Mobile Internet - Greece 2011

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Caladh

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Guys and gals - what's the latest up to date info. on costs and use, ease of getting a setup ? There's stuff about but dating abck to 2009. Heading back out in the spring and will probably be looking for a USB dongle Internet setup for my Notebook like I had in Italy. Use will be weather, news, email, R2 -for around 6 months. Any info. gratefully received
 
There are a number of deals available out in Greece. We have a 12 month contract with Vodafone for unlimited internet access at about £40 a month. WInd and Cosmote also have deals at the same sort of figure. To get a contract you'll need a letter from your marina confirming you have a berth there for a couple of months as well as your passport.

If you'd prefer to go the pay as you go route, then there are deal out there but again you'll need your passport (and possibly a letter from the marina). IIRC the costs are about the same as you'd expect in Italy.

Hope that helps.
 
WIND PAYG Greece

As of Oct last year, WIND were still offering the following PAYG tariffs.......

"NS 2" 8 Euro 2 days Max 3GB

"NS 7" 15 Euro 7 days Max 12GB

"GB" 15 Euro 30 days Max 1 GB

Note: On the GB tariff, If you exceed 1 GB in less than 30 days you can top up again (to a max of 4 GB per month).

Have used all three without problems.

Data SIM cost 10€ with 5€ credit on it. You do not need a tax number or Greek address, but I was asked for passport when I got the SIM card in May 2010.

Used via a Huawei E220 modem.

Need to download software ("WIND Connection Manager") first from WIND website at .... http://www.wind.com.gr/Left-Menu/Mo...DSM)/WIND-Data-Products/Downloads-for-PC.aspx

WIND appears to have excellent coverage throughout the Ionian (except Kioni (Ithaca).... which appears to be Cosmote or nothing!)

Hope this helps. Cannot vouch that these tariffs/prices are still available.
 
In the Aegean in 2010 we found that Cosmote was more available than Wind - as I describe here:
http://yachtvigdis.wordpress.com/greek-internet-weather/
(Not updated since last June.)

I see that Cosmote 'Internet on the phone' has changed since I wrote that - and they've even got a webpage in English which is new - though the English pages are often different to the Greek ones:
http://www.cosmote.gr/cosmoportal/page/T14/section/CIOTPcontracts/loc/en_US

Wind is generally easier to deal with if you don't speak Greek. I have both Cosmote and Wind SIMs.

Alyssa said:
WIND appears to have excellent coverage throughout the Ionian (except Kioni (Ithaca).... which appears to be Cosmote or nothing!)...
Click to expand...
Snap - I had to climb to the top of the hill!
 
Is it possible to get a PAYG sim card (for an unlocked dongle) in Greece without a marina address?

We plan to reach Greece beginning of June but will just be cruising around with no fixed abode. We found this method of internet access good in Spain & Portugal & we were able to buy the sim card & top it up regularly without an address (I think the shop just put in their own address).
 
lurob said:
Is it possible to get a PAYG sim card (for an unlocked dongle) in Greece without a marina address?

We plan to reach Greece beginning of June but will just be cruising around with no fixed abode. We found this method of internet access good in Spain & Portugal & we were able to buy the sim card & top it up regularly without an address (I think the shop just put in their own address).
Click to expand...

Yes. We bought a Vodafone dongle in Aegina in 2010 but don't have a marina address. Costs were very similar to those quoted by Alyssa. We could have bought a SIM card only. The problem is that the days quoted are continuous, once initiated there is no stopping it, whether you use it or not. You can buy the scratch cards needed to recharge in any Vodafone shop, although we found that not all of them have every denomination.

When we bought ours we didn't need our passports but the rules have changed in an attempt to crack down on mobile phone abuse, so we needed to register the dongle SIM later, with passports.
 
Who has the best coverage for the Agean we also need to purchase a new SIM in April when we return. In the past we have always taken out a years contract and just let it run while we were not there in the winter this year we cancelled. Is there such a thing as a pay as you go SIM where you pay by the data packet and not by the day.
 
On my last trip in October/November last year we got a Q Card sim from a Wind shop.

The sim costs €5, and data €1 per 100MB, with a 400Mb monthly limit. Two of us were online most days for a month, without exceeding that limit, although we also used some free wi-fi networks.

We used the sim in an Android Nexus phone, which allows you to use the handset as a mobile wi-fi station, although I see no reason why it couldn't be used in a dongle.

More info here www.myQ.gr but there's no English translation, so you may find it easier to ask in a Wind shop when you get to Greece.
 
Last year I had a WIND PAYG SIM which cost nothing for up to 4Gb/month - that was a one-off and only available, as a 12-month contract, for about 5 weeks in March-April.

My usage is about 1.5Gb/month, though when I was downloading a lot of software it did struggle to 3.5Gb one month. (I certainly don't spend all my time on the internet).

