Marbella Info

Internet Access in Spain


What options are available?

1. Using an Internet café may resolve any problems with dial up or other connection hassles. However it may not always be convenient to use this method of checking your mail. If you don’t have a laptop with you then it probably is the only practical option.
2. Many people come to Spain armed with 3rd party dial-up numbers thinking they will just dial and get onto their normal service such as AOL etc. What they don’t realise is that, even if they can get such diallers to work, and many don’t; they will pay a large premium on the price of their call. 3rd party connections are at premium rates for the entire length of the call. This can be particularly high and may make the process unacceptable.
3. A Telefonica dial up connection can be configured for temporary use and costs just a local call rate on the phone line you intend to use. This is inexpensive and fast enough for email access, as well as giving basic internet browsing, albeit slower than desirable. Of course you need to have the configuration and access numbers.
4. Subscribing to ADSL/Broadband can be straightforward if you live in the main urban areas. Some urbanised locations are surprisingly not within the key areas for ADSL and may still experience problems.

There are a few different ADSL providers in Spain now with Telefonica being the main one –though not necessarily the best. Companies such as Tiscali, Wanadoo and Ya.com included. Beware though, that while you may have used some of these companies in the UK, that does not mean the service here will be as good. These companies operate in many European countries and each country has its own infrastructure problems to resolve. Such companies in Spain are not just another branch of the UK company.

At present, when you ask to contract ADSL with a company, that company requests telefonica to ‘assign’ the line to them and make the necessary changes to the exchange/sub station for that area. This is governed by recently implemented laws and the process can take anywhere from 10 days to 2 months from application. Using Telefonica directly will not speed anything up and may cost you more. Sometimes depending on the area it may have advantages to use Telefonica. All ADSL services, as well as after sales support, are in Spanish. Other services offering ‘English support’ are usually basically agents –which means it costs more.

ADSL in Spain comes with the usual services such as email accounts and web space, that you may have had in the UK. The Broadband speeds in Spain are not as fast as that in the UK but it is generally acceptable. Of course, you may want to access your old email accounts from the UK using Broadband here in Spain. This is fine although to use POP programs such as outlook express, some changes to the configuration may be needed if you need to send mail out from your UK account while connecting with Telefonica ADSL. Speeds may vary according to the time of day regardless of the package chosen.

5. Satellite ADSL can be installed to provide wireless coverage along with telephone calls from various companies such as Fonetica or Sunline . Such systems are more expensive to set up but may well be an answer to those who live inland where the telephone lines do not reach or cannot support ADSL. Satellite broadband must be installed by the supply company. This type of system is quite different than standard internet connection but usually is fast and reliable providing cheap international calls as part of the package.  One thing to be sure of is that if you enquire about satellite connections, check the speed of both directions up/down as some companies only provide one way via satellite and use the phone for the other which may well restrict performance.

For more information on how to connect to the internet, apply for ADSL, configure your email or other information, contact Dave’s Helpline on 952664713

Article written by Dave Walkiden of www.daveshelpline.com