Relocating to Malta and getting connected
Relocating to a new country like Malta is an exhilarating experience.
The excitement of being somewhere new, exploring different sights, tasting new cuisines and making new friends. There’s a lot to discover when you venture into a new country and even more so in these sun-kissed islands, surrounded by the stunning blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
As much as there is to look forward to by relocating to Malta, and trust us there is a lot, the logistics of moving by yourself or with your family can also be quite daunting. It seems the more you search online, the more you realise you have a seemingly never-ending checklist of things to organise or set up in your new destination.
One of the first and most important steps you’ll need to cover is finding accommodation in Malta. A new home for you and possibly your partner or your family.
Whether you’re buying or renting, after you’ve organised your new place, your next step is probably to make sure your home is fully connected. From your internet to your landline, to your television – you want all the home comforts that you’re used to, if not better versions of them, set up and ready to go from the start. And don’t forget you’ll need a local mobile number too.
That’s where we step in: making sure getting connected is one of the easier things to organise when it comes to your relocation. We should be able to get you connected within a few days of your arrival in Malta.
First up you need to consider what your actual requirements are.
If you’re an individual who’s relocated to Malta on your own, you might only be looking for a strong internet connection and television services. On the other hand, if it’s you and a friend or partner, your requirements might be a little bigger. And then again, if you’ve moved to Malta with your family, you’ll need to make sure that everyone in your household is happy; how about CBeebies and BBC Earth for the kids?
Our Flexi Bundle is one of best ways to power up your new home with the technology and services that make most sense for your needs.
This build-your-own-bundle concept is designed to work around one key word. Flexibility. You can pick and choose the services that you’re looking for and create a plan that caters for your specific requirements. This includes television, internet, your home landline and mobile sim cards.
Who can live without TV at home?
NexTV, which is part of the Flexi bundle, is the kind of TV package you could only dream about years ago. There are three choices of TV plans; either the starter version, the 90+ channels or the 140+ channels option.
In all cases, your NexTV box gives you the flexibility of playing, pausing or even rewinding what you’re watching across dozens of channels. So, if a late Skype business call comes in or you’re worried about dinner burning in the oven while you’re in the living room, fret no more. Even if your family back home gives you a call to check how your move to Malta has gone at the precise moment the murderer is about to be revealed, NexTV puts the power to control how and when you watch in your own hands. You may not be able to pause your over-worried parents from wanting to see how living in Malta is going, but you can pause your TV programme whilst you reassure them everything is great.
NexTV has over 140+ amazing channels on the larger plan. If you need to catch up with the latest sports news, while someone else is watching the news or their favourite show, NexTV even gives you the option to enjoy a split screen on your main TV. Just don’t argue over the sound, because it only allows for one audio to play at a time. Thank goodness.
If it’s your entire family that has relocated to Malta, then it’s likely that there is more than one person to keep happy in your household. The NexTV app lets you watch different shows on different devices, with the same features as your main NexTV decoder. You can catch-up with your mystery in the kitchen while the kids are watching their show in the living room and your partner is watching his or her programme from the bedroom, again. Arguing over the remote is ancient history.
The ultimate internet experience – all over Malta.
The most important technology you’ll need in your home is of course reliable, superfast internet, and you’ll be happy to hear that Malta has some of the fastest internet speeds in Europe, with Melita guaranteeing speeds up to 1 Gbps (1000 Mbps) throughout Malta. The Flexi Bundle has a starting internet speed of 200 Mbps – which could be way faster than you’re used to at home – all the way up to GigaPower, one of Europe’s first Gigabit services.
Superfast internet means almost-instant downloads and smoother streaming making it perfect for people who are online a lot. The gigabit option is worth special consideration for several reasons. For example, if you or your children are into online gaming, or want to keep in touch with different people in your home country all at the same time – maybe with interactive TV or YouTube on in the background, laptops uploading work files, iPads playing music – well that’s a lot of data streaming backwards and forwards, and it needs a lot of internet bandwidth. The GigaPower connection makes sure all that internet activity is totally seamless, for everyone. If that weren’t enough you also get StellarWiFi: AdaptiveWiFiTM from Plume, which gives you the maximum possible WiFi in all your rooms, on all your devices.
