Launched just yesterday, Smart WiFi is a new broadband internet service which allows users to get connected wirelessly thru Smart’s cell sites. The only thing you need is an outdoor antenna to serve as transceiver on any of Smart’s hundreds of cell sites nationwide.
Maximum bandwidth is up to around 128kbps and promo price starts at Php788/month. It’s an easy and affordable alternative if you don’t have phone lines in the neighborhood. This is gonna be a big hit once they find a way to bring access down to handhelds and portable devices (read: Tungsten T5 & Life Drive).
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[tag]smart philippines, smart communications, talk ‘n text[/tag]
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A couple months ago, I’ve heard PLDT offering something similar to this..unlimited wireless connection thru cell sites, all you need is a laptop or any mobile device coz they provide the PCMCIA card when you subscribe..but the price was i think around P1,500-2,000..not sure though.
I think that one is PLDT WeRoam.
I think you still need to buy some sort of receiver.
I know one certain broadband isp who offers bb-internet through microwave tech. The receiving unit is installed (free) Php 990.00 per mo. (residential), my friend says it’s far better than PLDT DSL corporate acct.
Not sure if this is the same as meridian, they have their site at http://www.meridian.ph
From what I heard at tipidpc.com, dating company to ni Mark Jiminez na binili ng PLDT.
When I called them up libre na daw yung reciever, just pay the installation fee. All you need is a smart cell site within line of site of you
Ok yan ah..so how much is the installation and monthly fees?
Yes, PLDT initially bought 40% of Meridian Telekoms (and thinking of buying up to 100%) where they used it as platform for their wireless broadband service.
@Jaypee
788/month plus 500 installation fee, tapos locked ka with them for 1 year.
dito pala details… but for Davao to
.. should be the same for others (I hope)
http://www.davaoexchange.com/transact.php?action=show&topic=31
Looks like same pricing as the Smart WiFi. Most likely the same service with a different brand.
Ehehe, Yun nga ung sinasabi ko na ISP, mabilis nga and the receiver is bundled with the mo.charges. The downside is “KUNG” makakita ng signal papunta sa house mo. Pero I must say nakakaimpress ang bilis ng meridian.
(Pumunta ako sa bahay ng friend ko I tested it on Ragnarok Online, 2advanced.com and limewire) looks like Im shifting from cable to microwave. /gg
Does Skype work on these microwave broadbands? like Smart WiFi and Smart WeRoam?
retz : better days are coming. Kelangan ba LOS (line-of-sight)? Kala ko kase kahit NLOS puede eh.
jon.lao: Technically, like any other broadband connection, it should be able to support Skype.
yup, kuya abe, need ng LOS.
samin wala daw, kakacheck lang kanina.
kaines! pero double check nmn daw nila next week.
Available lang ang Smart WiFi outside of Metro Manila.
Within Metro Manila? Sa October 1 pa daw.
@yuga
ok lang ata kung di LOS, noong tinawagan ko sila sabi nila sa akin na kung nakikita ko yung antenna ng Smart mas ok daw yon at sure ball na puwede location ko… I forgot to ask what a Smart Antenna looks like though and had no intention to go up my roof either to check… hehehe
meridian wifi o smart wifi ay iba sa product ng pldt like weroam.ginagamit ng meridian ang cellsites network ng smart pra sa wide coverage.magpakabit na kayo.di hamak na masmabilis ang access kumapara s dsl o sa nakagawian n ntin internet access.mas cheaper pa.ang meridian company ay part n ng smart telco.product ng smart ang wifi.ang wifi ng smart o ang badwidth na alloted d2 ay pra s residential user lng.pwede magkonect ng 2-4 na pc.limited area pa lng available.
Smart has acquired 100% of Meridian. And, don’t expect the service to run on your portable devices, the “WiFi” is not 802.11!
