Internet via cable

Riu · Jul 19, 2004

Does anyone knows if internet by cable is available in DR and if ther is what is the cost, and how is the service?

I see many have DSL from verizon. I had Verizon in the U.S. but is got really slow and service was not that great either. Most of my co-workers have cable internet in the U.S., I had it while I was there, and it was great. A little pricier than DSL but it makes up in the speeds you get. I was getting over T1 speed via Comcast. Does DR has the same?

conor · Jul 19, 2004

Very Slow

I just got mine hooked up in Santiago threw CableNet and it is not close to as fast as my cable internet in FL. I had to pay 1100rd for the installation and 750rd for the cable modem. I don't remember the exact monthly fee, but i think it was around 800rd/month. Also, it took them almost 1 1/2 months to come out and install the modem. First they had two guys come out and run 1 wire a total of 5 feet(A total of 2miuntes of work). Then 2 weeks later they had 2 more guys come with the cable modem and took another 5 minutes to finish. I don't understand why they would have 2 trips for a total of 7 minutes of work in my place. Don't forget meanwhile I had to call everyother day to ask were they were and always got "I promise we will be there tommrow"

Riu · Jul 19, 2004

conor said:
I just got mine hooked up in Santiago threw CableNet and it is not close to as fast as my cable internet in FL. I had to pay 1100rd for the installation and 750rd for the cable modem. I don't remember the exact monthly fee, but i think it was around 800rd/month. Also, it took them almost 1 1/2 months to come out and install the modem. First they had two guys come out and run 1 wire a total of 5 feet(A total of 2miuntes of work). Then 2 weeks later they had 2 more guys come with the cable modem and took another 5 minutes to finish. I don't understand why they would have 2 trips for a total of 7 minutes of work in my place. Don't forget meanwhile I had to call everyother day to ask were they were and always got "I promise we will be there tommrow"

Thanks for the response. Do you think they throtle the speeds over there? In the US everyone that uses cable as opposed to DSL get excellent speeds. As a matter of fact, it is recomended if you are using IP telephony. That is my main reason for asking.

Anyhow, would it be safe to say that is readily available in the Santo Domingo area?

MrMike · Jul 19, 2004

Broadband in the DR is not quite the same as broadband in the US. I don't know the intricacies of why and all, but basically it is slower, 225k and above being considered "very fast" the 2MB connections that seem to be standard for cable connections in the states are pretty much not going to happen here, you may be able to get 380k max, and only in limited areas.

Also you will not be very well firewalled from other users, so protect the hell out of your equipment and expect daily hacking attempts.

Riu · Jul 19, 2004

MrMike said:
Broadband in the DR is not quite the same as broadband in the US. I don't know the intricacies of why and all, but basically it is slower, 225k and above being considered "very fast" the 2MB connections that seem to be standard for cable connections in the states are pretty much not going to happen here, you may be able to get 380k max, and only in limited areas.

Also you will not be very well firewalled from other users, so protect the hell out of your equipment and expect daily hacking attempts.

Thanks Mike. If I need reliable internet to be up close to 24/7, do you recommend DSL instead or is cable still a considerable choice?

Pib · Jul 19, 2004

Keep in mind that all providers, be it cable or DSL, in the DR have blackouts once in a while.

MrMike · Jul 19, 2004

Different people have had different experiences, what works for me is to use Codetel's Flash internet at home and Tricom's Turbo internet at work.

Both are DSL, Codetel's (Verizon's) residential flash plan is 380k (320 realistically) for 1500 pesos/Month. They have more expensive plans for more bandwidth, but not all the speeds are available everywhere.

Tricom's Turbo internet gets you a fixed IP which is handy for running low bandwidth websites etc. and I have found it to be much more stable than Verizon, almost 100% stable in fact. Problem is the pricing, although Tricom is just a fraction cheaper for business use, they have no residential service at all, so although you can get it for your house you will have to pay a business rate, which is just more than double residential rates for the same connection. I am getting a useable 700k and paying nearly 9,000 pesos monthly for the connection. (plus a nomilnal fee for the phone line and other extras)

Do be patient when signing up though, as no matter who you go with they are going to take their sweet time to install.

Luperon · Jul 19, 2004

Satellite internet?

Is there any way to get Satellite internet on the north coast near Luperon? I dont think they have any Cable or DSL internet there yet....

Thebes · Jul 19, 2004

What is the reliability of Verizon's service?

Has anyone bribed faster installation service?

Does renting a place that has already had DSL speed up the installation?

I'm asking because when my wife and I move down, we need to stay in a rental that has dsl until we can get it installed wherever we rent long term. We absolutely need it for work. I've been running these questions through my head for a while, its down the road, but very important for us.

conor · Jul 19, 2004

I tried to bribe and get mine faster, but it didn't work. I think it would work if you could get ahold of the person who does the acutal installation. I could not get ahold of that person and the person at the office could get it done ant faster he said.

