HI Anushka, I also had the same question when I started looking for installation, but I was told that unless your bulding supports ADSL connections, you have no alternative but to install a telephone line.  I've never used my telephone, I don't even know my number but telemarketers seem to on a Saturday or Sunday morning :angry:

Otherwise if you're friendly with your neighbors, you might be able to share & connect through them.
YouMeCo, Nov 24, 2008 @ 00:24

Try the Sunrise Take Away. Go to the Sunrise shop at Confederation Center and inquire about details. You don't need a fixed line for this.
CeeBee, Nov 24, 2008 @ 00:44

There are different ways to access internet:

Fixed line

Cable

Via your mobile



Check the offers of the various providers. Orange, Cablecom, Swisscom & Sunrise have most of the market. You could also see with your neigbours if you coud piggy back on their WiFi, but then, you'll have no control over the connection (e.g.if they switch off befiore going on holidays...)
Free, Nov 24, 2008 @ 01:13

Thank you for all advices.

I'll check Sunrise and Orange ADSL but seems there is still no good option to avoid Swiss fix-phone abo. :angry:

Does anyone has an experience with Orange Everywhere - mobile Internet offer?

A :)
anushka, Nov 24, 2008 @ 10:42

Tinkie,

Thanks for the link. It's a good warning for me. Will keep out of Internet Everywhere option. True, I'm Orange mobile customer and have rather unfriendly customer support experience with them as well.

Will check Sunrise then.
anushka, Nov 24, 2008 @ 12:35

Hi Anushka, and other expats.



I work in IT and know the Geneva market very well as I lived here all my life.

I have reviewed the different internet access offers many times over the years, for myself, my parents (divorced), friends and even small businesses.



In your case Anushka, the best option seems to be Cablecom, if your building is ok for the service. Check here first:

and click Register to enter your address.



They have an offer for the moment where you pay 1/2 price for the first 3 months.



The internet access is through your TV wall plug (the new ones have 3 holes) where a cable modem plugs in. On that modem, you get I think 4 Ethernet ports, but no Wifi. You can plug your computer directly to that. For wireless, you would need to get a Wifi router which they propose also for 99.-, but you might find a cheaper one at Fnac/Interdiscount/Manor/Fust.



With cable internet access, you are less prone to distance issues which ADSL lines might have. I do a huge amount of download (internet radio, TV with Zattoo, bit torrent file download and regular surf) and with the Cablecom 65.- option, I still haven't reached the bottleneck.



Feel free to post your questions and I will help you out.

Take care,

Patrick

Patrick, Nov 24, 2008 @ 15:10

Forgot the link...

http://www.cablecom.ch/en/index/internet/hispeed/hi_anmeldung.htm
Patrick, Nov 24, 2008 @ 15:13

Patrick, Thanks a lot. It’s a great help.

Probably, I can use Cablecom (will check). I have radio connected via cable and had few times nexoo TV offers in my mailbox so should be fine.

I’m not very high tech and don’t download movies (don’t even have regular TV at home ;-) Just e-mails, regular net-surfing, Skype and sometimes some voice podcasts.

65CHF looks slightly better offer vs. 25CHF (fix abo) + 49CHF ADSL

Do I need to pay TV Billag if I’m on Cable Internet?

 

PS. I checked with couple of neighbors but they are not too hot on sharing L
anushka, Nov 24, 2008 @ 15:42

Unfortunately Billag is a state monopoly kind of thing.



You will have to pay in almost any situation:



You have an apartment with NOTHING that can receive radio or TV, then you will not have to pay.

But if you have for example:

-a mobile phone with radio in it... you have to pay Radio tax

-a car with a radio (who doesn't??) you will have to pay Radio tax

-a mobile phone/pda with possibility to get on the internet (even if not WiFi), you will have to pay both TV and Radio tax because you could be able to view TV and or radio via the internet of your mobile phone.



If at home you have no internet (ADSL or Cable) but an alarm clock with radio, you will have to pay...

And so on and so on...



I guess you get the idea, there is almost no way in this modern world NOT to have a mean of receiving TV and Radio at home. You would have to tell them that you are blind and deaf ! Basically, if you have a normal life, even without a physical TV, you have to pay. And this is all over Switzerland.



But here is the situation:

Bilag will do rounds and check if people really don't have a radio and/or a TV. They do it area by area, and it takes time. When they finish an area, they might come back in 3-5 years to check again. If you get caught, the fine is high. So there is a way around the system, but it is all about timing and I would not do it. The fine, the nerves, the humiliating experience of being told that you cheated, etc. is not worth it.



