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Internet access in Seminyak Bali

Internet access in Seminyak has improved since 2003 with new internet cafes, wi-fi hotspots, some offering free access and a number companies offering a range of solutions, depending on your location, requirements and budget.


Internet Cafes:

Mom & pop locally owned internet cafes are coming along from the old style places. Many cafes in the Seminyak area no longer use dial-up, have AC, even though some of the hardware is still lagging behind. Most Seminyak internet cafes either now have machine with front-facing USB ports, or USB port connectors allowing you to pug in your camera, without having to dig through cobwebs.

Modern internet cafes in the Seminyak area have A/C, decent hardware / software and an okay connection. Tourists often complain about the speeds and the truth is that sometimes connection speeds are decent, other times atrocious. If you are writing extended emails, it might be a good idea to write them in Word, saving the document before sending the email. Hooking up your own laptop can happen in certain cafes such as Global Xtreme in Kerobokan. One of the best new internet cafes in Seminyak is Fast & Fun, located on Jl. Dhyana Pura. It already has 1 location, across from Bestest Cafe and has recently opened another outlet just 20 meters away. The new cafe is open from 9am-12 midnight daily. It has AC, drinks on sale and best of all, large flat screen monitors with plenty of space. On an average day connection speeds are acceptable. Fast & Fun charges 250rp per minute, which is the standard rate in Seminyak.

Wi-fi hotspots:

Open network:
Seminyak particularly has an abundance of wi-fi places. The great thing here is you can use your own machine, very easily, often without paying. One of the restaurants in Seminyak that has an ‘open network’, meaning anyone can jump on, is Joulla’s German Restaurant. You can show up and get online, after my machine searches for and finds their connection. Its actually possible to sit in the restaurant down the street, JP’s Warung and still use Joulla’s connection.

Closed network:
JP’s has free wi-fi, but you need to get the password. Other wi-fi places in Seminyak include Blue Ocean and Lanai at the end of Jl. Double Six and also Raja’s in the Bintang supermarket parking area. Using your own machine is wonderful, as it being able to sit where you want often in a more enjoyable environment than an internet cafe. The downside is having to haul your machine around. The more wear & tear, not to mention dust and voltage surges your machine has to handle the shorter it will last. There is also the possibility of theft, when you go to the bathroom for example.

Paid wi-fi:
Its possible to get online for a limited time for a fee at certain places in Bali. One of these is
Le Spot, at Bali Deli, where a 50,000rp card will give you 2 hours (good for 1 month), 100,000rp for 4hours (good for 3 months).

For anyone with a laptop, a wi-fi hotspot is the way to go over an internet cafe. Another popular spot is The Tuck Shop, 40 meters inside Jl. Oberoi.

DSL:
DSL (digital subscriber line) is available from Telkom, the phone company. You need a phone line to your house / office and the service is good, once installed. Here’s the company website with more technical information.

Wireless:

GlobalXtreme:
GlobalXtreme in Kerobokan is one of Bali’s favourite ISPs. Featuring 2.4 GHz frequency wireless connection directly from your home – Coverage Area is based in southern Bali. GlobalXtreme offers you competitive prices and total support. Our internet packages are available at several different speeds and prices to fit your needs contact us directly for more information and to learn how we can help you do business

Blueline:
It is a wireless connection promising 128 kbps for each user and the billing is calculated by how much data you suck / blow through the pipe, not hours a month. SOHO bandwidth speed is 512 kbps downloading and 256 kbps uploading for each customer. A large part of southern and eastern Bali is covered. Commercial connection is available in all areas of Bali.

For a newcomer to Bali who does not have a 3G phone, or a phone line and wants home internet access, one of the quickest companies is Blueline. They will survey your house to check the viability of a connection and install an antenna (3.8m rp) within 48 hours.
Upside: You are online fast and easy.
Downside: You are limited to using your computer at home.

Someone wanting an affordable connection without the need of a phone line might consider IndoSat. They have a wide coverage, which for some reason does not include Seminyak.
Upside: You don’t need a phone line, prices seems competitive, you can be online quickly.
Downside: They ask for a KITAS and letter from your employer. They do not cover Seminyak.

XL is the company that also is a phone provider. Their fancy office on the Sunset Rd will set you up with an affordable package, enabling you to either use your 3G phone to get online, affording you total mobility, or with an add on component that does the same (for 1.9m rp extra).
Upside: Affordable, great mobility.
Downside: Can take a while to get hooked up as their sign up cycle (every 2 weeks) is out of sync with their billing cycle (every 2 weeks). Speeds fluctuate greatly (26 kbps – 460 kbps).