Mobile Broadband - Antigua to Tobago

[Leopard Star]

Hi, our family are cruising next year from Antigua down the chain ending up in Grenada / Tobago. We are looking for the best solution to mobile broadband (laptop & Dongle?). From what I can make out on the web, Cable and wireless have good coverage? Does anyone have any experience or suggestions. I would like to pay a flat fee per month for unlimited broadband. I guess Martinique and Guadeloupe may be tricky but is LIME good for the rest? Thanks in anticipation - David

[GordMay]

LIME operates in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and Turks & Caicos.

Seems to be a good solution.

[BojanglesIV]

Try Digicel. I'm not sure of their mobile broadband offerings, but they have a pretty good 3G service from the virgins to Grenada (French Islands excepted).

We used 5 mile wifi instead of a broadband service and it was able to pull in reasonable signals in most places - sometimes free, sometimes a paid hotspot.

Another option - which I just went to - is the Ubiquiti Bullet, which I'm also very happy with.

Cheers,
Colin

[MarkJ]

Originally Posted by GordMay

LIME operates in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines and Turks & Caicos.

Seems to be a good solution.

Its not a solution at all!

These bums, and Digicel are all restricted to each island so each new country you need a new SIM card, none on Prepaid. So basically you need a 12 month contract in EACH country! (Some 6 months contracts)

Grenada doesnt even have 3G its at dial up speed!

No wonder many people here all talk about WiFi... its archaic but the only thing thats available.

Here in Grenada I pay $40 per month for a flakey WiFi signal thats only in 4 bays.
3G on a USB modem (dongle) should be cheaper than that are work everywhere you can get Mobile Phone reception.

Woe is the internet in the Caribbean!


Mark

[BojanglesIV]

Thanks Mark... I would have felt badly had it turned out there was a really good and cheap broadband service throughout the EC that I didn't know about when I was struggling to find wifi service everywhere.

Cheers,
Colin

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

. . . These bums, and Digicel are all restricted to each island so each new country you need a new SIM card, none on Prepaid. So basically you need a 12 month contract in EACH country! (Some 6 months contracts). . . Mark

That is not correct - roaming is available from both major cell companies - Lime (old Cable&Wireless) and Digicell. Also you can purchase a new SIM card on each island for about EC$25 (US$9) which included EC$25 worth of minutes if you are going to be there a long time and will be using a lot of phone service. No contracts are necessary and you purchase your minutes at local stores or on the internet. I did drop Digicel and move to Lime as they allow you to replenish your minutes anywhere in the Caribbean on the internet. Digicel does not.
- - Just be sure to have an unlocked "quad-band" GSM cell phone so you can pop in a new SIM card - when necessary - anywhere in the Caribbean.
- - However, "aircard" or cell phone derived data services are not cheap and not that great. The setup equipment can cost up to US$150 with a monthly cost approaching US$100. Few if any use it (which explains the high cost) as WiFi is available most everywhere including the French islands.
- - Speeds are not great but for email and weather browsing and general surfing it is not that bad. We were able to "torrent" movies. Things are just slower in the islands - it takes some time to get used to the concept of "Island Time."
- - Frequently on the smaller islands there is only one official "portal" to the internet controlled by the dominant government approved phone company and everybody has to feed off that teat. When schools let out in the afternoon it is common for internet access to get overloaded and totally bog down or cease until the kids go to bed. Welcome to the islands.
- - Most marinas include free WiFi and with a long range powered WiFi antenna system you can sometimes reach out from anchorages to use the marina systems. Choosing anchorages these days has more to do with WiFi access than standards we used to use in the "old days." It is not uncommon to see a new boat circling an anchorage with the crew holding up a computer searching for good WiFi signals before dropping the hook.
- - In a few places where we frequently stopped for a short time, we simply took the lapbook/netbook ashore and took advantage of the free WiFi inside restaurants and cafe's. A cappuccino or some French pastry is a small and tasty price to pay for hours of free Wifi. Cafe's and restaurants use WiFi as a lure to draw you in to sample their stuff.

[Leopard Star]

thanks very much to all for your input - I believe we are going for a wifi antenna called a bitstorm and we'll go ashore where the wifi is locked and have some of that coffee etc.

[maria.franklin]

Thanks for sharing with us the nice information markJ.But there are other companies also which are providing the cheap broadband services as well as the TV services and the telephone services.

[maria.franklin]

Thanks for sharing with us the nice information markJ.But there are other companies also which are providing the cheap broadband services as well as the TV services and the telephone services.Customers are looking for the best quality as well as the cheap rates.

[Target9000]

Originally Posted by maria.franklin

Customers are looking for the best quality as well as the cheap rates.

Stunning news. I had always assumed that the sound of the music on hold was their top priority.