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High Speed Internet in Panama

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sovereign77
  12/11/2014 20:59 EST

Hello,

I may be able to relocate to Panama while continuing to work for my U.S. based employer, but high-speed Internet is essential. Can anybody provide info on the availability, reliability and cost of high-speed Internet in Panama? Not just Panama City, but other parts of Panama as well, such as Chiriqui Province.

With my service provider here in the states, I have high-speed Internet with up to 8 mbps upload speed and up to 25 mbps download speed. I have heard some good things about Cable Onda in Panama, but it sounds like their high-speed Internet maxes out at about 15 mbps. That may be adequate. I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect. Thanks.

panamajames
  12/11/2014 22:46 EST

Expect the worst, and you will find that the internet, and power and water, are things that disappear on a fairly regular basis, so you work around it as best you can. You cannot compare the level of service in North America, to the level of service in Panama. It is third world or developing world service, at best. But life in Panama has other advantages. Relying on utilities is not one fo the good advantages. CableOnda has up to 15 meg, but it drops off seriously, much of the time. Consistency is not a word we hear in Panama a lot, unless it is referring to bad service. Some come to retire and slow down and relax. You will fit right in.........

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sovereign77
  12/12/2014 12:39 EST

Thank you panamajames. This is exactly the kind of information that I need, not sugar-coated.

Also, I agree with your philosophy regarding life in Panama or any other developing country. It seems to me that you cannot have it both ways. If you want to get away from the craziness and stress of life in many first-world countries, in exchange for a slower, more relaxed lifestyle, then you must be willing to give up some conveniences as well. "Quality of life" is very subjective, and it's not all about conveniences.

Have a great day.

afortunada
  12/12/2014 12:40 EST

Mr. James must be referring to Boquete. In Panama City, the internet is dependable all the time. No problem with downloads, attachments, uploading photos, email, TV access, or anything else. Cable TV has been perfect. No water outages. No blackouts. Live in a modern building with a backup generator and a water tank on the roof. Some buildings have water chillers on the roof to chill the air for the AC which keeps the bills at a minimum. No need to "rough it" out in Boquete.

golric
  12/12/2014 13:18 EST

Hi. I live in a new building in one of the areas close to the banking center. (which I thought will have excellent internet speed). I started with Cable Onda. November and holiday days I had to call them every so often as my internet needed to be reset with a "botoncito" in their offices so I could get all my e-mails. Then a friend suggested having two internet providers as if one fail the other one is good. So C&W connected yesterday. One is 6 and the other is 10. (got special package with cable onda) so not too expensive. Anyways I find that there is no big change in speed but I heard that during the summer months connectivity could be an issue and everyone is out for Carnavales. I have 3 persons constantly on tablets, computers etc and waiting for 3 more guests to arrive that need to work so I do need all the internet connectivity I can get. Hopefully, one do not interfere with the other. I will try for 3 months and see.....

panamajames
  12/12/2014 19:27 EST

I would be quite interested in hearing how you make out in the next while golric. There are too many companies and individuals singing the praises of moving to Panama, without discussing the realities of doing so. When you work and need internet, you can´t accept that it will be down for a day or more, or even a few hours in your working day. I would like to hear your internet experiences as the months progress. Cheers. Jim in Buenos Aries, Argentina.

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panamajames
  12/12/2014 19:36 EST

sovereign77, only too happy to provide some real information to help you make decisions. Far too many folks out there giving false information to try and attract you to various communities because they have better services. Baloney. Afraid not. Panama City has all the infrastructure problems that other communities have. I lived there, and I know the problems first hand. I have always said that you should always have a backup plan B, and a C doesn´t hurt either. Electricity, Internet and Water need special attention, and a backup plan, Panama wide......Only a fool would try and convince you differently.

sovereign77
  12/12/2014 20:14 EST

Thank you afortunata and golric for your information. If we do relocate to Panama, not sure what area of the country we would choose to live in. We plan to do some exploratory travel in Panama in 2015.

panamajames
  12/12/2014 21:53 EST

.......Just so you know sovereign77, afortunata is actually Mary Ann who enjoys telling stories to make Panama City sound like it is just like North America there in the big city........

GlamBabe
  12/12/2014 23:53 EST

The nice thing about the internet is you can get it various ways. Perhaps it's down using your internet at home, but you can tether your phone to it, oh, movil not working, try Digicel, that not working try Claro, and in a last ditch resort you can attempt to use your US internet on your US phone but it will cost you a fortune. We are coming to realize that nearly anything is possible if you plan for different scenarios, and plan on mucho plata por todo (lots of cash( for everything!