Staying connected whilst you’re home or out and about in Malta is easy.
One of the greatest features of the Flexi Bundle is that, you get at least 10 GB of free Wifi. This is a super feature when you’ve just moved to Malta and you want to explore the islands to the max. Once you have registered for MelitaWiFi and you’re in range of one of the 75,000+ hotspots dotted across the islands, your device will automatically connect. No fiddling to select the network, no need to ask the coffee shop you’re in for a password. So simple and fast.
For those nights in, Flexi Bundle also comes with telephony options. You might want to choose the unlimited calls to all local fixed lines, but you’d probably be better off opting for the unlimited calls to landlines and mobiles in Malta. Just so you’re covered for every kind of local call you or your family might need to make.
If you have family in the EU, Australia, Canada, China or the USA, you can add an extra €3.00 to your bill for 100 minutes to call those countries every month. Or for 500 minutes it’s just €10.00 a month.
Choosing a mobile provider in Malta.
To complete your telecommunications requirements, you’ll also need to find a local mobile service provider. Whilst you can opt for a prepaid mobile plan, you’ll enjoy better features if you opt for postpaid, especially if you decide to purchase everything online. With a set rate of €40 a month you can have literally all your mobile phone usage covered. It includes unlimited mobile data if you get it with your Flexi plan – that’s up to 60 GB a month at 4.5G speeds, and then any more you may need at speeds of up to 1 Mbps plus 50 GB of MelitaWiFi on the move and unlimited calls to and from EU countries. It also includes unlimited calls when you’re in EU countries and unlimited calls to half of the world.
Roaming is also free in the EU. It’s a huge saving when you think about it. Not only financially, but also because it offers you total peace of mind that whatever you need your mobile for – it’s covered in the same plan. There are other options as well for even lower priced post paid plans.
Stay a step ahead of your household budget.
Malta’s economy is booming at present, with some prominent industries in the lead such as iGaming, financial services and the IT sector. If you have already started living in Malta and you want to explore the local job market, there are some helpful blogs out there to guide you and numerous professional recruitment agencies to set up meetings with.
After moving to a new country, it can take some time to figure out the general cost of living there. There are some helpful websites for expats in Malta with ideas on general costs, average wages and so on. There are also some pretty helpful cost comparison sites to show you the differences between countries, so you can see where Malta is positioned on a broader spectrum. It’s always worth looking into all the smaller details of your move so you can work out your average monthly expenses.
The only advice we would offer to someone living in Malta is to stay ahead of the monthly costs you know you’re going to need to cover, such as rent, water and electricity, food and of course your connectivity requirements.
The Flexi Bundle online flexi calculator helps you to work out how much you need to budget every month. As you start to put together the selection of technology and entertainment requirements for your household, it will add up the monthly total for you. The pricing for lowest option of the Flexi Bundle starts at €22.99 if you buy online.
If you’re moving to Malta long term you might want to opt for the Flexi bundle 24-month contract which offers you big savings. If you’re only in Malta on a definite contract for work, or for several months of the year and you’re looking for a short-term plan, you can select the pay-monthly pricing option. Super flexible and it won’t tie you down unnecessarily.
You can easily manage your account payments and monitor your account usage via the intuitive MyMelita portal and mobile app.
How to set up your account.
- The easiest way to get connected is to set everything up online. Your account can be up and running within 24 hours. If you’d prefer you can visit one of our retail shops.
- If you opt for the Flexi Bundle month-on-month plan the installation fee is €75.00.
- If you choose the 24-month contract the installation fee is just €15.00.
- There is a deposit request of €75.00 for the equipment. No deposit is required if you decide to set up your payment through a Direct Debit Mandate on the My Melita portal.
- For month-on-month Flexi bundles and mobile contracts we will require proof of your identity and of your residence. This could be a Photo ID card, work contract, residency permit, utility bill and/or your driving license.
Moving to and living in Malta doesn’t have to be complicated for any expat.
Melita is Malta’s leading communications and entertainment provider. We say leading because we’ve been powering homes and businesses in Malta with cable TV for over 25 years, and now we’re well known for offering the best and fastest internet . Who else would you choose?
Relocating is a big step, so finding ways to make it as easy as possible is important for your own peace of mind.
Let us help you make that happen.