802.11g
Hello
Meron pa daw mas mabilis kaysa sa Smart wifi. Wifi ng Bayan name nito abangan na lang natin sila.
kelangan may LOS ng smart cellsite and within 1.5km radius para mas mabilis.some say that kung wala signla smart wala na rin wifi, well smart wifi is using other equipment nakakabit lang sya sa same tower.i think for provincial areas 1000 pesos ang installation fee because dito sa amin sa nueva vizcaya 1000 pesos.
i have heared of meridian telekoms which is also offering wireless broadband. i think smart is also a part owner of it. at 988/mo of 90kbs speed the least. still wireless to the nearest smart cellsites.
988 per month at 90kbs lang? di kaya mahal yun?
smart wifi uses the present GSM format incorporated with the GPRS/EDGE technologywhere in the signal is still GSM but because of EDGE technology they can increase the speed to 285 kbpps in october and the charge will be 988 pesos per month. Im not a electronic freak but i research this stuff. Smart wifi is slower compare to dsl but it is ok for residential use…for at least a single user. Im still hesitant to subscribe because because of service interuption. However, i have great info that this technology will improve even up tp 400+ kbps in the future. try you na lang to know more info.
unlimited ba ung monthly rate? or merong Kb limit kasi kung Edge technology d per kilobyte ang bayaran?
i just had mine connected yeterday it was the star of a nightmare.
unlike other servers which activates the email address automatically, meridian asks me to email their csd (csd@meridiantelekom.com).
the team that set up my connection, left the wires dangling as well saying that another group was scheduled to fix the wires to the walls.
this morning i woke up with no internet conenction and i have been calling their tech support every hour with result nor any anwers when they can have my connection back up.
so this is how i lie right now, 26 hour after having meridian conenction.
no email account and no reply from the csd, and tech support no help with this subject
intertnet cable running from the top of my bedroom window, dangling down the wall, snaking across the floor all the way tot eh sala wher i have my work area.
no internet connection since 7 am and no hope sight, the tech support cant even offer any back-up like a dial up number so i can have some sort of email conenction
i am posting this using conenction of my old isp that thankfully hasnt acted on my request to be disconnected.
aaaaaargh!!!!
arlo
I almost dropped my jaw when i heared Smart launched a Wi-Fi product. I could imagine myself going to work with a driver in tow so i could do my last minute quick fix on my report in the comfort of my back seat.
TO MY DISMAY!!! They gave a wrong definition of Wi-Fi (not similar to IEEE) im not techy but I dont think they somewhat giving false expectation.
Tama ba ako mali lang intindi ko sa Wi-Fi
in wi-fi, you use IEEE 802.11 network replacing the Ethernet Card of the Wired Network. Smart’s Wi-Fi Product is not similar to US’s Sprint of Cingular. ITs still a wired technology, but still .. it will surely be a viable market player in the industry considering the existing infrastructure, market-base and support.
I will definitely suscribe to this product even if i was mislead by the branding
Lets try the Wired Wi-Fi
Wi-Freak,
It’s partly WiFi, it’s partly not.
WiFi in the sense that your connection from a Smart cellsite to your WiFi antenna is un-wired.
Not WiFi in the sense that the connection form your Wifi antenna to your PC or internet device is still wired.
So what’s the missing link? A WiFi hub to your antenna. The WiFi hub then re-transmits it to your WiFi-enabled devices or workstations in your home/office.
KAbog taga nueva vizcaya din me, hinihintay ko nalang ung connection ko sa smart.. hihih kapit bahay lang namin ung smart wireless center d2…
musta naman kaya lag time ng Wifi ng smart.. maganda kaya ito pang Ragnarok? or mas mabilis parin pag DSL as in ung cable talaga… sana may makasagot
KAbog san ka d2 sa Vizcaya ^_^ small world
guys,
If you’ve got inquiries, comments, suggestions, or incident reports… email marketing@meridiantelekoms.com
It is available in metro manila but applications will be thru meridian (8121757 loc 224/257) - you may apply thru their website (www.meridian.ph) and follow up thru the numbers given. The package available in manila’s is the regular package which is P988 / 256kbps and one-time installation fee of P1000 plus a one-year lock-in period. All you need is a working PC with a LAN card.
