New Study Finds Nearly Half Of Dominican Republic Resorts Have Bad Wifi

Last Updated 4 months ago

A recent study by the reputable Eurona telecommunications company, who provides WiFi in Punta Cana’s international airport, discovered that in the Dominican Republic, almost half of the destinations’ 5-star resorts rate as having bad WiFi service.

In fact, out of the 5 big tourism hotspots in the Dominican Republic, which includes Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, Samaná, Santo Domingo, and La Romana, only the northern destination of Puerto Plata meets the global average.

New Study Finds Nearly Half Of Dominican Republic Resorts Have Bad Wifi

The Importance Of Connectivity

It’s a cold hard fact that connectivity is of huge importance while on vacation, and it isn’t just to keep in touch with loved ones back home or photo-dump all the amazing experiences being had to Instagram.

The “working vacation” trend has grown at a lightning pace in the post-pandemic world. Many jobs that were once tied to a desk in a corner office have been made remote, opening up the possibility for travelers to travel more than ever without work commitments suffering.

Of course, this is only possible when the chosen destination has the correct infrastructure to provide stable WiFi connections and speed.

On top of this, not all mobile data plans will work while abroad, and having access to reliable and fast internet speeds while on vacation, especially in-resort, saves travelers the hassle of purchasing a local sim card or paying astronomical roaming charges.

A lady on a sun lounger at the beach using her cell phone

The Good And The Bad

The Dominican Republic has a wide selection of WiFi providers. Unfortunately, they aren’t all offering similar speeds, with some falling drastically below what is needed by travelers while on vacation.

A look across the country shows the average WiFi speed at just 18.84 Mb/s, which is below the mobile data speed average in the Dominican Republic received through 4G.

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A traveler using their laptop by the pool in Punta Cana

Furthermore, WiFi data speeds in the country don’t paint a consistent picture, and even within the same neighborhood, a single provider’s download speeds can vary drastically. Complicating the situation even further when resorts are choosing a provider.

For example, one of the Dominican Republics’ biggest internet service providers is Claro; across the country, their speeds vary significantly from 200+ Mb/s to just 10 Mb/s, with no obvious rhyme or reason as to why there is such a huge difference.

WiFi speed graphic in style of a vehicle spedometer

How To Stay Connected

When trying to decide which resort to choose, travelers that need WiFi should contact their shortlist of resorts directly and request information on their internet speeds.

In the event that travelers can’t find a suitable resort with good enough WiFi speeds, then things become a little more complicated, but there are still options:

A cell phone being held up in from of the Caribbean ocean

Roaming

Firstly, 4G speeds in the country are stable in all the big destinations. Contact your mobile data service provider in the United States and ask for confirmation on whether your current data plan will work in the Dominican Republic.

Some providers may be able to provide connectivity abroad for a small extra cost. Although if large amounts of data are needed, make sure to confirm a big enough limit is available.

A colorful graphic of the symbol for 4G data

Local Mobile Service Providers

Purchasing a Dominican Republic pre-paid sim card after landing in the country is actually a very reasonable alternative to resort WiFi.

The sim cards themselves normally cost between $2-$5, and even the most expensive data plan will give change from a $20 bill.

Of course, this is only really a reasonable choice for people whose cell phone accepts dual sims, as otherwise both banking apps and WhatsApp may not function correctly due to them being tied to the current sim card’s cell number.

Also, if the connection is needed for a laptop, then first check that the cell phone used has Hotspot functionality.

A collection of sim cards with the dominican republic flag on them

Pocket WiFi

For travelers who need unlimited data and a super reliable connection, another alternative to consider is pocket WiFi providers.

These are small mobile WiFi routers that allow travelers to be fully connected at all times and provide an extremely stable connection.

To take advantage of this service, travelers will need to order the device before leaving on vacation. The rental price varies from company to company, from $50 per week with MioWiFi up to $105 with Cello Mobile.

While this option requires a lot more planning and comes with a much higher cost, it might be the best option for those who can’t take any chances with being able to stay connected.