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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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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The Edimax WiFi USB dongle is compatible with wireless 802.11n standard with a data rate of up to 150Mbps (as long as your router also supports it).

The ones I have at home are from LinkSys and TPLink (the only model compatible with my HDX 1000 NMT) and one can clearly see the difference in size. The problem with my existing WiFi dongles is that once you plug them in one USB port, you can’t use the adjacent port as it covers it. This one by Edimax doesn’t get in the way.

Haven’t seen these in stores by they should sell for around Php1,500.

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The Share It subscription costs Php999 a month for only 90 hours of free 3G internet.

Smart has now upgraded that to unlimited with a 24-month 12-month lock-in contract, plus a Php2,500 one-time fee for the 3G router.

This is looking to be a good offer since it is possible to get that SIM card and put it in your phone for unlimited 3G. It’s also possible to use it with a 3G USB dongle so you can take it anywhere with you and hook it up on your laptop or netbook. That’s a cheaper option to the Php1,500 unlimited 3G subscription.

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Although the Globe WiMax has been in service for several months now, Globe also revealed that they have expanded down south.

As of the first week of June 2009, Globe WiMax is also available in the following areas:

• Select Areas in NCR
• South Luzon (Cavite, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon)
• Cebu Province
• Bacolod
• Dumaguete
• Silay City
• Cagayan de Oro City

By end of 2009, Globe expects to cover these areas as well:

• Rest of NCR, Rizal
• Benguet, Nueva Ecija
• Tarlac, Pampanga, Bulacan
• Bataan
• Bohol, Iloilo, Leyte
• Guimaras, Capiz
• Negros Island
• Zamboanga
• Compostela Valley
• Agusan Province
• Lanao, Surigao
• Cotabato Province, General Santos

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Well, let’s just say that internet connectivity is a single biggest motivation why many households purchase a PC (and Intel is hoping it come with one of their CPUs). As one Intel executive puts it — “there’s no such thing as demand for WiMax, just demand for broadband connectivity”.

So the next question is, why WiMax? What’s the big deal, really? Here are some tidbits I’d like to share from what I gathered during the forum:

• There are abour 460 WiMax deployments in 135 countries worldwide for fixed, portable and mobile networks.
• Local commercial WiMax have been conducted jointly by Intel and telcos as early as 2005.
• Broadband subscription in the Philippines is still low at only 1.3 million or 7% of households. Aside from 3G, 4G WiMax may help reach places not normally lined up with fixed cable/DSL lines.
• In the Philippines, commercial WiMax is allocated at the 2.3GHz and the 2.5GHz band with 15-30MHz spectrum size. Deployment has been made at the 2nd half of 2008 and follows the 802.16e standard and peaks at 60+Mbps.

As for the commercial WiMax deployments in the country, here are some basic questions and my own answers to them:

• Q. Why is Globe WiMax only deployed in Southern Luzon and not Metro Manila?
  A. Providers like Globe Telecom, which already has existing fixed lines in Metro Manila, will logically want to expand their network so it’s only logical their WiMax network will be offered to places where they don’t have lines (DSL) yet. You don’t want to eat your own market share with redundant services.
   
• Q. How about the WiMax by Happy Communications?
  A.Happy Communications has WiMax since 2008 serving Metro Manila because they don’t have existing fixed line so wireless is a much cheaper and faster approach to built a new network, especially if you are a new player. They only service enterprise and business though (not sure about the price of Php25k/month for 2Mbps) and are still planning on residential offerings.
   
• Q.Why Globe WiMax only offers 512Kbps?
  A. It’s a start. They will offer higher bandwidths in the future (Smart Bro also started out at 384Kbs and is now at 2Mbps). Besides, they may not have enough capacity shoudl there be a deluge of new customers in those locations. besides, the introductory price of Php799 is already a good deal.
   
• Q. What type of usage model is Globe offering?
  A. There are 3 types of usage models and Globe is offering the Fixed Access model. That means subscribers will be given a tranceiver that will be installed in their homes. That rules out direct connection for WiMax-ready mobile phones and laptops (Nomadic or Full Mobility usage models).
   
• Q. Is WiMax better than fixed DSL?
  A. In theory no — fixed lines are still more reliable and have better latency.
   
• Q. Is WiMax better than 3G?
  A. They didn’t call WiMax as 4G for nothing — think of WiMax as your regular WiFi connection extended to a couple of nkilometers wide. Basically, with 4G, you get better bandwidths than 3G can offer. Globe WiMax is under the IEEE 802.16e standard and has a maximum capacity of 60Mbps.
   
• Q.Is Smart going to offer WiMax too?
  A.I think they also announced they are planning to roll-out a Smart WiMax of some sorts but there’s no concrete details yet.

