I know the subject may cause some folks to laugh but after making 20 trips to visit Puerto Plata and surrounding areas I am considering moving to the DR but my business (financial trading) requires pretty dependable Internet and I have heard that this is slowly becoming available. I know when I first visited the DR you were lucky if you could get enough bandwidth to download your email but now I "can" sometimes watch TV or movies on Netflix or Hulu on a rainy day. Trouble is that it still isn't reliable like fiber. Maybe even one of those USB modems from Orange would do as a backup to cable or DSL? Anybody use one? Anyone aware of anywhere there is residential fiber optic internet to homes or is that strictly still only available in completely developed countries kind of thing? Any insight appreciated.
- Thread starter Vexxis
- Start date
Fiber Optic Internet
I am laughing.. Only because I remember several years back Claro/Codetel cutting up the Cabarete highway to lay fiber optic cables.
I have no idea if they actually use those cables, but the option of a fiber optic connection is not being offered to customers.
DSL with Claro is about 25% of the speed at a higher cost to what I had in the US 20 years ago with one of the first Cable modems back then. The country should be embarassed, but they think it is normal.
I have no idea if they actually use those cables, but the option of a fiber optic connection is not being offered to customers.
DSL with Claro is about 25% of the speed at a higher cost to what I had in the US 20 years ago with one of the first Cable modems back then. The country should be embarassed, but they think it is normal.
Move to Santo Domingo, lots more options, including fiber up to 100MB if your willing to pay for it.
In my birth country, Orange offers FTTH (fiber to the home) service as well as couple of other companies, in the big cities. The cost for a 100 mbps Internet is 15 Euros (taxes INCLUDED) ... Fibernet – neobmedzen? vysokor?chlostn? optick? internet | Orange or the Incumbent operator offering it for just 6 Euros taxes included for the first 6 months (100 mbps) and 27 Euros thereafter Magio internet Optik - Telekom or these guys for 23 Euros Pripojenie na internet, najlacnej Because not all companies are available everywhere, let's just average the price between the three ... 21.5 Euros per month, which is RD$1,150 with TAXES INCLUEDED.
Now, compare that to our "beloved" Claro Dominicana. What does 1150 pesos with taxes give you? A very fast 1 mbps Internet, or pay just 150 more to get 1.5 mbps Internet! And if you want a fiber optic with 100 mbps, prepare to pay RD$24.495 + taxes (612 Euros with taxes). Claro - Rep?blica Dominicana Isn't that great?
Now, compare that to our "beloved" Claro Dominicana. What does 1150 pesos with taxes give you? A very fast 1 mbps Internet, or pay just 150 more to get 1.5 mbps Internet! And if you want a fiber optic with 100 mbps, prepare to pay RD$24.495 + taxes (612 Euros with taxes). Claro - Rep?blica Dominicana Isn't that great?
First of all, it's not correct to compare speed and price of the Internet connection in DR to Slovakia, Poland or Russia. It's correct to compare it to Papua New Guinea, Gabon or Botswana.
Anyway, 2 years ago they did not have fiber optic connection at all (at least for regular customers, not data centers or big companies). In 2005 the top speed available was 1500kbps/756kbps ADSL from Verizon (Codetel now), and the price was something like 150 dollars monthly. Now they can give you ADSL up to 20 Mbps, but the upload speed is still limited to 1Mbps, and in real life it's always less than 1 Mbps. So I think maybe in next 5 years they will install new fiber optic equipment to all Distrito Nacional areas, and the prices for this type of connection will go down.
Fiber optic is avaiable via Claro
Santo Domingo: Altos de Arroyo Hondo II (Cerros de Arroyo Hondo, Cuesta Hermosa II, Isabel Villas, Altos de Arroyo Hondo II), La Julia, Evaristo Morales, La Esperilla, Naco, Serrall?s, Para?so, Los Cacicazgos, Julieta Morales, El Vergel, Piantini, Bella Vista, Viejo Arroyo Hondo, La Castellana, Nuevo Arroyo Hondo, Quisqueya, Urbanizaci?n Renacimiento y Real.
Santiago: Cerros de Gurabo, I, II, Quinta de Pontezuela.
Internet Fibra ?ptica
100 Mbps / 5 Mbps
$24,495.00 + taxes (pesos of course!!)
have fun and then an empty pocket :squareeye
Santo Domingo: Altos de Arroyo Hondo II (Cerros de Arroyo Hondo, Cuesta Hermosa II, Isabel Villas, Altos de Arroyo Hondo II), La Julia, Evaristo Morales, La Esperilla, Naco, Serrall?s, Para?so, Los Cacicazgos, Julieta Morales, El Vergel, Piantini, Bella Vista, Viejo Arroyo Hondo, La Castellana, Nuevo Arroyo Hondo, Quisqueya, Urbanizaci?n Renacimiento y Real.
Santiago: Cerros de Gurabo, I, II, Quinta de Pontezuela.
Internet Fibra ?ptica
100 Mbps / 5 Mbps
$24,495.00 + taxes (pesos of course!!)
have fun and then an empty pocket :squareeye
Whatever you do make sure you have 2 providers at all times, you don't want to be short aapl and long goog when the next apple special event is announced in mid june and your connection is down... Couple years ago i lost my left hand when antenna gate was announced... mind you if my stops had been in place wouldn't have mattered...
Thanks for all the answers, I guess I will need to think carefully about this or wait a few years yet before I relocate permanently. It's a shame because the DR is pretty advanced as far as telecommunications in general goes (at least good cellular coverage from lots of different carriers).
Yes, redundancy is important. I currently have 100 Mbps fiber and use a cellular 4G/LTE modem for backup (get about 20 Mbps off that if I need to but pay $5 for each 500 MB of usage which is about 2 hours of market making).
I don't trade stocks much and when I do I usually just park money there and stick a zero cost collar (protected buy-write) on it so stops aren't needed, but I do make a market in options and sometimes in a fast moving market a loss of connectivity could be costly.
Does anyone know the rates on 4G, I read somewhere that Orange will give you 3 GB a day and after that slow you down to 256Kbs but not cut you off and the next day you go back to full speed (until you use 3 GB again), I might be able to live with that if it was reliable and didn't cost too much (in combination with a primary cable or DSL modem of course).
According to one of the most prolific posters, the DR was the testing ground for new technologies. So it stands to reason that internet should be fast, reliable and cheap. Wrong, there is no reason here... just corruption, collusion and outright thievery. Go wait in line at claro for a few days, then overpay for inconsistent service, then go wait in line again to try and get it turned off.
Those 3 GB would be per month, not per day. And you wouldn't go back to full speed next day, but next month. Also, Orange 4G LTE is very limited, it's a new technology.
Also Tricom offers 4G LTE but with very limited coverage Internet M?vil Postpago - Tricom also the GB are quite restrictive.
Sounds pretty abysmal. If all else fails, O3b is deploying a next-generation satellite network that combines the reach of satellite with the speed of fiber in June. Homepage - O3b Networks I'm sure it won't be cheap but it might be reasonable enough and get the job done. Thanks again to all for the information.
Somebody posted speedtest results from HardRock Cafe in Bavaro, it was Claro and the speed was over 20M up and down! It means they have something like fiber optic there... I just wonder where can i find the guy who could give me at least 1/4 of that!
Also ive heard that CEPM have put fiber optic to Bavaro, but i cant find the right guy to speak to who can get me symmetric channel...
I posted that. It was from an office line in the Casino at the Hard Rock Hotel, not the Cafe. I have no idea if it is fiber optic, or what it is. Just that I get that speed all the time there.