Hope this helps.
I got subscribed to meridian during the testing phase(750 a month + 500 installation.. i think 988/month na ngayon). I normally get speeds higher than 256kbps(i just checked now, 1.20Mbps).. tagal lang before you get a scheduled installation date, you really have to follow up on your application but it’s definitely worth the wait =)
It’s actually wifi, pero di yun yung wifi na iniisip nyo. The CPE or yung device na ginagamit ng SMART ay IEEE802.11b compliant, so therefore it’s WIFI. Mali po ang post ni cyber-friar. Siguro partly mali partly tama, or should i say di lang acurate ang post nya.
Ang device na nilalagay sa taas ng bubong ng bahay ng customer ay actually isang WiFi Bridge, merong ethernet port na ikakabit dun sa lan-card na nakalagay sa PC ng customer.
Ang device na nasa cellsite ng SMART ay most likely isang WiFi multi-bridge.
Kung security ang pag-uusapan, very weak ang security nito dahil naka-disable ang WPA or WEP therefore di encrypted ang connection. Good news sa mga mahilig mag-wardrive, napakadaling makapasok sa network kung tutuusin. Bad news lang sa inyo dahil maaaring maka-connect kayo pero limited ang connection nyo sa Smart-Meridian network lang (kung di ako nagkakamali “portal.meridian.ph” lang ang pwede nyong pasukin. Meron din authentication kahit papaano (thru portal.meridian.ph), pag authenticated kayo maari kayong makapagbrowse sa internet. Pero palagay ko a very good hacker can easily bypass their security, and with the right tools anyone can eavesdrop the customer’s activity and probably acquire confidential information like passwords, credit card numbers, etc.
To avoid confusion Smart’s WiFi is a “fixed” connection in a sense na hindi ito katulad ng typical na WiFi na pwede ka mag-roam around dahil directional and antenna nito and required na magkaroon ng LOS (line of sight). But still, it uses the 802.11b specification so therefore it is WiFi.
Don’t argue with me dahil I have physical access to those devices.
Ibang term dito ay “Last Mile Access Solution”
Basahin nyo to para kayo’y maliwanagan
http://www.orinocowireless.com/solutions/lastmile/
No offense! ^_^
I just copied my post at http://www.phackers.org... Ako rin ang nagpost dun! Tinatamad lang me magtype! Sorry!
@ connected
You connected with Meridian Telekoms? Can you share something about the level of security of this type of connection?
@ waraybuut
Thanks for the additional info.
ive had meridian for almost a month now and its true the speed is really amazing, it even hit the 3mbps mark last week! the average bandwidth is around 400kbps higher in the evenings where the average is around 1.2mbps. i live in cavite and paid the 788 + 500 installation fee. this wifi is answered prayer for me as we have no phone lines yet in our part of the woods. no regrets yet so far.
sa naintindihan ko, bridged ung connection ng transceiver. no authentication needed ba o kelangan nila ng mac address? kung bridge sya, e di switch na lang bibilhin ko, hindi na router. so unlimited sya, pro reliable ba ung service? consistent ba ung bandwidth o pag peak hours baka bumaba ng 33K. gusto ko kasi mgpakabit ng broadband kaso research muna ako, baka kasi mura, un pla, 80% of the time me outage. one more thing, me static ip service ba sila. need your opinion bago ko sila kausapin, syempre sales un, puro BS, me number ba kayo ng tech support nila, kasi mas gusto ko silang kausapin e bago sales. and syempre, gusto ko muna opinion ng current users tungkol sa reliability & consistency ng service. thanks!