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Will update this post once I get the copy of the press release. Intel’s timing was just right when we had the WiMax forum yesterday.

Here’s part of the Press Release I got:

Globe is first in the Philippines to launch Wimax. Available starting March 2009, the company’s WIMAX package is a high-speed Internet plan that lets users surf the web at speeds of up to 512kbps for only PHP795 per month. The package also comes with an aggressive money-back guarantee. “We challenge anyone with a competitive wireless subscription to try out our Wimax-backed plans. We are so confident with our service that we challenge you try out our connection, risk-free. Should you be unhappy with the connection within one month from installation, we’ll give you your money-back, no questions asked,” says Menchi Orlina, head of the Consumer Broadband Business Group.

The service is initially available in selected areas in South Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Globe will continue to roll-out hundreds of WiMAX sites, as a complement to its existing DSL and 3G internet facilities, to ensure the internet gets to every Filipino who needs it.

Interested households may call (02)919-8888 or visit the nearest Globe Payments and Services centers for further inquiries.

WiMAX is short for Worldwide interoperability for Microwave Access. It is a standards-based technology designed to enable the deployment of wireless broadband access as a cost-efficient alternative to cable and DSL; WIMAX also has improved reach and can cover distances greater than those covered by other wireless technologies like WiFi, CDMA, or 3G.

Globe’s network is considered the first and biggest 2.5Ghz WiMAX (802.16e) broadband network in South East Asia.

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So I’m giving away movie passes to any movie shown in WalterMart Cinemas from today ’til April. Here’s a simple way to get a chance to have these free tickets delivered to your home:

Answer this simple question: What’s your most anticipated summer movie of 2009?

You can leave a comment as an entry to the raffle, blog about it, Tweet or Plurk (pointing to this post, of course you need to add me there in order for me to track it). The more ways you answer the question, the more entries you have and bigger chances of getting the free passes (the Mall Manager tells me they might do the giveaways regularly/monthly). For commenters, only one comment qualifies.

Each winner will get 2 free passes so we’ll announce 6 winners this Friday and send the tickets to you by week-end. Anyone is eligible but if you’re from the province or outside Metro Manila, it will be hard to use these tickets so you’ll have to give/gift it to someone near Makati (as tickets are only valid at WalterMart Cinemas).

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This has been available locally for some time now and has been listed at Villman for a while. It’s basically a wifi router that also acts as a 3G modem (similar to the SmartBro Share It).

D-Link DIR-451 3G Mobile Router
UMTS/HSDPA
WiFi 802.11 b/g
WEP, WPA, and WPA2 security
Dual active firewalls (SPI and NAT)
4-port 10/100 LAN

The retail price though is a but higher, at Php8,988, but that’s what you pay for an unlocked 3G router and the 24-month service contract.

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The device is basically a wifi router and 3G/HSDPA modem in one.

Smart Bro Share It is available with a Plan 999 monthly subscription, which comes with up to 90 hours of Internet access, at speeds of up to 2 mbps in key cities in the country. Usage in excess of 90 hours will be charged P.35 for every minute.

Initial cash-out for the 12-month subscription is Php3,499, which includes the one-time payment of Php2,500 for the device, plus the first month’s fee of Php999. The monthly subscription fee is Php999.

The device can share the 3G internet with up to 5 computers. Of course, if you have a laptop, you can just follow this short guide on how to share 3G internet over wifi.

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You will need a laptop with WiFi to act as the access point or if you only have a desktop PC, you can get one of those USB WiFi dongles.

• Go to your Control Panel and select Network and Sharing Center.
• In the Tasks menu, click on the link “Set up a Connection or Network”.

• In the next window, select the option “Set up a wireless ad hoc (computer-to-computer) network” and click next until you reach the network name and security options.
• Type in the name of your new network and select the Security Type.

That’s it. Fire up your Smart Bro, Globe Visibility and Sun Cellular Wireless Broadband and once you’re connected online, anyone who accesses your new WiFi network will also have internet connection.

Another option is when you have a WiFi capable 3G phone, you can install JoikuSpot and enable internet sharing over WiFi too.

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Owners of Nokia ESeries phones will be happy to learn they could hook up their phones in any Airborne Access hotspots nationwide:

Starting October 6, 2008 until December 31, 2008, consumers who purchase the Nokia E71 and Nokia E66 devices will be given 2 months free instant Internet access at all Airborne Access Wi-Fi hotspots. Not only that, every week, the user with the most number of logins into Airborne Access’ Wi-Fi network will get an additional 6 months free Wi-Fi access to the Internet.

They did this before with the Nokia E51 and have been doing so since 2007. It would be nice if they offer this to all Nokia wifi-enabled phones they sell in the Philippines.

