EBS Alumni Internet Service
flexible - easy - instantly available
High-speed wi-fi internet access in the EBS flats
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Welcome at EBS University. We - the EBS Alumni association - highly appreciate your choice to come here and hope you have a great time here at EBS.
As a courtesy to all exchange students living in the EBS flats we provide a sophisticated wireless internet access system.
We are a non-profit organization. This is why a reasonable service charge applies that helps us to cover some of the cost for internet lines, hardware, and support. You can flexibly chose between several plans: internet access per hour, per day, per week, and per month (recommended).
Payments can be be made online at your first login in your room using Mastercard, Visa Card, or American Express.
What are the advantages?
- You can go online in your room in the minute when you arrive. No need to wait for 4 or more weeks and more for the cable guy (who always comes when you're not there), no complicated hardware installations, no money-collecting from flatmates, no bad 3G mobile network signal. When in your room just connect to the EBS Alumni wi-fi network and open your internet browser. Follow the instructions on the welcome screen, chose your internet access plan (month/week/day/hour), have your credit card ready, and enjoy instant internet access.
- It's reliable: We have an English-speaking support person who will always try to solve any problem you might have connecting to our web access within 24 hours. No other provider offers English-language support in Germany or charges incredibly high support rates.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is it better to get my own UMTS (3G mobile network) access?
That's an easy one: There is no sufficient reception of 3G mobile networks in the Rheingau area. It's just as slow as back in the days when we all used 56k-Modems. We tried it ourselves and talked to students who tried it: That's not a good idea. It's a waste of money. - Is it better to get my own internet line?
It might look easy first, but in fact it's terribly complicated, you'll wait for at least 4 weeks until you can use it, and in most cases you'll have to sign a one or two-year-contract in order to get a decent rate. The Rheingau region is not well-developed in terms of high-speed internet availability: You will always have to order a combined phone and internet line. It usually takes 4 weeks until a technician comes out to your place to install the line. You'll need to install the hardware yourself which often is not that easy. In most cases the phone company will require you to sign a one or two year contract and they will charge you fees for installation and for required hardware. If your name is on the bill, you are legally the person in charge. Are you sure you want this? Ask yourself what will happen if you are about to leave after four months but still having that contract? In order to let the technician in your apartment, you will have to be present at one particular day all day long which might be difficult as you need to be in class at that time. We recently had the situation in Hattenheim that all internet lines were already taken. And finally, please don't expect the technician or customer service agent of any German internet service provider to be able to speak English. Last, but not least: In most apartments there is only one working phone wall outlet available which usually is already taken by our system. - Is the EBS Alumni Internet Service the best option I have?
Yes. We are a non-profit organization and we don't need to make any profit with this project. All of us were in that very same situation when we went abroad for a semester or two. Thus we know how valuable it is to have someone taking care of such basic things like internet access: This is why we decided to make your life at EBS much easier by providing you with the easiest and most flexible internet access at a very reasonable price. We checked all alternatives you have. Today, our service covers five EBS dorms, providing English-language support and maintaining the lines and hardware 24/7, 360 days a year, even while no student lives in the dorms. People will tell you that there are other magic-looking options that will save you one or two Euros. Great, that's a pizza's value in the supermarket. But in fact, there is no free pizza: There are always hidden fees in the smallprint and most exchange students underestimate the trouble until you finally have a working internet line and especially later when you try to get disconnected before leaving.
If you're staying at EBS for four months, why should you want to wait one month (25% of your time of stay) to go online if you can have it right from the first minute? We highly recommend to simply enjoy your stay at EBS in the beautiful Rheingau region and to appreciate the flexibility of our internet access service. - Can I share an account or is the service charge per person?
You cannot share your account with another person. You will need one account per person.
