary for us. Below is the link to their website, which will give you all the info. I must say the internet connection is really good, and also includes the telephone, cost about €40/mth.
Wimax - have been using it here in Dept 47 for over two years now as there was no other viable alternative. There is the occasional minor hiccup with service outage but tat is usually due to upgrade work being done and it can be a little slow at some peak times. The installation of aerial and setup took less than a couple of hours carried out by a Wimax contractor who was very pleasant and helpful. As far as setup goes it is just a case of plug in and away you go, no additional software or other bits need! Yesterday a friend brought his laptop round as they are waiting for Wimax, just plugged it and away it went - brilliant! On the whole I am satisfied with Wimax and their service, there is even someone who speaks English on their helpline should it be needed.
I know this is an old post but i am looking for updated information on this service and as we have a couple of replies already I thought we could continue this thread. Thanks
James
We had the same non scientific nonsense here as well Martin, the nah sayers predicting the end of the world , and all our brains would be fried if we used it. Surprisingly , it seems to be working rather well, without frying anyone yet, and all that hot air about mobile phone masts amounted to nothing.
I do think some people are just afraid of change. It’s like all the nonsense you hear about the new wind turbines that are going up all over Europe, most arguments just stake up to a nimby mentality really.
Regards
Nick
Hi Sarah,
I have no experience of satellite internet, but know someone that is using it in the Aude department. I’ll send you a message with his contact details, I am sure he will give you some info.
Regarding WiMAX, they are trying to install it in the valleys near where I live, in the Hautes-Pyrenees as well and there is a lot of opposition from the locals. the complaints centre around the radiation arguments, similar to mobile phone masts. I have no knowledge either way, but the fact that there is opposition may mean it might not become available in your area.
I hope you find a solution
Martin
Hi Sarah, I have used it a lot commercially , and would advise against it unless there is no other choice. The service can be very slow , with periods of severe latency when the weather conditions are against you. If however, that’s all on offer then it is better than nothing, and you are prepared to put up with the occasional loss of service or severe slow downs.
There is a new service that is moving around France called WIMAX - not a new technology it has been used extensively in the US of A and Africa for years - which is a method of connecting you to the Internet over broadband wireless, and this is a far superior service, and is available in even the most remote areas and is spreading. It’s what I’m using now to type this message, and I’m 15KM’s from the nearest mast.
The service I’m using is one called WiBOX
It’s not perfect, nothing is, but is a damned good service at a reasonable price.
Regards
Nick