Wi-Fi - Lunigiana, La Spezia and Parma

[Nicola]

I have no idea if this has been mentioned before (I did an attempt to search for it but about 6 pages into the GPRS sticky I lost the will to live ). I know that there has been much discussion about broadband and thought this site may be handy for anyone living in the above areas:

Wi-Fi Communication - Internet Vecloce in Lunigiana e Val di Taro - Internet Veloce dove gli altri non arrivano - Connesioni Wi-Fi e Voip

It's a company called "Lunigiana in rete" that can provide you with adsl or broadband or whatever you want to call it through a Wi-Fi system (can you tell I'm not technical?!). There's an installation charge starting from 160 euro - they'll come to give you an estimate for free though - and then the price starts from 30euro per month. For those who just need temporary internet and have the appropriate computer it does say that you just have to go to a shop where you see their sticker, buy a prepaid card, configure your computer and off you go. If you click on "verifica copertura" and then "dettaglio copertura" you get a list of all the comune that are covered.

A friend told me about them the other day and did said that they may have quite a long waiting list. I also had a discussion with the assistant in Trony in Aulla today and he reckons it's as good as if not better than Telecom's adsl connection. One thing's for sure it's certainly a lot cheaper not having to have the "canone" Telecom and the customer service couldn't possibly be much worse

If anyone with slightly more technical capabilities wants to read over the site and explain it a bit better I won't be in the slightest bit offended

[tuscanhills]

They Luni in Reiti guys have a stinking big antenna that beams out a wi-fi broadband link to anyone in direct sight of it.....think of it like a benevolent police speed radar gun(!) ..... and will rent you a box that will 'talk' to it for (if memory serve me correctly) about E40/mth.

I spoke to them & visited them & founf them really helpful' they even offered to take a swing by my place to see if I could get access......great service!

I concluded that a monthly subscription was not the best option because were were not there 24x7, but it may be good for you.

If you want to visit them, they are close to the old railway station in Aulla....happy to give more via PM

[tuscanhills]

There are a number of posts/rambles from e about L-in-R -> http://www.italymag.co.uk/forums/cos...html#post42125

[Nicola]

Aaah - I did think that somebody would surely have mentioned this somewhere but I'm afraid that for the less technologically gifted among us getting to page 18 of that GPRS thread is pretty unlikely!!

Have you tried using it on a prepaid card yet? The guy in Trony also said they were very helpful and that they may even be willing to suspend your service for a couple of months if you go away (without charge of course), so maybe it's worth you going in to talk to them again.

They do say on their site that they'll do a free recce on your house. One of the most noticeable absences from the list of places covered does seem to be Pontremoli but I was told that they're putting more of these "stinking big antennae" (that's my kind of technical talk!) in the Parma area which may help with that.

Forgot to say on the original post that if anyone's in Cuneo or Asti there are also some areas there covered by another company.

[tuscanhills]

I've not tried the offering as I only got as far as the contract thing....they seem to have altered their offering (which is good!).

I've not taken it any further as I took another route with my TIM card... hance all the GPRS/EDGE thread.

If you do try it though, let me know & tell us about your experiences.

[derekL]

Originally Posted by Nicola

One of the most noticeable absences from the list of places covered does seem to be Pontremoli.....

Click on the 'Dettaglio Copertura' link. Pontremoli does seem to be listed. Villafranca, however, isn't. Neither is Bagnone, nor Licciana.
Let's hope they introduce those areas in the future. The 'pay-as-you-go' access card would definitely be something I'd use.

[Nicola]

Hi Derek

I stand corrected! Obviously accurate skim reading is not my forte

The pay as you go card would obviously be very handy for people just coming over for short periods. I've got no idea how much it costs but if I get a chance I'll try and find out.

[pigro]

re. people coming over for short periods - Three UK have just launched a new data bundle for their USB modem. £10 per month plus a one off £50 for the modem gets you 1GB of data (or 3GB for £15, 7GB for £25).

Pretty good by UK standards, but the key thing is that you can use the allowance in the UK AND in all countries where Three have their own network (i.e. where they don't need to use a roaming partner to give you coverage). Now, Italy is such a country, so for £10/month you get 1GB to use as you wish in both places.