Putang ina!!!! tang ina tlga!! bago kayo mag pakabit ng smart/meridian wifi!!! syet mag isip isp muna kayo!!! ako 5 days plang nakabitan tang inang yan sang damakmak na problema na!!!! ayus sana yung speed ero bale wala dahil pag nag piping ako fucking shit daming interference!!!! puro request time out!!!! RTO!!! hindi lng ako may ganitong problema try to read this thread >>>>> http://www.pinoywifi.com/index.php?showtopic=59
I’ve got Smart Wifi installed. Maayos na sana pero their tech support has an IQ of 0. Galing ako tech support ng Sony Computers USA so alam ko ung problem. I had a problem sa bandwidth. The bandwidth test isn’t reporting the supposed bandwidth. I was only getting 50 - 60% of the max allocated bandwidth. The tech support agent just had me go thru ipconfigs and bandwidht tests. I asked the agent what was the relevance for this to get my problem resolved but they had no clue. They just told me they’ll forward this to the “2nd level” of support and do a follow-up. This is very disappointing…
i had mine installed two months ago and its the WORST!!!!! mura nga pero feeling ko solar powered sha kase everytime madilim, umuulan, kumikidlat and night time, walang internet!!! wala na ako internet for almost a week now. ilang beses nako tumatawag sa customer care and tech support pero wala sila magawa everytime. ive caleed them a million times to send out someone to fix our connection pero til now wala parin. i wont be surprised if they close down because of poor quality of product and poor service.
ATTENTION: to all those planning on availing this service, research muna kayo and find out sa area nyo kung ok sha.
may alam ba kayo na ok na service provider dito QC new manila? kahit cable… except PLDT myDSL…
SA LAHAT NG INTERESTED MAG AVAIL NG MERIDIAN SERVICES…PLEASE READ THIS FIRST
nagstart ako a few weeks ago and two days lang maganda yung connection. lagi nalang ako nagkakaproblem sa internet connection. there are times na walang internet specially at night. regular caller na nga ako sa technical support and customer service ng meridian, i’ve already memorized their number by heart sa sobrang lagi ako tumatawag. and everytime sasabihin ko yung problem ko na walang internet ang laging sagot sakin “ma’am paki check po yung status ng POE” troubleshoot nanaman!! lagi ko nalang ginagawa pero nothing happens. ipapaayos pa yung ipconfig wala pa din. they’ll tell me to check the POE, go to run, type ipconfig, check the ipnumbers, browse….. paulitulit na ganito still…..NOTHING HAPPENS. the same with UNSATISFIED CUSTOMER nagrequest na din ako na magsend sila ng tao to check my connection, pero wala pa din pumupunta. lagi nalang nila sinasabi ng customer rep na they’ll fprward my complaint to the concerned department. naforward nga kaya?
meron pa….pag sa technical support paghindi na nila masagot yung question ko or wala na sila mabigay na solution sa complain ko, they’ll put me on hold.. tas babalikan ako after ilang minutes, tapos they’ll put me on hold again hanggang sa mawala nalang sila at marinig ko na ang… toot,toot,toot. wala na pala akong kausap. hindi lang once nangyari sakin ito, i think it’s their style of hanging up the phone pagwala na silang magawa. ano ba namang klaseng service yan!! lastly, mali yung advertising nila, they said their connection is not affected by any weather condition, eh konting ulan nga lang wala na akong internet. they also said that 288kb yung speed nila yun pala yung maximum, hindi sinabi na once in a blue moon mo lang maeexperience yun. i know its advertising and you’ll only put things that will make your company look good, pero sana naman there’s truth, kahit slight truth to what you’re saying. i’m just stating the facts so wag sana masamain comment ko gawan nalang nila ng action yung mga complains ko at ng ibang customers.
Pwede bang e internet connection sharing ang wifi?
Actually, pwede ang internet connection sharing, medyo kelangan mo lang ng hub or router with multiple ports. Mura lang naman. Kaya mo yan.
