On Thursday, November 3rd we discussed diverse aspects of problems with internet in the home
Can’t connect? – take a look at the tips in these articles to get some leads…
https://www.lifewire.com/cant-connect-to-the-internet-try-this-817794
https://www.broadbandsearch.net/blog/common-home-wifi-problems
- First – Check your setup at home: That the router is on and functioning correctly. Are the cables connected properly? Try rebooting the router.
- See if you can connect via your smartphone’s data plan. If you can, there’s a problem with your household internet.
- Check to see if there’s an outage with your ISP – give them a call or perhaps they have a WhatsApp or Facebook group.
Can’t reach a specific site? – Like Facebook?
Check if the site is down! Down Detector provides live information on glitches with major sites and you can add a website for it to check. https://downdetector.com
Why could this be so?
The internet is complicated. There are several places where there might be a glitch.
https://downdetector.com/insights/5-critical-internet-services-q2-2022/
I’m paying for xxx Mb – why is the Internet so slow on my speed test??
NOTE: Although a given infrastructure can deliver, say, 1GBit bandwidth, in the small print, ISPs provide “up to” an advertised bandwidth and in the small print are apparently committed only to providing a percentage of the speed you contracted for (Chris was told only 10%). They can also “throttle back” the bandwidth available to a particular client in router settings. The tested speed can also fluctuate from time to time:
https://www.broadwaybroadband.co.uk/why-does-broadband-speed-fluctuate-and-how-to-fix-it/
Other factors are :
- WiFi limitations in the home – distance from the router, thick walls etc.
- The Network devices you use. (.e.g Range extenders halve the bandwidth, Powerline extenders depend on the quality of the electrical circuitry in your house etc.
- Ethernet cabling is the most reliable, but there are different qualities of ethernet cabling. Some JCC members said, “buy the best you can get” – however cheap “Category 5 e” is certified to carry 1 Gb, which is faster than your Internet connection!
- The weather may affect the signal for “Air fibre” – which is 4G or some other long-distance wireless technology
How much speed do I need?
“Speed” vs “Bandwidth” They are not quite the same, https://lightyear.ai/blogs/internet-speed-vs-bandwidth but the average home user needn’t worry too much about the distinction! Basically, more is better and higher bandwidths mean you can use more internet-connected devices at the same time without a performance hit …and download files more quickly.
Guess What – Spain is one of the best in the world re: “High speed” Internet coverage:
Much of the credit for Spain’s position near the top of the world’s internet speed rankings (no 11) goes to mobile phone operators.
The deployment of broadband in Spain by companies has made the country one of the most advanced in this respect in Europe. Almost 98% of the Spanish population has access to the internet in one way or another and 62.53% of broadband lines are now fibre optic.
Companies remain committed to bringing the internet to every corner of the country and continue to roll out fibre optics. They are also actively working to expand 5G coverage, which is already reaching several large Spanish cities.
For its part, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation plans to invest more than 250 million euros in infrastructure and aid so that by 2025, 100% of the population will have access to the internet of at least 100Mbps.
https://roams.es/companias-telefonicas/blog/internet/velocidad-internet-espana/
Which ISP should I choose?
Main Technologies today:
- Fibre Optic cable (the Go-To standard)
- Wireless 4G and “WiMax” (for areas which cannot get fibre)
- Satellite (for people really out in the boondocks)
- Mobile 4G and 5G to a phone or “portable wi fi hotspot” – you need a SIM
Availability and price depend on where you live!
Wireless specialists offer “FibraAIR” – High-speed internet through the air https://holawifi.net
Others such as Excom https://www.excom.es was an early provider of wireless Internet via 4G. now deploys fibre in Denia.
Fibre Optic fast broadband
When fibre was first rolled out in Spain, the infrastructure was laid mainly by Telefonica which received a subsidy from the government. In return for this subsidy, other, competing ISPs have the right to use the infrastructure. Thus in cities and other densely populated areas people have a large choice about which company to go for and prices are competitive. e.g.
https://www.xatakamovil.com/comparativa-de-tarifas/tarifas-solo-fibra-baratas-2022
In contrast, some urbanisations are served by a privately installed infrastructure: e.g. Telitec https://www.telitec.com installed the fibre-optic network on La Lluca and the company therefore has a monopoly for providing Fibre internet in that urbanisation. Some small groups of houses cannot persuade an ISP to make the investment to install fibre for them, so they are obliged to use Wireless access.
On the other hand, there are free, Community based infrastructures such as Guifinet : Guifi.net is a free, open and neutral, mostly wireless community network, with over 37,000 active nodes and about 71,000 km of wireless links (as of December 2021). The majority of these nodes are located in Catalonia and the Valencian Community, in Spain, but the network is growing in other parts of the world. The network is self-organized and operated by the users using unlicensed wireless links and open optical fibre links .https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guifi.net
Here are some leading ISPs in this area:
https://www.javeaonline24.com/guide/internet-providers-javea-moraira-calpe-costa-blanca-spain
But don’t forget the big boys, Phone companies such as Movistar, Orange and Vodaphone also provide internet services, (I’m not sure who provides the physical infrastructure)
..or maybe you are happy with mobile Internet – your phone can act as a “hotspot” for your PC and some companies give generous amounts of data per month.