3G/EVDO/HSPA Wireless Internet in DR

coconuthead

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Aug 26, 2009
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I am moving soon to DR from Canada. Does anyone know which carriers have each (or any) of these technologies available in a USB wireless stick or PC-card? Thanks in advance!
 
Feb 7, 2007
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EVDO - Viva (service called Interjet)
EVDO and 3G - Claro (service called Banda Ancha Claro)

Price RD$1.400 + 28% taxes
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
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interjet viva sucks, voip calls are almost impossible to make. forget the magicjack over this system. It constantly disconnects etc. I have tried this in santo domingo with strong signal but it still sucks.
AZB
 
Feb 7, 2007
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Claro 3G then... have seen that stuff working on Iphone in their CS center ... it's faster than my 1-meg Flash at home (no buffering for even the biggest youtube videos). That's in Higuey.
 

AZB

Platinum
Jan 2, 2002
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Claro 3G then... have seen that stuff working on Iphone in their CS center ... it's faster than my 1-meg Flash at home (no buffering for even the biggest youtube videos). That's in Higuey.

yeah, its fast but after 4 gig of download, it becomes turtle fast, only 128kbps download for the rest of the month. good luck with voip and videos.
AZB
 

Beads

Bronze
May 21, 2006
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yeah, its fast but after 4 gig of download, it becomes turtle fast, only 128kbps download for the rest of the month. good luck with voip and videos.
AZB

This is called throttling. When a service provider notices heavy network usage they throttle your bandwidth to make it impossible to download/upload at the speeds of the rest of the users on the network.

Run a bandwidth test to check the results as this is usually pretty easy to see if your throttled.

The Bandwidth Speed Test - Check Download & Upload Speeds | Tools | Bandwidth.com
 
Feb 7, 2007
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yeah, its fast but after 4 gig of download, it becomes turtle fast, only 128kbps download for the rest of the month. good luck with voip and videos.
AZB

Is it true? Because on Codetel/Claro website it says this plan is "unlimited" and they do not say anything about Fair Use Policy.

I sometimes download a lot over Flash and I have not seen throttling...would seem strange that they would do it on wireless.
 

Squat

Tropical geek in Las Terrenas
Jan 1, 2002
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Is it true? Because on Codetel/Claro website it says this plan is "unlimited" and they do not say anything about Fair Use Policy.

I sometimes download a lot over Flash and I have not seen throttling...would seem strange that they would do it on wireless.

It is very clear here: Claro3G - Caracteristicas y Servicios

Banda Ancha is 3g, while Internet Flash is ADSL... it is completely different, and simply can't be compared...
 
Feb 7, 2007
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It is very clear here: Claro3G - Caracteristicas y Servicios

Banda Ancha is 3g, while Internet Flash is ADSL... it is completely different, and simply can't be compared...

I see... thanks for pointing that out

Funny what "unlimited" means to Claro ... En caso de necesitar un consumo mayor, usted puede optar por nuestro nuevo Plan de Banda Ancha Ilimitado de 10GB ... in DR only!

I think 3 GB you get used up with regular work online ... without watching videos or downloading anything. Claro is Slim ... err... FAT (with their wallets)

BTW If anybody wants business cellular line from Orange AND calls a lot, I know of a plan where you can get a minute anywhere (DR, USA, Canada) for just 1.25 pesos + taxes (with a one second billing). Claro CAN'T match that!. Just PM me.
 

blgx

New member
Dec 18, 2009
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I have Banda Ancha "unlimited to 3GB" (I love the concept) for one year, here in Las Terrenas.
It was faster than Flash ADSL (256 Kbps) at the beginning but it is worse and worse.

In Europe and USA, the providers advertise and warranty a MINIMUM speed. Here with Claro, it is the contrary. Go to their website
Claro que tienes ms!
They talk about speeds "UP TO (hasta) 3.5 Mbps" then, when your 3GB quota is over, you will still have internet at speeds UP TO 128 Kbps.
That basically means that you'll get between 0 and 3 Gbps during the first phase then between 0 and 128 Kbps during the second one, so if you don't have internet for days or are just unhappy to get 20kbps, don't bother them, you have signed their contract for 18 months and they don't have any obligation to deliver more speed !!!

My experience is that I get download speeds between 200 and 800 Kbps for a week, then they limit my speed between 0 and 50 Kbps for the rest of the month, what makes me crazy.

I have now purchased DU Meter software (you can test it one month for free)
DU Meter Home Page
that tells me exactly what I "consume" hourly, daily, weekly and monthly.
You need such a tool to monitor your consumption.
Next month I'll check if Claro limits my speed when I have consumed 3GB or much less, as I suspect, as I never download films.
For those who do, 4 films = 2.8GB, so this 3 GB limit is quickly reached. However you can upgrade to their 10GB offer at about 3600 pesos...
 

Born2Fly

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Aug 27, 2010
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I work in a camp about 5 minutes north of Restauracion (south of Loma des Cabreja). We have no phone nore electricity (we run on a generator 24/7). All we get is claro cellphone signal.

I went to them to get a 3G plan. I told them I don't care how much it cost be I really needed unlimited download at full speed.

They say they CANT give me more than 10Gbs per month before slowing to like 10 kb/s. Jeez I need the internet to work. Cant believe this place...

I had to buy 2 contracts with 2 seperate SIM cards. And still I bust 20 Gb per month, then get like 10 kb/s. It is ridiculus how they won't negotiate a bigger contract.
 

cobraboy

Pro-Bono Demolition Hobbyist
Jul 24, 2004
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I work in a camp about 5 minutes north of Restauracion (south of Loma des Cabreja). We have no phone nore electricity (we run on a generator 24/7). All we get is claro cellphone signal.

I went to them to get a 3G plan. I told them I don't care how much it cost be I really needed unlimited download at full speed.

They say they CANT give me more than 10Gbs per month before slowing to like 10 kb/s. Jeez I need the internet to work. Cant believe this place...

I had to buy 2 contracts with 2 seperate SIM cards. And still I bust 20 Gb per month, then get like 10 kb/s. It is ridiculus how they won't negotiate a bigger contract.
What on earth do you do that consumes so much bandwidth in el campo?
 

Born2Fly

New member
Aug 27, 2010
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I work for a gold mining exploration company and we got a database. But the main database is Canada...

We are still way too small to have our own line brought in... Still the company doesn't mind paying claro for more bandwith, they just won't offer it. Plus there speed is enough for what we need right now...
 

Scoobadiver

New member
Sep 6, 2008
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HSPA or Satellite

That's too bad you can't get signal from Orange. Their premium plan at around 2,500 per month is 7.2 Mbps with a 25 GB cap, then 1 Mbps for the rest of the month. Not screaming, but 1 Mbps ADSL is around 1,800.

If the company doesn't care about cost, have you looked into satellite service?

Another option is to use transceiver pairs. If there is a town with ADSL that is 5 or less miles line-of-sight to you, you can use high power WiFi transceivers and directional antennas to beam the Internet up to your camp. The equipment is less than one-year's HSPA service from Claro with no caps.

Just some thoughts...