It will be interesting, when I go back in April, to do the sums as to whether Vodafone (5Gb/month for €30 non-PAYG) WIND (PAYG) or Cosmote (PAYG) will be the most economical.
The deals and changes make historical information misleading, cellular data charges are always in a state of flux.

As all three airtime providers are increasingly sharing transmission nets, I think you'll find little, if any, difference in coverage between the 3.

I've found the Huawei dongle (sic) vastly inferior to a Nokia smartphone for cellular data connection (and I think the same will apply to iPhone and Android appliances)
 
DaveRo said:
More info about Q-card on prepaidgsm.net: here
Click to expand...

Hi all,
I wrote the above "how to" at PrepaidGSM.net last year! :-)
Presume it will still work when we go back in Feb.

Here are just a few reasons why I justify purchasing an unlocked Android phone:
(ie: NexusOne, NexusS, Samsung Galaxy S, (or even a cheap HTC WildFire) unlocked and no contract to Vodaphone, etc, so you can buy a SIM from any provider in any country, pop it in, and your away...)

- you need a local phone to make local phone calls anyway
- on an Android phone, the Navionics charts *for the entire med!* are only €10. These are great for backup, or for understanding ports, or light sequences, etc.
- Google maps can be used to get walking/driving directions
- Google Translator can be used to translate Greek to english (although it doesn't work very well)
- not to mention pulling down Navtex weather, Windfinder, etc.
- (Still no app for Gribs yet...)
- plus general email, texts, etc.

Any android phone running 2.2 (Froyo) has a "tethering" feature.
The phone basically becomes a Wifi point, and thus acts like a bridge between wifi and 3G mobile internet.
That way, you can boot up the netbook, connect to the wifi tether, and connect to the internet over 3G.
This way, you can pull Gribs, etc, as there is no app on the phone for that yet.

Also handy if you are uploading pictures to Picassa or a blog etc.


Hope this helps.

Having independent, "always on" internet is a big convenience.
And being able to check the weather, and charts, etc, throughout the day, adds to safety.

Tim
 
We are still in Greek waters and still using the WIND dongle at 17€ a month. This is the cheapest I think and it is so easy to top up up. Just take the dongle into any wind shop and they will top up with one months supply, do not forget to get them to ACTIVATE it. We forgot and lost 14 days. After a re-visit to the shop and some raised voices I got a month FREE
We originally took the computer in as well they did all the down loading foc..

Peter
 
Yearly contract

duncan99210 said:
There are a number of deals available out in Greece. We have a 12 month contract with Vodafone for unlimited internet access at about £40 a month. WInd and Cosmote also have deals at the same sort of figure. To get a contract you'll need a letter from your marina confirming you have a berth there for a couple of months as well as your passport.

If you'd prefer to go the pay as you go route, then there are deal out there but again you'll need your passport (and possibly a letter from the marina). IIRC the costs are about the same as you'd expect in Italy.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

How does the yearly contract work i.e do you pay by Direct Debit ? I understood that the yearly contracts are effectively just two month contracts which can be suspended. Best quote so far for PAYG is 60 euros a month from Vodafone.
 
Caladh said:
How does the yearly contract work i.e do you pay by Direct Debit ? I understood that the yearly contracts are effectively just two month contracts which can be suspended. Best quote so far for PAYG is 60 euros a month from Vodafone.
Click to expand...

I pay mine with credit card, so easy to cancel. 30 a month for 5gb. Vodafone, but will need to raise that amount, because it wont allow skype, maybe have to pay 50 for skype.
 
ccscott49 said:
I pay mine with credit card, so easy to cancel. 30 a month for 5gb. Vodafone, but will need to raise that amount, because it wont allow skype, maybe have to pay 50 for skype.
Click to expand...
Don't follow the comment about Skype - unless you are referring to the inadequate Vodafone bandwidth in most places - I did have an adequate connection in Kalamata, & during that month I used Skype without video. Even then I only used 3.24Gb, including downloading an ISO DVD of an operating system.
Anyone will be hard-pressed to exceed 5Gb in a month.

Mine is on a credit card - rather than jump through the hoops for Vodafone Credit Control - I pay €3.2/month for 400Mb allowance when out of Greece. It is increasingly difficult to get the contract - they prefer people with a permanaent address and on PAYE. Cuts out most yotties.
 
ccscott49 said:
Do you know if these people have a shop in Corfu I could visit?
Click to expand...

"You may register your SIM card in one of COSMOTE’s 1,000 points of sale all over Greece. Those include COSMOTE, GERMANOS & OTE shops and the retail chains MEDIA-MARKT, KOTSOVOLOS, SATURN, SANYO COM SHOPS, SPACEPHONE, VALUENET, PUBLIC, PLAISIO.
Please make sure you bring at the shop with you:
The SIM card of your connection pack and
Your identity card or your passport"

This is from the Cosmote website so looks like you should be able to get this deal in Corfu. Will be interested to hear how you get on, as it looks as though it would suit us.
 
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