Internet

the internet services here are very good - but at a 1 euro per day thats expensive - get it your self direct from either GO or MELITA.

thank you!

toonarmy9752 wrote:

the internet services here are very good - but at a 1 euro per day thats expensive - get it your self direct from either GO or MELITA.

I am still in South Africa and considering a move to Malta, what is the price of Internet in Malta, and is the downloading priced per GigB used, and what is the Speed of Internet?

well services here have changed and melita have now gone fibre optic internet and is much much faster but you do have to pay for it...prices start at 18euros for 25mbps..but in all honesty i have been with melita for three years now and dont have any complaints, any issues i have had with them in terms of billing connection, services etc etc have been dealt with courteously and speedily

http://www.melita.com/personal/internet/

After Just checking out the Terms and conditions of some of their products... it seems the best on to go onto is the Summer Saver product.

€25 for 25mbs fibre & telephone including unlimited calls to landline numbers in Malta.

As opposed to their €18 euro offer which you pay the €18 for the first 9 months then have to pay €30 for the following 15 months...

J.

Do you need an Maltese ID-card to get internet, i will go with my International ID card called Schengen ID card the first months and after a couple of months i will go to get a Maltese ID card.

I will probably go for that deal scubaboy said:
http://www.melita.com/personal/internet … r-25-euro/

Hi Gbgzer,

I presume you are talking about your national ID card that is valid for travel within the Schengen area.

You will probably have to make a downpayment that should be refunded when you have a Maltese ID card (or Residence Card)but you can get internet services from Melita without having a Maltese ID card.

Cheers
Ricky

agree ricky..and be aware internet will likely be subject to a minimum contract period.

hi

Hope you can help/advise

Im hopefully coming over for 2 months in the summer and need to do some work via online - how do I provide for this? Its likely the apartment Im renting wont have internet connection. Ill have a laptop with me.

Depends a bit on the type of work. If you're not going to need much traffic/bandwidth you could just get one of the prepaid mobile internet packages from Vodafone or Melita. Then, you could put the SIM into your laptop (if supported by the laptop), or into your mobile phone and connect through the phone (if supported by the phone), or you could get a dedicated 3G/4G USB modem (cost would be around EUR 30).

Hi,

i have a recent experience with getting internet connection at my flat without having Maltese ID (or Residence Certificate).

They ask you for a deposit of 100 euros plus 20 euros for the router. That, if you do not have a Maltese ID or Residence Certificate and you only have your national ID or passport.

Also, they charge you almost double per month. For example i got from Melita only internet connection (since i do not need TV and telephone) of 15 Mbps which normally costs 16,50 euros a month but in my case or any other foreigner's case who do not hold Residence Certificate or Maltese ID they charge me 28 euros a month.

They told me that when i will get the Residence permit then they will start charging me with the normal tariff.

Outrageous from my perspective since the appointment they gave me for fixing my documentation is for October.

That's it!

Oh, i must admit though that they were quit fast in installing internet at my flat which is a new building and they had to put new lines. I applied for internet on Monday late afternoon and on Friday morning the same week i had internet.

Well, I also have Internet+TV+Telephone with Melita since about one month ago, and I hope they do not charge me different rates for not having a Maltese ID card.

A paid 200€ deposit so they would come to install it and to be honest too, was pretty fast, ordered on a Friday and on Monday my internet was up an running. They did not mentioned that I would be paying different rates for not having an ID, a part of asking me for that deposit.

As I did not receive my 1st bill yet, now I am bit concerned about those different rates you mentioned. As per the pack I have chosen (30MB internet/80 Digital Channels/Telephone), they told me I would be paying around 40€/month, which I think it's quite reasonable. Let's wait and see for when the 1st bill comes out.

Cheers,
Antonio

I had internet only from Melita, they took 70EUR deposit and said that I would get normal rates. Contract is for 24 months.
We will see when 1st bill arrives.

I asked Melita about this in December 2012 and this was their reply:

"the 15Mbps internet service is provided at €16.50 monthly when binding the service to a 24 months agreement having a Maltese ID card.
[...]
Please note that the service is provided against a month on month agreement. [If] the service is placed on a month on month agreement, there is a €100 refundable deposit to be settled on the modem upon installation."

So I do have a 24 months agreement. Deposit is just a security in my case and will be given back upon presentation of id once I have it.

Probably for an undefined time agreement you do have to pay higher deposit and higher monthly rates.

You might be right oscar_PL. I have also sign for a 24 months agreement and they also told me that as soon as I had my eResidence doc sorted, they would refund me with the 200€ deposit.

danex2 wrote:

Depends a bit on the type of work. If you're not going to need much traffic/bandwidth you could just get one of the prepaid mobile internet packages from Vodafone or Melita. Then, you could put the SIM into your laptop (if supported by the laptop), or into your mobile phone and connect through the phone (if supported by the phone), or you could get a dedicated 3G/4G USB modem (cost would be around EUR 30).

Thanks for this - seeing as Im only here for 2 months, then maybe mobile might be a good option. As my phone isnt really up to it, maybe I should bring a tablet so could use a SIM in the tablet to create a hotspot - unless I can find some sort of dongle for the MB.

The work is academic research, so looking at a bunch of journal papers and such. Ill need to browse a while now and again, and download PDFs (not usually bigger than 20mb). Might also need to do a bit of skyping (or google calling) but wont need video just voice calls.

