Rural settings bring rustic connections

Increasing numbers of British people are choosing to live and work in the Spanish countryside, but Zoë Dare Hall says they should be aware of potential communication difficulties

Poco A Poco Orange Farm, Pauline and Brian Brettle's bed and breakfast tucked among southern Valencian orange groves, is only four years old - and it's taken two of those to get a telephone. But after battling with a radio phone and having to run the business from the internet café in town, the Brettles are happy to announce a new arrival in the family: their much-wanted satellite phone.

Poco A Poco Orange Farm, Pauline and Brian Brettle's bed and breakfast tucked among southern Valencian orange groves, is only four years old - and it's taken two of those to get a telephone. But after battling with a radio phone and having to run the business from the internet café in town, the Brettles are happy to announce a new arrival in the family: their much-wanted satellite phone.

Spain is seeing increasing numbers of British people wanting to relocate and work from home, many of them preferring somewhere off the beaten track. But trying to set up a landline and internet connection can require far more perseverance and knowledge of how to work the system than newcomers anticipate.

The Spanish College of Registered Homeowners reports that the price of Spanish resale homes is rising faster than that of new-build properties for the first time in a decade, boosted largely by the growing demand from British buyers seeking out "real Spain" rather than the coast. But while we may be pushing up the prices, pushing phone companies to make our dream homes high-tech is another matter.

"We were told endlessly by Telefonica [the state phone company] that we don't have the infrastructure for a landline and that it would be too expensive to supply us with a satellite phone," Pauline Brettle recalls. "But another English couple recently moved into a nearby house and had a satellite phone within weeks. I challenged Telefonica and was told that it's because we live in a different exchange. The woman said I wouldn't understand and hung up."

The Brettle's telephonic fortunes changed when a satellite phone emerged out of the blue, costing the same monthly rate as a landline. "We're not far from Torrevieja, where there is a big demand from foreign property owners, so things are speeding up," says Brettle. "You just have to keep hassling the phone company to make sure you haven't dropped off their system."

Sally Harrison runs estate agency Axarquia Properties, which specialises in the relatively undeveloped region east of Malaga. "I installed a telephone line but had to wait another three years before we got broadband internet. I had no idea it would be so difficult," says Harrison.

The experience has served her well for clients who want to move to the countryside and run their business from home. "They mainly want to run B&Bs or consultancies, which only require a small office space at home. Their first question is usually, 'Can we get internet?'" says Harrison.

"Benamargosa and Benamocarra are popular villages about 10km inland and there are no problems getting landlines or internet access there, but further into the countryside telephone lines are hard to come by. I live near a mountain which is a no-go area for phone companies. Satellite phones are becoming very popular as you can always get a connection."

Satellite phones look like conventional telephones and send radio signals direct to a satellite and down to a land station where your phone call can be connected to a network. Spanish companies such as Iberbanda or Telecor offer various price options, from an upfront fee of €2,500 but no monthly line rental and free calls, or a monthly fee of €55 for phone and broadband, plus call charges.

Ethnet, a Hertfordshire-based company which is the main distributor for the Hughes network system in Europe, has seen an upsurge in demand from Britons moving mainly to southern Spain. They offer a broadband connection via two-way satellite anywhere in Spain for £860 for installation and £55 a month for connectivity.

"The only requirement is that you have a line of sight to the satellite, like satellite TV," says Ethnet's Barry Lieberman. "We have also seen an increase in customers wanting phones that work over a satellite link because they are moving to areas of Andalucia which are developing in terms of property but don't have the backbone of technology. You can't even use mobiles in these areas," Lieberman adds. Ethnet's phone connection costs £250, with £17.50 monthly line rental.

Many rural Spanish communities still rely on radio phones supplied by Telefonica, but reception is often bad - and you can forget about running broadband from one.

"Some clients bought a house near Comares which they want to turn into a B&B. They had a radio phone installed but they were told there was a shortage of available phone numbers so they would have to wait another couple of months," says Sally Harrison. "They just accept that this is what life is like in the Spanish campo. This is still a very traditional area of Spain, which is its appeal, but some people don't realise how basic that means some things can be. The advantage is that you can buy beautiful villas here for less than half the price of a similar property in Marbella and your children will grow up speaking fluent Spanish."

Suzanne Carmichael from Indigo Estates has many clients who travel between the UK and Spain for business. "They span careers from commercial real estate and IT consultancy to a lady who distributes a brand of dog food in Spain. Many of them want to live in a traditional Spanish property and have high-speed internet connection, but the further inland you go, the harder it becomes," says Carmichael.

"A rule of thumb is if your neighbour can't have a landline, it's unlikely you'll be able to, especially if getting to your house means going down dirt tracks and across streams. If you can find a neighbour with a landline, get their number and call Telefonica and they'll try to connect you. But if a landline is crucial to your business, you would be wise to buy a house where one is already installed."

Costa del Sol Online says it can provide broadband access anywhere in Andalucia, with no location too remote to receive high-speed business broadband internet access - including the Alpujarras mountains. The system, developed by Madrid-based company Iberbanda, comprises a wireless broadband network.

"There are currently 300 antennae around Andalucia with new ones being installed every week so no area of Andalucia need go without," says spokesperson Sacha Masand. Costa del Sol Online will install this wireless system for free and charge from €39 a month for broadband connection.

"It was designed primarily for people in the Spanish countryside who have so far been unable to have internet services," says Masand. "The Andalucian Government has received EU grants to subsidise the installation of antennae to serve everyone in the region."

Subsidised municipal wireless broadband networks have also taken off in the Girona province of Catalunya where 20 WiFi networks will soon be up and running. Naturally, in the high-speed world of technology, WiFi is already old hat though.

"We're gearing up for WiMax, which is like WiFi on steroids," says Sasha Masand. "It will cover entire cities with umbrella coverage, so from the end of this year you'll be able to log on to the internet absolutely anywhere in Spain, even while you're sitting at a traffic light."

Ethnet (01763 250 418; www.ethnetuk.com)

Costa del Sol Online
(0871 871 4296; www.wireless4spain.com)