There are numerous I.S.P.’s (Internet Service Providers) in Spain including British Telecom but of course, the largest is Telefonica. It’s probably fair to say that it’s also among the worst, if not the worst. Little point exists exists here in debating the reasons for their poor performance because so much good competition exists all you need do to get trouble free broadband is to select a good I.S.P.
Depending upon where you are may have a bearing on whom you select but if you don’t speak Spanish you may like to consider British Telecom, which is represented by numerous Spanish communication companies here in Spain. Whilst it is probably inappropriate to make a recommendation, in our experience the best I.S.P. in Spain is Arrakis. You can find them not unsurprisingly at www.arrakis.es. Arrikis provide connection to British Telecom's network for the sum of 36 Euros per month and this includes all telephone calls within Spain free of charge. The service is reliable, support exists in English and you can have up to 10 email addresses. Probably more if you do a little scrounging. On the subject of email, Arrakis are particularly good at not losing emails, something which cannot be said for other I.S.P's.
Currently the up and download rates are 300kbs up and 1mb down. The contention rate (amount of people using the network) is quite good and only rarely do you notice the net may be running a little slow. Whilst most I.S.P.'s can provide a far higher speed the simple fact of the matter is that this is controlled by the state of Telefonica's land lines. As they are gradually being replaced, internet speeds are rising and in several areas 4 and even 8mb are possible.
If you live in one of the major cities you may chose to use one of the power utilities which offers the internet through the mains. Fast relatively free of problems and with prices to better most, this method of connection to the net is definitely worth a look.
Broadband in Spain was late in coming onto the scene and in relation to the UK quite expensive. For a long time, less than 1mb was costing around 44 Euros per month but today rates are falling and speeds are rising. As mentioned previously, I.S.P. suppliers of broadband will give you all telephone calls in Spain free. For the vast majority of Britons living in Spain the internet is important for keeping in touch with family and friends back home. This fact is reflected by many requesting an office in their property which they use solely as a communications room. Several SPC properties come with an office as part of the design.
If you wish to live inland and telephone lines are not possible you can access the internet using one of the many satellites available. This will also give you telephone communication as well.
On an almost daily basis, the internet in Spain is making giant strides forwards. When first we started to write about the net in Spain it took about four large pages of mostly warnings about who not to deal with and what not to do. Today, although we have mentioned a preference, most I.S.P's can be relied upon to supply a reasonable service.
Cable, only available in a few areas, provides a good alternative to ADSL as do one or two or the electricity generating companies who provide internet service through the mains.
