Internet update

We mentioned last week that we have recently been having problems with our internet connection and received a number of emails asking us to let them know how we solved the problem. We recently contracted with Empresa, the electric company, because we had heard that they were a better connection than Etapa, the water company, our present provider. Empresa technicians came yesterday afternoon to install our modem but insisted they had to drill a hole from the outside through our apartment wall so they could lead an optical fiber wire into the apartment. The owner’s of the building did not want wires running up the building and into our apartment so, we are staying with Etapa for our internet service. The Etapa technician came later in the day to see if we had a local problem as they insisted that their service was back to normal after a couple of weeks of tower problems.  He shrugged his head when we asked if there was any way for us to get a better connection. In rapid Spanish he explained the compression problem when too many people are on line at the same time and apologized for the fact that mornings and late afternoon were times when service is slower than evenings and mid-day. We’ll give Etapa a try for the next few weeks and keep our fingers crossed that they have solved their problems. For the last year, we have not had problems with our internet connection, only with Skype dropping calls, so hopefully all is going to be OK.

The Internet

It has taken us three different companies to find one that will give us a good connection to the internet. Part of the problem is of our own making by not understanding what we were being advised by the person we contacted at each company. We first tried Porta which required eight visits to the store at Mall del Rio before we were up and running. Each visit required us to get some kind of additional documentation including a statement from our Ecuador bank stating that we were customers in good standing. We left them a month ago because we could not get a Skype connection that would last more than a minute and, even more often, no connection at all. Then, on a recommendation, we contracted with Etapa, the water company, who are another local internet provider. It worked just fine for a week but soon developed a critical condition that prevented us from connecting any time of the day except late in the evening.  Another friend had suggested we try Empresa, the electric company. Today, we signed a year’s contract with them and think we finally understand the connection problem. The key is the usage figure that they all quote. It is either 8:1, 6:1, 4:1 or a commercial rate of 2:1 or 1:1. The first number is the amount of people you will share the connection with. Therefore, 8:1 means you will share the time you are on with up to seven other people plus you when you are all connected at the same time. The more people on at the same time the slower the connection speed. Of course, the price goes up as the speed increases and the rate decreases. The way to figure the best plan is to divide the receiving speed, say 512, by the usage rate, say 4:1 to get a number that will be 128 and compare it to another plan that will give, as an example,  384 speed divided by 2:1 or 192. 192 is a faster rate than 128 so is supposed be a better connection. This is probably the reason we had so many problems with Etapa at a speed of 1200 divided by 8:1 ratio which gave us a rate of 150. But, who knows. It might be something else. Once you sign a contract, a technician will hopefully come to your apartment or home within a couple of days to install the modem on your computer. Empresa, the electric company, is a huge organization but required us to walk two blocks to the nearest copy shop to get a cedula copied. This happens all over, at the car registration, at the hospitals, or at the utilities. Almost everywhere they will not use their copy machines but make you go out and get one at a nearby copy shop. These little frustrations are just part of life in Ecuador but the internet connection has become a major trial for us and we can only keep our fingers crossed that it is solved once and for all. 

The Internet and cell phones

Cell phones are expensive but absolutely necessary as everyone uses them. There are two major cell phone providers, Movistar and Porta. There are others but these are the two big ones with the best coverage. Plans are available but most people opt to purchase cards with a given amount of time on them. Unfortunately, if you have not used up your time by the first of your months anniversary, the remainder is cancelled unless you buy a new card prior to the old cards expiration. Phone cards can be purchased almost anywhere. The retailer merely calls the provider, gives them your phone number, and the provider automatically adds the time to your handset. You then pay the retailer the amount due and, within seconds, you have more time on the phone. Internet is here in a big way but, depending on who you choose as your service, it will be somewhat slower than you find in the US. We chose to use Porta who give you a small USB plug-in for your computer that allows you to connect to the internet and it runs roughly $54 a month per computer. There are other companies but it is always a tremendous effort to get authorization for the provider to bill your bank account monthly. It took eight visits to the Porta store to get approvals and get our modem working. This is not unusual as red tape and inefficiency are a way of life and must be gotten used to or your days would be miserable. Delays and slow reactions to your requests are everywhere but especially in the electronics arena where Americans are so used to instant response and a competitive market which demands efficiency. It is best to learn to relax and wait it out. Tomorrow is another day. Software bought in Ecuador is all in Spanish, so if you want a specific software item, bring it with you when you come. You can download almost all software but, due to cookies identifying the source as Ecuador, the download will almost always be in Spanish. I just had as frustrating experience. I wanted to get Windows 7 to replace my Windows Vista operating system. My local computer store assured me they could get Windows 7 in English. A month went by, and they put Windows 7 in Spanish on my computer after trying to get the English version from a half dozen suppliers. Actually, the Spanish version is not too difficult to navigate and I’ll probably keep it.

Computer keyboards purchased here are all in Spanish and have a slightly different layout. It doesn’t take long to get used to but it might again be easier to bring an English keyboard. Printers are inexpensive and you can get a small selection of Canon, HP and Lexmark products. You can only find A4 paper which is longer than the usual US inkjet paper. It works just fine in any printer but is harder to fit in a filing cabinet.