My provider is Smart Wifi.Baguio ang location ko,I’ve observed na tuwing umulan(fog and rain),madilim ,signal is worst…U can expect that from a wireless connection.Prone sa interruption/blocking sa link kapag worst ang climate ,but of course u have to do an improvement (continuous improvement!) of providing us the best.
at last my request has been granted. nagpadala na din nang tao meridian yesterday to check my connection. they’re from smart wifi mismo. so ganun na nga they checked my connection, yung ip address, ip number, if okay yung connection from my pc to the antennae, nag troubleshoot pa..okay naman daw, baka daw defective yung antennae na kinabit. pero….. they have to reschedule kase naubusan na daw sila nang dala na antennae!! oh well i should have expected that. anyway, the technicians from smart wifi agreed with me that the technical support team of meridian gives very poor service…walang kwenta talaga. kahit daw sa kanila when they ask for numbers or help in installing or repairing connections minsan hindi daw alam ang isasagot or kung pinapasapasa nalang sila. i’m expecting the technicians to be back by tomorrow. SANA TALAGA. i hopr they’ll be able to fix my connection at magkainternet na ako para naman magamit ang binabayaran
I just had installed my Smart Wifi Internet Connection last Saturday. It is all a misconception as to “Wifi” is concerned. I have 2 laptops and 2 pc’s in my household. Since both my laptops are wireless and my plans to buy wireless lans for the pc’s, i decided to subscribe basically because it was cheap. 788p plus 1000p for the antenna. Well, my excitement was definitely doused with hot water as the installation team arrived with a small plastic box and a short flexible aluminum tube as their antenna. That was their wireless receiver with a Line Of Sight connection to a Smart cellsite located about 3 kilometers from myhouse. It doesn’t stop there. They had one line to connect to only one pc. The 2 laptops and other pc had to wait for their turns. Hahaha! That’s as wireless as they can get. By the way, download speed is at 8-10 kbps. That’s faster than dial-up by about 1/8 slower than the standard 70-80 kbps of broadband. You judge coz i’m in jail right now.
Guys, I’m a subscriber of Meridian Telekoms, impressive yung connection speed nya using smart wi-fi. Anyone who knows directions on how to share this connection to my otrher PC? Meron po akong router Linksys (WRT54G). Di ko sure if i configured it right, isang computer lang ang nakakaconnect sa Internet, my other computer is not. Baka sakaling meron na sa inyo nakagawa neto, pa share naman ng ideas. Router ba kelangan or switch? Please advise
kelan kaya maging network support ang wifi. nasubukan ko na sa single pc quite ok, pag dating sa network wow ang tagal. siguro dedicated lang sa single pc ang connection nila. sana may development ang technology nyo…… bilisan nyo lang paparating na ang competencya nyo hayan na cla.
Behind Linksys WRT54G has ethernet connection for your ISP. (separated from the 4 port switch). I have not seen Smart wifi but base on requirements they need ethernet connection for your PC. I assume the wire that runs from antenna is an ethernet cable.
Refer to your routers manual to configure PPOE or DHCP, if it is an ALWAYS ON connection your router should grab the IP address from smart.
Happy surfing
@Tony,
Hi, I’m using a Linksys WRT54G to share the Smart Wi-Fi connection in my house.
Please refer to this link on how to configure it.
http://www.davaoexchange.com/transact.php?action=show&topic=58
The only problem I experienced with this was that if I went beyond 9 ft of cable for my LAN card signal interference got pretty bad.
Guys, help naman! I have 2 desktop PCs, in my room and the other in my sis room. I also have a hub. My problem is how can I share my “smart wifi” internet connection with my sis on the other room? Do I need to buy another piece of hardware to have this? TIA
Hi Ernie,
What I did with mine previously was have 2 LAN cards on my pc. The first connected to Smart Wi-Fi router, then the second connected to a hub where the pc who was sharing my connection connected to. Then I used privoxy as a proxy to share the connection to the other PC (i don’t recommend this though because it’s a difficult proxy to configure). If you are going to connect only 2 pc’s together, you might want to try making a UTP cross-cable instead and connect them directly (lan card to Lan card), it will save on electricity. I forgot to mention that the 2 Lan cards must use static IP addresses (ex. the 2nd LAN card in the host is configured as 192.168.2.1 and the 2nd PC’s IP is 192.168.2.2)
I don’t know how Internet Connection Sharing works in Windows XP, 2000, Me, 98b but you might want to look into that also.
