Thursday, June 15, 2006
Telephone and internet services
Using base line telephones here is not so cheap as you get in the States or in Germany nor getting a line is a snap. For the process (albeit a bit pessimistic) you can check here.
Since you’ll need a high speed internet connection anyway, if you are making long and frequent international calls, skype or similar web based technologies would suit better. I am using Skype to talk to my daughter living in Istanbul. Beside it is free, the sound quality is far better than the base lines and you can always add written texts, file downloads etc during the conversation. I found it nice as we sometimes study math together.
Switzerland is doing real good in broadband business and with 23.1 connection per 100 inhabitants, it is the 5th best wired country on OECD. Your major broadband internet options are: Bluewin, Cablecom and sunrise
I found the best broadband internet connection deal from Bluwin but it really depends on the running promotion. Two months after I bought Cablecom was the best …
This wikipedia report has detailed information on this subject.
Starbucks here offers free wireless internet option. But you have to consume something for every half hour. If you need an internet café, you have surprisingly few options. One in HB and one near Central. There used to be one in Staufacher but not anymore. And for 5chf for half an hour it is not cheap at all. I found this list for the internet cafes in Zurich but it is hardly helpful.
There are also telephone cards where you call an 800 number and talk with better terms. As usual, their prices and features change radically. For instance Flash card offers very good rates to Turkey. Call2 is famous too.
For cellular phones, there are several players. Most well known three are Swisscom, Orange and Sunrise. There are many resellers selling other operators’ product as well. Notable ones are Migros, Coop Mobilzone and Phonehouse. If you’ll be here for a short while best telephone deals are pre-paid ones. For longer terms I found Orange the best (assuming you need a new phone). However roaming charges are exorbitant. So try to get one in each country you visit frequently (if any). If you think the inevitable language barrier is something to avoid than this website can give you some relief
Since you’ll need a high speed internet connection anyway, if you are making long and frequent international calls, skype or similar web based technologies would suit better. I am using Skype to talk to my daughter living in Istanbul. Beside it is free, the sound quality is far better than the base lines and you can always add written texts, file downloads etc during the conversation. I found it nice as we sometimes study math together.
Switzerland is doing real good in broadband business and with 23.1 connection per 100 inhabitants, it is the 5th best wired country on OECD. Your major broadband internet options are: Bluewin, Cablecom and sunrise
I found the best broadband internet connection deal from Bluwin but it really depends on the running promotion. Two months after I bought Cablecom was the best …
This wikipedia report has detailed information on this subject.
Starbucks here offers free wireless internet option. But you have to consume something for every half hour. If you need an internet café, you have surprisingly few options. One in HB and one near Central. There used to be one in Staufacher but not anymore. And for 5chf for half an hour it is not cheap at all. I found this list for the internet cafes in Zurich but it is hardly helpful.
There are also telephone cards where you call an 800 number and talk with better terms. As usual, their prices and features change radically. For instance Flash card offers very good rates to Turkey. Call2 is famous too.
For cellular phones, there are several players. Most well known three are Swisscom, Orange and Sunrise. There are many resellers selling other operators’ product as well. Notable ones are Migros, Coop Mobilzone and Phonehouse. If you’ll be here for a short while best telephone deals are pre-paid ones. For longer terms I found Orange the best (assuming you need a new phone). However roaming charges are exorbitant. So try to get one in each country you visit frequently (if any). If you think the inevitable language barrier is something to avoid than this website can give you some relief
