In Reply to: Notebook questions posted by balians on Tuesday, 30. May 2006 at 08:59 Bali Time:
there is no broadband backbone to internet from Bali, technically the term "broadband" refers to the top 25% bracket of the fastest commercially available connection speed (throughput). it is possible to connect at 1 Mbps but the cost is totally out of reach for all in Bali (the cheapest rate is Rp. 16,000,000 per month without licence).
most 5-star hotels have internet access but all around 128 kbps, some even have wi-fi in their cafe or restaurant. you probably will be comfortable at that speed performance for general emailing and browsing, but will be "angry" for heavy uploading.
there is ADSL service now in Denpasar, it is called telkom Speedy. but it is good only when you are in or near Denpasar, once there are more subscribers getting on line it will be slower using Speedy.
most places (hotels and internet cafes) offer internet using radio-link as part of WAN of the respective ISP. so i will recommend you not to bring your ADSL modem but your wi-fi (802.11) adaptor. be care when using wi-fi in Bali, it is important to check regarding security access to the wi-fi environment. almost all have no security layer at all, it is easy to get on the network but easy for others to hack your machine as well. always secure your computer with a personal firewall (especially in Indonesia).
i haven't completed the list of the hotels and places in Bali, where wi-fi is available. i will post it up here for future reference once it is done soon.
welcome to bali