I have to say though that the router is the best way to go because it will definitely be faster.
i was planning to get smart wifi here in Zamboanga, but when i went to pldt to disconnect my pldt vibe, they discouraged me to apply for smart wifi and encouraged me to subsribe for pldt dsl because they now have a cheaper plan, they said the have a P1k for the first six months, afterwhich will go back to it’s originial price which is P1.5k… so what I want to know is, is Smart WiFi really bad? or Good? not to mention if PLDT dsl is not that good anymore?
@interestedcustomer
I can’t really speak for other users, but from my end I’ve had no major problems with Smart Wi-fi… so far
I think one reason I’m not having problems is because mag-isa lang ako sa base station ko… hehehe… so I don’t really experience any issues caused by congestion of the network… which is mostly the root of all problems in networking, based from my experience.
From what I know of the 788 promo of Smart WiFi is good only till september, then it becomes 988.
interesting what you’;ve said about PLDT discouraging you to get Smart Wifi… so there really is competition between sister companies… hehehe… what’s the bandwidth of the 1.5k plan? I think it’s higher than 256kbps? right?
cheers!
plan 1.5k’s speed 384kbps also there is a plan 1.5k for the 1st 6mnths then back to 1995 after the nxt 6mnths which is at 506kbps i think, i too was shocked when they told me NOT to apply for Smart WiFi but anyway, for now i will wait for confirmation about the quality of smart wifi here in zamboanga although i asked some of my classmates about pldt dsl, they said dsl is quite alright, their speed are not fluctuating… btw HOOP, what’s your speed on Smart WiFi?
Hi everyone, Im JR. Im from Baguio City, I have my Smart WiFi connection for a month now and works well. Im running under 108-110 Kbps, I don’t maximize the 128 Kbps speed but thats OK. I also installed a Netgear Wireless Router (Wireless B, 11 Mbps) and 1 Wireless USB Adapter (Wireless G, 108 Mbps) for the three PCs at home “for a real WiFi experience”. For 27/day thats a fair rate. I don’t need to go home late just to do my research work, I don’t need to bring my notebook computer in an internet cafe for hardware and software updates. Just a button click away then Im already connected. My feedback is just they don’t provide manuals for reference purposes especially on troubleshooting, they don’t provide a download website(downloads for utilities, news, etc). If I am going to rate it from 1-10, I give it 8. Guys don’t be mad to those Smart Customer Care attendants if they don’t explain Smart WiFi very well. i also experience that, I have my OJT at the Wireless Center, then sometimes Im the one who explains this process the technicals etc. Thank God Im on the IT field, I’m more knowledgeable on technical terms
For questions, comments email me:
iron59_ftl@yahoo.com
@interestedcustomer
I just tested it at dslreports.com(speakeasy.net server) and this is what I got for upload and download speeds.
2005-08-01 13:29:56 EST: 226 / 234
Your download speed : 231958 bps, or 226 kbps.
A 28.3 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 239707 bps, or 234 kbps.
I actually had to hack some branches out of our palmeras 2 weeks ago in order to improve our signal, because i noticed that my successful ping to time out ratio was degrading from my acceptable value of 2 timeouts per 10 pings… I would have cut some more but my wife and mother would get mad at me if I did… hehehe
@iron59
Yup it’s kinda a vague description right now, like the path charter change… hehehe
so it isn’t affected by weather neither it is solar powered… and the speed is near the maximum speed promised, considering that it will be on 256kbps on october.. What the heck! I’ll immediately apply for Smart WiFi when I have the chance.
@interestedcustomer
If the technical guys come to install your unit, it would be best if you were there. So that you can see what they’re doing. The guys who install it are subcontractors, they get about 1.2k for each installation…The subcontractor who installed mine was nice enough to explain to me what he was doing.