By the way, thanks others who have given input, it gives me a lot of info for further ref later, when I move here

Hi, When I first arrived in Malta, I had the same problem as you are facing but then (and I assume it will still be the same) I found good old MacDonalds and their free WiFi in both Sliema and St. Julians... Not sure what it is like now but then I was even streaming UK TV to watch as well as doing all my browsing based research etc... and the added bonus is that MacD's in St. Jilians even has a simple cafe area as you go in plus an excellent wall outside for sitting and browsing... Really good service from them!

There are also plenty of free WiFi hotspots run by MCA (Malta Communications Authority). They have a map with all the hotspots on their web site at mca.org.mt , which is not working for me right now, but here's another link to the map: goo.gl/JVOVm

You can always check the official prices on their website anyway.
I never heard that Melita was making foreigners pay more (and even less doubling the price, this is a bit weird).

From my experience :

When I arrived in my new flat, I got a phone number to call from my letting agent, and I then got a quick appointment with a technician to set up the line (20€, non-refundable) and bring the TV box and modem (150€ deposit).

I also don't have any binding period.
The only thing you can't have as a "foreigner" (without maltese ID card) are some special package offers (Internet + TV + Phone).
I then took Internet and TV separately, but the price was almost the same anyway, not a big deal.

Then when you get your maltese ID card, you can send a copy to Melita customer service, and they will give you the amount of the deposit back (deducted from your next invoices).

From there you become eligible for more offers, but with some binding periods this time.

I don't know about GO (the other provider) but it seemed less clear on their website and I would be a bit less confident on the service.

hi peeps

So, Im a bit further on with my visit - coming over for 2 months staring 1/6/13. I believe the best way for me to get internet in Buggiba is using something like the HUAWEI E355, then get local SIM data cards, 1gb or 3gb etc, or even more - I know Vodaphone do 10gb @ €25, which sounds a pretty good deal. I'll need to get the dongle in next day or so to receive in time as from amazon.

What do you kind people think of this idea?

That should work

One minor detail is whether or not your mobile phone is SIM locked (meaning whether you can use only the SIM card provided by your current mobile operator), or if you are free to use whatever SIM card you want.
I'm asking because when I want to top up my Melita/Vofadone cards, I have to call a number, listen to a recording and type in the top up code. In order to do this, I have to take the SIM card out of my Huawei dongle, put it into my phone and make the call, which would probably not work if the phone were SIM locked to another operator.

In this case, I would use Vodafone because they allow prepaid customers to open an account on their web site through which you can top up your account (via VISA/Mastercard/Eurocard) and manage your mobile internet packages.

Whatever USB dongle you buy, make sure it can send and receive SMS messages (most can, but still...). This will allow you to start and cancel various services, e.g. mobile internet, even when you don't have internet access at the time.

danex2 wrote:

I'm asking because when I want to top up my Melita/Vofadone cards, I have to call a number, listen to a recording and type in the top up code.

or top up on line

Hello again! I just would like to add that I have already paid my 1st bill from Melita, and they did not charged me any extra rates as it was previously mentioned here. I was actually surprised coz the 20€ I have paid for the installation, it was taken off from my bill. Honestly, I have to say that I am quite happy with Melita's service and support line, so far.

Bosh wrote:

I know Vodaphone do 10gb @ €25, which sounds a pretty good deal.

Yes, best deal for me. I got this bundle 10 days ago or so, it is a new bundle. Vodafone added new Internet bundles 2 weeks ago, so these are the current Internet bundles for prepaid plans:

    200Mb Data Recharge     € 5.00     30 days     Internet Bundle: 200MB of local usage
    3Gb Data Recharge     € 20.00     30 days     Freebee Internet Bundle: 3GB of local usage
    Internet 100MB weekly     € 1.50     7 days    
    Internet 10GB monthly     € 25.00     30 days    
    Internet 1GB weekly     € 5.00     7 days    
    Internet 300MB weekly     € 3.00     7 days    
    Internet Weekend weekly     € 1.00     7 days    
    Liberty Day     € 1.00     1 day     Internet Bundle: 250MB of local usage
    Liberty Month     € 20.00     30 days     Internet Bundle: 3GB of local usage
    Liberty Week     € 3.00     7 days     Internet Bundle: 250MB of local usage

Hi Borka

Just had internet installed on a month to month basis as we are here for six months. It was supplied by Melita and cost 75 euros deposit and 40 euros installation and you are billed monthly approx 30 euros per month. Hope this helps.

JTJ

JTJ wrote:

Hi Borka

Just had internet installed on a month to month basis as we are here for six months. It was supplied by Melita and cost 75 euros deposit and 40 euros installation and you are billed monthly approx 30 euros per month. Hope this helps.

JTJ

hi all. Great to see such an active and helpful board going on here - I know where to come for other advice.

So, the lady who owns the flat has actually now offered to do what JTJ suggests, and Im just paying for deposit (refundable) plus the monthly fee. Epic! May still get a PAYG internet SIM deal for out n about with a tablet.

Malta gets more awesome by the day

Easy solution

Grab yourself a 3G/4G wireless Internet device and make sure it is not locked to a network, these can be found at your local mobile phone stores or electronics shops or even eBay,  otherwise you would pay about 150 euros for one from any provider in malta. This way you won't have to tie yourself to a contract or anything.

Then I suggest you go for the Vodafone package of 25 euro per month per paid I believe for some 12 gb per month  best deal

Happy surfing