Anything to do with communication is prone to fail here, if I mention Poste Italia and Telecom Italia in the same sentence I get an overwhelming urge to breakdown and cry, or at least go find a bottle of grappa.
We have kept 2 kittens. Ruthie who is a well behaved little cat and Mishmash who is not a well behaved cat. Ruthie is Mrs Sensible’s cat, it plays and meows. Mishmash is supposed to be my cat, but I have disowned her after she wandered into the kitchen and took a dump in the corner. Would you like a nice little kitty?
I feel your pain boh! We’ve resorted to a Wind Wifi mobile internet key for the last three months as I’d started to get embarrassed about sitting in our local bar and worked out it would be cheaper to get this instead of spending hours at the bar drinking coffee and Prosecco!
Hi Lisa, the signal strength is very bad here, on a scale of 0 – 10. Tim is zero, Tre is zero, wind is zero – 4.5 Vodaphone is 2 – 5. Two tin cans and a piece of string is better than Tim and Tre and Wind put together.
I think I will need a satellite dish mounting on the roof . We phone Telecom Italia every week and they say they are waiting for a report from “the engineer”.
one would think I’ve been drinking as that should have been ‘charged’. . .I say string some lights to your “yard” pole, making an outdoor tree of lights for the holidays while strapping a bit of antenna wire to it, wait for some lightning, and if your’e lucky, you’ll tap into a bit of wifi-if not electrocute yourself, then you won’t need to worry with wifi or perhaps you’ll be your own source of “power”
🙂 just a thought, perhaps the drinking is a better option 😉
Goodness, you wonder how the country functions. There is no life these days without telecommunications. How about inviting the engineer over for an apero?
How awful that you are still waiting this long. I wonder if they have actually employed an engineer to do this job? Maybe they are still waiting to put the advert in the paper,…
The picture made me laugh out loud, the realisation of the on-going situation made me “Ek!”…the decision not to set up a business when we head for the land of olives and wine but split my time between countries and work online when in Italy maybe needs some revision. *heads to shop for lottery ticket 😉
Hi Michelle, where in this crazy country are you heading for? I can point you to Italian blogs that will either make you pack your cases and buy a one way ticket or….. make you think again. I love it here but I think you need to be a bit mad to survive here
Ps go fetch a glass of wine and then go and read http://www.unwillingexpat.wordpress.com blog. There is a link to her blog on my cosi page
For ease of travelling back to the UK and affordability we are hoping to locate ourselves in Sabina. So we are going to stay in Poggio Mirteto in February to see what it’s like as a town and if we are still in lust with Italy without the glorious sun! Off to get that glass of wine and do some reading…
This is probably telling you something that you already know and have tried, but there are signal amplifiers available for outdoor fitting, which can (apparently) amplify whatever signal you can receive and turn it into something useful. Might be worth a read:
Hi Andy thanks for the information, I will follow the link and give it a try. And 10 points brownie points because I didnt have to go looking in my spam bucket for your message. 🙂
You used my favourite Italian word. Not Telecom, not Italia, but UFFA!!! I love it. The first time I say it, it was in this sentence “Uffa, zio. Hai parlare di calcio tutto il tempo?” Mrs Sensible will be able to translate for you, I’m sure.
Good luck with the technology; how long is it now??
Aw. I thought you had finally got an internet connection. Still sending your phone up the post, then? You’ll have to switch form coffee to herbal tea soon 🙂
I think we’re going to go with these lot – http://www.hyperline.it/ – it’s a satellite on the roof job. So long as you are in the sight line of a radio mast it is supposed to work ok. In the meantime we got a quote from Telecom Italia to take down our phone line, as it is kind of falling off anyway. They want 880 euros to cut down two wires!
Predictably enough we already discussed that option (not exactly that, obviously, I was planning on sending Allegra up instead of Mrs Sensible), but apparently if we do all our neighbours will be without phone lines. You never know though, they might actually thank us!
… don’t you just love the way we English persevere against all odds, believing that sooner or later Telecom Italia will crumble under the immense pressure …
I’d like to think that in your shoes I would have been smart enough to plump directly for satellite internet access, avoiding Telecom Italia like “la peste” … but then again …
Hi Mike,
I didn’t really want to put a dish on the roof because this isn’t our house and we will be moving in 2 years, plus Telecom Italia have a line into our house and there is no saying the satellite man will be any better. Italy is a strange country where customer service doesn’t really exist. Another quick example is the guy who is still fixing our boiler, he doesn’t replace parts, he just hits it with a hammer and walks away..
… in that case methinks your best chance is to leave no stone unturned until you finally find Telecom Italia customer service sat in his overalls in his favourite bar, ply him with copious quantities of Italy’s best red wine and finest grappa until he’s too well-oiled to deny he works for them, at which point you can spring your “problemino” upon him, still plying him patiently, until he either passes out or volunteers that he’ll get it seen to first thing in the morning…
This is the Italian way of solving the problem 😉 When I explain to Italian friends that Telecom Italia have taken months to achieve nothing, they shrug their shoulders and say they are not surprised.
