Internet in the Andamans

Deli Behli · Jun 5th, 2009, 23:00

As of 2009, there are internet cafes in places other than Port Blair, so I thought I'd start a thread with the what-and-where's of Andamans internet.

Here's the story for Havelock Island in 2009 :

Generally they are all on dial-up. At best, you'll be getting about 33kb/second. This is very slow. Very slow. Expect your facebook login page to take 10 minutes to load.

Prices are about 2Rs per minute, so that works out about 5x what you were paying on the mainland. Most places charge by the minute, but a few have fixed prices for 45 minutes, 60 minutes, etc which work out a bit cheaper. Most have CD burning facilities.

MAP

Here is a map of the 7 public internet places on Havelock in April 2009. Below are pics (they aren't all obvious) and some observations on each.

1 - Satellite Internet at Ocean Pearl Beach Resort/restaurant/Dive shop.
Not dial-up. Satellite. Woo. That means when the rest of the island's internet goes down, you still have this palce to cling to. Internet should be should be faster here, too.
Unfortunately, this wasn't open when I was there. The whole operation (resort/Dive Shop,etc) has closed a couple of months before the end of the season.
So I can't tell you anything about it. There's definately a satellite dish on the roof, mind. picture

2 - Little blue grocery shop in Village 3.
You would never guess that there was internet access in among the inflatable beds and soap bars. They use price banding here (rather than a per minute-charge) so it works out a bit cheaper if you are surfing for a longer period. 4 Terminals. picture

3 - Havelock Tourist Services.
Nice friendly vibe in here, but only 3 terminals. Behind the oil drums and grey shutter in the photo. In the mornings, it tends to open up later than #2. picture

4 - Lord's Corner Computer centre
Biggest and flashiest internet cafe on the Island, hidden in a little shack between Symphony Palms resort and Pristine resort. Next to a small 'gym' run by the same folks. 5 terminals.
You can also buy flash drives and other gadgets here. picture

5 - Little blue grocery shop next to (south of) Pristine resort. (It says "Manobi & Arpita Shop" on the sign outside)
Another one where you would never guess there was internet here. 3 terminals. picture

6 - Little grocery shop next to the roundabout that leads down to the Government Dolphin resort
Staffed by the world's most unhelpful man! 1 terminal.picture

7 - Little grocery shop next to the Dolphin resort. 1 terminal.
Friendly folk in here. 1 terminal. picture

Watch out if you are going early in the day or are going to a quiet place where you are likely to be one of the first customers of the day. Most (?all) places will download
their virus updates on your time (not theirs). This will cut your surfing speed down to about 10kb/s (expect it to take the best part of an hour to read an email!). Check the icons on the bottom right of the screen. If you mouse-over one and it is showing download progress of 1%, then get out of there and come
back when some other sucker has paid for the virus updates!. #4 has the largest flowthrough of customers and is least likely to suffer from this.

On the subject of viruses - Watch out, if you have USB devices (including cameras). In such a small pond, peripheral-spread infections spread very fast. Most places have freebie virus scanners.

Please add updates as you find them

.

shahronakm · Jun 9th, 2009, 23:58

Thanks for that update. During Feb 07, Havelock tourist services & one more (forgot the name) were offering internet services.

Ronak.

edwardseco · Jun 10th, 2009, 01:27

A good place to get away from it all..

tavarish · Jun 21st, 2009, 05:01

Ocean Pearl Beach resort never got up their satelitte Internet connection before the season ended. They, Barefoot Scuba seems to get it up before next season begins.

Do not expect much fast Internet, it will probably just become a bit more stable than it has been.

martinez · Jun 28th, 2009, 21:49

As of December 2008 there was still no internet on Neil Island,but mobile phones were the "new" thing. To be away from the net for a while is actually quite a refreshing expierience.

