internet access for laptop

alonig

Can anyone advise on internet access for a laptop whilst in mapusa,Goa??
Will a network card i buy in the Uk work over there or do we need certain types??
does anyone know of broadband services in the area that we could have connected to the house we have rented long term??
Or
are there any good WIFI spots there and what equipment might we need??

thanks

icetea

You can get a Reliance card over there, but that will work only for browsing, mostly. There should be broadband services available over there, BSNL or TATA Indicom for example, but I don't know exactly, you should check. But don't worry, it won't be a problem, it's available. You'll figure it out once you get there.

2cents

According to this article I found online,broadband access provided by the telecom operator BSNL is available in Mapusa :-

So far, broadband from BSNL is available in a growing number
of areas in Goa: Panjim, Vasco (except Cortalim, but
including Sada, Mangor, Bogmalo, Sancoale and other areas),
Ponda, Bambolim, Merces, Dona Paula, Porvorim, Mapusa town,
Calangute-Candolim, and Saligao, among others.

The tariff rate for the Broadband service by BSNL(called Dataone)can be found here - Dataone Tariff
As of now Dataone broadband service works out to be the cheapest one as compared to other ISP's.Plus often they are the only one available in smaller cities and towns.
However even if the house you have taken on rent has a BSNL landline in place,if its too far away from the nearest exchange it wouldn't be possible to have a DSL net connection over it.You could check with your landlord and ask him to verify with the telephone exchange if a Dataone connection can be enabled over the exisiting phone line.If its possible then a connection could be setup by time you shift in.
As for connecting to Wifi hotspots,in case there any available in the area,a standard Wifi card - either a USB or PCMCIA card type- would be all you need to connect.The Wifi cards on sale would be of 802.11g type and they would work just fine out here.
I am sure some of the net cafes in Mapusa area would be having wifi access points on their premises.
If none of the above works out, as icetea suggested above ,ask around for the best option available.Data card from Reliance Infocomm(a Phone and Internet service provider) would be one of the options.