To subscribe for Sun Double Unlimited, you need to call *738# on your mobile.

Has anyone here tried this yet?

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An announcement from this website says the telco is giving out free 2-month trials starting this month.

If you are from Mandaluyong, San Juan, Makati and Quezon City please leave your name, wireline and mobile number to: gobeyond3g@gmail.com or call us @ (02) 346.0921 and 0922.853.4880.

We already have 3G, WiFi and fixed DSL in Metro manila so introducing WiMax as an alternative is a welcomed idea. I am not really sure how true this trial service is but you can always call that number above to verify. Thanks to Arvee for the tip.

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Being on a 2Mbps Plan 1995, I thought the PLDT WatchPad might be a bearable option to watch the big fight. PLDT was also promoting WatchPad a lot and promised subscribers can watch the Pacquiao-Cotto fight for free.

I was scheduled to fly back from out of town around that time so I shrugged off the possibility of seeing the fight live.

Fortunately, our Cebu Pacific flight from Legazpi came in early (a rarity) so I got home just in time for the first round. But alas, we settled for radio commentators as the PLDT WatchPad set up didn’t work. It was slow, choppy and completely unbearable to watch. More angry comments from WatchPad users here.

I was hoping PLDT would shine this time around by bringing the Pacquiao fight for free to hundreds of thousands of its subscribers. This would have also set a precedent and would prove that PLDT is ready to do some sort of an IPTV service. Now, if they are planning to charge subscribers in the future (and that’s the whole idea here) for the live streams, they might as well re-think it first.

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I’m sure a lot of you have seen SmartBro’s latest commercial with Mo Twister in it. If you haven’t, check this YouTube clip:

In the commercial, Smart claims that 9 out of 10 times, SmartBro is faster than the competing brand. In this case it, was implying Globe Tattoo (the blurred footage of the Tattoo USB dongle is pretty obvious). In the trials made by Smart they used Speedtest.net as their benchmark tool of choice.

Not to be outdone, Globe Telecom wants to rebut the claim and says it isn’t so. So Globe commissioned NESIC to do a broadband test for them and showed the results to the media proving otherwise.

The methodology includes both an HTPP Speed Test using 2Wire.com as well as Direct HTTP Download from Download.com and an FTP Speed Test using a 12MB file from a local server. I am sure you know what the results of the study are and who came on top.

What is more interesting is the methodology of the benchmarking they’ve done. In my opinion, using SpeedTest.net is not a reliable way to test broadband speeds, despite it being a popular tool among users. My understanding is that Speedtest.net measures the burst speed of your connection and not the sustained speed or average speed. It means that during the test window, the tool will see variable speeds (that’s while the dial meter fluctuates) and will pick up the fastest it has detected. In some sense, it is a good way to measure the maximum achievable speed of an internet connection but that’s all it does.

Here’s an analogy — imagine a Javelin Thrower in a competition is allowed 3 attempts to get the javelin the farthest. His 3 attempts were 55 feet, 125 feet and 185 feet. If SpeedTest.net were the judge, it will score the athlete a 185 feet rating. If 2Wire.com were the judge, it will give the athlete just 121.67 feet (average of 3 attempts).

So why is Globe saying that Speedtest.net is not reliable? Because it does not take into account consistency. Let’s go back to the Javelin tournament — a second athlete throws with the following distances: 145 feet, 130 feet, 155 feet. If Speedtest.net were the judge, it will give the 2nd athlete a score of 155 feet while 2Wire.com would give it 143.3 feet.

Now, which of the two athletes is the better javelin thrower?

However, there could be a number of external factors that may affect speed test for mobile broadband:

• Location of the Test Site. The distance of the cell tower from the test site can affect the performance of the benchmark as signal degrades over distance.
• Signal Strength. This is self-explanatory. Factors include distance, elevation and barriers like buildings or thick walls.
• Connection Mode. Connection mode (GPRS, EDGE, 3G, HSDPA) sometimes switches depending on which tower is servicing the connection.
• Time of the Day. Networks could get congested depending on the time of the day when a lot of users are using the network.

Rather than using benchmark tools, I’d rather propose some real-world measurements:

• Download a movie file using Bittorent. A 600MB file downloaded in about 4 hours will give you a speed of 44KB/s or 350Kbps. Longer download times will give us a better picture of the network’s consistency.
• Streaming with YouTube HD. Streaming a 10-minute HD video on YouTube will also provide live bandwidth performance of the connection. This can be augmented with a YouTube upload of a 100MB file to see upstream speeds.
• iTunes Download. What I used to do is download 3 video podcasts simultaneously on iTunes and record the incoming bandwidth using NetMeter. This will show sustained download speeds (like the one shown below).

