I actually deferred writing about it last December as requested by telco insiders but looks like the cat is finally out the hat. Wi-Tribe Philippines did a soft launch recently offering WiMax broadband internet in Metro Manila.
We already knew that this new telco challenger, Liberty Telecoms, is a partnership between San Miguel Corporation and Q-Tel (Qatar Telecoms). The service is called Wi-Tribe and ads have been published on newspapers and flyers recently (I got a flyer yesterday).
Wi-Tribe is offering WiMax broadband internet for an introductory price of Php998 per month with up to 1Mbps bandwidth. There’s a 24-month lock-in period.
As a comparison, Globe Telecom introduced WiMax last year with a starting plan of 512Kbps for Php795. It now offers 1Mbps WiMax for Php995.
A number of beta-testers have been using the Wi-Tribe service for several months now. If you’re one of them, let us know you impression of the service. You can download their application form here.
The San Miguel and QTel partnership is a solid one that could prove to be a formidable challenger to the current broadband internet market. We always welcome competition.
Twitter: kzapkzap
says:
what type of technology is this?
Twitter: Teknisyan
says:
wow… really 4G? hmh.. sounds like the food suppliment.
Kidding aside, this is a good entry to the just 3 provider not counting the bayantel wireless… the big 3 are basically locked on just one price plan, since they can control both the price and the service that they provide to the customer. With Wi-Tribe/WiMax they might think twice and offer more to their existing customer and prospective customer. Specially if Wi-Tribe/SMC start flexing their marketing muscles.. and I do mean flex!!!
http://teknisyan.blogspot.com
Twitter: kmendoza
says:
I think I won’t bite on their offer. Since they don’t give me enough reasons to switch ISP’s.
It’s too expensive! Albeit they are using the latest technology, it doesn’t matter if it’s priced the same as any other wi-fi/broadband offering. Internet should become cheaper & cheaper every year because these telcos recover part their initial capital every time they milk the cash cow->this is us. I hope that the cost of Internet becomes regulated soon by the government else we would be stuck with this kind of price cartel. Internet promotes progress, & I wish that progress becomes cheap soon…
Twitter: ewancoo
says:
I am one of the beta testers of this service. I have been using it for 2 weeks, and so far so good. Speedtest.net results to 0.9++Mbps download speed and torrent speed peak at 110KBps. In my residence in pasig, i get 3 of 5 bars signal. However, when I brought the modem to my mom’s house in Marikina (far end, near san mateo rizal boundary) I got no signal. As far as I know the service is currently offered within metro manila only. Though some beta testers from cainta, rizal got decent 4G signal.
Twitter: ramfree17
says:
I wish bandwidth providers will start approaching this from the other way around: start offering it on the areas that does not get enough coverage and then work from there towards the already “serviced” market. I know it means an increased cost but it means going from a captive market and expanding to the “leftovers” on established markets, rather than going the other way around.
ciao!
Twitter: Vincent
says:
http://magos-biologis.blogspot.com/2010/02/wi-tribe-4g-new-isp-in-philippines.html
This is my blog entry on wi-tribe. It has more information such as
* this is wimax, probably wimax-E so techincally its only 3.9g. well this isnt too much of a problem
* MERON 3 gig CAP!!!, after which you get throttled to a slower speed
Twitter: razorous
says:
Yea i see their ads all over gilmore when i pass by
I thought 4G would offer higher bandwidth? how come its only 1Mbps?
Twitter: Vincent
says:
oh and here’s another blog entry
http://magos-biologis.blogspot.com/2010/02/is-wi-tribe-covering-up-something.html
showing how to reduce the lock in period to 3 months, however, the wi-tribe official website seems to have covered it up
and BTW, AFAIK the cap is either off or increased if you have a trial account
Twitter: Vincent
says:
oh and here’s another blog entry
http://magos-biologis.blogspot.com/2010/02/is-wi-tribe-covering-up-something.html
showing how to reduce the lock in period to 6 months, however, the wi-tribe official website seems to have covered it up
and BTW, AFAIK the cap is either off or increased if you have a trial account
Twitter: Vincent
says:
typo, 6 months not 3 months
Vince is correct, Wi-tribe subscribers have a 3Gb cap every month. After they’ve consumed it, their speed will be throttled down to just 512Kb. So in effect, the 1Mbps speed is only effective for the first 3Gb.
This defeats the purpose of switching to their ISP if you ask me.
Twitter: jhoeforth
says:
They did a testing from my apartment and they failed miserably. The device didn’t even made a connection. Like most of the DSL providers, I think it still depends on your location. I live in Mandaluyong.
Ah yes, the 3GB cap. I remember seeing a thread on TPC for beta testers (forgot if it was a recruitment thread or just a general reaction one) and the biggest pain on the subscriber side was the 3GB cap.
Twitter: arnoldgamboa
says:
Beta testing in Mandaluyong. 1 bar. Virtually unusable. Considering that there’s a bunch of Wi-Tribe posters near our house
Twitter: blueberry010
says:
my brother is beta-using this…way faster than globe here in mandaluyong.
4G? i don’t think so.. They might as well stick to the actual technology instead of misleading the public. As far as I’m concerned 4G is reserved for LTE.
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by kutsaratinidor: says Wi-Tribe 4G Broadband Launched http://ping.fm/BQ5gC http://plurk.com/p/3p8ooz…
sa mga naka try, mabilis po ba?
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Twitter: jhoeforth
says:
@Adrian I suggest you let them test it from your house. There’s no universal experience for this. I’m just not too comfortable with this. Do they have their own cell sites or do they piggyback on other networks. If so, what if their user base increase? It’s too risky to dump your current provider for this one. Unless your provider is really that crappy.
is this faster than sky broadband?
4G refers to the fourth generation of cellular wireless standards. It is a successor to 3G and 2G standards and must have data rate of up to 100 MBps for high mobility such as mobile access.
As of the moment, 4G or Long Term Evolution (LTE)is only available in 2 countries, Sweden and Norway. So, not yet available in Phils.
i’m sticking with a wired connection. as we all know all wireless broadband providers fail to live up the customer expectations even in developed markets/countries.