madeira4u - Resources & Information - Utilities, Internet, & Mobile Phones on Madeira
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| Resources & Information - Home Utilities, Internet Service Providers, & Mobile Phones on Madeira |
| DISCLAIMER - THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE PAGES OF THE 'RESOURCES & INFORMATION' SECTION FOR UTILITIES DOES NOT CONSTITUTE PROFESSIONAL ADVICE, AND IS PROVIDED FOR BRIEF GUIDANCE ONLY, ON A BEST ENDEAVORS BASIS. NO RESPONSIBILITY CAN BE ACCEPTED FOR THE ACCURACY OF INFORMATION SHOWN HERE, AND YOU SHOULD SEEK INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION OR PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE WHERE IMPORTANT DECISIONS ABOUT UTILITIES ARE LIKELY TO BE MADE. please use the CONTACT US button to report any inaccuracies or provide updates, thank you |
| Home Telephone At present there are only two options for most people. Use Portugal Telecom (PT) for a fixed monthly charge and pay for your calls at the end of the month. Compared to the other methods outlined on this page, this is comparatively expensive. They do sell packages which can reduce your call costs for selected categories, but if you are a low user then they are probably not worthwhile. If your home location is situated where it can be connected to CaboTV for internet services, then you can opt to use their telephone service, which uses the same cables used by the internet. For a monthly fee (currently substantially lower than PT), you can also make local and national calls free of charge, and with careful use you can also save money on international calls. The Portuguese 'Regulator' Anacom publishes all the rates on its website, but although the website can be viewed in english you might find that the comparison tables are in portuguese. |
| Gas Madeira has no network of gas supply pipes, so it's not really a utility. In most cases individual properties collect their bottled gas (normally 45kg) and pay for it when they need it, or have it delivered. There is a deposit system for the gas bottles, which are swapped on replacement. Condominiums (apartments and segregated housing) usually have a communal gas bottle storage area which is serviced and replenished automatically by the contracted gas supplier. If that is the case, each property within the condominium will have its own gas meter and will be billed monthly for the gas they consume, and not for the bottles. If there is no heating consumption, the monthly bill for an average house with 2 adults and 2 children would be unlikely to exceed €25 per month. |
| Water The supply of water is less clear cut than for other utilities. Water provided by the district councils is metered into each property, and consumption billed monthly or periodically, based on usage in cubic metres, plus a small fixed charge(s). Depending on the supplier, you may be handed a bill after each meter reading, and you can pay for it there and then. Direct debit payment facilities may not be available, so you may need to pay your bill at the council offices (Câmara Municipal) or directly to the employee that reads the meters and produces the bill. The water is deemed to be fit for drinking, and the bills are very small. The monthly water bill for an average house with 2 adults and 2 children would be unlikely to exceed €5 per month, assuming there is no exceptional water usage (to fill a swimming pool for example). |
| Internet Internet services are widely available across the island to anyone who has a telephone line, and by cable (through CaboTV) for those in the more populated areas who are able to subscribe to cable TV. ADSL internet speeds are available to reach up to 24 MBps if required. If you are able to and choose to use Cabo TV internet services, then you also have the option of using their telephone service, which is very attractively priced compared to the competition. Portuguese Telecom (PT) are the main providers of telephone services on Madeira, and as such have much of the market for internet connections. The larger towns and more populated areas of the island have a good chance of being able to get an ADSL 'always on' connection, with high speed services available, depending on how much you are prepared to pay. Your phone will function normally alongside the internet connection, whether it is in use or not. If you are outside the areas for PT to provide ADSL internet, then your options are limited to dial- up internet, satellite connections, or through the growing market provided by the mobile phone companies through signing up to one of their packages which provide a plug in receiver or a card which you insert into your computer. You would need to check whether the signal reception was strong enough if opting for the latter option, as the mountainous terrain can seriously interfere with signal strengths. Dial-up internet through pay-as-you-go and contract terms are widely available through various companies, and CD set-up discs can be found in many electrical, PC, and mobile phone shops and stores. The costs of course will depend on the minutes used, but if you allow for up to 2 cents per minute then you shouldn't be too far out. The costs of ADSL and cable access through PT and CaboTV vary greatly, depending on connection speed and data transfer (download) restrictions for local and international traffic, but you should be able to set-up something acceptable for an initial fee (often waived during promotions) and around €30 per month thereafter, if your needs are not too demanding. Be wary of claims of high speed connections, as often they fail to deliver what was promised. |
| Mobile Telephone If you have and use a mobile telephone on Madeira, careful selection of the rates and packages available could save you a fortune. You have the choice of several companies to provide your service, the choice of contract or prepay, and the different types of call rates can vary enormously. Mobile phones purchased in other countries normally work on Madeira, if unblocked. If you do an internet search using the words 'unblock mobile phone' and the make or model of your phone, you are quite likely to find free software to calculate your unblocking code, should you need it. The Portuguese 'Regulator' Anacom publishes all the rates on its website, but although the website can be viewed in english you might find that the comparison tables are in portuguese. |