Who has the biggest subscriber base? Who has the widest coverage? Who has the fastest mobile broadband service? Any one of them can claim these but ultimately it is the users’ commulative experience that will decide which is more reliable.

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This has long been rumored but we’ve finally gotten word that they’ve both signed off on the agreement yesterday.

Dennis Mendiola is the Founder and Chief Imagination Officer of Chikka:

Gio Bacareza is the Business Development Director of Chikka:

I’m still getting some more details and will update this post as I get them.

Chikka Asia, Inc. is a wireless application service provider, better known for creating the world’s first instant messenger to fully integrate mobile features via SMS, the “Chikka Messenger.” It has about 38 million registered users, including mobile subscribers from network operators worldwide and is interoperable with Google Talk .

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Are there other PLDT myDSL subscribers getting their DVD installers in the mail too? I read that this is available if you subscribe to myDSL Plan 999, 1995 and 3000. This is streaming video so only makes sense for PLDT to offer it to high-bandwidth plans.

Available channels include PBO, CNBC, MTV, GO, Animax, CNN, GMA7, Cartoon Network and National Geographic (provided by Cignal TV). Anyway, I tried installing the application on my Windows 7 desktop but it kept on crashing. Will try this on an XP PC and see if it works.

Anyone else got this running on their system? How is it?

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Nothing new or earth-shaking actually, just that they now also offer prepaid daily unlimited surfing for Php20 per day. For postpaid subscribers, it’s Php2,000 per month on top of your regular MSF. This is the same rate for Globe Visibility Unlimited before so Super Surf is just a re-branding.

Super Surf is just a promo — available starting October 19, 2009 until March 31, 2010. This could be a trial period to see if there are subscribers that will be hogging the network and slowing down connections of other subscribers (it has happened before, you know).

There’s a lock-in period of 3 months.

Note: The prepaid Php20 per day rate is only applicable to mobile sites of GMail, Twitter, Plurk, Wikipedia, Friendster, Facebook and Ping.fm.

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Subscribers of Globe Duo can now upgrade to SuperDuo for Php499/30 days. SuperDuo allows you to make unlimited landline calls as well as unlimited calls to all Globe and Touch Mobile phones nationwide.

To upgrade, you need to deactivate Duo plan by texting “DUO OFF” to 8888. To activate Super Duo, text “SUPERDUO < area > ON” to 8888. The area tag will be your code designation for the landline number (e.g. Metro Manila, Cebu, etc).

If you have remaining credits on your Duo account, it will be credited to your Globe Super Duo.

What is not clear is that you might also lose your original landline number because you’ve deactivated Duo. Will verify this with Globe.

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The additional Php299 monthly plan is only available to Nokia E75 subscribers but may be extended to other handsets that support Nokia Messaging.

For SMEs and corporate subscribers, the push email will also support POP3/IMAP accounts. There’s a 24-month lockin period for new applicants.

This plan may be a cheap alternative to those using mobile email on a daily basis since the minimum charge for Smart 3G is Php10 for 30 minutes. The Php299 monthly unlimited breaks down to Php10 per day.

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There were two main reasons why I got SmartBro Share It:

• I already have PLDT myDSL Plan 1999 at home and have been using it for 5 years now. However, I’ve been having problems with it lately (slow connection to no connection at times). I was looking for a secondary DSL service in my area to serve as backup (options were Sky Broadband, Globe Broadband, SmartBro).
• I’m always on the road or outside and I also need 3G service (I already gave away my 2 Globe Tattoo Prepaid kits since I only get EDGE/GPRS connections most of the time. I also have 3 SmartBro PlugIt Prepaid kits but none of them would seem to work anymore). It would be nice to have some sort of uninterrupted wifi internet access inside the car.

I needed something portable and has unlimited service and looks like ShareIt fits the bill. Now, it’s always plugged inside the car broadcasting an open wifi where ever I go.

I was told the service covers all of greater Metro Manila and neighboring provinces, I guess you can bring this out of town (Tagaytay perhaps) and still get some decent internet connection (hopefully). The wifi router is just a bonus if you’re in a group that always bring a laptop with them.

My next step is either downgrade my DSL service at home and get that dual-WAN load-balancing router from DLink.

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A friend who just switch from PLDT myDSL to Globe Broadband showed me a copy of his Service Order Agreement.

Item #5 of the agreement specifies bandwidth allowances for various service plans, including a 20% cap of maximum subscribed speed (i.e, if you are on Plan 1Mbps, P2P download is capped at 200Kbps).

