Broadband in Neuvo Progreso Mx

Just in case any of you want to see what you are trying to help...here is a link to my blog from March.

http://texastrip2014.blogspot.ca/

as well as a slideshow from previous years. The blog runs from last in April backwards to the beginning.

We walk over the bridge ourselves, or we go with a nun and a couple that help her. The nun and the couple go over three times a week to help the needy families and to ensure as many kids as possible go to school so they are not begging on the streets. It is working as a lot of kids get sponsored.

Our family is living in a house which had been shot up by the cartel, and which they are not really supposed to be living in at this point, as their dentist friend who lives kiddie corner in his own house arranged it as temporary quarters for them, as they had to live their shack, as the owner wanted it back. Karelly uses the dentist wifi and stands outside.

The owner of this upscale development had great plans for it, but his two daughters got shot, so he basically abandoned it. There are only about 6 or 7 houses, but all the streets are paved, with water lines and electricity in. Apparently he lives somewhere in the US now, but no one really seems to know where.

Our goal is to try and get Educational Visas for the girls, so they can be educated further on the US side, so they have every chance in life to be whatever they want to be. Mom encourages that!

keelhauler1 wrote:
You signup at mitelcel.com
You use yje account phone number but you need access to the computer when you do this since they send you a temporary password via a text message and you then finish signing up for the the account.
Service cost - Internet Bajo 1 GB/month 30 dias $299.00 pesos or about $23 USD. If they need more GB it's because they are streaming movies.
You add a credit card to the account which does not need to be saved so can't be used by anyone.

keelhauler1...thanks again...We could manage $23 US per month as an option...and 1 GB would be plenty the way they use it. Sure wish Telcel had their site designed both in English and Spanish Though. I will see what I can do again with Google translate.

qtla9111 wrote:
I know it's not what you're looking for, but a landline is the easiest, most effective and efficient and least expensive way to go. The girls would have unlimited access from home as well as places that offer wifi where Telmex has service. I use my account in Starbucks, Airports, universities, etc.

gtla9111...It may not have been what I WAS looking for, but it is certainly an option that I will look into. If I can manage to get that accomplished that would certainly do the trick for them.

thanks again for the help...

I know it's not what you're looking for, but a landline is the easiest, most effective and efficient and least expensive way to go. The girls would have unlimited access from home as well as places that offer wifi where Telmex has service. I use my account in Starbucks, Airports, universities, etc.

You signup at mitelcel.com
You use yje account phone number but you need access to the computer when you do this since they send you a temporary password via a text message and you then finish signing up for the the account.
Service cost - Internet Bajo 1 GB/month 30 dias $299.00 pesos or about $23 USD. If they need more GB it's because they are streaming movies.
You add a credit card to the account which does not need to be saved so can't be used by anyone.

thank you briansue, I believe I did use google translate to try and navigate the Telcel site but it has been awhile...I will try it again.

Yes it would be good if I could pay by month, or in advance for a year if I choose the Telcel option.

It seems to be difficult to find out whether any of the US providers work there without being considered as roaming, and yet it is just across the Rio Grande River from Progreso Texas.

Any other creative solutions certainly welcome!

I think there could be ways for you to pay for the monthly stick fee online but am not sure how to do it. We usually pay at an Oxxo or Telcel office. All we need to know is the phone number of the stick and put an amount on there. It gets a bit complicated but there have been a number of threads on this forum about it - if you search Telcel here you should be able to learn more. You can also try to roam around the Telcel website using Google Translate to try to figure out how to do it. I am not familiar with Nuevo Progreso but there could be other ways for them to get on WiFi there.

Thanks very much everyone for the replies. I really appreciate it.

I guess I should explain a bit more about the situation. The girls we sponsor so they can go to school...the family is very poor like many in Neuvo Progeso. The oldest girl just turned 12 and she is extremely smart. We communicate when we go there, as I have an app on my phone where when you speak or type into it, it translates into Spanish. It has a built in dictionary so I do not need internet access.

I gave them my laptop and we gave the oldest girl Karelly a Nexus 7 tablet, but the tablet does not have the capability for a sim card, only wifi.

We gave them money to get a Telcel stick, and for $60 they got one, and it worked on the laptop I gave them...however...the husband indicated to me that the monthly cost for data was only $5. Didn't seem right to me at all...but with the language barrier...that was how we had to leave it.

We gave them $100 and were hoping they could maintain internet access with the stick, but I guess they ran out of $$ or something. The oldest one Karelly, takes the tablet and goes outside of a local dentists' house, he gave her the password for his internet, so she is able to do that once in a while and chat with us on facebook. That is about the only thing she uses it for, so there is not very much data usage at all.

I am always looking for ways to try and have them maintain constant internet as we always want to stay in touch with them. They are just like our own family now!

So my options are...give them enough money so they can keep the monthly fee going for the Telcel Data. They have to go to Rio Bravo to arrange it.

Get them the the Telmex landline as gtla9111 suggested...trouble is they often have to move at a moment's notice, as they do not own a house, and often live in what is no better than a shack.

My cell plan here has 400 mb data, as I do not use it too much. I appreciate that 200 mb is not a lot at all, but better than nothing when it is for life on a $179 tablet through T-Mobile, and Karelly is very responsible and would only go on facebook and chat with us for a ten minutes or so every now and then. That's all she does when using wifi while sitting outside the Dentist's house now.

I was just looking for the best way, so that they have continuous access, without costing $50 a month or more, as we do not have unlimited resources to fund that amount.

We go to Texas every March for a month, as we have a trailer in Pharr, Tx. and we spend as much time with the family as we can. We gave them money so they all have Mexican passports now, and we are trying to get them Us Visas, we gave them money so they can apply...not an easy process though, and may not work.

So thanks again everyone for your suggestions...by writing this is appears to me, that it looks like I may only have one real option and that is to fund the Telcel stick with enough data so it takes them month to month. We have a great time chatting with Karelly on facebook chat...she writes in spanish, we use an online translator, translate our english reply into spanish. It certainly is not perfect, but works well enough where we are happy to maintain contact.

The kids are great and we feel they are just like our own daughters.

If anyone has any more info or valuable suggestions...I am always open.

I have found as soon as I cross the border all USA services quit working. Can only use MX services like Telcel & Moviestar.

A few thoughts from someone who knows nothing about Nuevo Progreso…..

The 200MB free for life is nothing – we use almost 10GB per month and we are light users. Once the kids learn how to use the internet they will be burning up the GB. If they learn to stream video they will be really using the GBs – it could get expensive or they could run out long before the month ends.

With no landline you need a USB device – aircard – stick – whatever. We have a Verizon Jetpack which is a MiFi for WiFi to run more than one computer at a time. As non-residents of Mexico we cannot get one of these in Mexico because you need a year-round plan that is paid for monthly by contract and we are not there long enough to make this worthwhile – I believe residents can get different devices and plans for year-round use.

Since you asked specifically about T-mobile I went to their website where there is a way to check coverage – they show strong coverage near the border but that does not mean it reaches across the border – someone would have to check the specific location where the device would be used – I checked Weslaco,TX.

We do not know how to determine if Telcel works well in Nuevo Progreso. We have seen coverage maps in their local offices but cannot find one on their website.

We pay about $80 for our Verizon with 10GB. Landline is much cheaper. I think most over air devices cost about the same per month no matter where you get them or who you get them from. In any case we go directly to the local company owned store and not any of their franchise stores which can be everywhere.

Contact all the possibilities and ask them what you might be able to do. You can find more information on the websites and compare – here are a couple places to start.

http://www.t-mobile.com/coverage.html

http://www.internet.telcel.com/web.html