Communications and entertainment companies have been merging services for the last few decades, so that now, whosoever provides multi-channel television service is also likely to provide high-speed internet and the basic fixed telephone line. In Guadalajara the options can be confusing because so many service providers bury details of pricing structure or service options on their websites, and making the journey to the various service centers to wait in line for the rundown is exactly the opposite of thrilling.
To save you some time, The Reporter has rounded up most of the major players in the home contracting scene, dug up hidden costs, tabulated, calculated, enumerated all the relevant numbers to empower you to make an informed decision as to which company will be connecting your home to the outside world. We’ve also stripped away the short term deals and left you with the real, raw price—the regular toll on your wallet (until rates go up again).
Most of the services listed are available in the Guadalajara metropolitan zone. Lakeside residents have access to Telmex for telephone and internet service, Lagunanet for internet, and Telecable for cable and internet in some cases. Telecable is also starting to roll out telephone service in the area.
The cable companies are a quick solution for those wishing to bundle television, internet, and telephone into one wire. Telecable and Megacable have divided the metro into separate jurisdictions, meaning customers don’t really get to choose between the two of them. Telecable also offers television and internet service in Chapala, and is rolling out phone service. So, the following information will depend on the coverage area in which you live.
Megacable: available in Guadalajara, Tlaquepaque, Tonala
Megacable wraps all of its bundles with cable TV. The most standard packages are branded with their Yoo marketing and include both internet and telephone. Megacable presents some costs to customers based on “prompt payment,” which basically gives a discount for payments made within the first five days of the month. They then use discounted service prices in their marketing. Megacable only does this with some of their cheaper bundles, so be sure to read the fine print if you don’t plan on automating monthly payments.
There are three tiers of television programming, at 50, 90 or 120 channels. Like most modern television providers, they divide the most important channels between all three tiers. This means that if you opt for the most economical option, you will be saddled with stations like Utilisima and Canal Judicial and left wanting for ESPN, CNN, MTV, FX, TBS etc.
Upgrading to high definition will cost an extra 200 pesos per month. This grants access to 26 HD stations, although some of those (like HBO) will be locked unless you also subscribe to the associated extra package.
Megacable gives some of the best deals on internet bandwidth, at five, ten or 20 Mbps (megabits per second). Most of the bundles come with the lowest option, but even five Mbps is faster than some of the competition.
Megacable phone service provides a set number of outgoing telephone calls per month to local landlines (calls to other Megacable numbers don’t count against it), and a limited number of minutes long distance to Mexico, the United States or Canada. Additional long distance time can be purchased in modules, and works out to between 50 and 60 centavos per minute. Unlimited long distance is also available for a fixed fee, depending on the bundle. Calling cell phones (even local) will cost you 88 centavos per minute.
The initial contract will carry a fee: 300 pesos for a two-service bundle, 400 pesos for all three, and 500 with high definition.
Telecable: available in Zapopan; Television and internet at Lakeside, currently rolling out telephone service
Telecable has a very flexible 3-in-1 bundle builder that potential customers can investigate at http://www.telecable.net.mx/cotizador.aspx. Choose basic television, internet speed, and telephone service and the calculator will tally up all the costs. Keep in mind that Telecable presents all of their bundle costs based on prompt payment (see Megacable).
Internet bandwidth ranges from 2 to 8 Mbps, climbing in increments of about 50 pesos per megabit.
Customers pay for a fixed (or unlimited) number of outgoing local calls (calls to other Telecable numbers don’t count against that). Long distance to Mexico, the United States, and Canada can be added in increments of 100 minutes for about 52 centavos per minute. Calls to cell phones cost an extra 90 centavos per minute.
Contract fees run from 200 to over 600 pesos, depending on services (HD adds a lot).
Telecable divides customers into two groups—those who pay their monthly bill by automatic credit card deduction and those who pay by cash. Automatic payers get a discount on the contract fee, and will get the prompt payment discounts.
Telmex: available everywhere
Telmex only provides internet and telephone service in its bundles, but if you want to add television, Dish Network (satellite TV) offers a 100-peso discount on the initial fees and an 18-month discount on subscription fees for customers who have Telmex phone and internet.
For internet, Telmex uses a broadband technology called ADSL. This means the actual speed of the connection will vary depending on your physical distance from one of their telephone exchanges. They list speeds from one to three Mbps.
The telephone service is the only difference between the various bundles on offer. The cheapest includes 100 local calls and 100 minutes of long distance calling to Mexico, the United States, and Canada. Pricier options add more local calls (up to unlimited) and more long distance (up to unlimited). Calls to cell phones cost 83 centavos per minute, or you can opt to buy 150 minutes of cell phone calling for $119.48, which works out to about 80 centavos per minute.
Installation and contract carry no additional costs.
Axtel: available Guadalajara metro; X-tremo service available in select neighborhoods
Axtel has two variations of its bundles. If you happen to live in one of several upgraded zones of the city, you may be within reach of their Axtel X-tremo service for faster internet. Otherwise, you will have to choose one of the basic options. They also offer several telephone-only plans.
Regular internet service runs from 512 Kbps (the slowest of all reviewed options) to two Mbps, depending on the bundle. If you happen to live in one of those Axtel X-tremo service zones, you can inject some more money into your monthly bill to boost your connection speed to six, ten, 20, 50 or even 100 Mbps (by far the fastest of any reviewed options, although that one costs a hefty 1,999 pesos per month). Axtel also offers special packages with equal uploading and downloading speeds (most internet providers throttle upload speeds because most customers don’t need to upload very much data).
Axtel phone service, like the other options, limits local connections by number of outgoing calls, as opposed to minutes. All plans except Axtel Nacional also combine long distance minutes for Mexico, the United States, and Canada. All of the X-tremo service options come with unlimited local calls, and some come with unlimited long distance as well, while none of them come with cell phone calling plans.
Axtel has the most flexibility of the brands, offering an array of different a la carte modules for extra long distance minutes (national, North American or worldwide) and cell phone calling. Cell phone rates vary from 1.16 to 1.60 pesos per minute. Long distance modules vary from 49 to 66 centavos per minute, or unlimited options.
Bear in mind that most of the monthly bundle rates advertised in store are introductory, and will go up after three to six months.
Lagunanet: available Lakeside
For an internet-only solution, Lagunanet offers lakeside residents from Chapala to Jocotepec a fixed wireless broadband option. The service is a bit pricey at 40 dollars per month just for internet (prices are in U.S. currency), but the fixed wireless option means the company doesn’t need to run or use any outside cables to hook customers up. Speeds are comparable to Telmex broadband at around 3 Mbps.
Installation costs 350 dollars.
Sky: available everywhere
Sky provides another option for those who want or need satellite television. Sky lets customers build their own packages, starting with basic family channels such as Fox, Discovery, and MTV and selectively adding packages for sports, news, or movies. While this is the cheapest way to get Sky (potentially under 250 pesos per month), customers must spring for a more traditional package if they want to add HD. At minimum, with the Fun pack, that’s 429 pesos per month. Contract fees again are greatly reduced with automatic credit card payments: free for standard services and 445 pesos for HD. Electing to pay by cash instead means contract fees of 399 pesos.