Getting a Freenet DSL package in Darmstadt

Hello all,

Non-German reader/speaker that knows v little about puters and is moving to Darmstadt in Oct, seeks reassurance.
From looking at the providers mentioned on this site and endeavouring to translate/get my brain around their respective website, I came upon Freenet as being the most understandable.
http://www.freenet.de/freenet/dsl/order/index.html

I was planning to use skype to phone friends etc in the UK (and my sis has just moved to China), so was going to exclude the telefonflat thingy -- 2.9 cents per min seems quite cheap during the day. Then if I go for the 6Mb broadband, its 23 euros per month, plus an initial cost of 30 euros for the wireless router and delivery. Does that sound competitive?

I will be bringing an English telephone -- I've heard you can get an adapter if the plug doesn't fit. I think the above package includes an electronic answerphone (Anrufbeantworter) - do you think it's free to access your voicemail? I will be bringing my sister's old PC (it has Windows XP) -- I should have a LAN cable somewhere so I can plug into the router. I will also be bringing an old laptop from Uni with me so I can use some of the scientific programs it contains so I can finish writing my PhD thesis -- this has a wireless card thingy in it. And I will be given a laptop by my new work as well, but I know nothing about that.

If I have problems, any idea what will happen if I phone Freenet up and explain that I can't speak any German? Are they reliable?
Of course I do not know what sort of line is installed in the flat currently. But bad things don't happen when I put my (central Darmstadt) address into the "Komplett" package chooser thingy (haven't actually worked out how that package is different yet, though).

Basically, I want to hit the ground running when it comes to the Internet. My agent is supposed to be hooking up the utilities (Internet, telephone, electricity), although I'm not quite sure what she can physically do.

Anyway, thanks in advance for any advice. I'm finding my morphogenesis from a naive student into a *real person* living in a foreign country a bit painful at the moment! Three steps forward, two steps back...

Muppetry.

Unlikely to be a problem, assuming you can speak fluent silence. Many people retire or go bankrupt while listening to the hold music on their premium rate service line. Otherwise, the wait for a new connection (6-8 weeks not unusual) may deter you. I realise you arrive in October, so may think you have that time to wait, but it's not that easy - you have to be a registered resident in Germany with a bank account before they will accept your application.
Cheap is not always good.
How many steps back?

Boo. Too many steps back. Hmmmm. Maybe 1und1 would better. Argh. My headhurts.
Apparently it takes two weeks from when your phone line is activated, to getting your DSL connected, is that true?

Will you be based in germany long term? Most DSL packages come with a 24 month minimun contract period.

Yup. I have a permanent position.

Freenet or 1und1 provide a VoIP line for telephony. This can have quality and connection issues. The popular providers that offer normal telephone connection are T-Com, Alice and Vodafone/Arcor. This TT thread may be helpful for more inputs.

IF this is a German contract you are presumably aware that either side can terminate the employment without reason within the probationary period (normally 6 months), so be a little careful about making too many long-term contracts initially.

... I remember many pleasant holidays sailing on the Norfolk Broads... (real sailing, not motor boat)

Yeah, I realise about the probationary period in my work contract. I'd like to think that it would be unlikely that I would be sacked as the company is paying for my relocation along with various other expenditures. I'm certainly not planning to disappoint them with my abilities!

Good advice though. I can't think of anything else I am signing up for that has a long contract. However, it's quite important that I get the Internet asap so I can finish writing my PhD thesis, which has a deadline that is irrespective of where I am or what I'm doing.

Ah, a proper sailor then :-) Don't actually know the Broads that well, actually as our village is over an hour away. I used to sail dinghies on the northern coast as a child :-)

Used to be. Sailing a 6m Half-Decker up the Thurne river was an art in itself. Gave up sailing on water & now sail the air so to speak....

Alice doesn't seem to have any minimum length of contract.

Bzzt.. It depends on the package you sign-up for.

Read the fineprint (#4) on the Alice-DSL website

That only applies to the renting of a set top box for their TV package. It states higher up, under the telephone and internet flat rate, 'keine Mindestvertragslaufzeit'.

No Alice in Darmstadt, I thought?

Okay, maybe you can get Alice in Darmstadt...
Woo hoo!
Right, let's investigate a bit of Alice Light then and see how many more steps forward I can manage this evening!

Bear in mind that the cheap bundled selling of phone call space is much cheaper than in the UK. That's the one where you just put a prefix in front of the number.

It's about 1.1 cent a minute to the UK. The quality to the UK is fine but can be ropey to other places (Turkey springs to mind, never tried China). The one I usually use is 01035 (then 0044 etc) but there are plenty of others. No contract etc. Just dial.

There's also plenty of internet cafes and hotspot sites in the event of not having internet access at home.