Good luck,

Patrick
Patrick, Nov 24, 2008 @ 16:28

Patrick, It's a great info probably useful for many fresh glocals. Thanks. :)

I do pay Billag for radio, which is inevitable anyway. But I don’t have a TV set, TV receiver on my mobile or a device for PC allowing me to watch TV on computer (I believe you need to buy a little piece of equipment to do this). So I guess I don’t have to pay Billag for TV.

They are very welcome to come and check. They already tried last year and I sent them a note on that.

 
anushka, Nov 24, 2008 @ 17:47

[quote]Hello. Could someone advise me what is my best option (high speed +cost effective) to get Internet connection at home (preferably w/o necessity to get fix phone line)?



I don't have fix phone and don't want to pay installation + 25CHf abo just to get Internet on it. I checked Orange offer (Orange Home Package / Orange ADSL/ Internet Everywhere) but I'm not able to get clear on the difference. Help please !



Thanks, A.[/quote]



I personally chose to go with Cablecom and have internet through my cable connection. I also chose to get a phone number but it's optional. They took their sweet time to install the thing, but I am really happy with the result, both in pricing and in performance. There were no installation fees if you go this way.



Marios
karios, Nov 24, 2008 @ 18:02

Have you looked into mobile internet?

http://www.sunrise.ch/fr/privatkunden/angebote/mobile/mobiles-internet.htm

http://www1.orange.ch/residential_internet_internet-everywhere.html

Orange has pretty good offers right now.

It looks like the connection speed is quite decent now (upt to 3.6Mbit/s), you'll be able to use your laptop everywhere in Switzerland (beware of using that option abroad, it might become very expensive).

The thing to look after is their little comment

I quote = * If your data transfer volume exceeds 5 GB per month, Orange reserves the right to reduce the transfer rate of your Internet service in order to ensure a good quality of service to all customers.

I'm not really able to say what 5GB of data transfer will represent for normal internet traffic ( I mean viewing internet pages, emailing, etc). It is very little if you download/upload a lot (pictures, videos, music, etc). So it depends on your internet usage

//Ben

Lebenja, Nov 24, 2008 @ 18:02

Marios,

How long did Cablecom took to instal it? Is 65CHF /month all you pay? any additional hidden costs?

Ben,

Look at Tinkie's link above to comments on Wireless Internet. i was tempted but after reading it cooled me down.
anushka, Nov 24, 2008 @ 18:15

[quote]Marios,



How long didCablecom took to instal it? Is 65CHF /month all you pay? any additional hidden costs?



Ben,



Look at Tinkie's link above to comments on Wireless Internet. i was tempted but after reading it cooled me down.[/quote]

Well, I am kind of a geek so I went for the fastest speed I could find. The good thing is that for the first 6 months you get a 50% discount. So if you go for 25mbit dl/2.5mbit ul which I have you will be paying 37.50CHF for the first 6 months and 75CHF for the next. Of course, if you don't really need this kind of speed, you can go for cheaper ones (you still get the discount).

Also, if you decide to go for cablecom, you can get the first 3 months with more discount if you sign up through a referral from any current cablecom client (like me :) )

In my case, it took them about 3 months for installation, because my building needed upgrading before installation. You can ask them to know if that is the case with you as well before applying.

karios, Nov 24, 2008 @ 18:33

Sunrise offers ADSL without a Swisscom landline in Geneva. It's called click&call+ (note the +). I checked with their hotline, at least at my place in Plainpalais it's available.



It's 60 francs a month, including a regular phone landline from which calls to other swiss landlines are free in the evenings and on weekends. If you have a Sunrise mobile abo it's only 30!



However, I'm stuck in a loop with them as they only accept customers changing an existing Swisscom landline over to them. They told me I'd have to sign up at Swisscom and pay the 25/month to them for the minimum duration of six months, which I'm not wiling to do, as Sunrise would already be paying Swisscom during that time. Now I've found someone via a German language forum who managed to get the Swisscom landline, immediately change over to Sunrise, and only payed Swisscom for two months. I'll check with Swisscom this week if I can get a written confirmation of this.



BTW, I can't get Cablecom as the cables in the house would have to be exchanged and the house owner refused to give permission!
thomas11, Nov 24, 2008 @ 19:11

I see that i am not the only one who has the problem to install Cablecom, i was waiting 2 weeks that they will come to install, and when finally the techniker came, he said that cablecom needs to upgrade the connection in the whole building what will take minimum 3 weeks... :/ well...and cablecom allows to have internet without the fix phone.
327667, Nov 24, 2008 @ 19:44

[quote]reading this forum makes me think that Switzerland isn't the best place to have a phone and the internet... :w00t:

Not enough competition? Prices are just so high and customer service so shit![/quote]



If it would be only this.... But in general service is not perfect :) How swiss people survive here...
327667, Nov 25, 2008 @ 11:10

I'm not sure if Cablecom is such a good deal, if you don't watch TV.

