Internet Service Provider > MEO Fibra 1Gbps 📶

[nelsonic]

At present the fastest ISP in Portugal is MEO which owns much of the Optical Fibre backbone in PT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meo_(telecommunication_service) The conclusion of our research last year is still the same: MEO Fibra 1GB €38,99/mês (the fastest) https://www.meo.pt/pacotes/fibra/outros-pacotes

The Vodafone domestic packages only go up to 500mb download speed: https://www.vodafone.pt/pacotes.html?activeTab=3p&id=pacotes

In our experience of using NOS the third ISP in PT, their customer service is so bad, we simply wouldn't even consider using them again. https://www.nos.pt/particulares/pacotes/todos-os-pacotes/Paginas/pacotes.aspx#tab5

I think we should ignore everything else in the "package" and just focus on the download speed ... I honestly think that having 1GB internet is going to be a major selling point for @home ... 💭

@iteles can I place the order for the MEO Fibra 1GB today or do you want to do more research on this?

Related to / required by https://github.com/dwyl/home/issues/20#issuecomment-571603734 [Solar Panels]

Tasks

• [x] Research available options
• [x] Decide on a provider and contract to go for
• [x] Go to shop and sign contracts
• [x] Electricians to pass a tube around the property for the fibreoptic cabling
• [x] Network installation
• [ ] Confirm full internet speed is achieved
• [x] Get access to online management of account

[miguelmartins17]

I use MEO as Internet at home and I have no reason to complain is faster than Vodafone I can not give an opinion on NOS because I never used but I know that colleagues of mine say that of the three is the worst

[iteles]

I'm very happy with the MEO option 👍

My preference would be to sign up for a rolling contract for 1 month and test that we can get good signal and connect multiple streaming devices around the house before we get stuck with a 24 month contract that may be more hype than truth (in our experience).

We've had multiple instances of an internet speed being "guaranteed" and then the ISP blaming cables or wiring or a neighbourhood box or fine print when it was less than needed/dropped out all the time/couldn't be used across multiple floors.

[iteles]

😂 It looks like there's a €350 activation charge if you don't sign up for a long term contract 😂 https://conteudos.meo.pt/meo/Documentos/Tarifarios/Outros_fibra.pdf

Ridiculous.

At this price, might as well just go for it.

Worth asking the question of whether mobile phones can be added as we'll need an @home mobile phone as well. This would require a custom plan as we don't want/need the TV option.

[miguelmartins17]

@nelsonic @iteles It is true that Ines is right, perhaps it would be better to test it first since often the service is not what they promise. I've had colleagues tell me that the NOS gentlemen blamed the neighbors for "stealing" the Internet so it was slow.

[nelsonic]

@miguelmartins17 we are going to have strong internet security @home 🔐 (to avoid people "sealing") in fact we will need to build the Wifi Access it into our App ... https://github.com/dwyl/technology-stack/issues/81 📱 we can discuss it in more detail when you visit next month ... 😉

Meanwhile I am going to visit the MEO store in town tomorrow because the lady I spoke to yesterday said we could get just the internet without having a phone in our experience having a home phone is more hassle than it's worth (spam calls / telemarketing) 😞

[iteles]

@nelsonic I think what @miguelmartins17 was saying is that the ISPs will make anything up so as not to take responsibility for their poor service.

[nelsonic]

@iteles that may be the case, but it's also trivial for people to gain access to WIFI networks which have the default password and no additional security. So it's very likely that @miguelmartins17 neighbors were borrowing his bandwidth. 🙄

We will avoid this by having second factor authentication for our internet. 💡

[miguelmartins17]

@nelsonic The problem is that there was no one else using the internet but us, they have access to all the devices that were connected to the network and were all from here at home. They gave that excuse to excuse the bad network service they had.

[iteles]

We went to the shop together and signed contracts on 21-Jan-2020. The installation was booked for 22-Jan-2020 but when the MEO technicians came, they realised that there was no cabling at the front of the property and a tube would have to be put around the property in order to take the fibreoptic cable from the back of the house to the front.

I organised for the electricians to do this on 23-Jan-2020 and when this was done, called up MEO to re-book the installation.

Installation booked for 24-Jan-2020, 08h00 - 10h00.

[nelsonic]

Installation complete! 🎉 For now the speed is "only" 290Mbps until they finish the configuration ... #FirstWorldProblems 🙄 We expect the full 1Gbps to be enabled by next week. 🙌

[nelsonic]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs

[iteles]

I've updated the OP with the task list.

