AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Ambergris Caye Internet Service

I've always been a huge fan of the beach and a more laid back lifestyle and like it here in Myrtle Beach(South Carolina, USA) but have the opportunity to move even further south to somewhere more tropical(like Belize).

The thing is that I'm a website developer, and thus my livelyhood depends on being able to work online. I've been doing a lot of research, and it seems like internet service may not be the best on AC (or Belize in general). I really need fast (at least 5MB down, preferably much more) and reliable internet. I know that can be a hard thing to find in some areas/countries..

How is the internet on AC? Is BTL the only option? According to their site, 4MB down is the fastest they offer, and it's $850 a month?!?! I did read something about them installing fiber optic to the island, but don't see any updates on it since the initial articles from April.

Any insight, thoughts and/or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Hey there. 4mb is what they sell...not many other options except for HughesNet. You'll also want to get a vpn account if you want to use Skype (it's blocked here). I use the vpn for accessing Hulu, Netflix and Amazon on demand movies too. There are many sites like these which don't work when you are outside of the U.S. or Canada. I REALLY hope internet speed picks up and costs go down. I miss playing online first person shooter games with my buddies. The internet is not as reliable here as it is in most states up there either. Power outages and unexplained internet disconnections are pretty common here. That's why we all try to keep a good supply of alcohol on hand at all times

Is the 4MB really $850 USD /mo? Also, how is the HughesNet service?
Thanks,
Matt

With Hughes you have a max 500 MB per day download on their highest service so it would not meet your needs.

Ahh, ok. Yeah, that would definitely not be enough. I guess BTL would be the only option. I really hope the pricing for their highest plan (4MB) isn't really a crazy $850 USD /mo!

You can get cheaper internet rates by bundling with a land line service. It ends up cheaper even if you never connect the phone.

Just checked BTL site price is 850 Belize dollars 425 US per month

STANDARD HSI PLANS (Monthly Service Charge)
128K (NEW)
256K
512K
1MB
2MB
4MB
$49
$100
$179
$300
$500
$850

HOMEFONE HSI PLANS (Monthly Service Charge)
Lite
Deluxe
Pro
Ultima 512K
1MB
2MB
4MB
$110
$197
$330
$550

BIZFONE HSI PLANS (Monthly Service Charge)
Deluxe
Pro
Ultima 1MB
2MB
4MB
$179
$300
$500

Purchase of DSL Modem from BTL (Inclusive of tax)
$250

Monthly Modem Rental
$30

Bring your own wireless routers and other electronics if you come too! The prices on a lot of that stuff are ridiculous down here. I have had to spend a small fortune just picking up stuff like mics/headphones, mouses, webcams, sd cards, junk cell phones (by our standards), digital cameras, and so on. The products available are usually either outdated, over-priced, or both. Lots of stuff is remanufactured too, so it breaks sooner.

Everything you may need is here, but the prices and quality are a whole other matter as MacGyver said. Last year I needed a cheap webcam and was stuck buying it in Belize, paid 60 Us for a 10 dollar Walmart special.