Internet in Portugal: Get Your Home Connected to Fibre Broadband

Fiber Optic: The Speedy Superhero of Portuguese Internet

One major concern people have when they’re moving to Portugal is what’s the internet going to be like? And we get it! Even if you’re not a digital nomad, remote worker, or gamer, we all use the internet for our daily lives. Plus, it’s super-important than we can watch our favourite Netflix shows without buffering!

Here’s the deal: Fibre-optic internet (the good stuff!) is available throughout Portugal, particularly in towns and cities, but even in rural areas as well. If you’re able to get fibre, you should expect speeds of up to 1 gbps. And if you really use a lot of data (for example, you work in video editing), there’s one package that offers a whopping 10 gbps.

Confused by all these numbers? In short: as long as you can get fibre-internet at your home, you should expect internet that’s as fast as you’d get in other European countries. Many Americans comment that internet (both home internet and mobile internet) is much, much better in Portugal than it is in the US.

The Need for Speed (and How Much It’ll Cost You)

But that’s going to cost a packet, right? Maybe not.

Get ready for some jaw-dropping numbers:

The cost varies depending on the internet package you choose (e.g. if you add a mobile phone or two, it’ll cost more) but for a typical plan with a landline and TV, you can expect to pay around:

Speed	Cost	Traffic	More Info
200 mbps	€38.99	Unlimited	Click Here
500 mbps	€41.99	Unlimited	Click Here
1,000 mbps (1 gbps)	€45.99	Unlimited	Click Here
10 gbps	€101.00	Unlimited	Click Here

How Fast Do I Need?

Confused by all these Mbps numbers? Don’t worry, we’ve got our tech guru Fernando Mendes to break it down for you.

The 200 Mbps Starter Pack

This is your “I just want to scroll through Instagram while streaming ‘House of Dragons'” package. It’s perfect for 2-3 people who use the internet like normal humans (yes, we see you, person who’s reading this on their phone in the bathroom).

The 500 Mbps “Peace of Mind” Package

Here’s where things get interesting. For just €3 more (that’s like, what, one pastel de nata?), you get:

1. A better router
2. Double the speed (500 mbps vs 200 mbps)
3. Faster speeds and more reliable connectivity if you have multiple people in the same house (or when everyone visits at Christmas)

Fernando’s take? Go for the 500 Mbps. It’s like upgrading from a Fiat to a Ferrari for the price of a coffee (well, about three coffees in Portugal).

The 1,000 Mbps “Digital Diva” Option

For those who treat slow internet like a personal insult. Perfect for:

• Gamers who blame lag for their losses (we see you)
• Families with more devices than Portugal has sardines

The 10 Gbps “Are You Serious?” Package

This is the Cristiano Ronaldo of internet speeds – a bit excessive for most, but absolutely brilliant if you need it.

Who needs this?

• Video editors handling files bigger than a bacalhau
• Graphic designers working on the next Vhils masterpiece

But here’s the catch – this speed demon is only available in select cities. Check if your city made the cool list: Aveiro, Beja, Braga, Bragança, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Évora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisbon, Portalegre, Porto, Santarém, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real and Viseu.

Oh, and a little secret that Fernando shared? That 10 Gbps is more like 8 Gbps in reality. But hey, that’s still 8 times faster than the next package down.

The Great ISP Showdown: MEO vs. NOS vs. Vodafone

Choosing an internet provider in Portugal is like picking your favorite place to get a pastel de nata in Lisbon – they’re all good, but you might have a personal preference:

1. MEO (pronounced like mayo, but don’t spread it on your sandwich): The big kahuna with 80-90% of the fiber infrastructure.
2. NOS (rhymes with “bosh”): Solid option, but watch out for that sneaky coaxial cable. Coaxial-cable fibre tends to fluctuate more in speed than the other providers. However, they are typically cheaper.
3. Vodafone: Not just for mobile phones anymore! They’re now one of the leading internet providers in Portugal too.

Which internet service provider is best? Fernando says the best option is the one that can offer you fibre, but otherwise there aren’t big differences between the ISPs. He typically recommends newcomers to Portugal go with MEO, however.