I'll sort out the MEO login details. @nelsonic I suggest you open a separate issue for the network itself 😊

[nelsonic]

@iteles it's way more than a separate issue; it's whole other learning opportunity! 😉 The Network: https://github.com/dwyl/learn-computer-networking The System to monitor it: https://github.com/dwyl/learn-nerves

[iteles]

I have called and it would appear that:

• It will take 2 working days to get us up to full speed with the internet, so we will check this on Tuesday 28-Jan-2020
• We will only have our account number provided to us at the end of the month, but this will be provided to us on the invoice (which I have requested is paperless) by default

[nelsonic]

On my Google Pixel phone the max speed l can get is 510Mbps which is due to device limitation (several people on Reddit have reported that even with an "AC" router and gigabyte connection it still maxes out around 500...).

I don't have any issue with this on my single device. When we need higher bandwidth in a specific room, I will hook up the Ubiquiti Switch and APs and then confirm if I am able to get faster speeds with a Wired connection.

[nelsonic]

Also, the Client Portal is now active:

https://cliente.meo.pt

In order to alter the package (to remove TV because we don't want it but were forced to have it for the first month to eliminate the installation cost ... 🙄) we need to request a callback on Mobile:

Once that's done our monthly payment will come down to €35 for the 1Gb. Not bad considering some people pay considerably more per month in certain countries for less speed!

[iteles]

@nelsonic Do we still need to confirm we're getting the speed we are paying for before closing this issue or have you been able to confirm this?

Thanks also for going to the shop to remove the TV option 🙌

[nelsonic]

@iteles sadly the only way we can confirm the speed is by plugging in a Unifi Controller or a computer with Gigabit ethernet ... our laptops/phones cannot use the full speed. #Todo

[nelsonic]

@iteles you have Vodafone, right? Do you get 5G @home ?

They have a new Unlimited 5G data plan with 1GB speed: Red Infinity Giga @ €44,9/month https://www.vodafone.pt/telemoveis/tarifarios/red.html#red-infinity

[iteles]

I don't get 5G and I pay less than half of that per month. I don't really have any interest in paying €45 a month just to get 5G over 4G unless there's an advantage in terms of having you on Vodafone too or a better internet tariff for @home. 🤷‍♀️

[nelsonic]

Inês, thank you for answering my question. I wasn’t minimally suggesting that you should pay this much for your personal tariff. But given that we are not legally allowed to have more than one phone line to the @home property, using a 5G (1gbps) could be a good fallback network in the case that the Fibre broadband is ever interrupted.

[iteles]

Signed into the MEO account in order to pull off a few things and just wanted to note that the price for this has gone up a fair amount since we started:

Especially because this is what I'm getting in the office:

[nelsonic]

@iteles yeah same home network getting 46Mbps https://fast.com not great at all ... 🐌

@iteles want to complain to MEO? 🤷‍♂️

[iteles]

I can't, has to be you as your name is on the account aaaaaaand... you actually know what you're talking about 😆

Might be worth doing a pomodoro of seeing what the market is like so we can get a price match (downward) whist you're at it.

[nelsonic]

We are currently paying €50,49/month for MEO: 💸

If we switch to Vodafone we will get 1Gbps for €38,9: https://www.vodafone.pt/pacotes/internet.html

I don't have the time to focus on this right now. ⏳ But could add it to my list for early next week. 📆 @iteles any objections to switching? 💭

[iteles]

None. Let's do it.

[nelsonic]

Another option could be Woo: https://www.woo.pt/pacotes-internet-fixa €37/month for 1Gbps

But for the extra €2/month for Vodafone I think it's worth it to have Amazon Prime (Video) and HBO Max included. 💭

On the other hand, if you (Inês) wanted to switch your Mobile provider to Woo and get considerably more data for less money, then a "bundle" with 1Gbps Fixed (home) internet and a 15GB Mobile Data for €52/month could make sense: https://www.woo.pt/tarifarios-telemovel-net-fixa

That works out as €15/month for the mobile contract ... 💭 Woo doesn't include a TV Box or any streaming services. We don't currently use our TV/Projector for TV ... 📺 But we occasionally watch something on Disney+ or Netflix ... 🎦

[iteles]

I think it's more beneficial for us to both be on different mobile networks for now in order to test connections and be able to function when one is less available. But I definitely also need to change my phone contract... maybe I'll give Vodafone a call to see if they can somewhat match the Woo deal.

[nelsonic]

@iteles ok, you make the call to Vodafone to see if they will match €15/month for 15Gbp. 🤞 Once you've made that call, I will sign up to a new Vodafone account for the house. 💭

[nelsonic]

Current Vodafone Fiber + Mobile packages: https://www.vodafone.pt/pacotes.html#4p-5p

They are worth it for people who use a lot of Mobile Data. But right now, this is not the case with either of us.

[iteles]

OK so it looks like the comparison is €52 per month from Woo vs €59 per month from Vodafone:

You do get an extra 5GB of data a month for your mobile from Vodafone but as you say, even 15GB is overkill, I barely get through my 5GB a month 🤷‍♀️ We also have no need for the telefone fixo or the TV.

I'll call them to see what they can do.