RobinAtLarge
  12/13/2014 07:52 EST

I am in Panama City. I am a freelance designer and I take classes online from my college in Baltimore, MD, so my life depends on the internet right now. I use the internet a lot for uploading and downloading files, and no, it's not as fast as the US sometimes, the difference has not been significant enough for me . I am a still able to use all my VOIP telecommunications things like Skype and Google Voice to regularly talk to my clients and professors over WiFi.

We have internet and cable television with CableOnda and it costs us a flat rate of $60/month - I believe that just internet is about $30/month. I wish I knew the exact speed, but I never really bothered asking because whatever it is works for me - I remember having the cheapest cable internet package back in the US and I could barely stream movies; with whatever I have it's not a problem.

As far as blackouts/brownouts go, yes they do happen, but for me, not significantly enough to reconsider Panama. I think some areas get more than others though - I have only experienced a blackout once in the middle of the night in El Cangrejo (I lived there for the first month I was here, and tha's where I usually work from during the day), but where I live now in Carrasquilla (not really an expat hub) it happens a little more frequently than I'd like, but again, not for too long and it hasn't bothered me too much, although I work on a fairly flexible schedule.

Like you mentioned, it's all about attitude, you take the good with the bad, and there's a lot of other good down as far as I can tell (I have been living in Panama City for 3.5 months now and I love it!). It's not paradise, but it's not 3rd world either, this is a pretty modern place. My family and friends are always surprised when I tell them what life is like here, and how crystal clear we communicate over WiFi. One friend even said jokingly that I could have not even told people I was moving out of the country if I wanted to.

Hope this helps with your decision!


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Original Message
sovereign77
Date Posted: 12/11/2014 8:59 PM

Hello,

I may be able to relocate to Panama while continuing to work for my U.S. based employer, but high-speed Internet is essential. Can anybody provide info on the availability, reliability and cost of high-speed Internet in Panama? Not just Panama City, but other parts of Panama as well, such as Chiriqui Province.

With my service provider here in the states, I have high-speed Internet with up to 8 mbps upload speed and up to 25 mbps download speed. I have heard some good things about Cable Onda in Panama, but it sounds like their high-speed Internet maxes out at about 15 mbps. That may be adequate. I'm just trying to get an idea of what to expect. Thanks.

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Explore Panama Legal Business for a full suite of legal services tailored to your needs. From obtaining residency and visas to opening bank accounts, obtaining apostilles, conducting background checks, setting up businesses, and navigating real estate transactions, trust our experience and dedication to guide you through every step of the process in Panama.

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afortunada
  12/13/2014 08:13 EST

The Boquete expats have issues when it comes to Panama City. Everyone should visit different locations in Panama to see what works for you. If you follow the forum, you will see that expats from Boquete want you to go straight from Tocumen to the Albrook Bus Station or car rental place and flee PC and get out to Boquete. There is a real fear that when future expats spend time in Panama City, they will love it. panamajames is full of dog poop when it comes to Panama City. Panama City is host to big businesses and the American Embassy. Big businesses require dependable internet access. Many executives work at home and require good internet access. People who plan to work via the internet from Panama should consider living in a modern building or development in Panama City. Soveriegn77, I would be glad to share more internet information in PC if you pm me.

panamabob
  12/18/2014 12:57 EST

I have lived in Chitre for the last three years. I have Cable Onda and have had no problems worth mentioning.Wireless Internet is 19.95 per month and is extremely reliable and fast. I could count on one hand the number of times the electric has gone done for more than a few minutes. The longest time w/o power was almost 8 hours and that was because of a car that took out a main power pole....other times heavy rain will sometimes knock it out. But again, very rarely. Other parts of Panama experience outages frequently, here in Chitre only rarely. The water was off only one time when they were replacing pipes in the street. We did have a contaminated water problem about 6 months ago....atrazine was found in the river that supplies drinking water....we had to drink only bottled water for two weeks and then everything was ok. No problem for me...l only drink bottled water anyway. Where I live the utilities are very reliable, and I don't have to deal with traffic, crime, masses of humanity, parking problems, really poor infrastructure, tourists, flooding, trash problems, gangs, and large numbers of my fellow gingos.

sovereign77
  12/18/2014 20:55 EST

Thank you panamabob.

panamajames
  12/18/2014 21:11 EST

I really like Chitre as well and am quite suprised that more expats have not moved there. It is a very nice sized city with lots of stores and restaurants, and it seems to have good utilities according to panamabob. I go there often, mostly on my way to our condo loft in Pedasi, but I really like it there and Las Tablas. By the way, our condo loft may come available in January as the long term renters are leaving. I am in South America for 4 months, so it´s going to be tough to arrange keys and things. No guarantee, but if you are looking at Pedasi long term, this place is 5 star and practically right on the ocean. You could sit in the pool and with a good arm, toss a skipping stone to the sand, maybe the ocean with a great arm.

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