If you are staying in Mexico for a while and do not want to spend your time in internet cafés, you should consider getting your own internet access. Depending on your location you will have the choice between various access alternatives and providers, so shop around before making a decision.
ADSL in Mexico
ADSL service is available in most Mexican towns and cities. The biggest provider is Telmex which has invested heavily in ADSL-infrastructure. Their ADSL service ‘Infinitum’ is one of the most expensive ones, but also very reliable. Infinitum-users also get free access to thousands of ‘Prodigy’ Wifi-Hotspots from Telmex.
In larger cities you will have the choice between several alternative providers, whereas in smaller towns ‘Infinitum’ might be the only ADSL-service available.
Internet via Cable in Mexico
In some areas of Mexico cable companies offer fast-speed internet connections in addition to Cable TV. Internet access via cable can be even faster than ADSL in Mexico, and in many cases it is cheaper too (at least cheaper than Telmex).
WiFi Access in Mexico
The ‘Prodigy’ Wifi-hotspots from Telmex are the most widespread in Mexico. If you are a subscriber to Telmex’s ADSL-service you can use them for free, otherwise you will have to buy the access separately. Some locations like Starbucks offer free access to Prodigy-hotspots to their customers, but many others (like most hotels) charge for the Wifi-access. In Mexico City you might also want to check the service of eGo which offers Wifi-access at many hotspots for a subscription fee.
Mobile internet access in Mexico
All 3 major Mexican mobile operators offer high speed internet access over the new 4G networks, though 4G-coverage is not yet available in all areas. If you have a 4G-service with a mobile provider from your home country you might be able to access one of the Mexican 4G-networks if your provider has a roaming agreement with one of the Mexican operators. Just as with phone calls, be aware of high roaming fees!
Internet Cafes in Mexico
If you do not have your own internet connection in Mexico you can use one of the many internet cafes that are available in almost every Mexican town. If you have your own laptop you can also look for a café that offers free Wifi-access, though these are hard to find in smaller towns.
Other useful services for Expats
When living abroad you many times miss things from back home such as Sports events, local TV, Games you want to play with your friends and or of course your countries food. Most online TV and Sports and gaming content is restricted to geographical regions, so as an Expat you will have problem to access all the media you want from Mexico.
There are easy solutions how to solve this. With a VPN connection you will be able to access all content as if you were back home. This service is especially popular with US Expats. To get an overview of providers you can use a VPN comparison service such as VPNbase, they are specialized in comparing VPN services and include customer ratings.