Bali Expat Forum - Bali Travel Forum

They called me a few days ago to ask if I was happy with the trial and if they could go ahead and invoice me for the installation by email. I said yes.....no email yet. Wonder if they are using the global extreme one they set up, I said not to cos I wont ever check it I have my own mimpimanis.com email and thats the only one I use. They better not cut off that quickly if they are prone to mistakes. I think I will call them in the morning.

We found with our first invoice that it was for;

The part of the month that it got installed and the next full month.

EG: Your inslall is on 20 December. In January you get the invoice for
the install, the pro rata December use and January. They have not sent
out there January invoices as yet. The invoices usually come around the 12th of every month but are probably a bit late due to Xmas.

My experience has been that they do not cut you off too quick.
When we got installed, we were still deciding after 10 days whether to
give them the go ahead or not. We had the service for the 10 days.

Our December payment (paid by internet banking) was returned to our
bank 3 days after paying. That was on 15 December. I did not realise until receiving our bank statement yesterday. Phoned them up and they confirmed that the December account had not been paid. This was virtually one month late and they had not cut the service off so I dont think they are cut you off right away if the payment is late.

Cheers

Thanks Boo, thats good to hear. Especially as SG had also mentioned the transfers for payment often fail. I used to go into Indosat to pay the bill each month but could end up waiting an hour to do so so will try to pay online or transfer through the ATM when the bill finally comes.

I've gone into their office to use their computers in the past and the internet there is VERY slow.
I have 2 different internet services in my house. One required an antenna to be erected and the connection fee is rp. 9,500 per hour. It is very fast and is through Indonsat. I use this for my skype and when I need fast service or have large files to send or receive.
The other service I have is a modem that Indosat gives you if you sign a 2 year contract for the service. The plan I chose is 1.2 gigs of data for approximately rp320,000. This service is usually slow and sometimes loses it's connection but since it's so inexpensive, I can use it to play online games or surfing the web. Both of these services seem to be faster than the computers in the Global Extremem building.

I dont know about the computers in the Global Extreme building but the service I have from them is definitely faster that the Indosat service I had previously. I have to say I have been pretty happy all in all, so far.

Hm...I'm not all to positive about GE. Right now I am using 3G from XL; it's perfect and super fast in the Kuta area. Our whole office is running on one machine. And it's fairly cheap; around 500,000 for 3 gig. That's a lot of data, you won't finish it that fast.

I looked inot XL but its not available in my area unfortunately. Good to hear its fast and reliable though. Who knows in the future!

I've been using Global Xtreme in a wi-fi hotspot in Sanur.
I wouldn't rave about it but so far, it seems to work OK.
Not sure I'd rush out and buy a "contract". I'm using their pre-paid cards...4 hours for Rp 40,000.

The best value I have seen as long as you are not downloading more than email and general internet with small files is the 3G network from Indosat.

Nice to see you posting Phil.

Im on their fastest connection though Phil which is the best I have had anywhere in Bali to be honest, inc net cafes & wifi spots. I'm really pleased so far. And at 1,100,000 per month works out cheaper than my old Indosat connection.

Hi mimpimanis
I know this is many months down the line regarding your GE connection. I hope you're happy with it, if you're still using it.

As I've said in some more recent posts, I believe the current best way to go is to use the new Telkom Speedy service. It's been upgraded to 1Mbs/128Kbs.

The requirements are:

1. Telephone line
2. ADSL modem (anywhere from Rp500,000 to Rp1,000,000)
3. Rp75,000 registration

What you get:

1. 1GB/month = Rp200,000
2. 3GB/month = Rp400,000
3. Unlimited bandwidth = Rp750,000
4. It actually works - much better than before

It's a lot cheaper than mucking around with wireless antennae and having to buy other equipment. And cheaper by the month, too.

And heaven forbid anybody considering Telkomsel's Flash "service". It's a joke and a complete rip-off. I know because I tried it and lasted one week before cancelling.

At first I thought this thread was about the environment.

Just the right info I need. I take that this applies to Jakarta as well but is it possible to connect my laptop to a mobile phone and get internet connection from there in Indonesia without going through the hassles to get a modem, etc., unless you need to use it separately. Anyone could give me an answer to that?

