Broadband speed on the Costa Blanca depends very largely upon the area in which you live. The cable infrastructure owned by the Spanish equivalent of BT, Telefonica, is not consistent. Some areas can get 10Mb from their ISPs and some can get only 0.5Mb.
The problem we have as consumers is that all the ISPs advertise in the local newspapers and the minimum speed they state is 3Mb with an alternative of 6Mb for extra cost. The ISPs however will not state up front what speed they can actually achieve on your particular phone line.
When I arrived in Spain I signed up with Europa who tested my line and offered me the 3Mb package. I was achieving 2.6Mb with their service which was acceptable. Their problem was one of inconsistency and my Internet kept dropping out.
Another ISP began a big advertising campaign, EWTelco, who promised a fantastic combination of Internet and Telephone with good prices. There were quite a lot of (unadvertised) conditions attached which made the deal not quite so attractive but still better than I had been paying. I duly signed up but noticed an immediate drop in line speed which could not be cured. The speed never exceeded 0.80Mb. After many complaints they agreed to release me from my contract.
Compared to the UK the costs in Spain are very high. Packages start at €35 per month for 3Mb compared to as little as £18 in the UK for 10Mb.
I took advice from “The Phone Shop” in Torrevieja who have access to all the local ISPs and what speed they can offer. In my area it turned out that nobody can offer anything much so we decided upon the more expensive Vodafone route. It was stated that Telefonica are making attempts to improve their quality of cabling and so in 18 months when my contract with Vodafone ends we will examine the situation again.
There are Companies now who are offering reasonable speeds of Internet, Telephone, and Television packages which are received by radio communications from a mast. The only problem is that the receiver in your home has to be in “line of sight” to the mast so not everybody can receive their signal. This service is spreading however and more masts are being erected so it could soon be the answer. Their packages start from only €20 per month so it is an excellent scheme if you can get on it.
In the meantime I would advise anybody looking for an ISP and Broadband to be careful and extract a minimum performance level before signing with anybody.
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