We got new internet!
Yes, I know that comment is so 1995, but you have no idea!
Yes, there is cable internet or DSL or broadband in Costa Rica - but not down here in Ojochal - they have some coverage in the village, but not beyond and not further south - the population centres are just too small and the topography is ever changing making line of sight placement of towers useful for only a few homes.
So, we have struggled with various versions of satellite or cellular - never able to get about 512K download (despite claims and promises). Blogging, Facebook, banking - all painfully slow.
All that changed yesterday - SKYFIBER !! They installed a repeater across the valley and we can get service - - - 6MB download (well 4.5 when you really measure it but hey). I feel like I am driving a Ferrari on the autobahn.
Not without a cost - $125 a month! Never thought I would miss Rogers service 50MB for $90.
So along with the internet came a nice sunny day - a gentle rain a few times, but beautiful!
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
Saturday, August 9, 2014
In Case You Were Wondering . . .
Painting starts on Monday - if the weather cooperates, it should be a week - I suspect two is likely - guess that means they will be around for the rest of our stay.
New possibility for internet service - ICE is slow (about .5M, and unreliable (although not to bad this time). $25/m for the stick - - NetsysCR is a new player in the residential market - - offering 4M for $75/month - came to the house to check reception - need to put an antennae on the house - - no sure what technology it is but the guy went on and on about fibre optic to Uvita and Coronado and an IP land line for the house - Lisle is interested, so it is likely a go - - see what it brings - a new CR adventure!!
Hot sauce is done - - man is it hot! 1.75 pounds of peppers gave us enough for 6 small bottles of sauce - but I think it is almost too hot to use - cut it and expand the output! Gee - sound like a drug lord! have to figure it out - - the stuff is potent!
The company that did the landscaping is rebranding and doing new materials - so they were here for a photo shoot - the photographer is a Canadian who has been in CR many years and is well known for her work with resorts and properties - does great shots - really friendly - we sat and had coffee while she was waiting for the right light - - -too sunny or too cloudy was the general state of affairs - can't wait to see the shots - here is one that got sent ahead as a teaser!
Dinner out at Boca Coronada the other night - rainy evening by the river - Lisle got bitten - good food (ceviche mixto and pescado boca coronado - fish in seafood sauce).
Friday was strange weather - socked in - clouds everywhere - rain and wind - chilly!! Temperature mid-day dropped to 23C - - cleared later and beautiful and sunny today! 32C right now - nice breeze - - PERFECT!!
New possibility for internet service - ICE is slow (about .5M, and unreliable (although not to bad this time). $25/m for the stick - - NetsysCR is a new player in the residential market - - offering 4M for $75/month - came to the house to check reception - need to put an antennae on the house - - no sure what technology it is but the guy went on and on about fibre optic to Uvita and Coronado and an IP land line for the house - Lisle is interested, so it is likely a go - - see what it brings - a new CR adventure!!
Hot sauce is done - - man is it hot! 1.75 pounds of peppers gave us enough for 6 small bottles of sauce - but I think it is almost too hot to use - cut it and expand the output! Gee - sound like a drug lord! have to figure it out - - the stuff is potent!
The company that did the landscaping is rebranding and doing new materials - so they were here for a photo shoot - the photographer is a Canadian who has been in CR many years and is well known for her work with resorts and properties - does great shots - really friendly - we sat and had coffee while she was waiting for the right light - - -too sunny or too cloudy was the general state of affairs - can't wait to see the shots - here is one that got sent ahead as a teaser!
Friday was strange weather - socked in - clouds everywhere - rain and wind - chilly!! Temperature mid-day dropped to 23C - - cleared later and beautiful and sunny today! 32C right now - nice breeze - - PERFECT!!
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
ICE
For those of you in Toronto, I know this is a bad word, and no this is not another 'ha-ha I'm warm and your not' entry.
ICE (eee-say) is the Instituto Costaricense Electricidad - the national utility company - electricity, internet, telephone - like the old Bell - and no stay here would be complete without a saga about dealing with the unique bureaucracy.
First off the internet service has SUCKED since we arrived - barely 0.5 download (for the non techies - remember when you had a phone modem and it took forever). Email was timing out and downloading anything close to a Mb took 30 minutes - don't even think about streaming.
