Internet and Telephone

Cheap to plan, annoying and expensive to retrofit. The decisions here happen during the rough-in stage in The Construction Phases, long before you think about internet.

1. Check Coverage Before You Buy the Land

Fibre coverage in Mauritius is broad but not universal, and it is patchy in some newer or more remote developments. If you work from home, treat this as a real criterion when choosing the plot — see Buying the Land.

• Check fibre availability at the exact address with each provider (Mauritius Telecom / my.t, Emtel, and any other operators available at your location).
• Ask neighbours what they actually have and what speeds they get. Coverage maps are optimistic.
• If fibre is unavailable, find out what the fallback is (fixed wireless or mobile broadband) and whether it is adequate for you.

2. Plan the Cabling During Construction

Do this while the walls are still open. Once plastering is done, every change means breaking walls.

• Decide where the router will live. Central in the house, not in a corner cupboard on an outside wall. Put a power socket and a data point there.
• Run conduit from the street entry point to the router location. Even if you do not pull cable now, an empty conduit means you can later.
• Run Cat6 (or better) data points to the rooms that matter: office, TV/living room, bedrooms. Wired beats wireless for anything that stays in one place.
• Plan for Wi-Fi coverage, not just one router. Concrete walls and slabs in Mauritian construction block Wi-Fi badly. A data point plus power on each floor or wing lets you add access points later.
• TV points — plan aerial or satellite cabling if you want it.
• Do not run data cables in the same conduit as power cables.
• Coordinate all of this with the electrical layout your architect prepares — Architect notes that socket count and placement may be a separate cost item.

3. Applying for Service

Typical requirements for a new residential connection:

• National Identity Card
• Proof of address / title deed or lease
• Completed application form
• Installation fee and chosen plan

⚠️ VERIFY — Confirm current document requirements, installation charges, and plans directly with each provider. Prices and packages change frequently.

4. Timing

Apply once the house is near completion and has an address the provider can find, but before you move in — installation appointments can take time. Coordinate with the After Completion stage.

5. Checklist

• Fibre availability checked at the exact address with every provider
• Neighbours asked what service they actually get
• Router location chosen — central, with power and a data point
• Conduit run from street entry point to router location
• Cat6 data points run to office, living room, and key bedrooms
• Power and data provision for future Wi-Fi access points on each floor
• TV / satellite cabling planned if wanted
• Data and power cables kept in separate conduits
• Cabling coordinated with the electrical layout before plastering
• Service applied for ahead of moving in