| Electricity Unfortunately, there are no choices for electricity companies in Madeira, even though the market is open to competition. At present you have to use 'Electricidade da Madeira'. For most household it is the most expensive monthly bill (there are no prepayment meters). An average size house with 2 adults and children could expect to pay an electricity bill of around €50 per month, and that is assuming that there is no electricity consumption for heating. The monthly electricity bill is made up of a fixed charge (€9.16 in 2008), a charge for the kilowatt hours used, & VAT (IVA) at 4%. The electricity voltage is 220 volts, so most european manufactured appliances function normally. |
| Sewerage Madeira includes its sewerage treatment and disposal charges within the taxation system, so in most cases there is nothing to pay. If you are not connected to the public sewerage system, then you would need to investigate the situation for emptying and servicing sewerage tanks. |
| Television If you import a television onto Madeira, you may find that it will not work, especially if its a few years old. Some companies claim that these can be adapted to work, for a fee of course. A modern TV should present no problems, but check first before committing yourself. The good news is there is no TV licence fee. If you have a signal strong enough, you can watch the few portuguese channels on the air, for free. If you don't have a signal strong enough, or want a lot more choice, then you have two options: Satellite TV There are installers of Sky (UK) and other systems on the island, but because the Astra satellite is focusing on its main users way up north from here, the Sky signal is week and you need a large satellite dish, something between 1.7 and 2.0 meters in diameter. It used to be that you would need to buy and set up your Sky system in the UK, along with your monthly payments direct debit, and then bring the box and card to Madeira to be set up with a new dish. That has now changed, with companies on Madeira able to bypass the Sky control systems. As Sky do not have a licence to broadcast most of their programmes outside of the UK, so there can be no technical support from them if something goes wrong. CaboTV (Portuguese) are the only other company to offer satellite TV to Madeirans, but as the service is very similar to the cable TV they also provide, that is covered below. Cable TV CaboTV are currently the only option, serving the whole island with television services by both satellite (in less central and remote locations) and cable for those in the city and larger towns. As CaboTV also provide cable internet access and home telephones, giving perks and discounts on combinations, then its well worth considering. The madeira4u Channel Guide may help you decide. |
| General Guide For Setting Up Home Utilities In order to set up home utilities you usually must provide your fiscal contribuinte number (issued by Finances) and other identification to your chosen supplier. You will also be asked to prove that you are either the legal owner of renter of the property in which the utility will be installed, by producing the relevant contract (escritura for ownership). Once the installation is complete, you may wish to set up a direct debit to pay your utility bills. This can be done through your supplier, or you can set it up yourself through the 'multibanco' machines (cashpoints). Normally this is possible for all utilities except water. If you wish to pay your utility bills in some other way, you can. When you bill arrives, you can transfer the money by internet or pay at the post office or other agents of the supplier, as long as you pay before the payment deadline. If you leave it until after, normally you will have to pay the supplier directly. |
| VoIP Telephone & Other Options You can save money on your telephone calls if you use an internet connection or have a fixed home telephone. If you have an internet connection, type in 'VoIP' in your search engine and explore your options. The main offering is from Skype where you can make free and cheap calls within Portugal or most other international destinations by making a call through your computer, or by buying a dedicated handset which operates through a home wi-fi set-up without using the computer. There are many other offerings that provide the same or similar services, costing a fraction of the fixed telephone costs. Using your home telephone line, there are companies that offer cut price calls to home and international destinations by dialing a prefix number, or by using a plug-in adapter that they supply. |
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| News January 2008 In March, ordinary light bulbs are to increase in price, as a result of energy efficiency legislation. The incandescent bulbs are reportedly still the most commonly used on Madeira. The additional taxes are reportedly used to fund other carbon saving initiatives. The price will go up in the order of 41 cents, for lower wattage household bulbs, and considerably more for high wattage units. Whether this will encourage people to buy low energy light bulbs, only time will tell, but they are so expensive to buy here that the tax increases pale into insignificance. In Tesco in England for example, you can buy an energy efficient light bulb for around €1.50, but they are usually 3 or 4 times the price here. The fittings are different though, so importing them yourself may not be the answer. |
| News : Wi-fi hot spots : February, 2008 Madeira & Porto Santo between them now have 50 wi-fi hotspots (wireless internet access for computers), most of them situated in Funchal and also in Santa Cruz. The project was started 5 years ago with a hotspot located at Madeira airport, and the 50 installations made by Netmadeira (part of CaboTV) remain free for use. The locations of the hotspots are available on the website below, but there are also some additional 'independent' hotspots around. The official website at wifi-madeira still says "The wireless internet service is currently available free of charges. In the future this service will be paid, with different rates applying to different customers". That same message has been there for several years, so it may be that the free wi-fi hotspot is here to stay. |
| News April 2008 PT (Portugal Telecom) announced a new package to compete with CaboTV. It includes telephone, internet, and TV services, as a package, and at the time of the announcement was cheaper than CaboTV, depending on the options chosen. The package name is MEO (click here for more details). |