Internet Access Do your guests really need it

Agencies and other headaches, keys and cleaners, running costs and contracts...in short, all the things we spend so much of our time doing behind the scenes.<br>
LaLuz
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Post by LaLuz »

I am so envious of you all.

Internet net access in our house would cheer my teenage son up no end and give us all a more peaceful holiday!!

Unfortunately at the moment we can't even get a phone line for a reasonable cost!
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Susan wrote:Alan,
so what do you do to give your guests internet access - do the repeaters do the job to allow them to 'piggy back' off your wireless network? We've just had the capacity of our ADSL doubled to 1.2M here in the country! I still haven't had the courage to set up the livebox instead of the modem as I've heard so many negative things about them (and I am restricted to wanadoo).
If a guest arrives with a wireless enabled laptop he/she simply tells his/her laptop to look for a wireless network and it finds mine. I have an open wireless network so he/she can log in and use my broadband right away. Yes, the “experts� will say that’s silly, anyone could call by and use my broadband. My wireless network extends about as far as my car park so what am I worried about? The sensible answer is - Nothing!

The only thing the repeaters do is they ease the signals around the stone and concrete walls which the signals don’t want to go straight through.

In everything you ever do you will find people who want to tell you about the negative things in life. By and large my response is “spherical objects� or to put it into the vernacular – “balls�.

Fluffy
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Giddy Goat
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Post by Giddy Goat »

Alan Knighting wrote: By and large my response is “spherical objects� or to put it into the vernacular – “balls�.Fluffy
I think we worked that one out for ourselves Fluffy! :D
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la vache!
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Post by la vache! »

Thanks Alan, I'd be happy for guests to do that (a lot happier than I'd be paying for extra phone lines to be installed!) Out of interest, how far away is your car park? My longère is very long and it would be nice if I could get something that extended to the end of it!
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enid
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Post by enid »

Susan - Our building is huge and a guest managed to link up a laptop to our wireless connection from the gite.
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Susan,
Out of interest, how far away is your car park?
It's perhaps 200 yards away. The real point I was making is that my network does not extend beyond my boundaries so an unwelcome user would have to be in my car park and therefore very easy to spot. In different circumstances I would close my network to all and individually “authorise� guests on arrival – a two minute job.

You could always use repeaters to extend the area covered by your wireless network.

Fluffy
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Normandy Cow
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Post by Normandy Cow »

We don't provide internet access (nor a pool, nor satellite TV for that matter!), so perhaps we do lose bookings as a result. But then again, we don't struggle to get bookings, so at the moment I have never felt it to be a priority. Like Susan says, many people who urgently need to be in touch at all times will have a blackberry, and there is an internet cafe in the local town.

However, I do like the idea of providing internet access or at least a WiFi hotspot for my guests, but we don't live on site (not even in the same country) so what would happen if there were any problems with the equipment? My keyholder and cleaner (bless 'em!) are lovely people but not very PC-savvy so they wouldn't be able to help.

Question: How any of you "internet-providers" live on or near your holiday home? Are there many of you who are "absentee landlords" and if so, how do you cope?
Fraise
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Post by Fraise »

Hi Catherine. I was wondering just the same thing. I am considering adding some wireless technology to my place but like you I don't live there. I have broadband in MY holiday home and I just pay Orange 25 euros a month (plus phone line charge) even though for most months I'm not there ,but how it would work,if anything went wrong, in the house that I let I don't know. Call out charges etc could be a nightmare and possibly more trouble than they are worth? I am still debating :roll:

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Paul Carmel
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Post by Paul Carmel »

The management of the codes can be done long distance.

"so what would happen if there were any problems with the equipment"

The same could be said for a washing machine or dishwasher.
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PC
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Normandy Cow
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Post by Normandy Cow »

Paul Carmel wrote: The same could be said for a washing machine or dishwasher.
True, but with wm/dw I would just call out my local electrical shop and they would send a plumber/electrician. I think (although I am willing to be corrected if necessary) that a PC is far more likely to go wrong? And when I say "go wrong", I don't necessarily mean a hardware fault, I am thinking more along the lines of someone messing it up for example by downloading a virus or other dicey software, or fiddling with the settings, or, or...
Paul Carmel
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Post by Paul Carmel »

CatherineS,

True, if you provide the laptop/pc, which we don't. If they bring their own it's down to them to fix it if it goes wrong.

Now if there is something wrong with the wifi router it would be down to you. If there is a internet cafe in the town you are bound to find a local geek who could fix it, they could liaise with your key holder?

If you look upon it as just another household appliance, which in a way it is, just do as you would with the washing machine, if it goes wrong get someone in.
Cheers
PC
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

My view is that a lot of these things feature on the “must have� lists but, are they really necessary? Personally, I don’t think so.

If you have an all “bells and whistles� luxury property they’re all well and good. On the other hand, if you have a lovely peaceful country cottage are they even appropriate? Again, I don’t think so.

My properties are sort of “middle of the road� and they include things like TV, Video’s, CD’s, DVD’s and wireless networks but are they used much? The answer is – very rarely. They add up to quite a lot of money and they may help with the selling but that’s about it.

Fluffy
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Rocket Rab
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Post by Rocket Rab »

Hello Fraise, CatherineS,

As Paul says, it is (usually) quite easy to ring up someone at a local Internet café / computer store and get them to go round to your property to fix any problems. I had a wifi router problem (no connection, basically!) and the chap popped round, sorted it out in one hour and charged me something like 25 euros. The guests were there at the time and were delighted at the service.

Paul: I do supply a laptop at the property, but some guests arrive at the house with their own and seem to be able to get things to work fine. This mystifies me, particularly as I don't give them any code, as I think you mentioned earlier?? I am with Orange, I pay a flat monthly 25 euro fee for unlimited high-speed access. Sorry if I'm asking you to repeat yourself, but can you clarify again how it works...?

Many thanks, Jenny
Paul Carmel
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Post by Paul Carmel »

Hi Jenny,

When you set the system up you can have it secure or non-secure. As we are based in the heart of Calvi we went for secure option and to access that you need to have a code/password - otherwise anyone local can access your network and indeed your files ( I believe ). If you are in the middle of nowhere or far enough away that no one can pick up the signal then you can have it non-secure, which is frankly one less hassle.

Does this make sense? Sorry, having a bad brain day.
Cheers
PC
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Rocket Rab
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Post by Rocket Rab »

Thanks Paul, that sounds logical.

I think I better look into that. My guest turns on the laptop, then clicks on an icon marked Guest, then goes straight to the Internet Explorer icon. There is no password.

The other icon is for the system administrator (me, basically), and that requires a password to function.

So I'm assuming that if someone arrives with their own wifi laptop, their system automatically 'locks onto' my broadband access?
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