Internet access

**Print stuff out (city map, address & phone number of important offices) before you come. It's debilitating to be without Internet access to figure out how to do everything! So work on that first. Plus, then you can use Skype to make your phone calls to try to set everything up, rather than your $1/minute international phone!

As I understand it, you have the option of "broadband/DSL" (through the phone/cable, hardwired) or "mobile broadband," which is a USB stick with a SIM card that plugs into your computer and uses the mobile phone network.

Broadband is faster. However, the woman at the Telia store told me that you must own your place and/or have lived in Sweden for 8 months before ordering broadband (i.e., your landlord must take care of it, and you pay him/her back in the rent). (That woman also told me that I would have to pay 6,195 SEK cash for an iPhone 4, which would not be there for 5 weeks... later falsified... read on to the next entry... so, not sure how trustworthy she was).

However, if you want to try your hand at getting broadband, here are the phone numbers for two companies that my landlord recommended (though they gave him the runaround, saying that I had to be the one to order the service...)

Telia: 46-771-990-200.
Press 8 for English
1 for new orders
2 for Internet
1 for fixed broadband.
I spent about 15 minutes on hold before a delightful woman helped me, spelling out the address of the store in Lund as "O for Oprah, U for Uganda, T for Tony...". They are at Knut Den Stores Torg 1B (just south of the train station; however, I did not like the service at the store).
When I called back, they said I could get "medium" broadband service (6-8MB) including IP telephone for 389 SEK/month, once I have a personnummer. There is a 2 month trial for 99SEK to start.

Tele2: 0200-252-525. Don't think they have an English phone tree option.
http://www.tele2.se/ 0772 252525.


Another provider of internet, phone, and TV service is ComHem.

To get started quickly with USB mobile internet, I recommend the following:

1. Bring your laptop with you to the wireless store. There are several in Lund (OnOff, Telenor, Telia). The people at Telenor were the nicest to me, and had the best deal (SEK 199 for the wireless card, first week of unlimited data usage free, then top off online).
2. Wait in line patiently (some places have you take a number).
   
3. When it's your turn, play the helpless foreigner card. Tell them you want a mobile USB wireless connection, and you want their help to install it as you can't read the instructions in Swedish.
   
4. Pay for the USB and have them help you install it then & there. (This will save you the trip back to the apartment, frustration of trying to figure out Swedish instructions, and hasty trip back to the store with your laptop just before closing to plead for help).
5. To top up a Telenor card online, you need a Swedish bank account (go to http://ladda.telenor.se/ ; can view in English). It's 289 SEK/month or 89 SEK/week. I will have to go back to the store as I have no Swedish bank account, so I guess I should have paid for a month upfront. Boo.