backup for Telmex and Telcel?
by jakewills 
, Sunday, September 18, 2022, 08:00 (378 days ago)
We have Telmex fiber in our home and my current SIM is Telcel. I noticed over the past couple days when Lester knocked out the internet a few times, both Telmex and Telcel both went down simultaneously. Realizing they are the same company and likely infrastructure, this makes sense.
Is there an alternative to Telcel that might not go down when Telmex does? I also have a Google Fi SIM that kept working when they went down, but much slower. So it seems there are other cellular networks that are independent of the Telmex/Telcel infrastructure that could be a backup?
I can't count on Google Fi as my backup because eventually they will figure out I don't live in the US anymore and cut off my international data. And I appreciate these outages have been short, but since my livelihood depends on connectivity, I need to explore all reasonable backups available. Thanks!
backup for Telmex and Telcel?
by Talley Ho , Playa la Ropa, Sunday, September 18, 2022, 10:01 (378 days ago) @ jakewills
The two short TelMex loss of service yesterday were unusual. Could have something to do with the over 5.5 inches of rain we have had.
TelCel? Don't know, the phone hasn't been turned on for a couple of days.
backup for Telmex and Telcel?
by ZihuaRob 
, Zihuatanejo, México, Sunday, September 18, 2022, 10:40 (378 days ago) @ jakewills
We have Telmex fiber in our home and my current SIM is Telcel. I noticed over the past couple days when Lester knocked out the internet a few times, both Telmex and Telcel both went down simultaneously. Realizing they are the same company and likely infrastructure, this makes sense.
Is there an alternative to Telcel that might not go down when Telmex does? I also have a Google Fi SIM that kept working when they went down, but much slower. So it seems there are other cellular networks that are independent of the Telmex/Telcel infrastructure that could be a backup?
I can't count on Google Fi as my backup because eventually they will figure out I don't live in the US anymore and cut off my international data. And I appreciate these outages have been short, but since my livelihood depends on connectivity, I need to explore all reasonable backups available. Thanks!
In my 33 years here Telmex has consistently improved its services. Outages and dropped calls used to be common in Zihuatanejo. Now they are extremely rare. The internet keeps getting saturated because we are too many humans, but that is unfortunately to be expected because apparently humans are just going to keep reproducing until we choke on our own crap. Yesterday's and today's dropped signals were accompanied by text messages from Telmex advising me of the problem and that they were working on it. It's been many years since I've had any complaints about our service. Of course, you can contract an expensive satellite service, but other than that the only other real option is Megacable who have their own infrastructure. The cellphone and landline infrastructure is Telmex's. When they both go down, which is extremely rare, you can be sure it will quickly be restored. I make my living off connectivity, too, but when the internet is down it's time to relax with the family and appreciate the beauty of this magnificent part of the world.
backup for Telmex and Telcel?
by jakewills , Sunday, September 18, 2022, 13:31 (378 days ago) @ ZihuaRob
Yeah, I'm not looking to change from Telmex. From everything I have heard and experienced so far, they are solid. Really looking for a celluar backup since it seems like Telcel won't be able fulfill that need for me.
Rob, are you saying all the celluar providers are using the Telcel network and infrastructure (and effectively dependent on Telmex), so they would go down too if Telmex goes down? I could imagine that being the case in a smaller market like Zihua. It just seems like there is some other network out there that was still working since I could get some data through my Fi SIM even when Telcel was out.
Point taken about taking the opportunity to put down the devices and enjoy paradise with loved ones. On the weekend I can do that. Weekdays I am still somewhat bound by the demands and perceptions of the job that enables us to live in this paradise. And unfortunately there are some people who would love to say "see, that's why we should not allow international remote work", so I have to be more reliable than everyone else.
backup for Telmex and Telcel?
by Padrino , San Diego/Rosarito, Sunday, September 18, 2022, 14:09 (378 days ago) @ jakewills
I can't count on Google Fi as my backup because eventually they will figure out I don't live in the US anymore and cut off my international data. And I appreciate these outages have been short, but since my livelihood depends on connectivity, I need to explore all reasonable backups available. Thanks!
Jake, would you please explain further this concern. I also have Google Fi and am not sure what you are referring to when you say they might, "cut off [your] international data." They charge $10 per gigabit in the States and also in Mexico. What exactly are you referring to? Also, do you use a VPN and make it look as though you are still in the States?
My haunts in Zihua have WiFi but if push came to shove, I expected that I would rely on my phone being a WiFi hotspot using my Google Fi connectivity.
Many thanks for any and all feedback.
backup for Telmex and Telcel?
by jakewills , Sunday, September 18, 2022, 14:25 (378 days ago) @ Padrino
From what I have read from digital nomad types that are traveling outside the US without returning for long periods, after some amount of time they were notified by Fi that international data is not for being "permanently" outside the US. They get cut off. They still have voice and SMS service, but no international data until they return to the US for a period.
"Some amount of time"... who knows what that means. Some said about 6 months, and others said less. I could not find any documentation about it, but I also was not willing to read all the fine print in the terms of service.
I do have a VPN service, but mostly use it for accessing my US media services accounts. For work, I wanted to be transparent about where I would be. Too much riding on it.
backup for Telmex and Telcel?
Hi there. I am looking for a fiber expert in Zihuatanejo area, or Ixtapa. We run our business in our place and having all kinds of issues. It keeps crashing. Any experts you can recommend would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
backup for Telmex and Telcel?
by jakewills , Wednesday, January 04, 2023, 17:28 (269 days ago) @ trapeze girl
Sorry, I don't know any specific or independent experts. The Telmex technician they sent to install my service seemed very capable, but he may not have had to deal with any challenges since there had been service here before.
