Utilities & Mobile Internet servers

Howdy all.

I have been having some black out periods with Smart Bro for the last 2 weeks here in Sibulan, normally I would get around 1.6 mbps average and very few black out's. Last week it was off for 2 days and this week 1 day and today 3 or 4 hours. Calling their helpline just burns up several hours on the phone with nothing gained.

I have been hearing several people saying, PLDT has improved it's service with faster speed than Smart for internet including digital cable TV for the same price as Smart without cable tv.

Any news from you folks?

Ron

 

Personal experience let me buy the "Globe Tattoo Pocket WIFI 4G Modem/Router Hub" it is a small gadget that comes with a short USB Cable, it is equiped with a large battery and indicator for E-Mail, Battery Power, Reception 3G/4G, and WIFI, it is a Hot Spot that allows up to 10 devices to connect. It costs 1998PhP, I bought it at "Galleon Enterprises" upstairs in Robinsons, they loaded it with Pre-Paid 1000PhP, good for unlimited Internet for one Month and activated it.
I had the chance to borrow one from a friend that is using it in Sipalay, it works well at my location in Dgte. also in parts of Maayong Tubig, Masaplot, Dauin, because of it's mobility one can bring it anywhere to try for a signal...

 

Thanks for the tip. What speed do you get? Does it ever go off line?

 

Isn't Smart and PLDT the same thing? I think Smart is just a brand under the PLDT umbrella. Different products.

There are basically two internet providers here. There are undersea cables which comes into the Philippines, and Globe and PLDT own most of them. PLDT owns the latest cable which was supposed to be a big boost in bandwidth.

I imagine the level of quality between those entry points in the Philippines and your front door is all over the map though.

That's great that you get decent speeds with wireless at all those different areas. I live pretty much on the line between Dumaguete and Sibulan and my connection is functional but still a bit frustrating. Interestingly, the download speeds with my USB wireless device is about the same as the larger desktop wireless modem that I had to get into a contract for, but general browsing is generally a worse experience.

The great thing about the USB devices is that you can get the pre-paid plan which doesn't require the contract. If you don't meet certain requirements for post-paid, you have to pre-pay the entire contract. Going the pre-paid route is much easier.

There is the multiple computer device (hot spot) and the single computer device. The single computer device is around 1K. That's good enough if you don't need to worry about connecting wifi, but I didn't realize you could get 1K of load by buying the hot spot. I will have to check that out.

You can also get the same for Smart. If your problem connection is wired, then you might be okay with wireless.

Unfortunately, I don't think you will get anything near 1.6 mbps with the wireless connections. You will just have to give them a shot. If nothing else, they are good for backup connections.

 

Seems to be some 'smart' fellers here so let me ask a question. I use MyBro which I am extremely unhappy with but got locked into a 2 year contract. The folks at PLDT have told me they will allow me to upgrade to a PLDT landline with phone and 2 mb DSL? service for an additional cost but it is still a 2 year contract.

So the question is: Am I likely to be just as unhappy with the PLDT service or is it noticeably better than the MyBro? Anyone?

 

I also just recently bought the Globe Tattoo. I am currently using it up here in Sagbang, Valencia and I am very happy with it.

 

You could go with the DSL connection in hopes that it would improve your service and then pick-up the prepaid wireless as a back-up option. That would be using the same devices we have discussed above.

 

From all of my experience and that is considering I'm a computer techie, computer geek, and network admin.

Out of all the internet services in Dumaguete there are only 2 that are worth anything. The best hands down is PLDT MyDSL. The second is Fil Products. Now PLDT and Smart Bro are connected but vastly different in service.

Smart Bro for most is utter crap. Globe is a total waste as well with constant problems. Skycable very slow as well. All of these could be *alright* if all you do is read news and email. But if your a gamer, watch video's, download stuff, and so forth you'll find yourself hurting.

Now PLDT is constantly upgrading its systems and regularly seeking to increase its Bandwidth. A rich Filipino business man a couple years ago bought out PLDT and has put huge sums of money into upgrading its lines, expanding, and so forth. Due to this PLDT is growing massively with a huge turnover rate from Globe, Smart Bro (which is now working in conjunction with PLDT but does NOT have access to the full PLDT lines), Skycable, and other major national and regional providers.

Fil Products is a bit different. They are over your cable line however they don't connect through a hardline but a satellite connection. They are a bit patchy at times but fairly stable as far as it goes. As a Satellite connection it does mean their latency is a bit higher then normal but only really noticable to gamers and their are ways around such things to an extent.

Now to clear a few things up that your techs are ALWAYS doing wrong here.
1. They constantly use speedtest.net for checking speed. However they always check through their main server in usually Manila or Cebu. This is 100% WRONG. They MUST check through an international location to get an accurate reading. This is because you need to test the backbone lines that are connected to the internet to test internet speed, ping, and packet loss. Testing through Cebu or Manila servers is no different then me checking the speed on my home network between my multiple computers and then calling that an internet test. The places to most accurately test would be LA USA, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur. You can also check Xiamen (China), HK, and Japan but those may be spotty if current traffic issues locally at those sites. I generally would test LA or San Fran USA. The Philippines has a mainline backbone connection to LA making it a great test location for accuracy.

Further problem with Speedtest is that the Manila/Cebu servers for Speedtest are actually hosted on Globe or PLDT's server making it easy for them to cache it or prioritize it on their servers to more likely rig the results (which they do).

Another key site they never use is owned by the same people who own Speedtest.net. Its called Pingtest.net
Pingtest.net is used to check your latency and packet loss which is some of the major reasons why opening websites and major news sites and having them timeout.

Remember, they expect you not to be educated and be some dip who doesn't know a single thing. But when you show a bit of knowledge that the techs often don't know their excuses run dry. Very rarely is it ever a bad modem, bad usb stick, or a bad lan cable.

Lastly my simple explanation on why internet here is so slow. Think of your internet provider. They have lets say 1GB of speed. That means roughly 1,000MB's. Now logic states that you could thus sell 1,000 people 1MB and your safe. This makes sense. Or you could sell 500 people 2MB connections. However what they do is resell each 1MB connection to 5, 10, 50 people. Their logic is that those people won't all be using their allotted space at the same time. However during primetime hours the vast majority of subscribers are using their connection. That means for your 1MB you purchased there are X amount of other people who own that same 1MB and your competing with. This is Globes major fault while all the internet providers here do that and a small amount is to be expected. PLDT is the one where you get the least competition for your allotted space while Globe you constantly timeout because those other 50 people using your same allotted space are all trying to use also. This is why PLDT is dominating currently as they are balancing the ratio for service.

 

Great info,from a "know nothing" person,your simple example spoke directly to me.So where an I find this PLDT? The reason I ask is that I need the best internet connection possible in trying to cover the best I know how, I have purchased both globe and smart wifi "sticks" and to further my headaches,I am 6 months into a 2yr contract that has an antennae(smart).If you are talking/thinking what I'm thinking - being "smart" doesnt include me ! haha - thom

 

PLDT is in the same stall in the mall as Smart, Smart is a subsidiary of PLDT, as is Sun.

Larry