Need high speed internet access in Spain for 2 months

[yowzator]

I'm hoping that someone here can give me some advice on getting temporary high speed internet access in Spain. I've never been to Europe, so I'm not sure how it works over there.

I am going to be staying in an apartment in Torredembarra, Spain for about 2 months. I have been told that there is currently no internet connectivity in the apartment unit and no guarantee that free wifi access is available within range. I will be living and working from there, and my livelihood depends upon high-speed internet access, so I need to figure this out before I go.

Would it be better to find a pay-as-you-go cell plan that includes 3G data, or to look into having DSL/Cable/etc installed at the apartment for 2 months? Here is some additional info that I'm factoring in:

I will need to make and receive phone calls from/to the US while there, as well as having a local cell phone. I'm thinking about using Skype In/Out for calls to the states. I'm even considering getting TMobile HotSpot @ Home service to make calls from any wifi hotspot. But regardless, I will be getting a local pay-as-you-go cell plan. Any other ideas?

My notebook has bluetooth, wifi, and gprs/edge built in (sony viao), but no 3G. Would it be better to get a 3G card for it, or connect via bluetooth to a 3G mobile phone? Can I make calls at the same time as data is being used?

I'm not interested in spending all day at a cafe or bar with free wifi. I need to be able to work from the apartment, or I just won't be very productive.

If it is available, I hope to purchase an unlocked HTC Kaiser while over there. If that isn't available, then any suggestions on what to get? In case it helps, I have an unlocked USA T-Mobile MDA (Wizard) with gprs/edge support but no 3G support.

I need to be able to use SSH from where ever I am to manage servers remotely. So a windows mobile device with data is preferred.

Because of all this, I'm thinking that I should not worry about the DSL/cable thing and just get a 3G cell phone/plan. Since I need a phone anyway, why get a phone and land service? Or would it be cheaper to get a cheap cell plan for voice and land service for data? Any feedback on this?

If I was to get a mobile data plan, can I get 3G data plans on a pay-as-you-go basis, or do you have to sign up for a contract?

What mobile phone provider would be best for this situation? What handset?

Can I get DSL/cable installed in a residence for only a couple months? How long does it take to get installed once ordered? How much does it cost per month?

What kind of costs would be involved, assuming I am using a fair amount of data? I'm prepared to spend some money on this, but of course I'd rather be as economical as possible while still having a good solution.

Please offer your advice! If you know of another forum that would be more appropriate for this type of question, please let me know. I couldn't figure out where to post this.

Thanks!

[ADBrown]

I can't offer you detailed answers, but I suspect that getting DSL for a couple of months would be much cheaper than trying to run on prepaid 3G, considering the usually astronomical costs of data in Europe. Also the T-Mobile Hotspot@Home is a service of T-Mobile US, not T-Mobile Europe, which are mostly seperate companies. Skype would be better.

On a 3G phone, with 3G coverage, you can use data and voice simultaneously.

[Cybrid]

Not having been to Spain or having travelled extensively, I asked Google
http://www.justlanded.com/english/spain/tools/just_landed_guide/telephone_internet/internet_access First hit...This thread was Seventh.

Tourism Torredembarra (http://www.turismetorredembarra.cat/gen/webs_en.htm) and Phone book? (www.torredembarra.org)
I'd say, take down a few #'s and call Telefonica, etc. Ask for rates, availability, maybe even get the line work request in now. That'll save you the 10-20 day wait the first site speaks of.
Ask your contact. Since you already know there is no connectivity there now, you 'prolly have some one who could ask neighbors for reviews...

[yowzator]

I can't offer you detailed answers, but I suspect that getting DSL for a couple of months would be much cheaper than trying to run on prepaid 3G, considering the usually astronomical costs of data in Europe. Also the T-Mobile Hotspot@Home is a service of T-Mobile US, not T-Mobile Europe, which are mostly seperate companies. Skype would be better.

On a 3G phone, with 3G coverage, you can use data and voice simultaneously.

Thanks for your help. My plans have changed somewhat. It turns out that I will be staying in Barcelona during the week and then in the apartment at the beach only on the weekends. I plan to work during the week in Barcelona and the place I'm staying has internet access.

