Founded in 1995, Hostex by Telia is a Lithuanian website hosting provider partnered with the only telecommunications provider in Lithuania. They do not advertise how many web hosting customers they currently have, but I can tell you that their customer base is primarily in Lithuania, with a small percentage of customers across Ukraine, France, the United Kingdom, and Cyprus. Their website is in Lithuanian only, so (like me) you might need to get your browser to translate it into English.
Features and Ease of Use
Hostex by Telia is a full-service website hosting provider that offers shared hosting, cloud hosting, virtual dedicated servers, domain registration, and SSL certificates.
As standard, their shared hosting plans come with the following features:
- Automatic periodic backups, retained for 14 days
- From domain(s), depending on the package
- Free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates
- 3GB to 60GB disk space
They also offer a range of security measures including SPF mail checker, website application firewall, free Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates, anti-virus protection, and email anti-spam protection.
Whilst Hostex by Telia does not include a huge amount of information on its website, they do state that they use Telia’s infrastructure and server network. A review of the Telia website shows that they have a good quality network with eight Tier II and III, ISO 27001 and ISO 20000 certified data centers. According to Telia, they also have the fastest and most reliable fiber network in Lithuania.
While we might assume that Hostex will achieve the same uptime as Telia’s stated 99.741%, they do not explicitly provide an uptime guarantee or SLA. A quick call to support confirmed that they do not have an uptime guarantee. The only positive aspect is that they will notify customers 24 hours in advance of any planned downtime and will respond to unexpected downtime within 2 hours on weekdays and within 8 hours on weekends.
Pricing and Support
Prices are competitive when compared to both local and international companies, especially when considering that even their base package is likely enough for most website owners who only require one domain name. If you need to host multiple domains, you will likely need to upgrade to the highest two packages that are also attractively priced.
Hostex by Telia’s most expensive hosting plan comes at a deep discount for new customers, but what happens at renewal time is unclear. No other plans are discounted. The minimum order term is three months, and other terms include six, twelve and twenty-four months. There are discounts for purchasing longer-term plans, and unlike most companies, they do not offer a free trial, a free plan or a money back guarantee.
When purchasing from Hostex by Telia, it is worth considering that their add-ons – domain registration, some SSL certificates, Whois protection, and domain redirects – all come at extra cost. However, considering the low monthly cost for all plans, the prices for these extras may well be acceptable.
Unfortunately, the customer service provided by Hostex by Telia is very limited. They have only email and telephone support, with no live chat or social media options available. Their customer service opening hours are also limited from 08:30 to 17:30 Mon-Thu, with an hour less (i.e. finish at 16:30) on Fridays. This said, they respond to emails very quickly and they have a large knowledge base containing lots of information.
