Reliable Internet on Island for Business-Critical Video Conference?

[gsea]

Getting set for first trip to Cozumel on Thursday for 5 days at Scub Club Cozumel.

Unfortunately, I have a crucial business video conference that just came up that will take place during my trip.

From what I gather the internet situation is questionable at best on the whole island, and all the reviews seem to note that Scuba Club is particularly bad.

Is there anywhere on the island I can get reliable, fast internet access suitable for video conference, screen sharing, etc? Preferably in a semi-private environment Perhaps a temporary day-use office space?

This call is critical enough that I'll have to cancel/postpone the trip if we can't find anything suitable.


Thanks in advance!

 

[outofofficebrb]

Almost 2 years ago, I had to work while in Cozumel. I’d dive 4 dives a day and then work a few hours at night. I use SAP, an ERP software that is extremely sensitive to any interruption of internet. It basically kicks me off and errors out while also losing any unsaved work. If you’re familiar with SAP, there’s no saving work as you go. It’s start to finish then save.

I’m happy to report that I was staying at the Occidental in Cozumel in their Royal Level area which includes free and unlimited WiFi. (It’s like a boutique hotel area within the resort.) It was extremely reliable and the whole time I was working, I was working on network files, SAP, and uploading and downloading many files. I can’t speak to video chat but another thing to consider is getting a local SIM card with LTE and tethering in for your call if you are hesitant about the WiFi....

Perhaps booking part of your stay there at a minimum amount of time to do what you need to do is an option. You can then go to Scuba Club after.

I hope this helps!

 

[KeithG]

Getting set for first trip to Cozumel on Thursday for 5 days at Scub Club Cozumel.

Unfortunately, I have a crucial business video conference that just came up that will take place during my trip.

From what I gather the internet situation is questionable at best on the whole island, and all the reviews seem to note that Scuba Club is particularly bad.

Is there anywhere on the island I can get reliable, fast internet access suitable for video conference, screen sharing, etc? Preferably in a semi-private environment Perhaps a temporary day-use office space?

This call is critical enough that I'll have to cancel/postpone the trip if we can't find anything suitable.


Thanks in advance!

Buy a local SIM data card?

When I travel and need internet access (well except for LOBS which have none...) I research ahead of time and then buy a local phone SIM data card.

 

[JamesBon92007]

Getting set for first trip to Cozumel on Thursday for 5 days at Scub Club Cozumel.

Unfortunately, I have a crucial business video conference that just came up that will take place during my trip.

From what I gather the internet situation is questionable at best on the whole island, and all the reviews seem to note that Scuba Club is particularly bad.

Is there anywhere on the island I can get reliable, fast internet access suitable for video conference, screen sharing, etc? Preferably in a semi-private environment Perhaps a temporary day-use office space?

This call is critical enough that I'll have to cancel/postpone the trip if we can't find anything suitable.


Thanks in advance!

I've stayed at Scuba Club twice and in both rooms the WiFi was good enough to watch Netflix without it stopping and pausing etc. Does that sound good enough? It might vary from room to room so perhaps you could request a room with a good signal. Maybe they can tell you the bitrate. I've never had any problem finding someone who speaks English.

I've stayed at a couple other places on the island and had perfectly good WiFi. Both were private residences (VRBO) and the modem was very close by, if not right in the room. I did not attempt a video conference so I can't say for sure, but everything seemed to be loading just as quickly as at home with Fios. I've stayed at places other than Cozumel where the WiFi was really bad and Netfilx was only a frustration. Those places were almost always big resorts. I would not classify Scuba Club as a big resort.

 

[Christi]

Getting set for first trip to Cozumel on Thursday for 5 days at Scub Club Cozumel.

Unfortunately, I have a crucial business video conference that just came up that will take place during my trip.

From what I gather the internet situation is questionable at best on the whole island, and all the reviews seem to note that Scuba Club is particularly bad.

Is there anywhere on the island I can get reliable, fast internet access suitable for video conference, screen sharing, etc? Preferably in a semi-private environment Perhaps a temporary day-use office space?

This call is critical enough that I'll have to cancel/postpone the trip if we can't find anything suitable.


Thanks in advance!

I cannot speak for ScubaClubs Internet, but the internet on the island is typically very good actually. Like anywhere, there are occasional outages but I would not call the islands internet unreliable by any stretch.

If you’re looking for a private or semi private office space we have a new place on the island called Spark. You can rent a desk cube space by the day, week or month and it’s super affordable - Internet is included as well as printers, scanners, lockers, etc. They are located in town on Calle 3. The rate per day is $235 pesos ($15usd)

Spark Coworking Cozumel Mx | Un espacio dedicado a la Creatividad y a las Ideas

Hope this is helpful.

 

[mstevens]

If I had such an important call, I'd probably use a data plan on Telcel if my home internet were flaky. Since I switched from Cablemas cable to Telmex aDSL my internet has been much more reliable. However, all it takes is one downed tree and... I haven't had Telcel flake out on me, and 4G speeds are very considerably faster than any aDSL supported in my neighborhood (and about twice as fast as the fastest optical fiber in other neighborhoods). For something critical, if I didn't already have (mostly) reliable home internet, I'd just go with Telcel. A SIM and data plan are much cheaper than a missed vacation.

 

[ashleyrosa]

Fast broadband is possible to get in Cozumel Island in Mexico. Check out if there are Cable internet providers in your area. Satellite providers also offer sound internet plans. Check out through zip-code.

 

[mstevens]

Fast broadband is possible to get in Cozumel Island in Mexico. Check out if there are Cable internet providers in your area. Satellite providers also offer sound internet plans. Check out through zip-code.

In my opinion, cable is not the solution on the island. I was thrilled to dump my Cablemas (now Wizzi) service in favor of Telmex DSL which is slow but nearly reliable. Some friends with Cable de Cozumel say it might be a bit better than Wizzi. The problem with cable is that it slows to a crawl when everyone in your neighborhood is home from school and work. The problem with DSL is that, except in Centro, the maximum speed available is 10 Mbps up / 1 mps up and that uplink speed is problematic for video.

I just got a Huawei 4G modem for MXN$1,999 (plus MXN$50 for the required dedicated SIM). MXN$349/month for really good service - nominally 15 Mbps but I've been getting 20 down and 30 up most of the time. That plan (the biggest) is "unlimited" but with a cap of 150 Gb download after which it drops to 2 Mbps until the next billing cycle. 4G data is the fastest I've found on the island.

Most business that depend on internet use dual-WAN modems with load-balancing and failover modes so they can keep service going when one provider is flaky. It is possible to get blazing speeds if you're located in Centro and are a business that's willing to invest in multiple connections and the networking hardware necessary.

I walked past Spark the other day. It looks really nice. If I had an important videoconference, I'd go there for it.

 

[tridacna]

I've stayed at SCC five times. I've NEVER found the Internet to be sufficient to do anything business related. Last time I was there, that was the single biggest complaint from our group in Mar 2018. I would rather walk down to Starbucks (10 mins) and use their IP. Or better yet - SPARK.