AFAIK, you can't get Cablecom-Internet without the TV-stuff.

Did you know that the costs for Cablecom (if your house is "connected") are usually hidden somewhere in the "Nebenkosten" / auxiliary / utility charges?

You can have the TV-plug in the wall sealed and save some bucks per months - if you don't have a TV, you should consider doing that (Why pay for a service you don't use?)

For occassional TV-consumption, Zattoo is just as good, IMO.

And radio can be had via Internet, too...



rainer_d, Nov 25, 2008 @ 16:14

[quote]I'm not sure if Cablecom is such a good deal, if you don't watch TV.

AFAIK, you can't get Cablecom-Internet without the TV-stuff.

Did you know that the costs for Cablecom (if your house is "connected") are usually hidden somewhere in the "Nebenkosten" / auxiliary / utility charges?

You can have the TV-plug in the wall sealed and save some bucks per months - if you don't have a TV, you should consider doing that (Why pay for a service you don't use?)

For occassional TV-consumption, Zattoo is just as good, IMO.

And radio can be had via Internet, too...



[/quote]

When I got in my house I was already paying a few CHF per month for TV included in the rent. Cablecom has nothing to with my TV though, I am just getting Internet and phone from them, and nothing else. If you want you can skip the phone option as well, which was the purpose of the original question of this thread. So yes, cablecom will provide just internet if that's what you wish.
karios, Nov 25, 2008 @ 16:17

Thanks for all your feedback. I'm trying to registe to Cablecom.

Could you advice if i should take hispeed 5000 or 15000. I don't think I'll need the highest 25000 if I don't download movies and play online, do I?
anushka, Nov 25, 2008 @ 16:33

[quote]Thanks for all your feedback. I'm trying to registe to Cablecom.



Could you advice if i should take hispeed 5000 or 15000. I don't think I'll need the highest 25000 if I don't download movies and play online, do I?[/quote]

If you just surf and use email, I think both 5mbit and 15mbit are good for you. Of course, 15mbit is better than 5mbit, but it depends on how much you want to pay.
karios, Nov 25, 2008 @ 16:36

[quote]Thanks for all your feedback. I'm trying to registe to Cablecom.



Could you advice if i should take hispeed 5000 or 15000. I don't think I'll need the highest 25000 if I don't download movies and play online, do I?[/quote]



IMHO, you can take 1000, it will be quite enough even to watch movie online :)

with 5000 and 15000 u will fly like a professional pilot. So take 1000, less to pay, and enough for ur needs
327667, Nov 28, 2008 @ 13:49

[quote]Forgot the link...

http://www.cablecom.ch/en/index/internet/hispeed/hi_anmeldung.htm[/quote]



Hello,

I checked that cablecom in my new house (where I´m moving in two weeks) and it is not available in there. So what do you think would be the next best option? I´m willing to pay a little bit more if the line is really quick and working well all the time...
pomi76, Dec 7, 2008 @ 02:11

Those who want Cablecom must be veeery patient...

I signed for Cablecom a week ago and was told will have it by Christmas. Today a technician came to do a standard installation check... and informed me that Cablecom didn't renew cables in my building so I have to wait another 3-4 weeks for the work to be done... and of course they work only std hours (9-12, 14-17) so if you don't have flex working hours count in 2 x forced half day off :angry:

But if you are lucky and one of your neighbors already went through the process it should go faster ;)

Good Luck

anushka, Dec 16, 2008 @ 13:04

Although you appear to have decided on Cablecom ... just in case that doesn't work out for you ... for all their evils, Swisscom do have a reasonable offer for people like me that have no interest in a fixed line...

http://www.swisscom.ch/res/kombi-angebote/dsl-natel/index.htm?languageId=en

It's 79CHF per month and it seems pretty reliable and pretty fast (in Eaux-Vives, at least).  And I'm a pretty heavy Internet user, as I work from home frequently. 

The deal is no different to a standard ADSL deal but you get a standard mobile subscription instead of the fixed line fee.  You can increase the mobile subscription to a different deal if you want.

Took Swisscom exactly 3 days to arrange this ... although I suspect that was partly because I know how ADSL etc works and hence didn't need much from them except the line activation!

- Kevin.
Sandokan, Jan 5, 2009 @ 03:10