The Nokia E71 (review here) and Nokia E66 are the latest business phones coming out of Nokia recently. SRP for the E66 is Php22,890 while the E71 is Php23,690.

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The Driver Download page of MSI is now offering new device drivers for 2 new RF modules:

• AzureWave (AW-NE771) 802.11 b/g/n by Atheros Communication
• RT2700E (MS-6890) 802.11 b/g/n by Ralink Technology Corp.

The old and problematic RF module was RTL8187SE (MS-6894) by Realtek Semiconductor. The good news is that newer shipments of the MSI Wind will have the faster and better ranged WiFi N draft. Bad news is that older models we already own are stuck with the Realtek chips.

To check which RF module your MSI Wind has, check the silver sticker at the back of your laptop:

You can then download the respective WiFi drivers here.

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I’ve already searched for related problems and read on forums that there’s a sizable number of MSI Wind owners are having the similar problmes with the wifi.

I’ve also tried re-installing the device drivers as well as downloading and running the latest version from MSI’s website. Still nothing.

The system seems to be registering the right hardware but the wifi just could not detect any signal (AP). I’m thinking of several work-around — like looking for older versions of the driver, running a 3rd party wifi manager, among others.

Any other MSI Wind owners here that can share some info regarding the wifi? Maybe also check the driver version you are using. Or point me to a downloadable wifi drivers I can use for Windows.

For the meantime, I’m hooking up my spare Linksys USB WiFi dongle into the Wind (I knew that dongle will be very useful one day).

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The instructions were as simple and as easy as:

Step 1. From active standby screen, set “WLAN scanning on”.

Step 2. Click the “airborneaccess.net” icon to start web browsing in the Nokia WiFi Zone.

You will be directed to the welcome page on your first log in to the AA network. To enjoy this offer, do your first log in before June 30, 2008.

Valid for 60 days from date of first log in. This has been going on since last year but AA and Nokia is apparently ending it this June 2008. They also did this for the N-Series phones last year too.

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In its 2008 1st Quarter report, PLDT revelead that Smart Bro’s subscribers surpassed PLDT myDSL service since end of 2007. PLDT myDSL has about 300,000 subscribers by end of March 2008 and 264k at end of 2007.

Based on their historical data I gathered from old annual reports, I’ve plotted the growth of Smart Bro since it was offered in June 2005.

Legend: Dark Orange bars: Total subscribers for the quarter. Light Orange bars: Number of new subscribers for that quarter.

In 2007, Smart Bro was able to more than double its subscriber base from 122k to 302k, a 148% increase. Despite the growing number of complaints about the service, it was able to gain the highest ever number of sales leads from January to March 2008 at 82,000 subscribers. Interesting numbers, huh? And the graph looks like the growth is exponential.

I couldn’t find the figures for PLDT WeRoam but from my computations, it’s somewhere between 13,000 15,000 subscribers. WeRoam is also considered part of PLDT’s broadband service. Don’t have the numbers from Globe and Eastern Telecoms but PLDT claims 70% share of the combined broadband market in the Philippines.

Fro copies of PLDT’s public records, download the Annual Reports from their Investor Relations webpage here.

Disclosure: Smart Bro is an advertiser of this blog.

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So, there you go — a direct competition to Globe Visibility in the HSDPA space. Interestingly, Smart packaged this service with their highly successful but controversial Smart Bro package.

Also interesting to note are the specification of the packages:

Smart Bro Plan 799
Speed: up to 384Kbps
Usage: free 60 hours, Php10 per 30 minutes thereafter
Initial Setup Fee: Php1,999
Device: USB Modem
Lock-in Period: 24 months

Smart Bro Plan 999
Speed: up to 384Kbps
Usage: unlimited
Initial Setup Fee: Php999
Device: USB Modem
Lock-in Period: 12 months

However, their press release says the speed is between 384 to 768Kbps. Obviously, they’re being very careful with the promised speeds and since Smart has not fully covered the country under HSDPA, the 3G speed makes sense . This service is totally separate from the existing PLDT WeRoam service, the latter targeting corporate clients.

On a side note, the unlimited plan is pretty cheap at Php999 compared to Globe visibility which I recently heard increased their subscription fee to Php3,000 from Php2k recently.

An acquaintance who used to work for Huawei told me about two weeks ago that they were the ones supplying Smart and Sun Cellular with the USB dongles. So, expect Sun to announce their own version very soon.

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With over a quarter million (>250,000) subscribers to date, Smart Bro is gearing to be the number broadband provider in the Philippines.

But wait, what is this I’m hearing that Hwuawei (a supply competitor to ZTE) is bidding for supplying 3G/HSDPA dongles for Smart and Sun Cellular too? Everybody’s gunning for 3G while Globe is shifting away from it and moving on to WiMax.

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