Just bought a new phone — the Nokia E51. In the box was a little pamphlet that says Nokia E Series phone users can get as much as 60 free wifi days from Airborne Access.
Continue reading ‘Free Airborne Access WiFi with Nokia E Series Phones’
Archive for the 'WiFi' Category
Latest public report from PLDT Investor Relations showed Smart Bro as the largest broadband service in the country with over 384,000 subscribers nationwide since it was first launched in June 2005.
Continue reading ‘SmartBro: Largest Broadband Service in the Philippines’
I thought this should have been launched months ago. Smart Broadband Inc. (Smart Bro), a subsidiary of Smart Communications announced the new 3G/HSDPA service in Subic (during the 20th Ad Congress?). Dubbed Plug It, this is basically Smart 3G with a dedicated USB dongle.
It’s no wonder why Smart Bro is PLDT’s most successful product/service ever. They’re practically everywhere and there’ve been no competition in its first two years. You can even apply for Smart Bro inside a taxi cab.
Got this from a reliable source and the scoop was Innove is partnering with Intel Philippines to roll out a commercial WiMax service this April 2008.
Continue reading ‘Globe Innove to launch WiMax Service in 2008′
This seems to be a very interesting development. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) has approved WiMax, a non-cellular telecommunications technology, as part of the union’s 3G standards.
Whenever I’m on trips and billeted in wifi-enabled hotels, I still always end up on a floor where the signal is poor or non-existent. Either I go down to the lobby to get some good reception or position really close to the glass windows hoping to sniff a bar or two of wifi signal.
Little did I realize I can actually increase the wifi signal using stuff commonly found around the house. See this YouTube video for a short demo:
The main trouble with having several desktop PCs spread on different rooms and floors is the messy wiring all over. On top of that, the CAT-5 wires snaking around would end up torn or cut apart by the bedroom doors.
The obvious solution was to un-wire the desktop and totally get rid of all the cables. First thing that comes to mind is a wireless PCI LAN card but the price is a bit on the expensive side — Php1,980. Actually, it’s hard to find anything cheaper than this, unless of course you chance upon one of those unknown brands from China (I’m sure they exist and being sold somewhere). Now, multiply that with the number of desktop PCs you intend to unwire and it could get really expensive.
So, instead of a wireless LAN card, I got a compact Wireless USB Network Adapter (Linksys WUSB54GC) instead. It’s smaller, less bulky, no need to crack open the PC case to plug it in and costs as much as the former. Just plug it in any of the available USB ports and you’re all set. That way, you can easily re-use it on other future desktops or even laptops.
Problem though is that like any regular wireless connectivity, you’re maxed out at 54Mbps. Kinda slow compared to 100Mbps over cable wires which you’ll really notice when moving gigabytes of media files across the network (I have 108GBs of DivX movies/tv series, 25GBs of high-res photos, and 18GB of mp3 files). Time to find a cheap NAS solution.
From the Wall Street Journal, airlines are now gearing up for wifi hotspots on airplane cabins in the next 12 months.
After years of discussion and delay, U.S. airlines will start offering in-flight Internet connections, instant messaging and wireless email within 12 months, turning the cabin into a WiFi “hotspot.” Carriers are expected to start making announcements around the end of the summer, with service beginning early next year.
Like it or not, airborne cellphone chatter still has a flying chance in U.S. airplane cabins, as well, despite a recent indication that the Federal Communications Commission will keep a ban in place.
Now, that’s a happy development despite cellphones still being banned in-flight (who can make calls when you’re 1 kilometer up in the hemisphere?). The wifi is cool though, even if it costs about $10 as pop. Reminds me of my flight to Islamabad, Pakistan last year (will be coming back there this May) where it took me around 15 hours of travel time going thru stop-overs in Bangkok, Thailand and Lahore, Pakistan. It sure would have been really nice to pick up my laptop, surf and blog in-flight.
I’ve been talking to several people, especially bloggers about the possibility of this “open source” project. I’d ask them if they have wifi at home and if they freely share that with their neighbors. Most of those I asked tells me they have some sort of encryption and password protection and do not freely share their bandwidth.
While I agree that the network security is an important issue, I still believe in the idea of “pay it forward”. If enough people who have their internet on 24/7 at their homes and establishments and network it wirelessly, everyone else will benefit from this “open source” scheme. If this idea grows and more and more people will share their wireless internet free, life could be easier. 
Yup, again, I know the repercussions of un-secured networks and all that but I think that ultimately the benefits will outweigh the disadvantages.
So, what do you think?