Jun 5th, 2009, 23:00	#1
Deli Behli Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: London Posts: 32	Internet in the Andamans As of 2009, there are internet cafes in places other than Port Blair, so I thought I'd start a thread with the what-and-where's of Andamans internet. Here's the story for Havelock Island in 2009 : Generally they are all on dial-up. At best, you'll be getting about 33kb/second. This is very slow. Very slow. Expect your facebook login page to take 10 minutes to load. Prices are about 2Rs per minute, so that works out about 5x what you were paying on the mainland. Most places charge by the minute, but a few have fixed prices for 45 minutes, 60 minutes, etc which work out a bit cheaper. Most have CD burning facilities. MAP Here is a map of the 7 public internet places on Havelock in April 2009. Below are pics (they aren't all obvious) and some observations on each. 1 - Satellite Internet at Ocean Pearl Beach Resort/restaurant/Dive shop. Not dial-up. Satellite. Woo. That means when the rest of the island's internet goes down, you still have this palce to cling to. Internet should be should be faster here, too. Unfortunately, this wasn't open when I was there. The whole operation (resort/Dive Shop,etc) has closed a couple of months before the end of the season. So I can't tell you anything about it. There's definately a satellite dish on the roof, mind. picture 2 - Little blue grocery shop in Village 3. You would never guess that there was internet access in among the inflatable beds and soap bars. They use price banding here (rather than a per minute-charge) so it works out a bit cheaper if you are surfing for a longer period. 4 Terminals. picture 3 - Havelock Tourist Services. Nice friendly vibe in here, but only 3 terminals. Behind the oil drums and grey shutter in the photo. In the mornings, it tends to open up later than #2. picture 4 - Lord's Corner Computer centre Biggest and flashiest internet cafe on the Island, hidden in a little shack between Symphony Palms resort and Pristine resort. Next to a small 'gym' run by the same folks. 5 terminals. You can also buy flash drives and other gadgets here. picture 5 - Little blue grocery shop next to (south of) Pristine resort. (It says "Manobi & Arpita Shop" on the sign outside) Another one where you would never guess there was internet here. 3 terminals. picture 6 - Little grocery shop next to the roundabout that leads down to the Government Dolphin resort Staffed by the world's most unhelpful man! 1 terminal.picture 7 - Little grocery shop next to the Dolphin resort. 1 terminal. Friendly folk in here. 1 terminal. picture Watch out if you are going early in the day or are going to a quiet place where you are likely to be one of the first customers of the day. Most (?all) places will download their virus updates on your time (not theirs). This will cut your surfing speed down to about 10kb/s (expect it to take the best part of an hour to read an email!). Check the icons on the bottom right of the screen. If you mouse-over one and it is showing download progress of 1%, then get out of there and come back when some other sucker has paid for the virus updates!. #4 has the largest flowthrough of customers and is least likely to suffer from this. On the subject of viruses - Watch out, if you have USB devices (including cameras). In such a small pond, peripheral-spread infections spread very fast. Most places have freebie virus scanners. Please add updates as you find them . Last edited by Deli Behli : Jun 6th, 2009 at 16:16.

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Jun 9th, 2009, 23:58	#2
shahronakm Maha Guru Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Mumbai, India Posts: 1,851	Thanks for that update. During Feb 07, Havelock tourist services & one more (forgot the name) were offering internet services. Ronak. __________________ My Picture Gallery

Jun 10th, 2009, 01:27	#3
edwardseco Maha Guru Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Land that shakes and bakes. Posts: 5,841	A good place to get away from it all..

Jun 21st, 2009, 05:01	#4
tavarish Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: India Posts: 23	Ocean Pearl Beach resort never got up their satelitte Internet connection before the season ended. They, Barefoot Scuba seems to get it up before next season begins. Do not expect much fast Internet, it will probably just become a bit more stable than it has been.

Jun 28th, 2009, 21:49	#5
martinez Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: portugal Posts: 455	As of December 2008 there was still no internet on Neil Island,but mobile phones were the "new" thing. To be away from the net for a while is actually quite a refreshing expierience.