Lisle decided we needed a better solution from ICE - so off he went to Uvita to see Ruper (the guy who actually speaks some english). This was Wednesday. After a 2 hour wait - New plan for his iPhone4 - postpaid - up to 3Mb (of course that is based on service, topography etc. etc. - so we are likely to still get .5Mb but for more money every month) but to get this a personeria is required (a document certifying the corporation). You get that at the bank next door - wait - wait - wait --- closing time - come back tomorrow.
Thursday 8 am - speak to Ruper - all ready to go - just need the Personeria - bank doesn't open until 9. Get the Personeria - back to Ruper - get the new chip with a new phone number - but needs to be activated on the new system in San Jose - that will take 15 hours - he will call when it is active.
Friday - no call - wait - wait - drive to Uvita - Ruper says not active yet - he will call when it is. Add prepaid minutes to the existing chip to keep it going.
Sunday - OMG - i could walk an email to Canada faster than trying to send it - Sunday is the worst - all the Ticos are off work and on the internet!
Monday - text message from Ruper - it is being processed - switch the chip just in case - no service - back to the prepaid chip. Not done, just in process
Tuesday - the drive to Uvita - don't need a Personeria so 8 am should be good and there wont be anyone else in line. Arrive shortly after 8 - no one else there - Lisle explains what is up - yes, I am working on it - the paper is right there in front of him - it will be done shortly - - that's ok, we'll wait - he taps away at the computer for about 15 minutes - will be all set in 15 minutes - turn off your phone and then back on and the chip will be set - already there are 5 other people waiting - - - very clear that if we hadn't gone in and hadn't waited, the paperwork would still be the next thing to do - - after all the other people.
All fixed in only a week! Now we'll see if it makes any difference in the internet matter!
ICE (eee-say) is the Instituto Costaricense Electricidad - the national utility company - electricity, internet, telephone - like the old Bell - and no stay here would be complete without a saga about dealing with the unique bureaucracy.
First off the internet service has SUCKED since we arrived - barely 0.5 download (for the non techies - remember when you had a phone modem and it took forever). Email was timing out and downloading anything close to a Mb took 30 minutes - don't even think about streaming.
Lisle decided we needed a better solution from ICE - so off he went to Uvita to see Ruper (the guy who actually speaks some english). This was Wednesday. After a 2 hour wait - New plan for his iPhone4 - postpaid - up to 3Mb (of course that is based on service, topography etc. etc. - so we are likely to still get .5Mb but for more money every month) but to get this a personeria is required (a document certifying the corporation). You get that at the bank next door - wait - wait - wait --- closing time - come back tomorrow.
Thursday 8 am - speak to Ruper - all ready to go - just need the Personeria - bank doesn't open until 9. Get the Personeria - back to Ruper - get the new chip with a new phone number - but needs to be activated on the new system in San Jose - that will take 15 hours - he will call when it is active.
Friday - no call - wait - wait - drive to Uvita - Ruper says not active yet - he will call when it is. Add prepaid minutes to the existing chip to keep it going.
Sunday - OMG - i could walk an email to Canada faster than trying to send it - Sunday is the worst - all the Ticos are off work and on the internet!
Monday - text message from Ruper - it is being processed - switch the chip just in case - no service - back to the prepaid chip. Not done, just in process
Tuesday - the drive to Uvita - don't need a Personeria so 8 am should be good and there wont be anyone else in line. Arrive shortly after 8 - no one else there - Lisle explains what is up - yes, I am working on it - the paper is right there in front of him - it will be done shortly - - that's ok, we'll wait - he taps away at the computer for about 15 minutes - will be all set in 15 minutes - turn off your phone and then back on and the chip will be set - already there are 5 other people waiting - - - very clear that if we hadn't gone in and hadn't waited, the paperwork would still be the next thing to do - - after all the other people.
Friday, August 9, 2013
Cold as ICE
That isn't ice as in frozen water - it is ICE (ee-say) as in the Costa Rican state-owned electrical and telecommunications monopoly.
They are the ones who provide electricity, phone, cell, cable to most of the country. Needless to say, service isn't their strong suit.
Things like electricity are pretty simple. They have that down pat - nothing fancy of complicated really. But the rest is a different story.
In San Jose, again things are relatively straight forward - land lines, cable internet, 4G/LTE cell service and rocket sticks. In the OSA it is a bit of a different story.
Land lines exist in the village, but don't extend beyond properties on the main road - those of us in the "Phases" or the more rural Tico homes have no chance of that.