Well, that’s what the AirborneAccess website says — that Eastwood City in Libis is the first and only WiFi City in the country. That means the entire area is covered with their wireless signal although that remains to be proven.
In any case, this is good news to all nearby residents who has Airborne Access or people with Smart Bro’s WiFly account.
The other question is, will the wifi signal be able to reach their units? That I’m planning to find out. Let’s see how far and wide this wifi coverage really is. Anybody living/working in Eastwood tried this?
I wonder if they’ll be able to do the same in Makati, where Globe’s beendusting them asi
e-yellowpages is giving away free wifi cards on all their hotspots across the metro. I got several cards here with me after we had dinner at Stars & Stripes at the Bluewave Mall along Macapagal Highway.
The back of the card says:
For a minimum purchase requirement of Php30 per single receipt, this card entitles you to Free WiFi access. Simply choose e-yellowpages free wifi from the wireless network list, then enter the username and password to avail yourself of internet access for 3 hours from this establishment.
The card expires 24 hours after first use.
Got wind of this eyp wifi a couple of months back while hanging out at Starbucks, Bluewave. It was actually really free then (no catch or promo) so I guess that was just preparation for this one.
Fine print indicates promo period is between October 2006 to October 2007. Hmmm, another wifi hotspot player, eh?
We have a short meetup with Filipina blogger Armina at the Plaza Senayan the other day along with her husband Yuda and 2 kids.
Her husband mentioned that they were employing a wifi village arrangement in their area. Since broadband is still expensive here in Indonesia, what he did was signed up for a SoHo (Small Office, Home Office) package from the ISP. It cost him about 2 Million Rupiahs (roughly Php11,000) a month and the connection speed were just in the hundreds of Kbps.
However, since the SoHo package allows the subscriber of up to 40 workstations connected to it, he sublet his connection via Wifi. before upgrading to the business package, he surveyed and asked around if enough people are interested in their area. Once he has the numbers, he’ll hook up an access point and buy the new customer a wifi antenna receiver hooked up on a bamboo pole outside the house.
For every additional customer he gets, he’ll add more wifi access points and hook them up into the network. Yuda charges about Rp100,000 (Php500+) for the connection cost and it’s unlimited. Some residential cable internet rates can go up to USD$60 for 64/64Kbps upstream and downstream — and that doesn’t include cable TV charges. So, this wifi village idea is cheap!
Very nice business model in a huge city where broadband is scarce and expensive. Reminds me of WiFi ng Bayan. Are they still operating?
My friend just handed out this pamphlet from Smart Bro announcing a new promo called WiFly. Basically, this is an add-on service to existing SmartBro (formerly Smart Wifi) customers to avail of unlimited AiborneAccess account for an additional Php99 a month.
Here are some details of the WiFly Promo:
- The WiFly Promo will un from October 16, 2006 to January 15, 2007 with a 6-month coverage at an additional fee of Php99/month (VAT-inclusive) on top of their SmartBro subscription fee.
- Only active SmartBro 999 subscribers can automatically apply for the promo. Existing Smart Wifi 988 and Smart Bro 788 can upgrade to Smart Bro Plan 999 to be eligible for the WiFly Promo.
- Upgrades to Smart Bro Plan 999 will get a free one month WiFly to be effected on 6th month.
- Lock-in period for the WiFly subscription is 6 months. You will still be billed if you pre-teminate. You also need to inform Smart Broadband Inc., if you want to terminate after the 6-month lock-in period.
- Only one Smart Bro subscription per one WiFly account. No multiple logins will be allowed for the Airborne Access account.
A complete list fo the Terms and Conditions can be found at www.smartbro.com.ph/smartbro.
Now, that’s a really cool deal there. For just Php99, you also get an unlimited Airborne Access account. Cool huh? At least if your Smart Bro account doesn’t wok, you could go out and hook up with one of them AA hotspots. *hehehe*
With so many Smart Wifi/Bro plans, I think this promo was done partly to standardize the subscription plans to Php999 and earn a few more bucks off of the subscribers.
Still, IMHO, the promo alone is a great deal (IF you have a laptop). How about Smart Bro subscribers sell these promo account to friends and colleagues for say Php1,000 for 6 months? Good deal and the customer also profits Php406 from it. *hehe*
For about a week now, I’ve been road testing Globe’s 3G service. Marc was already sold to the idea of getting 1.8Mbps directly to his laptop so he finally signed up for one. Me, I’m still thinking about it but the last couple of days have been very positive especially after several trips around Metro Manila and two out of town trips.
