Internet in Italy – To Keep You Connected

Stay Connected While on Your Italian Vacation

One of the major benefits of going on vacation is to get away from our regular daily lives and experience something new and exciting, but that doesn’t mean that we have to lose touch with the outside world and the events that are happening back home or around the world. Having access to the internet in Italy is an excellent way to keep in touch and stay up-to-date while enjoying the sights and sounds of everything Italian.

Italy internet is quite accessible while travelling here and most cities, towns and communes have adapted to the modern standards. In fact fibre-optic internet is becoming popular here, among other types of connections and download/upload speeds can be quite adequate while costs – inexpensive, compared to North American prices. One thing that people do here in detached homes mostly is unplug their modems as well as TV antennas when bad weather rolls in, particularly thunderstorms or lightening. Electrical storms seem to fry these devices first and it can be costly to have to replace your modem every time mother nature decides to have a bad day.

Usage of the internet has become an everyday part of life for many people and needles to say – most hotels as well as many cafes & restaurants offer WiFi in Italy to their patrons. Having said that, much of Italy still holds that old-world, rural charm and in many towns and villages, internet connections are hard to find and can offer poor service. In fact it is currently estimated that only half of the entire Italian population uses the internet only once per week. Wi-Fi hotspots can be rare in some of the smaller communes although some public places are beginning to offer them in the bigger cities.

One option that many travellers are choosing in order to stay in touch is purchasing data packages for their smart phones and using the internet in Italy on these devices. When WiFi in Italy is not available and you need to use your laptop, using your phone as a hotspot is a good option. This could incur costly data charges however, so make sure that you monitor your usage carefully.

If you have an unlocked phone and wish to swap out your SIM card for an Italian one for the duration of your stay, you could have a fairly inexpensive internet in Italy with a good data plan and a local phone number. With that Italian number and the data plan, such apps as WhatsApp or Viber could be useful to chat or make calls without additional charges besides the obvious internet usage.

If having a reliable Italy internet connection is important to you while on vacation, it is recommended that you research potential hotels that offer it prior to booking. As mentioned before – most accommodations will offer reliable connections, making it easy for you to browse the web, check your email and social media, or get work done while away – need be. Internet cafes are also a popular option and large cities usually contain quite a few of them. These cafes charge a reasonable fee to use internet in Italy and bill by the specified period of usage time.

Immersing yourself in Italian culture is one way to get the most of your Italy vacation but sacrificing contact with your workplace, family, friends and the events going on back home or around the globe can make your trip less enjoyable. Although Italy may not be known for the most reliable internet service or fastest internet speeds, it is widely available especially with a little research and some preparation before your departure.