During the router set-up, you should get a SNR value of > 45, 36 works but 45 above is better. RSL should be between -10~-60. Check also the fluctuation. Changes of +/- 10 is ok but greater than that means that you aren’t getting a good signal. The smart tower usually has 3 antenna nodes you can connect to (A,B & C) they usually start the tweaking by using the node with the best signal.
Goodluck!
i have been using meridian’s wifi service since june 17, 2005 and so far, i have not experienced any problems. i am located in cebu and the monthly fee here is 788 + 500 installation fee.
here are my connection details…
dslreports.com - speakeasy.net server:
2005-08-03 21:00:49 EST: 228 / 186
Your download speed : 234391 bps, or 228 kbps.
A 28.6 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 191000 bps, or 186 kbps.
dslreports.com - megapath.net server:
2005-08-03 21:11:38 EST: 218 / 223
Your download speed : 224049 bps, or 218 kbps.
A 27.3 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 229210 bps, or 223 kbps.
dslreports.com - linkline.net server:
2005-08-03 21:16:58 EST: 226 / 214
Your download speed : 231752 bps, or 226 kbps.
A 28.2 KB/sec transfer rate.
Your upload speed : 219719 bps, or 214 kbps.
mcaffee speedtest:
(http://us.mcafee.com/root/speedometer/)
filesize: 150.005 KB
time elapsed: 4.573 seconds
connection speed: 262.4 kbps (32.8 KBps)
if i am subscribed to a 128kbps max connection… then i think my 788 per month is definitely worth it. i just hope the meridian here in cebu doesnt run into any problem…
ive got one question though as im not very good with this wifi stuff… how do i configure the wifi antenna that was connected to my pc? i was present during the time of installation and the service dude was typing so many of that wifi stuff into my computer, my brain suddenly hang up! hehehe… i want to know because i want to reformat my pc and i dont want to end up having no internet connection after that. i would very much appreciate it if anybody could help me… thanx
I’ve applied for the Smart WiFi service.. i live in bulacan.. and the plan costs 788/month w/ P1000 installation fee.. the price will increase to 988 by october.. hmmm.. i’m researching on it and trying to get as much feedbacks as i could.. hmm..
Are there any users there from bulacan? Marilao?
Tell your experience!
@dumsdei
I don’t think there should be anything to worry about. As long as you configure your LAN card’s TCP/IP Settings to acquire IP an address automatically then you’re all set to go once you hook up your pc to the smart wi-fi router.
I used to switch computers before I had my wireless router share the connection. All the smart wi-fi router did was ask for a re-input of my username, password and a reboot of my pc & router. I think this was so that it could register my mac address with the router or something to that effect.
lately my connection had been crapping out, the WLAN LED was blinking, meaning that it either had no connection or the router was busted. I asked the CSR and he said that that usually means the Smart Guys are fixing something. I’ve noticed that they always say that there’s no scheduled downtime even though there is… SMARTassess *snicker*
hey guys. what if i have two antennas and only one was configured for smart. can i use the other one to access my smart wifi account? but i dont know how to configure them… anybody knows how?
@inkblot,
you mean you have an extra router package from smart? If you can access the router I think you just have to copy the settings from your original router and input your verification no.
To get the IP of the router, what the subcons did was to derive the IP address of the router from my MAC address (that’s how they explained it to me) that it was different per each installation during initial boot of the router.
The username for the router was root and the password was left blank, afterwards of course you have to change that a none blank value
forgot to mention, that you have to set your LAN card first to a static IP address and not obtain an IP address automatically when configuring the router.
For. Ex.
If the IP address of the router is 10.2.2.247, just go plus 1, like 10.2.2.248 for your lan card.
And to configure your router, you need to use IE, it don’t work on firefox (the bastards!)… just type the IP address of the router in the URL and input the root username/password.
Hi Guys
I must have been asleep for the last year! Thanks for enlightening me.