Freenet: Do you need to add on the cost of a TCom connection (just as you still have to pay BT for a phone line even if you don't use them for calls or internet)?

The info at the bottom of your link seems to say this is necessary - 16,.. Eur per month. So that's 40 Eur per month total, which is fairly standard I think for a phone / internet package, not low-balling. It's much what I pay T Com (BT equivalent) for connection, DSL (WLAN) internet and free inland phone calls. And decent service from them (although I think this is unusual) plus plenty of branches in the town etc.

And of course voice mail is free to access. I wouldn't bother bringing your UK phone. You may as well get a standard German one, only about 30 Euros.

Yep, freenet needs a T-|Com line. We just switched to a T-Net package that include free local calls and free out-of-country calls to a number of places, including UK. Still have to pay for calling mobile lines, but was around 40 euro pm. all inclusive. T-Com don't have the greatest reputation, but as you need a T-com line anyway...! Also, their HQ is now in Darmstadt so you cna go knock on their door personally to complain ;-)

You don't need a T-Com telephone line if you are taking the "Complete" package from Freenet (starting at 19.90 EUR per month). But in this case you will have a VoIP line for making phone calls.

Let me tell you then about the (British) executive Director that Siemens poached (at great expense) then paid to relocate with his family (at great expense) from Brazil(!) and then, just after his family had arrived in D, decided they didnt want (along with the rest of the existing board of directors for that segment). I was supposed to go and work for him.

Its often politics, not abilities that ultimately count. Been there, done that.

andy M

This is sadly true. You can get the carpet whipped from under your feet without you in any way being at fault.

Unfortunately the situation with my employer is similar since some years. It doesn't matter if you are hard-working or even successful - if its decided that the organisation above you is no longer important the whole branch gets sawn off (even if the consequences are not realised at the time).

Wrong. You can get a freenet package that needs a T-com line, but they wont want to sell it to you and itll be a lot more expensive than a Freenet VoIP connection.

Funny, that sounds exactly like my Freenet complete package :-)

Good luck with that. Actually, I would have gone with T-com too but I had 9 months to run on my Freenet DSL package (using a Tcom line) that it was easier and cheaper to go completely Freenet. The German online forums have people swearing about both Tcom and Freenet, so its much of a muchness.

andy M

Let me tell you about my freenet experience...

THe day I arrived here, Aug 28, I tried to sign up for Freenet Komplete. No can do, you dont have the residency permit or bank account.
Sept 2 I have those things, and i go to sign up. My landlord told me the telephone number that was inthe apt before i arrived. "Will asking for this number speed up my connection?" I asked the Freenet salesman. "Maybe." "Will it slow it down? " "No."
Two weeks later, I receive a mail that they cannot use that number and we need to restart the whole process.
Three weeks later (Oct 9) the Deutsche Telekom man is scheduled to come turn my phone line on.
The man DOESNT RING THE DOORBELL. He just puts a sticker on the door, "Sorry we missed you."
I go to the Freenet store, and the salesman calls 8 different people, all who tell him, "We cant help."
Now I am waiting for my next appointment on Oct 20th, when I will camp out on the sidewalk for the TCom guy...

At least the guy was sorry he missed you.
The first connection attempt was clearly incompetence, all the more serious, given that you applied personally and got help from a Freenet person (I presume). They simply entered your application as a transfer of existing service, but with a different name. That's simply not possible. They should have applied for a new service with the old number as a line reference (not that it helps for Freenet setup, but it does if you go with Telekom). The Telekom tech who didn't wait was probably a subcontractor. They get paid a fixed charge for this setup, and for non-Telekom connections it's not much and certainly lower than had you been having Telekom connected. It's in his best interest to log you as a "no-show" as not only does he get paid, but he gets the chance of a second visit. I assume, of course your doorbell was clearly labelled for him - an oft missed requirement for many newcomers.

Some notes on getting out of non-Telekom German telecommunication contracts (based on Freenet).

If you are a DSL subscriber from some vendor on top of a Telekom line, the DSL service is linked to the line so when you cancel your number, i.e., due to a move, the DSL goes at the same time irrespective of contract length. If you move within an exchange area keeping your old number, this may not work.

If you are a subscriber to a full service (line plus data) and move house in Germany then you are expected to take it with you if they can provide the service at the new location. If you move outside Germany then they will cancel it at no extra charge.

They might cancel it. Most won't. Telekom do. Legally your rights to cancel are strong, but the level of resistance most companies apply to an early termination might wear you down to accept the costs...

My last name is printed in big bold capital letters across the doorbell. He know my name, because he wrote it on the "sorry" card.
Now on Oct 20 I will need to camp out on the sidewalk to catch him.