Codotel / Verizon / Electrical...not worth it

mike l

Silver
Sep 4, 2007
3,157
466
0
Sorry folks ,

There are just too many problems to justify living here on a permanent basis.

If you are into nature, wherby candles are romantic and you can live off the fruit of the land.......then knock your socks off.

I Live in the heart of Sosua and have not been able to make a telephone call via VOIP for the past two weeks.

It took about 3-4 minutes today just to reply to an email.

I'm not impressed!

This is the cheapest island in the caribbean.......I guess you get what you pay for..or not!
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
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dr1.com
Don't lump all the country in the same bag.

Just because your having issues in Sosua, doesn't mean we are all having problems.
What's the speed of your DSL connection? Who is your tech contact?

Many call centers in Santo Domingo appear to be doing pretty good :)

Saying that... We had some internet issues last week, I think that's the 2nd time since 1997 that our DSL (Codetel) has had serious problems.
 

Chip

Platinum
Jul 25, 2007
16,772
429
0
Santiago
All is fine here in Santiago. I did have a speed problem last week but it ended up being one of my filters. Nonetheless, the Codetel rep on the phone upped my speed to over 800 down and 600 up in the process of figuring out my problem. Not bad when I am paying for 600 down and 400 up. It is too expensive but other things compensate for it.
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
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Codetel bandwidth is an absolute joke.
Anywhere I stay in town there is always a new excuse why there is no bandwidth. It a lot of fun working on a connection slower than 56K.

My last trip, I complained about the router signal@ the complex enough times, the maintenance guy installed a signal booster in a palm tree in a plastic bag, I had great internet until someone cracked it open for agua de coco!

I will admit, I had a super fast signal in Santiago, it is indeed not the same countrywide.

Has anybody had any luck using a cable connection?

t'
 

mike l

Silver
Sep 4, 2007
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466
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The speed here is all over the place.

I have employees in Sato Domingo, Santiago and POP.

Each and every week I have to deal with the same issues I have already mentioned.

There are always issues , many excuses and sooner or later results.

I love how the locals can steal the cables that eventually feed their families to spite !

Sos?a-News

I'm here for the winter but as they say........it's better in the Bahamas !

or Colombia.......
 

mike l

Silver
Sep 4, 2007
3,157
466
0
Codetel bandwidth is an absolute joke.
Anywhere I stay in town there is always a new excuse why there is no bandwidth. It a lot of fun working on a connection slower than 56K.

My last trip, I complained about the router signal@ the complex enough times, the maintenance guy installed a signal booster in a palm tree in a plastic bag, I had great internet until someone cracked it open for agua de coco!

I will admit, I had a super fast signal in Santiago, it is indeed not the same countrywide.

Has anybody had any luck using a cable connection?

t'

Cable connection is not even worth discussing according to Cable Atlantico.

Check out their new website......http://cableatlantico.com/sosua.swf

I had one of their reps come to my tent, and they said,

"we can give you 1 MEG, however it does not work with VOIP "

Draw your own conclusions!
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
11,747
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Please don't take this as a swipe at your "virtual call center"... but what do larger call centers use for internet connectivity in FTZ's that support Fortune 500 companies?

I doubt they shut down or take a smoke break when Codetel $hits the bed.

t'
 

Lambada

Gold
Mar 4, 2004
9,478
410
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www.ginniebedggood.com
Here in Puerto Plata when we have connectivity issues at the house we use the second landline phone to dial the number for the internet connection and voila............it clears and we are back connecting again :). Don't ask me how it works, but it does, every time. Guess you just have to get to know your gremlins really well.
 

SKY

Gold
Apr 11, 2004
13,467
3,604
113
Sorry folks ,

There are just too many problems to justify living here on a permanent basis.

If you are into nature, wherby candles are romantic and you can live off the fruit of the land.......then knock your socks off.

I Live in the heart of Sosua and have not been able to make a telephone call via VOIP for the past two weeks.