If you’re renting or have just moved to Portugal, I typically recommend that people go with MEO. MEO is the biggest network in terms of size and network availability. It has around 80-90% of the fibre infrastructure.

The reason I suggest MEO is because you might decide to leave that property in six or 12 months and buy or rent a new property. Because you’re on a two-year contract – and this is recommended – you’ll ideally want to bring your current connect to the next place. MEO, as the largest operator, is the company that’s most likely to have internet at your new address. 

If you’re buying and you know that you’re likely to be in the property for at least two years, you have more flexibility to pick any of the operators (MEO, NOS, or Vodafone).

There are also a few smaller internet service providers. For example, in the Algarve, there is also a small Algarve-focused provider called Lazer, which offers fibre around Faro and the Eastern Algarve but only covers a small portion of the region. Good if you live nearby but not an option otherwise.

Tip: Location is everything

• The City Slicker’s Advantage: If you’re moving to a bustling Portuguese town or city, you’re in luck! Fiber in populated areas is usually as common as the cafes you’ll find on just about every street — and it’s fast too.
• The Postcode Lottery: However, just because your area code says you can get “high-speed internet,” that doesn’t mean your exact casa is included. Online internet checkers are notoriously inaccurate and it’s not uncommon for a town to have internet, but for the cables to only reach a kilometre or two outside of the town (that’s European for miles). This means that not every property in that postcode has access to fibre internet.
• The Street-by-Street Saga: Similarly, an internet service provider (e.g. Vodafone, MEO, or NOS) might offer their services on one street within a town or city but not necessarily the next street along.
• The Apartment Block Blues: Usually in an apartment block, you’ll only have a choice of one ISP (internet service provider). It’s rare to get a choice of all three.

The cable instalment seems to be pretty tough even in Coimbra city center. I and my wife have recently relocated here from Tokyo metropolitan area, Japan. The first thing we did here was to seal the contract with one of tele-com companies here. We had waited more than three months in vain. They abruptly informed us the cable is not available around my area, shutting out our 4G mobile connectivity altogether. We wish we could have read this information much earlier.

Takashi (Portugalist reader)

Bundling Up: The Portuguese Way of Saving Euros

In Portugal, we love a good package deal almost as much as we love our bacalhau. Here’s why you should consider bundled packages with internet, TV, mobile, and a fixed phone line:

1. Free international calls (hello, friends back home!). Sometimes it’s easier to call people on a landline or their cell instead of teaching them how to use Zoom or WhatsApp. Most providers include calls to US landlines and cell phones as part of their free international calls.
2. Cheaper cell phone plans. You’ll probably want a mobile phone contract anyway. Why not get it packaged together and save money? Both cell and internet contracts are typically on two-year contacts as well, so it makes sense to start them at the same time.
3. Family plans = cheaper. Putting everyone on the family plan is cheaper than getting individual plans. Plus, here’s a little tip: this increases the data allowance per person too!

It also makes sense to put everyone in the same family on the same plan. Let’s suppose you get home internet and a sim card with 10 gb of data and you request sim cards for four members of your family. Instead of each of those four people getting 10 gb of data each, the operators normally multiply the requested data by the number of people on the plan. So in this case, everybody would get 40 gb of internet but would pay as if they were paying for 10 gb of data per month.  

Basically, when it comes to the bottom line, you’re more likely to get a better deal if you opt for a bundle.

But wait…I was thinking about getting a prepaid sim card instead of a contract.

That’s fine too. Just be aware that while many prepaid plans promise “unlimited data” the reality is some of them limit the speed after you’ve used 100 gb or 200 gb of data. If you’re looking for unlimited data, getting a mobile phone contract is the best way forward. 

Of course, fair use policies will be in every company’s small print a.ka. don’t do anything you shouldn’t or your unlimited internet will quickly dry up.

The Contract Conundrum

Two-year contracts are the norm here, but don’t let that scare you off. If you need to move, you’ve got options:

1. Take your contract with you (small installation fee at the next place of around €25-50, but no breakup penalty). Your two-year contract starts again.
2. Pass it on to the next tenant (like a digital housewarming gift)
3. Keep paying (sometimes cheaper than the exit fee)

So there’s nothing less than two years? That’s not quite true. MEO offers a one-year contract. However, for shorter contracts, the tariffs are higher and the setup fee isn’t usually included, which can make them quite expensive — sometimes more expensive than a two-year contract.

