Internet Availability and networks in Crete, Greece (Latest version:
June 2006)
After
the first version of this section
was a few years old, and broadband had finally come to Elounda
(mercies!) I thought that it was about time to update the old
information we had for the makeITcrete.com/net section. So, here's
the roundup of what you get for your money and what kind of speeds
and realistic data transfer rates you can expect on Crete when
you need to connect to the internet. As with any country, there
are a myriad of offers around, and all prices listed here are
only to be regarded as an approximate guide.
ADSL. Although, it has been widely available in the larger towns, it's arrival in the villages is still far from universal. Anyone who has seen the terrain in Crete will understand why it's no mean task rolling it out to many smaller or more remote places. It's only recently made it's way to Elounda, but now its fixed cost makes always on internet access an option similarly affordable to much of the rest of Europe. 22.50 Euros per month for 384kb connection is an entry level benchmark at the time of writing, although speeds, costs, contract period and required hardware freebies will vary.
Mobile Telephony. Major players in the mobile telephony market include Cosmote, Vodafone and TIM (Telestet). Top Up cards are widely available at supermarkets, shops and kiosks and SIM cards can be purchased from a network's respective offices / shops and other network independent mobile telephony stores.
3G. This has been rolled out effectively and early in much of Greece. Tariffs vary according to contract but the Greek love affair with the mobile telephone ensures that latest technologies appear early here :)
GPRS. Widely available again. Tariffs vary according to contract.
WiFi. Widely available in Crete's luxury hotels and being rolled out in more places besides, including some internet cafes. Tariffs vary
Net Cafes. Virtually every village will have somewhere with public internet access. Towns and resorts tend to have fully fledged internet cafes, with 6 plus terminals so you can normally get on straight away without waiting for someone to vacate the only one available. Rates vary wildly from place to place, amount of competition, targeted user etc. Expect to pay slightly more in a bar than a dedicated internet cafe. Reasonable rates would be around 1.20 Euros for 20 minutes and .06 cents per minute afterwards. Check first, if you cannot see a tariff. It is usual to pay after use in places where a system isn't automated (in contrast to pre pay in such places as an EasyInternet Cafe, for example)
Dial Up. The standard format is that you a) pay a yearly subscription at the office and b) you see a charge on your bill for a by the minute charge using a standard EPAK number, beginning 89-. This is a relatively inexpensive local rate and peak/off peak number, although effectively adding on average 5 Euros a month to the bill for each hour a day you use it (ie: use it three hours a day of mixed use and it will add 15 Euros on per month). Landline telephone connection socket is commonly via a RJ11 plug
Net Cards. These are subscription free and cover a predefined period of access to an EPAK number, using a temporary username and password and come in the same scratch off password format known by prepay phone users. Examples include FORTHnet's NetKey and Altec Telecoms' netcarta (10 Euros for 25 hours).. Whilst avoiding the need for any subscription they are not suitable for moderate or heavy use, adding up to a cent per minute onto the cost regardless of time of the day. Also there is the pain of running out and being disconnected when you really need to stay online and having to get a new card. Even the cheapest become cost ineffective at anything approaching an hour's use a day.
Be Aware: If you are using dial up in Greece and the number doesn't begin 89- or has changed from the one you definitely know applies to your specific plan , then disconnect and double check in case a dialler has intruded onto your system. Dialler malware has been around for years, but is especially dangerous and costly in a country where many still dial to connect and English is not the main language. Diallers are pices of code that substitute a number with a premium number costing hundreds of times as much. You should always be aware of this danger when using dialup and be wary of installing anything unless you understand why you are doing so!
ISDN. To be honest the speed advantage compared to the cost for most users has never been an attraction in the home for me, for many years. Useful for businesses, if it's the only alternative available, but a poor substitute for ADSL. Advantage is that your line can be freed up for telephone calls when ADSL is unavailable.
