Anyone with an internet business in D.R.?

[DogKeeper]

Hi,

We are considering a move to the D.R. Our business is 100% over the net. We use a US based bank and a US based credit card processor. We were told that they would not look fondly on our business being located off US shores. So, we may have to located a new merchant service...anyone out there know how to do this?

Thanks!
TJ

[mike.n.amy]

TJ:

I'm not sure I understand who the "they" is in "they would not look fondly on our business being located off US shores", but we do have an internet based business we operate from the DR - though our business is still technically based in the USA.

The biggest thing to think of before relocating is the speed and reliability of internet service here. There are lots of posts if you do a search for "internet" on the forum. I can tell you that is is NOT as reliable and NOT as fast as the US no matter what the services themselves will tell you. Power goes in and out about once a day minimum and hence internet goes down as well. The fastest speeds available here (Sosua/Cabarete) are 768 - 1.5 MB download speeds but run slower in actuality.

Bottom line, if you have patience and flexibility you can run a business online from the DR. If you need instant downloads for something like daytrading in the markets - forget about it.

Best of luck!

[Robert]

DR1 is a business run out of the DR

As Mike says... The Internet is not as fast or reliable as in the US, Europe etc.

Why would you processor care? The cards are not being run from here. I'm assuming all the transactions are made online via your website?

Don't tell them your moving and have your mail forwarded to the DR from an EPS, Business Mail or similar address in Miami.

[sheller]

The cost of reliable internet in the DR is very expensive. My company pays 28,000.00 peso's a month through Codetel. The service is very reliable.

[Robert]

Originally Posted by sheller

The cost of reliable internet in the DR is very expensive. My company pays 28,000.00 peso's a month through Codetel. The service is very reliable.

Sure, you can buy dedicated fibre etc, but that's in a different league and not in 99% of the budgets of people asking on this board about connectivity reliability.

[Fernandez]

Internet? Electricity Was Developed Over 100 Years Ago, And It Still Doesn't Reach The Capital City Well. You Can Buy Codetel Flash- For A Big Sum And Still Have No Power.

[Robert]

We have power and reliable internet in our office in Santo Domingo.

It's obtainable, you just need to do it right. No, it doesn't cost a fortune.

[Fernandez]

from DR1 posted today
"We don't know
The energy distributors and government have been mum on the latest set of rolling blackouts affecting Dominicans. Listin Diario writes that only AES Dominicana and EdeSur have made comments, explaining that service would return to normal in the next few days. EdeSur says they are at a production deficit of 200 MW while AES says that one of the Dominican Power Partner (DPP) plants would return to the system with 105 MW of energy produced by natural gas. The State Run Electric Companies (CDEEE) has yet to explain why blackouts have become more frequent. Reports are that hydroelectric production is down 50%."

the truth is power is a bummer

[adrianb]

Lots of misleading info in this thread! Listen to what Robert says. I have a US merchant account and it works fine. My discount rate is a little higher, thats all. Internet access is fine, occaisionally it has problems, but so does internet in the US. I've been doing it here for 6.5 years now.

[Chip]

Originally Posted by adrianb

Lots of misleading info in this thread! Listen to what Robert says. I have a US merchant account and it works fine. My discount rate is a little higher, thats all. Internet access is fine, occaisionally it has problems, but so does internet in the US. I've been doing it here for 6.5 years now.

Do you have a ups that protects the signal from being dropped when the power cycles on and off? If so, how much do they cost?

thanks