Reading makes me slightly smile now, but also makes me slightly angry. I am from Sicily and I moved to the UK nearly two years ago. I think I can fully appreciate your sentiment – that is the reason why I won’t move back there 🙂
The level of responsability, attention and reasoning put in everything, here in the UK, by companies, public institutions and -especially- normal individuals, is something sicilians can’t even imagine. I find it hard to define myself as a sicilian anymore, as I don’t feel so. While they love complaining about things, it’s very hard to find someone willing to do something to change them, as it would be perceived as useless by anyone else. It’s the despair and the sense of helplessness you can get used to so easily that makes Sicily a terrible place to live in.
And yes, I do apprecipate Sicilian and Italian cuisine, but there are things that are NOT open to any compromise.
Thank you for your comment. There are many people, in fact thousands of people who dream of living in Italy, many have ” occhiali rosa” and have no concept of how difficult life in Italy can be. They are also not aware of the massive exodus of Italians to other countries in search of work or even to live in a country that has less corruption.
I still have my rose tinted glasses on and love the country, but then English people are often eccentric.
I have always been known to be eccentric….so I’m keeping those “occhiali rosa” (who said you don’t speak Italian?) and keeping my dream alive….someday. At least since I’m retired I don’t have to look for a job there. But….internet connection is mandatory!
Every apartment I have rented in Venice has had really good, really fast internet. Guess being in the city makes a big difference….no poles, no inspection.
Englishman in Italy 
They STILL haven’t done anything?!
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I was expecting too much. I get great service from the cafes whose internet I use and the coffee is pretty good
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Let’s hope that continues then!
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This country just does not make sense. No wonder they are in an economic death-spiral!
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Anything to do with communication is prone to fail here, if I mention Poste Italia and Telecom Italia in the same sentence I get an overwhelming urge to breakdown and cry, or at least go find a bottle of grappa.
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Yum, grappa.
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I can tell it ain’t going well on the communication front… but how are the kittehs?
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We have kept 2 kittens. Ruthie who is a well behaved little cat and Mishmash who is not a well behaved cat. Ruthie is Mrs Sensible’s cat, it plays and meows. Mishmash is supposed to be my cat, but I have disowned her after she wandered into the kitchen and took a dump in the corner. Would you like a nice little kitty?
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Hmmm… I might… if you can put a cork in it.
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Pecora Nera goes in search of a cork, while the cat runs of in search of a hiding place.
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I feel your pain boh! We’ve resorted to a Wind Wifi mobile internet key for the last three months as I’d started to get embarrassed about sitting in our local bar and worked out it would be cheaper to get this instead of spending hours at the bar drinking coffee and Prosecco!
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Hi Lisa, the signal strength is very bad here, on a scale of 0 – 10. Tim is zero, Tre is zero, wind is zero – 4.5 Vodaphone is 2 – 5. Two tin cans and a piece of string is better than Tim and Tre and Wind put together.
I think I will need a satellite dish mounting on the roof . We phone Telecom Italia every week and they say they are waiting for a report from “the engineer”.
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Oh that’s not good! Fingers crossed that they find the engineer soon!
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He probably still thinks it is Ferragosto
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you still don’t have this resolved? The cafe / bar will start charing rent!!
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Oh I hope not, or I won’t be able to afford the wine
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one would think I’ve been drinking as that should have been ‘charged’. . .I say string some lights to your “yard” pole, making an outdoor tree of lights for the holidays while strapping a bit of antenna wire to it, wait for some lightning, and if your’e lucky, you’ll tap into a bit of wifi-if not electrocute yourself, then you won’t need to worry with wifi or perhaps you’ll be your own source of “power”
🙂 just a thought, perhaps the drinking is a better option 😉
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Goodness, you wonder how the country functions. There is no life these days without telecommunications. How about inviting the engineer over for an apero?
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Hi Sarah, you have hit the nail on the head. The country does not function.
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I think I’ll put off my non-existent plans to move to Italy…
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Don’t be a party pooper, pack a case, bring 4kg of bacon, 4 months worth of T bags and your sense of humour. You will survive.
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How awful that you are still waiting this long. I wonder if they have actually employed an engineer to do this job? Maybe they are still waiting to put the advert in the paper,…
LikeLiked by 1 person
The picture made me laugh out loud, the realisation of the on-going situation made me “Ek!”…the decision not to set up a business when we head for the land of olives and wine but split my time between countries and work online when in Italy maybe needs some revision. *heads to shop for lottery ticket 😉
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Hi Michelle, where in this crazy country are you heading for? I can point you to Italian blogs that will either make you pack your cases and buy a one way ticket or….. make you think again. I love it here but I think you need to be a bit mad to survive here
Ps go fetch a glass of wine and then go and read http://www.unwillingexpat.wordpress.com blog. There is a link to her blog on my cosi page
LikeLike
For ease of travelling back to the UK and affordability we are hoping to locate ourselves in Sabina. So we are going to stay in Poggio Mirteto in February to see what it’s like as a town and if we are still in lust with Italy without the glorious sun! Off to get that glass of wine and do some reading…
LikeLike
This is probably telling you something that you already know and have tried, but there are signal amplifiers available for outdoor fitting, which can (apparently) amplify whatever signal you can receive and turn it into something useful. Might be worth a read:
http://mobilesignal.co.uk/mobile-signal-booster/
Funny that Italy is one of the countries you’d most associate with talking, yet their networks are so rubbish! One of life’s little ironies. 🙂
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Hi Andy thanks for the information, I will follow the link and give it a try. And 10 points brownie points because I didnt have to go looking in my spam bucket for your message. 🙂
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love!
