Working Via Skype in Bali

steelersman

I work as an account manager remotely and am wondering if I can get internet reliable enough to manage sales accounts in Europe via Skype in Bali? Any information is greatly appreciated. Furthermore what part of the island has better internet service.

soontobeexpat

steelersman wroteI work as an account manager remotely and am wondering if I can get internet reliable enough to manage sales accounts in Europe via Skype in Bali? Any information is greatly appreciated. Furthermore what part of the island has better internet service.

I had a mobile broadband thing with simpati/telkomsel I cant really remember it was 400,000 for 2 months and when it wanted to work I could skype however it wasnt too often - Internet cafes around my home are very reliable and great for skype however the background noise (dogs, bikes, roosters, people, the blaring music all of them seem to want to play) make it pretty hard for others to hear me..

steelersman

soontobeexpat, Thank you for the feeback. Working in an internet cafe is not going to cut it. I need to set up internet in an apartment or villa. Which location in Bali offers the fastest internet?

soontobeexpat

steelersman wrotesoontobeexpat, Thank you for the feeback. Working in an internet cafe is not going to cut it. I need to set up internet in an apartment or villa. Which location in Bali offers the fastest internet?

[B]Anybody, please correct me if I am wrong[/B] I would say the best internet infrastructure (if there is any) would be in the densely populated tourist areas... ie. Kuta/Seminyak/Nusa Dua/Ubud. I only say this because all the hotels have good connections, Restraunts etc. I think you must be aware though when you find a 'good internet connection' you are not talking fast speeds, its normally 256kb/s speed we once had about 10 years ago at home..

spicyayam

Anywhere in the south is going to be best. I am in the north but use Skype regularly and of course you sometimes get dropped calls and some delays, but generally it is pretty good.

steelersman

spicyayam wroteAnywhere in the south is going to be best. I am in the north but use Skype regularly and of course you sometimes get dropped calls and some delays, but generally it is pretty good.

Well I am talking about 40 hours a week on the phone to Europe. Is that possible? Money is not an objective. I am willing to pay 800,000 a month if necessary for good internet.

steelersman

Anyone any other advice. Should I reconsider moving to Bali? I plan to live near an internet cafe for backup.

soontobeexpat

steelersman wroteWell I am talking about 40 hours a week on the phone to Europe. Is that possible? Money is not an objective. I am willing to pay 800,000 a month if necessary for good internet.

If it was me I would never express my maximum budget in Indonesia, sort through the deals and go from there. I think as soon as you mention this figure the best will automatically meet your amount. I used to work for an internet company, the amount of money spent on internet doesnt mean all that much as its the quality of your modem, phone line, distance of where you are connected, how long the cables inside your house are etc. so If you are looking to connect a cable internet (if they exist here) invest your money on the products used to connect the net. I think 40 hours a week on skype may need a bit of help from the island gods haha start praying!

spicyayam

I was using Skype last night to someone in the US. The reason for the dropped call could have been an issue with my netbook as I had several programs open. The line was very clear. Most providers will give you a free trial, so it might just mean trying a few companies until you find the best one for your location. I listen to a lot of podcasts that are held using Skype and its not uncommon for people to lose connection in the US. Perhaps you could come to Bali for a holiday and give it a try.

steelersman

ronb, that is perfect advice. The company I work for has outsourced all account managers and all business transactions are done on Skype. So I guess that since I can do these transactions from Taiwan and others are working from India then I must be able to work from Bali.

ronb

steelersman wroteAnyone any other advice. Should I reconsider moving to Bali? I plan to live near an internet cafe for backup.

I think it depends on the nature of your business and who you are talking to. Skype calls to other countries have just enough delay to make the process of one person interrupting the other a bit awkward - you start to interrupt, then find the other person had just started talking also, then you both may stop and apologize. So if your clients are not used to such phone calls they may find it off-putting, which could be bad for business. On the other hand, if you clients are people who are always taking long distance and Skype calls - then there is no problem. Business meetings where each person knows when it is their turn to speak can run very smoothly - this can be helped by a good meeting coordinator.

steelersman

soontobeexpat wroteIf it was me I would never express my maximum budget in Indonesia, sort through the deals and go from there. I think as soon as you mention this figure the best will automatically meet your amount. I used to work for an internet company, the amount of money spent on internet doesnt mean all that much as its the quality of your modem, phone line, distance of where you are connected, how long the cables inside your house are etc. so If you are looking to connect a cable internet (if they exist here) invest your money on the products used to connect the net. I think 40 hours a week on skype may need a bit of help from the island gods haha start praying!