I'd like to know from Jimbo, how do you get your internet connection being in Makassar/Toraja right now?

Thanks!

I'd like to know from Jimbo, how do you get your internet connection being in Makassar/Toraja right now?

I use CDMA which is like a small USB modem. You can buy these easily for about $60. I then use Star One card from Indosat and top it up every few days. You get about an hour for Rp 5,000. It is fairly slow but lets me down load mail and some limited surfing and no contracts

Yes, you can do this, milan:

...I take that this applies to Jakarta as well but is it possible to connect my laptop to a mobile phone and get internet connection from there in Indonesia without going through the hassles to get a modem...

The Telkom Speedy service is now available in more than 200 centres around Indonesia. However, the faster improved version is only available in about 61 of them, but growing all the time. I cannot imagine that the faster one is not available in Jakarta.

With the laptop/mobile phone combination, you can buy a special USB data cable for your mobile phone so you can plug it straight into the computer. I use a Nokia mobile and Nokia has a software programme called Nokia PC Suite which you can download from their website. This enables you to do all kinds of things with the phone, such as install your own pictures, mp3 music files and, connect to the internet. To do the latter, you can buy pre-paid SIM cards from various providers which you insert into your phone for internet access.

Open up the programme and configure the service provider you want to use (company, user name, pass-word), and make sure your phone is configured, too. That's about it.

Depending on your laptop's features, (most of them these days have built-in card readers hidden somewhere), you might be able to plug the SIM card directly into your laptop. (Most laptops have built-in wireless modems.)

One last thing. My experiences using mobile phones as modems in Bali are often far from satisfactory. Usually slow and lots of dropped connections. Ideally, your handphone should be able to make use of 3G/3.5G technology. CDMA, in my opinion, is to be avoided like the plague unless you have no other choice. (Way too slow and could drive you crazy.) There are lots of providers out there willing to take your money for their "services". Some are truly dreadful, bordering on the criminal, and others are "OK" (when they work).

I typed a reply already but it got lost.

Anyway, let me repeat again. Thanks, Jimbo, so at least I know this is another way of getting my Internet access.

And, thank you, Sanurian for clarifying all the muddled infos I've managed to gather by reading on some forums regarding Internet access in Indonesia.
I do feel relieved to know that I could have my laptop connected by a USB cable plugged to my mobile using the local SIM card.
But since I also read that there is a broadband service availabe as I'm sure it has, is it limited to only Hotels and Offices use because rarely I hear an individual have it in their home in Jakarta. Why? Expensive, complicated or too much waiting game? As I'd like to have it in my home if possible. That's one question of mine that until now hasn't been answered satisfactorily...

"Broadband" and "high speed internet connection", to my way of thinking, mean the same thing. Indonesian "broadband services" vary tremendously in what they offer, and more importantly, what they can actually deliver!

...But since I also read that there is a broadband service availabe as I'm sure it has, is it limited to only Hotels and Offices use because rarely I hear an individual have it in their home in Jakarta. Why? Expensive, complicated or too much waiting game? As I'd like to have it in my home if possible. That's one question of mine that until now hasn't been answered satisfactorily...

There are many "broadband" services on offer here. They are not limited to hotels, etc, although big hotels might have enough money to pay for the fastest available options.

There are small wireless USB modems available that cost about Rp1.2 juta. Once installed and configured properly, you can use any available services out there. For example, Indosat, Telkom, XL, Telkomsel, etc. You have a choice of either buying pre-paid SIM cards for a certain number of hours (time-based), or how much you want to download/upload (volume-based). Every company has different available speeds and different prices. OR - You can sign-up for a contract with a company, although my experience with TelkomselFlash was a total disaster.

If you have a telephone line in Jakarta, I would go the TelkomSpeedy way (ADSL). It took two days to get my service running here in Bali. And so far, it's still the most fuss-free option I've encountered. And pretty good, if you regard 1Mbs down/128Kbs up as "broadband". (I don't, but it works and is affordable.)

I just made a few Skype calls to the USA and Australia and at last, I didn't feel like I was talking 5 meters under water with heaps of strange echoes.