Thus far, all I can say is that driving down south from Magallanes to Sta. Rosa Exit (SLEX) thru Silang had a good 70% 3G coverage (Tagaytay however, can only serve up GPRS/EDGE). The NLEX route was even better — more than 90% 3G coverage (EDSA to SBMA) and these tests where done while cruising at the rate of 80 to 140kmph.
If you think you’ll need some more *umph* to your mobile connectivity, Globe Visibility’s Php2,000 MSF could be worth it.
More on this when I’ve completed my road testing…
Not sure about the timing but it seems that PLDT slashed a few hundred pesos off their WeRoam prepaid and post-paid subscription fees around the time Globe Innove commercially launched its competing product, Globe Visibility.
Just take a look at PLDT WeRoam’s current pricing scheme:
WeRoam Internet
Unlimited WiFi Internet(via AirborneAccess up to 2Mbps)
Unlimited GPRS/EDGE Internet (up to 140kbps)
Application Fee: Php 2,500
Monthly Recurring Fee: Php 1,200
Free Use of Mobile Data Card
WeRoam PLUS Internet
Unlimited WiFi Internet(via AirborneAccess up to 2Mbps)
Unlimited 3G/HSDPA Internet (up to 1.8Mbps)
Unlimited GPRS/EDGE Internet (up to 140Kbps)
Application Fee: Php 2,500
Monthly Recurring Fee: Php 1,700
Free Use of Mobile Data Card
Prepaid Subscriptions
Php 10,860 : Mobile Data Card + 3 months subscription
Php 14,220 : Mobile Data Card + 6 months subscription
Php 20,940 : Mobile Data Card + 12 months subscription
Once your subscription expires, you can buy prepaid e-loads via your Smart Mobile Phones:
Using a SMART phone with an active SMART Money account, text :
* Example:
Reload rates ran from Php75 per day, Php405 per week or Php1,120 for 30 days.
Let’s see how Globe will respond to these price cuts. First, I gotta talk to them and get me a trial account.
Thanks to Airborneaccess, I was able to survive 48 hours without PLDT myDSL, Smart Bro and even Smart GPRS in our area here at Evangelista, Bangkal. Everyone lost theiur phone lines and there was an unconfirmed news that someone or some group looted PLDT’s boxes somewhere in the Pasong Tamo area which caused the entire block to go down without dial tones or DSL.
Anyway, went around looking for alternatives the other day and found out that AA has also added their hotspot map on Google Earth. All you need to do is download the KMZ file here, fire up Google Earth to see where are all the hotspots.
A really nice addition to their feature-set, esp. to people like me who are always out and about.
Ahh yes, Globe Visibility, this is what I was talking to them guys many times — give PLDT WeRoam some competiton. This was just published at Inq7.net: Globe offers wireless 3G Internet service for mobile users.
With a monthly subscription fee of 2,000 pesos, the service includes a notebook PC card integrated with a subscriber identity module (SIM) also used for mobile phones.
The SIM itself can only access Internet and data, not voice as with SIMs of mobile phones.
The service taps into available 3G cell sites of Globe, particularly to cell sites enhanced with HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) to be able to connect to the Internet. It can provide bandwidth of up to 1.4 megabits per second (Mbps).
Yup, that’s 1.4Mbps via HSDPA which may only be available within Metro Manila. Their GPRS connection only tops at 50Kbps though.
So, I guess it’s time to talk to their Visibility group and maybe get some of us some trial account.
Subscribe
Sponsors
 |
|
| Free ringtones for your mobile phone. Get the latest mobile ringtones & wallpapers. Download the most popular ringtones for all phone models. Motorola ringtones available at Adiusa.com. | |
|
Send money to Philippines using iKobo. The recipient receives Visa Debit Card. Online money transfer from iKobo.
Weekly Poll
Loading ...Photo Press
Recent Posts
- GT opens Globe Labs Division
- Nikon D700 12.1MP FX: Spiffy & Pricey
- Paid Blogging Gigs
- What will happen to Globe Visibility Unlimited?
- Voodoo Envy 133: Thinner than Air?
- Want some YMail or RocketMail accounts?
- Globe Visibility Mobile 3G goes Prepaid
- The Typhoon that busted my DSL Modem
- Google Trends for Websites
- Samsung Instinct released on Sprint
- The Yahoo! Exodus has just began
- Over 26k FF3 downloads from the Philippines
- Benchmarking the Intel Core 2 Duo E8500
- Firefox 3 Download Day goes kaput!
- Technorati Media launches Blog Ad Network
- Sony Ericsson c905 sports 8.1MP Camera
- Optimizing Camera Phone Settings
- Nokia E71 & E66 announced
- HP, Dell and Acer still lead in Laptop Market
- HTC Touch Dual Review