I am connected via satellite from Tarlac with AZ Comms (Cojuangco I think?). I thought it was good until I read this blog for the first time tonight. Speed test came back from speakeasy net at” download speed 85kbps and upload 30kbps.
I pay a flat fee of P5000 a month. Seems to me I am missing something here!? Is it as straighforward as it seems? My husband had this system installed about 3 years ago, and I guess it was all that was available at that time.
Smart cellsite is about 1km away,and Globe also. What does Meridian use?
If anyone can offer advice, please help!
Hi Annie,
You’ve been paying a significant amount of money on a not-so-fast internet connection speed. You can actually shift to Smart WiFi which I believe is PHP788/mo plus one-time installation fee of PHP1,000.00. This used to be the wifi service from meridian and I believe Smart bought meridian so Smart is now marketing this wifi service.
Just last week my bro had me help him configure the WiFi connection since he had signed up for a subscription two weeks ago but the sub-contractors who install the antenna, CPE and POE equipment was not able to configure it to work for his LAN nor for a single computer, though it worked with their laptop. It was just a network card issue which was resolved through hard setting the connection speed of the network card or by replacing the network card. I did replace the network card so that it will connect at 100MBps.
I have tried the connection and it works fine.. Download speed of about 12-17 KBps, not bad for a 128Kbps connection. I have even set it up to work on multiple computers using one computer as the gateway (XP Internet Connection Sharing feature). The only drawback that I have seen at the moment is that though you may install a router you would not be able to configure the port forwarding feature like for example if you want to create your own webserver or ftp server since the ip address that they give is a private ip address which is a non-routable ip address. It seems to me that all the users on one cellsite (since they put a sort-of Access Point at smart’s cellsite) have one ip address which is NAT-enabled. Regarding applications, it works fine with yahoo msgr including webcam, MSN msgr., Skype, mirc etc.
Regarding tech support, I can’t really say for now since I haven’t called them yet but if you really want support you might as well contact a local tech in your area to help you with it if your not so technically-oriented, you will have shorter turn-around-time thus faster resolution.
If I have to rate the Smart Wifi 1-10 regarding the connection speed and the cost, I’d give it a 9. It’s good enough for a 788/mo unlimited connection.
Hi Annie,
P5k a month, yikes that’s expensive for something that’s as fast as 2x regular dial up.
Meridian belongs to Smart now so it uses the smart cellsite. Best bet is to ask them if it’s available already in your area since not all smart towers are equipped yet with the Smart Wifi antennas. The smart wireless center would be a great place to start
Goodluck
so far nakaka 1 month na ako sa Smart WIFI in the first month ok lng cya satisfied pa ako sa performance nya. then last saturday. my internet connection suddenly lost. nagpunta ako sa sub-contractor(near us) sbi nila ung reciever daw ung antena ang may problema. i don’t know how that happen becuase my PC is open 24/7 due to ragnarok bots that i’m running 24/7. ng pinalitan na ung antena ng technician. hay.. every 30 mins connection timed out na minsan i need to shut down my pc for at least 15 mins to have a connection again.. i don’t know what happen but maybe it’s because it’s rainy dis days and i don’t have a line of sight to their tower.. by the way ung tower ng smart ay about 4 houses away from our home.. but still i’m satisfied with the speed of the connection but i’m not happy about the frequent disconnection. is there anyone that can suggest a substitute hardware from the equipments that smart is currently using? because i’m planning to replace the reciever and the antena with a better hardware… thanks
hey smart wifi users
i’m just about to disconnect to my current ISP and switch to Wifi
is there anybody from tacloban who’s using SMART WIFI?
i’d like to know their comments if the connection is good…
thnx!!!! (”,)
@ Allan
U can share ur internet connection by having a router. The standard port has 4 connections, you go up 8 connections. Try this brands: Netgear, Linksys, DLink, Hawking, Belkin. Right now, Im using a wireless router, Netgear MR814 then a USB Wireless Adapter, the real WiFi experience.