San Salvador - Post Report Question and Answers
Is high-speed home Internet access available? How long does it typically take to install it after arrival?
Yes; you can work with your social sponsor to get it set up before you arrive. It's pretty reliable. During Covid telework we only had a handful of outages. The primary providers are Tigo, Claro, and Japi. Tigo and Claro are cable, Japi is fiber optic. - Oct 2023
Most people seem to have Tigo or Japi (the only fiber-optic in town). You can work with your social sponsor to get it set up before you arrive. Due to the pandemic, I’ve been teleworking almost the whole time I’ve been here so far, and have only had a few internet outages (could count on the fingers of one hand). We have Tigo and it’s fine; we pay $85ish/month for the fastest internet and no cable or phone. Works totally fine for streaming, teleworking, etc. One note: bring wifi extenders. The way houses are constructed here, you’ll need them. - Feb 2022
Excellent internet. We had it installed before we arrived because our sponsors were awesome, but normally it probably takes a few days once you order it. It goes out every now and then but rarely for more than 30 minutes. They seem very good at fixing electrical and connectivity issues here. - Aug 2021
Yes, and not sure how long it takes. - Jun 2018
Yes, an internet connection is available. We switched from Tigo to Japi, although haven't noticed much difference in speed. - Mar 2018
Yes high-speed internet is available. Most people choose Tigo or Japi for their internet service. Your sponsor can make an appointment for it to be setup when you arrive. Both companies have outages occasionally, but I rarely have problems streaming Netflix to the TV. As a side note, Tigo hardly has any English speaking channels (CNN, Fox News, HGTV, Food Network). We pay for USTVNOW to get American television. - Jan 2018
Yes, up to 200 Mbps. - Nov 2017
Yes, they can often install it prior to arrival. The quality can be spotty so many people change it after they arrive. - Jul 2016
Yes, far better than what we got in DC. US$60-100/month depending on the speed desired. The house walls are concrete and you may want an additional router/repeater if you want wifi throughout the house. - Dec 2015
Yes. We pay US$80 for internet and home phone. - Jun 2015
Speeds are usually slower than advertised, but I think a 10mb is US$100/month. We have a combo plan which includes cable, home phone, and 2mb internet for US$60/month. - Mar 2015
Yes and it is about US$75 a month through a bundle with cable and telephone service. Not sure what stand-alone costs. - Oct 2014
Yes. Average cost. - Jul 2014
Tigo again. About $19/month for reliable DSL. - Apr 2012
There is theoretically high-speed internet, but there are so many people on an unsure infrastructure that doing anything as resource-intense as streaming video can make you want to pull your hair out. Remember being "Tigo-ed?" Yeah, they run the cable and the internet, too. - May 2010
High Speed is readily available and inexpensive. We have a cable, phone, and high speed internet package for US$55/month. We get 1meg/ps connection speed, although they have packages that range from 128kpbs to 2megs. Skype and Vonage all work fine here, although at $0.03 per minute on the local cell phones, many people just dial direct. - Feb 2009