Cell coverage has improved in the past 5 years - used to be there was a single spot on the highway where you were guaranteed service - now the whole area has some coverage (only 3G) but you often need to be strategic about how you maximize reception - one of our friends only gets reception on the roof top terrace (so don't call us, we'll call you), while our best reception is at the far end of the pool (great except when it is raining). Most of this depends on whether you can see the cell tower next to El Castillo - which we cannot due to the ridge on the other side of the road. Our Costa Rican cell works fine, but our North American phones are useless, even thought they work fine out by the highway.
Internet is the latest challenge. For the past several years, satellite based service has been reliable but expensive - $69/month for 512k service - - think dial-up! 1M for $130. Faster is available, but anything resembling cable speeds is over $300/month. In May, Lisle bought a rocket stick, and a chip for his old iPhone4. Both offered pay as you go voice/data service with an option of unlimited data for $20/month and speeds of 1M. Seemed reliable although speed varied greatly depending on the number of users (forget doing anything on Sunday when everyone is at home!).
All seemed well until August 1, when with little fanfare ICE changed its plans. No grandfathering like in Toronto, and very little clarity on what changed, how it works or what it costs - even by the ICE staff. So after loading the stick on August 1 as per usual, on August 4 it just stopped working. Monday off to ICE in Cortes (the main regional office). The verdict - there is no money on the account - explanations that it was done as instructed were of little use - another $20, message sent all good. 2 days later, no service - back to ICE, this time the satellite kiosk in the credit union in Uvita - no money on the account - huh?? So, no unlimited data plan on pay as you go anymore - $20 gets you 1.5G of data. Unlimited service is now only available post paid for $24/month - new chip, new number, have to pay each month, but a small price overall - we'll see how this goes.
BTW, there is a new cell tower going up at the highway - we can see it directly from the living room - ICE 4G/LTE, supposed to be operational next month - guess we will have this advanture all over again next time we are down!
They are the ones who provide electricity, phone, cell, cable to most of the country. Needless to say, service isn't their strong suit.
Things like electricity are pretty simple. They have that down pat - nothing fancy of complicated really. But the rest is a different story.
In San Jose, again things are relatively straight forward - land lines, cable internet, 4G/LTE cell service and rocket sticks. In the OSA it is a bit of a different story.
Land lines exist in the village, but don't extend beyond properties on the main road - those of us in the "Phases" or the more rural Tico homes have no chance of that.
Cell coverage has improved in the past 5 years - used to be there was a single spot on the highway where you were guaranteed service - now the whole area has some coverage (only 3G) but you often need to be strategic about how you maximize reception - one of our friends only gets reception on the roof top terrace (so don't call us, we'll call you), while our best reception is at the far end of the pool (great except when it is raining). Most of this depends on whether you can see the cell tower next to El Castillo - which we cannot due to the ridge on the other side of the road. Our Costa Rican cell works fine, but our North American phones are useless, even thought they work fine out by the highway.
Internet is the latest challenge. For the past several years, satellite based service has been reliable but expensive - $69/month for 512k service - - think dial-up! 1M for $130. Faster is available, but anything resembling cable speeds is over $300/month. In May, Lisle bought a rocket stick, and a chip for his old iPhone4. Both offered pay as you go voice/data service with an option of unlimited data for $20/month and speeds of 1M. Seemed reliable although speed varied greatly depending on the number of users (forget doing anything on Sunday when everyone is at home!).
All seemed well until August 1, when with little fanfare ICE changed its plans. No grandfathering like in Toronto, and very little clarity on what changed, how it works or what it costs - even by the ICE staff. So after loading the stick on August 1 as per usual, on August 4 it just stopped working. Monday off to ICE in Cortes (the main regional office). The verdict - there is no money on the account - explanations that it was done as instructed were of little use - another $20, message sent all good. 2 days later, no service - back to ICE, this time the satellite kiosk in the credit union in Uvita - no money on the account - huh?? So, no unlimited data plan on pay as you go anymore - $20 gets you 1.5G of data. Unlimited service is now only available post paid for $24/month - new chip, new number, have to pay each month, but a small price overall - we'll see how this goes.
BTW, there is a new cell tower going up at the highway - we can see it directly from the living room - ICE 4G/LTE, supposed to be operational next month - guess we will have this advanture all over again next time we are down!
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