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ISP Dilemma
ChrisCrossings · February 15, 2001

Q: I plan on retiring in Portugal, and I am going to buy a laptop to connect to the Internet. But how do I find an Internet Service Provider (ISP) in English? I've found only one with a 95-cent roaming fee. On a retiree's fixed income, I'll go bust. Do you know of any other ISPs?

-- Alan Laskow

A: Before you decide that you need an ISP, you should consider your laptop computer. If you're just using it to check e-mail, it may not even be necessary.

What do I mean? Well, free services such as Hotmail and Yahoo! can give you e-mail access from any computer with an Internet connection anytime through a Web browser. You could piggyback on someone else's PC and Internet connection without having to worry about hardware.

There's good news and bad news when it comes to overseas ISPs. The good news is that they're not as difficult to use as you might think. Often, instructions come in many languages, including English. You have a built-in advantage because many of the programming languages, and indeed, most of the Internet, is in English. Odds are you won't have to decipher Portuguese instructions when you log on. You might even find someone who speaks English to help you in the ISPs technical support department.

However, the 95-cent roaming charge is nothing compared with what you'll pay to use a dial-up Internet connection. In Europe, local calls are usually billed like long-distance calls: by the minute. So you can't just get online and surf for hours. The meter is running all the time. This is another advantage to piggybacking on someone else's connection - you won't have to worry about paying all those extras.

My personal recommendation is that if you're still intent on hooking up through a notebook computer and a dial-up connection, that you try CompuServe. Not only does CompuServe let you patch in to its proprietary system, but it can also be used as a straight ISP. I relied on CompuServe while I lived in Germany for a year and my parents, who also live in Europe, use it as an ISP. CompuServe offers dial-up lines in several Portuguese cities, including Lisbon, Funchal and Porto.

If you're planning to stay in Portugal for a while, check into a local ISP. You might find that as your Portuguese improves, you'll discover a better deal on an Internet connection.

Christopher Elliott's column appears on Thursdays. All e-mailed questions to ChrisCrossings become property of Ticked.com and may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion. You may reach Elliott at chris@ticked.com. Or visit his home page at http://www.elliott.org.