However, I still will need internet access on-the-go to run my internet business. I need to be able to get text messages when something is wrong with a server or a customer has a problem. In the US, I use my cell phone's email address gateway to get these urgent messages. I assume that European cell providers offer email to SMS gateways as well?

The people I will need to communicate with the most are on Vodafone. Does anyone here have Vodafone service in Spain with 3G service? Can you answer some questions?

It looks like I will be able to get a line added to a friend's family plan for pretty cheap. At least according to this document, it is only 7 euros/mo:
http://www.phonehouse.es/document/tarifas.pdf

But I still can't find out much about 3G data services. The information on this page makes it look like I can get unlimited 3G data for 49 euros/month (58 incl VAT). Is this right?
http://www.idiomas.vodafone.es/ingles/tarifas_contratos.html#browseandtalk


Also, I can't tell if I can add a line to a family plan for only 2 months. Even if I have to have a contract and pay for a full year, at only 7 euros per month, its worth it. But I don't want to have to pay for the 3G service for more than 2 months. Can I cancel it whenever, or is it on a contract too?

Any other information about Vodafone plans, including prepaid service and family plans as well as 3G service would be appreciated.

Thanks!

[yowzator]

Not having been to Spain or having travelled extensively, I asked Google
http://www.justlanded.com/english/spain/tools/just_landed_guide/telephone_internet/internet_access First hit...This thread was Seventh.

Tourism Torredembarra (http://www.turismetorredembarra.cat/gen/webs_en.htm) and Phone book? (www.torredembarra.org)
I'd say, take down a few #'s and call Telefonica, etc. Ask for rates, availability, maybe even get the line work request in now. That'll save you the 10-20 day wait the first site speaks of.
Ask your contact. Since you already know there is no connectivity there now, you 'prolly have some one who could ask neighbors for reviews...

Thanks for your help. I did find some of this information already, but nothing really went into 3G service in much detail. I am hoping to find someone who has done what I am doing, or a local who is using the service and can give me detailed information, or at least a reference to an online forum or chat/irc room where I would be more likely to find someone who could help answer some questions.

Thanks again, I appreciate the assistance!

[Mark Kenepp]

Hopefully, someone will post here who is local to Spain and can give you some information or someone who has done what you are trying to do.

I do what you do every year in Belfast, Ireland. I went into a cell phone shop (several in fact until I found the best deal for what I wanted to do) and just asked the people there what I needed and they were pretty helpful.

I imagine that in Barcelona, there are a number of shops that will be able to help you so if you end up not getting a response here, I would suspect that you will be pretty successful getting what you need there.

I assume that you speak Spanish :wink:

The pay-as-you-go service I use (through O2) has restrictions on Data allowing only WAP access through their service. I don't know if that is standard with pay-as-you-go services but it is surely something that you need to check before you make the commitment to the plan.

I also believe that I can not use email to SMS. I remember trying to get that set up at some point but I know that I don't know what my phone email address is so I am sure that I never got it set up. I don't recall if it was something that I could not do or if I decided that I really didn't need to.

[yowzator]

I do what you do every year in Belfast, Ireland. I went into a cell phone shop (several in fact until I found the best deal for what I wanted to do) and just asked the people there what I needed and they were pretty helpful.

Well, that is certainly the plan for the first thing I do when I get there :)

I imagine that in Barcelona, there are a number of shops that will be able to help you so if you end up not getting a response here, I would suspect that you will be pretty successful getting what you need there.

I assume that you speak Spanish :wink:

Nope, I don't speak it unfortunately. Thats another reason I want to find out as much as I can before I go. But I'll be with people who do, so it won't be too bad. And I understand most people there speak English anyway.

The pay-as-you-go service I use (through O2) has restrictions on Data allowing only WAP access through their service. I don't know if that is standard with pay-as-you-go services but it is surely something that you need to check before you make the commitment to the plan.


That's not good news... And exactly the kind of reason that I'm asking these questions. I don't want to get over there and then find out all I can get is WAP.

I also believe that I can not use email to SMS. I remember trying to get that set up at some point but I know that I don't know what my phone email address is so I am sure that I never got it set up. I don't recall if it was something that I could not do or if I decided that I really didn't need to.

Another bummer. Can anyone else confirm these things? I'm assuming these are not issues if I can get onto a friend's family plan instead of getting a prepaid service?

Thanks for your help, Mark!