Jerry K · Jul 19, 2004

Satellite internet

Luperon,
Contact Chris on the message board, she and her husband are in the business of providing internet satellite service. Always reliable, if you gto power, you got service.

jcarn · Jul 20, 2004

http://www.datamovil.net.do/flashmovil_3g/index.asp

anybody try this? It says it's upto 1mbps but if it uses the same 1x technology as verizon uses in the states then it will probably top out at 144kbps.

I havent used it myself in DR but I have used it in the US with verizon.

MrMike · Jul 20, 2004

I know a few people who use that, they say it's something between a fast modem and a slow DSL connection.

Riu · Jul 20, 2004

If cable or DSL are not the choice, if you need a high availability broadband connection, then is the T1 service the same or is it better to stick to the residential technology of Cable or DSL? This connection will be used for work from the house, but is needed 24/7. I checked pricing in the Tricom website and is very pricy. I want to know if the service is any good so I could weight my choices.

Robert · Jul 20, 2004

Arrrrr! Czech keyboard.

If you are looking for hundred percent realiabilty, forget it.
We have had DSL since 97 and it's been good, but not 100 percent.

Forget T1, the local loop and problems will kill you, so I'm told from people that have tried.

This is the DR, not an advanced first world country.
Although the DR has very good telco infrastructure, it lacks good customer service, "real world" know how and realiabilty.

If your job requires first world connectivity, you better start looking at another country for now.

Riu · Jul 20, 2004

Robert said:
Arrrrr! Czech keyboard.

If you are looking for hundred percent realiabilty, forget it.
We have had DSL since 97 and it's been good, but not 100 percent.

Forget T1, the local loop and problems will kill you, so I'm told from people that have tried.

This is the DR, not an advanced first world country.
Although the DR has very good telco infrastructure, it lacks good customer service, "real world" know how and realiabilty.

If your job requires first world connectivity, you better start looking at another country for now.

Thanks Robert. I don not expect it to be 100%. I want to set my network so I get close. So I would go as far as having two providers (Verizon and Tricom), If one is down the other may be up. For my business I cannot be disconnected from 1AM-1PM EST, after that any outage is bearable. I am trying to get input to see what technology is working the best over there. So far I have gathered great insight. Thanks to all that have contributed. At this point, I guess cable would be a second or last choice in terms of service and bandwidth, is this correct?

Luperon · Jul 20, 2004

Another stupid question.....Internet via Cell phone?

Here in NYC I can hook up my sprint phone to a computer at what they call 3G speeds. My connection seems to be pretty fast about 150kbps. Sprint is upgrading to 4G next month and the connection is supposed to be twice as fast. I pay a flat $15 US dollars a month extra on my cell bill for this service called "vision."

Does the DR have any cell service that allows internet access? If so what technology does it use and what speed? Does it allow for a computer to hook up to the phone?

I will also contact Chris about the cost of satellite internet. But, I thought satelitte internet was for downloads only.....?

jcarn · Jul 21, 2004

Luperon said:
Here in NYC I can hook up my sprint phone to a computer at what they call 3G speeds. My connection seems to be pretty fast about 150kbps. Sprint is upgrading to 4G next month and the connection is supposed to be twice as fast. I pay a flat $15 US dollars a month extra on my cell bill for this service called "vision."

Does the DR have any cell service that allows internet access? If so what technology does it use and what speed? Does it allow for a computer to hook up to the phone?

I will also contact Chris about the cost of satellite internet. But, I thought satelitte internet was for downloads only.....?

I dont know about 4g, but it appears that verizon has 1x cdma service available and wifi in certain areas. you can check out the more info here http://www.datamovil.net.do/flashmovil_3g/index.asp

As far as sattelite technology, sattelite is indeed two way. In fact, I was talking with someone on the phone at my job earlier today who had a two way sattelite system with direcpc.com setup in Haiti to power an internet cafe.

TEHAMA · Aug 6, 2004

As I sit back here in the states because of the lack of DSL to my place in the DR, I realize I have not been singled out. DSL INSTALLATION SUX. I tried bribes (actually flashing US currency), stopping installers in the street, countless office visits, it is completely mind-numbing. 8 weeks and still waiting. I remind myself that I have mistakenly imposed my "US Business" values there it simply doesn't apply.
TEHAMA :tired:

Escott · Aug 6, 2004

Jerry K said:
Luperon,
Contact Chris on the message board, she and her husband are in the business of providing internet satellite service. Always reliable, if you gto power, you got service.

Not exactly so. I was a beta tester for Gilat at Home and Israeli company which was bought out by Dish Network eventually I believe and it really sucked. Download was a lot faster than upload and they always had excuses why service sucked. Bad cluster, bad weather and stories I don't even remember.

If it is very overcast the Sat. Internet wont work or didn't work for me. At the moment I think DSL is the answer here.

Internet via cable

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