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I bet Telecom Italia have your conversation on YouTube Telecom Italia funny compilation fails 😉
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I think I will post a link to this blog on thier facebook page 😉
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Yeh ! Great idea ! Do it ! 😀
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You used my favourite Italian word. Not Telecom, not Italia, but UFFA!!! I love it. The first time I say it, it was in this sentence “Uffa, zio. Hai parlare di calcio tutto il tempo?” Mrs Sensible will be able to translate for you, I’m sure.
Good luck with the technology; how long is it now??
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I think we are into our third month. We will be moving to Sicily before they sort this out
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Aw. I thought you had finally got an internet connection. Still sending your phone up the post, then? You’ll have to switch form coffee to herbal tea soon 🙂
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The phone is still going up the flag pole and telecom Italia are driving me up the wall
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I think we’re going to go with these lot – http://www.hyperline.it/ – it’s a satellite on the roof job. So long as you are in the sight line of a radio mast it is supposed to work ok. In the meantime we got a quote from Telecom Italia to take down our phone line, as it is kind of falling off anyway. They want 880 euros to cut down two wires!
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You can buy a lot of grappa with 880 euros.
I will bring my stepladders Mrs Sensible and a pair of pliers. We can hold the ladders while she climbs up and cuts the wire.
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Predictably enough we already discussed that option (not exactly that, obviously, I was planning on sending Allegra up instead of Mrs Sensible), but apparently if we do all our neighbours will be without phone lines. You never know though, they might actually thank us!
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Great minds think alike. If you cut the phone lines, it will take Telecom Italia at least 4 months to send an engineer.
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… don’t you just love the way we English persevere against all odds, believing that sooner or later Telecom Italia will crumble under the immense pressure …
I’d like to think that in your shoes I would have been smart enough to plump directly for satellite internet access, avoiding Telecom Italia like “la peste” … but then again …
LikeLike
Hi Mike,
I didn’t really want to put a dish on the roof because this isn’t our house and we will be moving in 2 years, plus Telecom Italia have a line into our house and there is no saying the satellite man will be any better. Italy is a strange country where customer service doesn’t really exist. Another quick example is the guy who is still fixing our boiler, he doesn’t replace parts, he just hits it with a hammer and walks away..
LikeLike
… in that case methinks your best chance is to leave no stone unturned until you finally find Telecom Italia customer service sat in his overalls in his favourite bar, ply him with copious quantities of Italy’s best red wine and finest grappa until he’s too well-oiled to deny he works for them, at which point you can spring your “problemino” upon him, still plying him patiently, until he either passes out or volunteers that he’ll get it seen to first thing in the morning…
LikeLike
This is the Italian way of solving the problem 😉 When I explain to Italian friends that Telecom Italia have taken months to achieve nothing, they shrug their shoulders and say they are not surprised.
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Hahaha awesome.
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I am happy you like it.
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Great post, Pecora Nera.
Reading makes me slightly smile now, but also makes me slightly angry. I am from Sicily and I moved to the UK nearly two years ago. I think I can fully appreciate your sentiment – that is the reason why I won’t move back there 🙂
The level of responsability, attention and reasoning put in everything, here in the UK, by companies, public institutions and -especially- normal individuals, is something sicilians can’t even imagine. I find it hard to define myself as a sicilian anymore, as I don’t feel so. While they love complaining about things, it’s very hard to find someone willing to do something to change them, as it would be perceived as useless by anyone else. It’s the despair and the sense of helplessness you can get used to so easily that makes Sicily a terrible place to live in.
And yes, I do apprecipate Sicilian and Italian cuisine, but there are things that are NOT open to any compromise.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Italianman in the UK,
Thank you for your comment. There are many people, in fact thousands of people who dream of living in Italy, many have ” occhiali rosa” and have no concept of how difficult life in Italy can be. They are also not aware of the massive exodus of Italians to other countries in search of work or even to live in a country that has less corruption.
I still have my rose tinted glasses on and love the country, but then English people are often eccentric.
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I have always been known to be eccentric….so I’m keeping those “occhiali rosa” (who said you don’t speak Italian?) and keeping my dream alive….someday. At least since I’m retired I don’t have to look for a job there. But….internet connection is mandatory!
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Mrs Sensible helped with the translation for rose tinted glasses. I have heard some houses in Italy do have internet.
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Every apartment I have rented in Venice has had really good, really fast internet. Guess being in the city makes a big difference….no poles, no inspection.
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