It took about 3-4 minutes today just to reply to an email.

I'm not impressed!

This is the cheapest island in the caribbean.......I guess you get what you pay for..or not!

Do you have your own DSL line, or are you sharing a wireless connection? A lot of apts and hotels have one 1.5 or less for a large amount of rooms or people to use.

I can only speak for myself. I live in the area, have my own 1.5 DSL line and get 1.65 down and 768 up all the time.
 

jrhartley

Gold
Sep 10, 2008
8,190
580
0
64
no problem here in Sosua - codetel -it must depend if its a shared line with a router or a personal one- so paradise is having computer access , what did we all do before
 

Aguayo

New member
Oct 11, 2003
152
0
0
Claro Banda Ancha (EDGE Wireless) connection problems in Puerto Plata

Since last Tuesday 21 Banda Ancha is not working at all. In Codetel shop in 27 de Febrero they told me that it is problem in the Banda Ancha Platform, and I'm not the only one without connectivity in Puerto Plata.

Next day, when I called Codetel by phone, they told me that there were no problems, but when I was back last Friday at Codetel shop in 27 de Febrero they still told me that the problem is not yet fixed and they cannot tell me when they expect it to be fixed.

I would like to know what other people were told and how wide is the problem.
If somebody uses Claro Banda Ancha, please post here how it was going along the last week.


Thanks in advance,
Ben
 

DavidZ

Silver
Aug 29, 2005
3,512
238
63
www.vipcigartours.com
There are many alternatives to living in the DR...Colombia and the Bahamas, as mentioned, and dozens more...but all will have their "issues" when compared to the US, Canada, Europe, etc. This is the Third World afterall...and you have to make adjustments to live here. There are back-up plans and systems for pretty much every tech problem you will encounter. If these don't work for you, then the 3rd World probably isn't the place for you.

Technology issues are one thing, however, but the constant stories of people stealing cable, manhole covers, electrical transformers, etc...basically anything that isn't nailed down...and many things that are... does get to me after a while.

I am well aware of the poverty that the majority of this country lives in, but it seems that there would be a moral line somewhere that wouldn't get crossed...

I'd like to know, if there are people/expats from Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Southeast Asia, etc, who read this board, if they have similar issues.

Would an "expats from other countries" forum be out of the question? One where we could have discussions on various topics relating to DR vs _______? I think it would be really interesting.
 

mike l

Silver
Sep 4, 2007
3,157
466
0
This is a shared line but it has been this way for two years.

I will get my own direct line and see if that helps.

Call centers use a different form of Codotels service something called flash which I had when i opened the call center in POP. This was very expensive. I had 10 guys on the phones with no problem except they could not sell.

I never had any problems in Costa Rica.

I will go to POP tomorrow and open my wallet and let the thieves have all they want as I need to hire another 6-10 telemarketers for a new campaign
 

mike l

Silver
Sep 4, 2007
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466
0
Flashline is just another name for high speed DSL.

I know, but when you are a business they charge you more. I was paying $500 U.S. per month for 756kbps and that was enough bandwidth for 10 people.

Where i live now there are 14 units and not everyone has a computer and they are not all on at the same time. We have 756kbps here so what is the difference.

When it was verizon they told me the flash would not break up and be choppy but that is what is happening here. Worked fine at the office but not here.

That being said, does anyone know for sure if they have two different types of service ?
 

track

New member
Sep 6, 2008
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I know, but when you are a business they charge you more. I was paying $500 U.S. per month for 756kbps and that was enough bandwidth for 10 people.

Where i live now there are 14 units and not everyone has a computer and they are not all on at the same time. We have 756kbps here so what is the difference.

When it was verizon they told me the flash would not break up and be choppy but that is what is happening here. Worked fine at the office but not here.

That being said, does anyone know for sure if they have two different types of service ?