But what if you’ve just moved to Portugal and you think you might move in the next year or two? Take Fernando’s advice and go with MEO. They have the biggest market share, so if you do move, you’re most likely to find them at your next place.

What You’ll Need to Get Connected

Before you can start your Portuguese internet adventure, make sure you’ve got:

1. An address in Portugal.
2. Proof of address (rental contract, utility bill, promissory contract, deeds to the property, etc.)
3. NIF (tax number – it’s like your Portuguese identity card)
4. Portuguese bank account (You can use foreign bank accounts and pay using your international bank account number, or IBAN as the cool kids say. Alternatively, you can pay manually. But often this is more hassle and adds a few euros to the monthly fee.)

Don’t have that tax number? Get your NIF here. No bank account either? Get your Portuguese bank account here.

When Fiber Fails: Alternative Internet Solutions

No fiber? No problem! We’ve got backup plans that don’t involve you going to use the local cafe’s free wifi:

1. 4G home internet: Like fiber’s cool cousin who lives in the countryside. Mobile broadband isn’t going to be anywhere near as fast as fibe-optic internet, but it’s typically better than the alternatives.
2. Mobile WiFi hotspots: Perfect for light users. These dongles offer okay speeds and typically only have a 30-day contract. They’re not as good as the 4G or satellite internet, but they’re often fine for Whatsapp, internet browsing, and even Netflix (depending on how good your signal is).
3. Starlink: When all else fails, look to the stars (and hope there’s not a building in the way). Reviews are mixed on this, but it’s always worth looking into if you can’t get fibre.

Thinking about 4G home internet or using mobile data through a hotspot on your cell phone? Want to know which network offers the best coverage? Get a sim card from MEO, Vodafone, and NOS to see which company has the best signal and then sign up with that company for your home internet.

At the very least, check the coverage maps to see which networks have the best coverage in your area. Relying on mobile broadband isn’t ideal, so you want to make sure that you find the best network for your particular location.

Improving Your Connection

A common problem people have is that their internet doesn’t cover the whole house. This is common in properties with big, thick walls.

Picture this: You’ve just moved into a charming old Portuguese farmhouse. The views? Spectacular. The wine cellar? Full. The WiFi? Well… let’s just say it’s playing hide and seek.

Don’t worry, though! You’re not doomed to sit in one corner of your living room just to check your email. Here’s a pro tip: consider getting a WiFi repeater. It’s like a megaphone for your internet, shouting the signal into every nook and cranny of your Portuguese home. Adding one to your arsenal will give you a more reliable internet connection.

FAQs: Because We Know You’re Dying to Ask

Q: Will prices go up? A: Maybe a little tear or two. By law, operators can raise prices annually with inflation. But they’re not monsters – historically, they’ve been pretty chill about it. 2023 was an exception, though, so keep an eye out!

Q: Do I need to speak Portuguese to set up my internet? Nah, you can leave “Onde está a biblioteca?” for another day. Although most companies don’t offer dedicated lines with English support, English is widely spoken here. If you hit a language barrier, they’ll usually find an English-speaking colleague faster than you can say “WiFi password”.

Q: Is there a “best” internet provider? A: If you can get fiber, they’re all pretty ace. Use our form to check first.

Q: How long does installation take? A: In big cities, 2-3 days usually does the trick. Lisbon? Sometimes same-day if you’re lucky! Homes in rural Portugal might take up to a week. But heads up – if the connection box is full, it could be a 1-2 week wait for them to add new slots.

Q: Can I use my foreign bank account, or do I need to go full Portuguese? A: It’s a mixed bag. MEO? Sure, bring your foreign IBAN (sorry, US banks). NOS? Portuguese accounts only, please. Vodafone? They’ll accept foreign accounts, but it’s a little more complicado.

Q: Can I switch providers? A: Sure! Use the form above and we’ll see if there’s a better alternative for you.

Pro tip: Wise or Revolut accounts work like a charm with their European IBANs. However, if you’re living in Portugal or have a property here, having a local bank account makes the most sense.