Thank you for your help.

Tamispecial

steelersman wroteThank you for your help.

I live in Legian and I am connected to Speedy/Telkom...... I have found that Skype is pretty good, but there are those moments when it drops out and I think that could be the case with an even more expensive carrier. Good suggestions and recommendations from the forum gang! Hope we have helped to make your mind up and come and live in Bali :icon_e_smile:

steelersman

Tamispecial wroteI live in Legian and I am connected to Speedy/Telkom...... I have found that Skype is pretty good, but there are those moments when it drops out and I think that could be the case with an even more expensive carrier. Good suggestions and recommendations from the forum gang! Hope we have helped to make your mind up and come and live in Bali :icon_e_smile:

Thank you all for your help. I hope I will be able to move to Bali on September 1. Now, how do I do my banking. My bank in America only allows me to withdraw 100US at a time?

spicyayam

My bank in America only allows me to withdraw 100US at a time?

I would suggest starting a new topic. There is some similar active discussions now on the forum: https://balipod.com/forum/threads/opening-bank-account-without-kitas.5275/ I have seen also some US banks that don't charge ATM withdrawal fees even from overseas. You might want to look into opening another account such as this one: Schwab One Brokerage Account with Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking

dank39

To put in my 2 cents worth here, my wife uses skype to talk with her mom in Bali all the time. For the most part, the connection is clear, so clear that it sounds as if her mom is right her in the USA with us. Skype does have it's problems but fortunately they are far and few between. Also the last time I was in Bali (09). I used skype to make some calls home and it also worked great. Sorry I cannot tell you what service the MIL is using in Bali.

Papa Lopez

I work via web too. Not 40 hours a week on skype, but a few. As others have mentioned, where you live may determine what you pay and how good the connection is. Some areas of south Bali are serviced by "Speedy" which runs through phone lines and seems to have fairly good reviews. I hear the max plan there is about 700K. I live in a place not serviced by a phone line connection and must use a provider which broadcasts from tower to a raised dish on my house. I use Global Xtreme and the service has been good so far; not great. They have a variety of plans depending on the speed you need. My work pays for mine, so I went with a plan that is 1.5 Mil/month. Video skype is occasionally a drag, but the voicecalls tend to work fine. I opt to use a cable straight from the modem instead of wifi because it feels more reliable. Occasionally it goes out, but I would say occurrences are less than once a month. There are always other ways to make phone calls. Get a cell as a backup and keep the calls short when the web is out. Good luck. I think your steelers need the luck though.

kjans

I have CBN directNet at my place Seminyak area, 750K per month including wifi router It has very comfortable speed and all my Skype calls to Europe are done both sides webcam at full quality. .: CBN :. It's out once every 2 months, but the technician comes within a couple hours to fix it. It's not cheap, but if you 'share' it amongst your neighbours (which I of course don't do because it's illegal) then it's ok ;-)

JohnnyCool

[QUOTE]Which location in Bali offers the fastest internet? [/QUOTE] The one that works. IMHO, [I]Telkom Speedy[/I] is fine, if you have a decent telephone line. My 2Mbs/512Kbs unlimited account costs about Rp 1 million/month. (No towers, antennaes, etc, needed.) I have no problems making Skype calls. Skype video calls are usually OK, too. The upload speed is not exactly brilliant, but you get what you pay for. (It's only an issue if you have to upload big files on a regular basis. [B] That's[/B] when you take your big files and laptop to a free wi-fi bar, have a few drinks, relax, flirt a bit, and wait a while, learning patience.) [I]Before anybody reminds me, I do know that the original post was from last year. [/I]:icon_biggrin:

JohnDean

not the fastest but Skype is a breeze

The one that works. IMHO, Telkom Speedy is fine, if you have a decent telephone line. My 2Mbs/512Kbs unlimited account costs about Rp 1 million/month. (No towers, antennaes, etc, needed.) I have no problems making Skype calls. Skype video calls are usually OK, too. The upload speed is not exactly brilliant, but you get what you pay for. (It's only an issue if you have to upload big files on a regular basis. That's when you take your big files and laptop to a free wi-fi bar, have a few drinks, relax, flirt a bit, and wait a while, learning patience.) Before anybody reminds me, I do know that the original post was from last year. :icon_biggrin:

In Seminyak... Gmedia [ATTACH]1071.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]1072.vB[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]1070.vB[/ATTACH] http://www.speedtest.net/result/1691963628.png http://www.speedtest.net/result/1691949330.png http://www.speedtest.net/result/1691947659.png