11384 Opinions sought on internet connection providers

In the Umbria / Tuscany border area I have had positive experiences with the internet service provided by Progetto ERA and UmbriaNet. I'm now looking for a satellite connection provider for a house that isn't within reach of the radio signals provided by various companies, including those mentioned above. Is there anyone out there who uses the Tooway satellite connection (or other satellite provider such as Digiweb) and can tell me what they think of it?

Category
Cost of living - Utility Services

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/11/2009 - 11:13

Penny has posted a piece about Tooway and I replied that their site says nothing about support. I must emphasise that it's all very well when you are buying but the support, from all these Italian companies leaves a lot to be desired, be it wireless or what ever. We are near the Umbria/Tuscany border and get internet by wireless from Ariadsl. They seem to be trying hard but the support system is a weakness.
May I suggest you use the search facility as there's quite a bit of info on the Forum.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/11/2009 - 12:14

[quote=Stella;107808]Is there anyone out there who uses the Tooway satellite connection (or other satellite provider such as Digiweb) and can tell me what they think of it?[/quote]

We live in a very remote, hilly area (Lunigiana) and the Digiweb satellite system saved our sanity for our first three years living here (the telecom line is so bad you can't use the phone, never mind the internet).

The installation is pretty expensive and the minimum package is very slooooooow and 99 euros ex tax [I]every month[/I] (check out their website [URL="http://www.digiweb.ie"]www.digiweb.ie[/URL]).

Customer service was not always great, BUT we had very few reasons to need them, the system never let us down.

I repayed them by eventually going over to a new local service ([URL="http://www.wifi-communication.com"]www.wifi-communication.com[/URL]), but only because they were a fraction of the price and a much faster connection.

I still have the hardware and if you want to save some money send me a PM.

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 01/11/2009 - 17:10

The actual concept of VSAT (bi-directional) communications using satellite is really great - we had Digiweb installed when we first arrived here - fairly reliable but you have to watch how much data you download as they reduce your service if you go above their specified allocation. In addition there is a lag so anything like VOIP or online gaming doesnt work too well - we found it was like the "old days" when you called USA...that delay which made you feel like saying "over" when you wanted them to reply to what you said......I have read the details on the TOOWAY VSAT offering and they seem to think that they have cracked this delay and say that their system supports VOIP. We now use a Vodafone USB broadband stick but again our signal is fairly pathetic here so I am just investing in an amplifier and panel aerial @ £335 which "guarantees" a good 3G signal