Likewise, there’s provision for monthly total volume of downloads depending on subscribed packages:

Plan 384Kbps : 15GB per month
Plan 512Kbps : 20GB per month
Plan 1.0Mbps : 25GB per month
Plan 1.5Mbps : 30GB per month
Plan 2.0Mbps : 35GB per month

Even if you’re not into torrent downloads, the 0.5GB allowance for the lowest plan can be easily used up just by watching YouTube videos. I guess Globe also needs to provide its subscribers some sort of a bandwidth meter so they can check their running allowance.

Anyone out there experienced being disconnected (or capped)  for using up their monthly allocation?

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SmartBro USB modems are customized according to university logos (see sample above for Ateneo’s Blue Eagles). These are limited edition USB dongles that are only given away that day. These aren’t just stickers but printed into the plastic dongle itself.

All you needed to do is be at the venue and bring a school ID to get one for free. If you’re not qualified, you can still buy one for just Php895.

There were lots of giveaways, food, drinks, t-shirts and bands. However, the mega-tent seemed a bit empty around noon when I got there. Looks like they weren’t able to reach their target number of 10,000.

There were also promos for SmartBro ShareIt — get a Pentium 4 PC set for only Php4,000 when you subscribe for 24 months.

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The catch — well, promo period is only until October 31, 2009. The Globe Broadband Tattoo prepaid kit still comes with free 5 hours of mobile 3G worth Php100. Kits are available at Globe Stores and authorized dealers nationwide.

Note: SmartBro Prepaid kit also costs Php995 now.

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Let’s skip comparing our local 3G internet rates to the rates in other countries and look at some domestic parallels.

Let’s look at Netopia, the most popular internet cafe chains in the country, and see how much they charge for rentals. Members get a discounted rate of about Php30 while non-members pay Php45, right? (or is it higher)

Regular internet shops (the mom-and-pop’s type at the street corner) charges Php20 for gaming and Php25 for surfing.

Pay-for-access WiFi Zones provided by Airborne Access and Globe WiZ charges Php100 per hour.

If we compare 3G internet at Php20 per hour, it’s not that bad. Actually, if you compare it to the examples above, it’s the cheapest. So, why there’s still the perception that 3G is expensive?

• The WAP-era trauma. About half a decade ago, when WAP was first introduced, they cost an arm and a leg. I remember viewing my blog over WAP and posting a comment back then — those 3 page loads costs me Php100!
• Reliability. If you surf on a net cafe, you’re pretty much sure you’d get a good if not fast internet speed. Over 3G, it’s a hit and miss.
• Over-charging nightmares. Either your prepaid loads get drained up real fast or your postpaid bill is thru the roof — any one of these incidents could happen to you.
• Coverage. Even if you’re subscribed on 3G, there’s no telling if your area is covered only by GPRS or EDGE.

The only compelling reason why I think 3G is cheap for me is because of mobility. Maybe someday, we’ll have an alternative option with mobile WiMax.

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Having had some billing issues on my postpaid account lately made me think if I should go back to prepaid again (besides, I’m no heavy texter or caller). Obviously, there are some advantages and disadvantages between the two.

This brings us to our poll of the week — are you on prepaid or postpaid? Why?

Please do send your answers to our Poll section on the right side and/or add a comment below.

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Reports from ComputerWorld indicates the Philippines is one of the affected countries:

At about 10:50 a.m. on Wednesday, local time, an alarm signaled a cable fault on Segment 7 of APCN2, which connects Hong Kong and Shantou, China. The disruption caused a temporary loss of service on the undersea link but all customers that use the cable were soon shifted to capacity on other cables, according to a source familiar with the situation.

The APCN2 cable is owned by a consortium of 26 telecom operators from 14 different countries. The cable links Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, South Korea and Japan.

Looks like PLDT is the most heavily affected. Some sites appear down as DNS routing are not resolving.

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While this bandwidth capping has not been official confirmed, a number SWB users have been sharing bandwidth results from their experience that there’s indeed some sort of capping going on (using Mobile Data Monitoring Application).

The Sun Wireles Broadband (SWB) unlimited service has a monthly service fee of Php799 (the cheapest 3G internet service in the Philippines) for unlimited 3G internet within Metro Manila. Sun Cellular promises speeds of up to 2Mbps on their 3.5G network. Consumer reports on 640Kbps cap is definitely a significant issue and it’s possible their network is already clogging up (a victim of their own success?).

I have contacted Sun Cellular for an official response to this issue and they promised to get back to me. Will update this post once I get official word from them.

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