Internet for Expats: 2015 Updates

Funny intro paragraph cccmedia.

I'm booking a furnished apartment in Quito for a week (probably will extend to a month) that has internet with Claro (and the landlord said she can change to TVCable—but aren't there a lot more options?) at 2.5 speed. This will hold us for a while but isn't great.

Wherever we move to after that, we pretty much have to get a place where the landlord will get our internet for us, because as I understand it, having a bank account is not sufficient to order an internet package, you have to get the cedula (would be nice if we can get that with a student visa).

But in terms of musing on the state of affairs of the internet in Ecuador—or Quito—I have only Ookla's data to go by.

http://www.netindex.com/download/4,820/Quito/?tab=3

This shows the average download speed in Quito to be 5.3, but it also lists 8 different providers, with Netlife averaging 14mbps+ and Telconet nearly 11mbps.

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with andy of these companies? It seems the internet in Quito these days can be very good if you pay for it. So I looked at Netlife's plans:

http://www.netlife.ec/planes/pymes/inte … os-planes/

Looking at their international speed of 2mbps down and 2mbps up (6/6 local speed) @ $82, it's their cheapest. Wow that's pricey. Just to get 5/5 international (15/15 local) you'd have to pay $133. At those rates, it better be amazing! Fiber optic with redundancy, low latency 99% uptime, good service, etc.

Ultimately I think I worry about getting a service cut and losing my connection for days at a time. So I'm going to want to have 2 plans, which is why I was looking at CNT's reasonable offering. It might be best to get 2 decent ISPs at the $30-40 monthly range. Does anyone else do this?

What ISPs do people use that have clear, solid videoconferencing (Skype calls etc) with no, or few problems?

JasonDC wrote:

Wherever we move to after that, we pretty much have to get a place where the landlord will get our Internet for us...

I worry about getting a service cut and losing my connection for days at a time. So I'm going to want to have 2 plans, which is why I was looking at CNT's reasonable offering. It might be best to get 2 decent ISPs at the $30-40 monthly range. Does anyone else do this?

Here's how the first part might play out, Jason.

You'll check out the Internet at your furnished apartment, and if the connection and the apartment are fine, you'll extend there.

If they're not fine, you'll check out other apartments and their Web connections, and move to the best place for you and your girlfriend.  I think you'll be able to do your apartment hunting and research when you get here, and don't have to overthink every conceivable choice now.

As for lost connections:

Yes, some people in Ecuador who must have reliable Internet for their business do pay for a backup ISP.  Not that I know anyone personally who does this.

Factor in the following:

(1)  I haven't lost my Movistar Internet connection for more than a few hours in the past year, and it hardly ever goes out.

(2) You may already have a backup plan. Having spent time in both cities, it's clear to me that Quito has at least as many Internet cafes as Chiang Mai, some with outstanding connections, most with Skype capability.  Maybe you'll use one of these as a backup while seeing how things go and before deciding to spring for a second provider.

cccmedia in Quito