Dude, what is it exactly that you have?
What is the location in Sosua. Look for the Codetel office, Erase odometer and drive to home. What is the distance?
Puerto Plata is the best place for telecommunication in the DR, it's where all the carriers must be!

The DR is not the cheapest country around. In my personal opinion I think it's the most expensive one of all.

Move to Vieques in Puerto Rico, Cayman, Haiti, Jamaica, Bolivia, Argentina, Costa Rica, Salvador, Venezuela, etc.

If you want to maintain a similar life style like Europe or North America, It will cost you twice as much to live in DR.

Example, When you move to DR you need to buys things you normally will not buy anywhere else.
I.e., Inverter, Batteries, Generator, Water Tanks, Gas Tanks, etc. The DR is a place you will and must apply Morphy's Law "If it can brake, malfunction, jam, etc, it will happen it's just a matter of time."
If you buy one thing, buy two for a backup!
 

Robert

Stay Frosty!
Jan 2, 1999
20,574
341
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dr1.com
The monthly cost of DSL Flash for business and home use is exactly the same.
Codetel offer up to 5MB and usually their ping times are pretty good, good enough for VOIP.

If you need a dedicated connection, T1, ISDN etc, then that's a different story.
You should speak directly to Codetel.

If your seriously in the VOIP business, then you should know all this anyway :)
 

NotLurking

Bronze
Jul 21, 2003
2,447
1,235
113
Sto Dgo Este
The monthly cost of DSL Flash for business and home use is exactly the same.
Codetel offer up to 5MB and usually their ping times are pretty good, good enough for VOIP.

If you need a dedicated connection, T1, ISDN etc, then that's a different story.
You should speak directly to Codetel.

If your seriously in the VOIP business, then you should know all this anyway :)

Exactly right Robert. I have VIPLus Flash (1mb/128k) and works well for VOIP (Vonage & Magic Jack) from my DSL service. Here is a sample of Codetel's DSL for both biz & res.

NUEVOS PLANES INTERNET FLASH ALTA VELOCIDAD PARA RESIDENCIAS Y NEGOCIOS

Plan Avanzado 5: 5.0Mb/1.0Mb RD$5,995 + RD$1,678.60 (taxes) = RD$7,673.60 = US$219.25

Might be better value for a VOIP biz
Plan Avanzado 4: 3.0Mb/1.0Mb RD$3,895 + RD$1,090.60 (taxes) = RD$4985.60 = US$142.45

Source: Codetel

I think this should be good enough for a VOIP biz both for the bandwidth and the money HERE in DR.
 

mike l

Silver
Sep 4, 2007
3,157
466
0
The monthly cost of DSL Flash for business and home use is exactly the same.
Codetel offer up to 5MB and usually their ping times are pretty good, good enough for VOIP.

If you need a dedicated connection, T1, ISDN etc, then that's a different story.
You should speak directly to Codetel.

If your seriously in the VOIP business, then you should know all this anyway :)

I will be there tomorrow with an insider in tow.

Thanks
 

mike l

Silver
Sep 4, 2007
3,157
466
0
Exactly right Robert. I have VIPLus Flash (1mb/128k) and works well for VOIP (Vonage & Magic Jack) from my DSL service. Here is a sample of Codetel's DSL for both biz & res.

NUEVOS PLANES INTERNET FLASH ALTA VELOCIDAD PARA RESIDENCIAS Y NEGOCIOS

Plan Avanzado 5: 5.0Mb/1.0Mb RD$5,995 + RD$1,678.60 (taxes) = RD$7,673.60 = US$219.25

Might be better value for a VOIP biz
Plan Avanzado 4: 3.0Mb/1.0Mb RD$3,895 + RD$1,090.60 (taxes) = RD$4985.60 = US$142.45

Source: Codetel

I think this should be good enough for a VOIP biz both for the bandwidth and the money HERE in DR.

Thanks,

For the prices, I have learned that prices from Codotel vary from Satnto Domingo to POP with a huge increase on the POP side.

Money is not an issue but quality is.