The really important point here being that UK mobile data is traditionally very expensive, and international roaming data on a UK contract is normally prohibitively so ... unless you are a corparate user and your company picks up the tab! Whereas this offer does not charge ANYTHING additional for the international roaming on 3's own network.

A good side benefit is that Three support Skype (a lot of mobile ISP's intentionally cripple their devices to prevent VOIP usage, or at least exclude such usage from whats permitted in the contract) so if you are a devotee, this could seriously reduce your mobile voice & data spend ...

Obviously, you need to be in coverage of the Three "3G" signal at your Italian/UK location for this offer to be a proper broadband rival, but for those who have 3G/HSDPA coverage in both UK & Italia, its a great package if you regularly commute & could make use of some cheap mobile data in UK too ...

Caveats:

1) 3 Italia coverage is patchy - check first that your location is covered or you may find yourself on GPRS data speed ... the coverage checker for 3G is here.

2) the T's & C's mention that service may be suspended in event of "Excessive international roaming" - I take that to mean that if you sign up in UK but (say) 90% of all your data usage is on average in Italy, they may take a dim view ...

3) feedback form Irish users (where the USB modem & data package was rolled out first) was mixed - many users grumbled about the actual data speed achieved being very variable (but IMO that's to be expected) and also that the customer service was poor

4) Three have only a few international networks (Ireland, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Hong Kong and Australia). If you roam outwith these, you pay standard roaming charges (don't go there, literally)

[derekL]

Originally Posted by pigro

3) feedback form Irish users (where the USB modem & data package was rolled out first) was mixed - many users grumbled about the actual data speed achieved being very variable (but IMO that's to be expected) and also that the customer service was poor

The 3 network market share here in Ireland is very low btw. Less than 0.1% of our messages sent, since the beginning of 2006, were sent to 3 network users. Is it similar in the UK? Maybe they're desparate for customers?

In marketing terms, the USB modem is aimed at the desktop user without broadband access rather than the mobile user. For the mobile user they have the datacard. Same thing, different slots.

But even with vodafone, roaming costs are high and speed is extremely variable. So much so I've almost given up using my voda 3G datacard. It almost ended up in Liverpool's Albert Dock last week, the connection was so bad (and it always happens when you ned it most)!

Buying wireless network access, as you need it, is faster and more reliable for me right now.

[pigro]

Originally Posted by derekL

The 3 network market share here in Ireland is very low btw. Less than 0.1% of our messages sent, since the beginning of 2006, were sent to 3 network users. Is it similar in the UK? Maybe they're desparate for customers?

Three (as the name implies) are 3G only, no legacy 2G network, so less comprehensive coverage & still (relatively) new kids on the block. Don't think they're any more desparate than the others who paid their share of the £20 Billion for the licences though :-)

Originally Posted by derekL

In marketing terms, the USB modem is aimed at the desktop user without broadband access rather than the mobile user.

not sure I get that one - their marketing explicitly says "mobile broadband" and its main USP's are the cheapness of the bundled data allowance when compared to other mobile ISP's & the international roaming ...

Originally Posted by derekL

For the mobile user they have the datacard. Same thing, different slots.

yes, they both have the same SIM (think you can possibly buy a SIM only version of the deal, but ask google about that if interested - I don't actually have this package myself, just mentioned it in case it was of interest to anyone)

Originally Posted by derekL

But even with vodafone, roaming costs are high and speed is extremely variable. So much so I've almost given up using my voda 3G datacard. It almost ended up in Liverpool's Albert Dock last week, the connection was so bad (and it always happens when you ned it most)!

'scuse me if I don't sympathise too much as I labour away with GPRS from Wind @ 57Kbps :-)

Originally Posted by derekL

Buying wireless network access, as you need it, is faster and more reliable for me right now.

agreed, wasn't suggesting that this package was right for anyone specific, just thought it was worth considering for some & wanted to "promote" it, as the more people who take it up, the likelier the other mobile companies are to address their horrendous mobile data charges!!