In a TV commercial aired last Saturday, PLDT introduced a new DSL plan which offers up to 10Mbps for just Php4,000. That makes it the top broadband offering under the myDSL service line-up (PLDT MyDSL Plan 4000).
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Since October 1, Smart has switched the plug on their Smart Bro Rocket Plug-It to use volume-based data pricing (same as Always On). The recommended bucket plan is Php200 per 180MB. So I tried it on my Rocket Plug-It to see how much I’d consume in a day.
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Been in the boondocks for about a week now on a semi-vacation mode (and semi-retreat kind of way) so I’m not able to regularly publish new entries here. With a thousand miles away from mega Manila and a couple hundred more miles from the nearest city, my mountain resort hide-away is almost devoid of any internet coverage.
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That’s according to a recent report of the FCC in the US — broadband subscribers in the US only get around 50% of the promised internet speeds by service providers.
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Last month, PLDT sent out word to subscribers that they’ve prepared the network for the live-streaming of the Pacquiao-Clottey fight on WatchPad. Manny turned out a winner but how about PLDT’s WatchPad?
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BayanDSL is now offering live streaming TV and video-on-demand to all it’s DSL subscribers and Sky Broadband customers. Available channels include ABS-CBN and cable channels.
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Just realized that since all the telecom players (Sun, Smart and Globe) are now offering unlimited 3G internet and subsequently lowering the prices down, 3G is officially cheaper than DSL.
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Last May, Globe Telecom sent us a formal statement regarding the peer-2-peer bandwidth capping on their network — claiming they’re not doing any bandwidth capping. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have such provisions in the subscriber contracts, a copy of which is posted below:
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For the last couple of weeks, my PLDT DSL connection at home has crawled to a turtle’s pace. I don’t often get this type of problems in the last 4.5 years but this time, it took longer than one would expect.
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Sky Broadband seems to be tipping the scale for broadband speeds with offerings of up to 6Mbps and 12 Mbps packages for residential accounts. Just got a pamphlet from their roving people asking residents to switch.
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In a recent report released by Speed Matters, Japan topped the list of countries with the highest median internet download speeds at 61 megabits per second. The United States fell far behind with only 1.9 megabits per second:
Between September 2006 to May 2007, nearly 80,000 people in all 50 states and the District of Columbia (nearly all of them with broadband connections) have gone to the Speedmatters.org site to take an Internet speed test and measure how fast their computers can upload and download data. This is the first national survey of actual Internet speeds, and the results showed just how the US continues to lag behind other countries.
The chart below shows Japan’s internet speed is about 30 times faster than the US, with a few other countries in between:
South Korea: 45Mbps, Finland: 21Mbps, Sweden 18Mbps, Canada 7.6Mbps
You can download the full report in PDF format here. The report does not show results from the Philippines but basing form our recent discussion on the state of DSL in the country, I guess it’s way down there in the charts.
I checked with DSLReports and there’s some data there of 28 independent test for PLDT shows an average 706 Kbps download and 235 Kbps upload speeds.
Joey Alarilla asks “Do we actually have broadband in RP?”. Yeah, we do, it’s called Digital Substandard Lines. *heh*
Been hooked up on DSL for about 4 years now. Before that, I languished in crappy dial up connection. I started with Greendot at 256Kbps for Php2,750 for about a year before I moved to PLDT DSL paying Php1,995 at 384Kbps speeds. They then upgraded the accounts across the board and my Plan 1995 got 512Kbps, went up to 786Kbps and now at 1.2Mbps.
If you think about it, the 384Kbps cap is now 1.2Mbps after 4 years at the same monthly rate. I should be happy right? Well, in a way yeah. Them DSL providers would make you think/feel the same. The premium residential packages now are at 2.2Mbps and 5Mbps (Alabang area only).
However, those free upgrades to higher speeds aren’t any good at all when you’ve actually checked the actual speeds. Ever since I’m on the 1.2Mbps line, I’ve always checked my bandwidth on different days of the week and various times of the day. Here’s how it fared via Broadband Reports:
It’s like it’s just half of what I was told my supposed connection is. The only time I’d get that promised 1.2Mbps is when I ran the bandwidth test via PLDTPlay. So, the line from my place to the PLDT servers tops at 1.2Mbps but my actual DSL speed from PLDT to the outside world is just half of that. Great. So those upgrades we’re all getting all these years were a farse?
When do we get Singapore’s 100Mbps speeds to their homes? In the year 2020?
Over at PTB, Arnold is taking a spot survey from readers on the status of their ISP’s connectivity. For my end, it’s still spotty. There will be times that the speeds are decent (though not at par with normal) and there will be times that it’s totally useless to go online.
I have PLDT myDSL which is the worst hit. Surprisingly though, Smart Bro seems to be doing much better than expected.
So, I went out and tried several AirborneAccess hotspots but couldn’t login. Then I discovered that my free account from them already expired last December 31. Time to use that Globe WiZ backup but none is in sight.
Again, Smart 3G/GPRS saves the day. It’s not really that fast but feels better than dial-up (97kbps via 2Wire).
How’s everybody else’s connection nowadays?
This is probably the second time PLDT myDSL upgraded their bandwidth offerings this year. Just saw an ad at Manila Bulletin that their newly re-branded residential DSL packages are getting a bit of a boost.
Here are the new bandwidth speeds:
myDSL Xperience
Php 999/month
from 384Kbps to 512 Kbps
myDSL Xcite
Php 1,995/month
from 768 Kbps to 1.2Mbps
myDSL Xcel
Php 3,000/month
from 2Mbps to 3 Mbps
Must be real tough competition going on we don’t know about.
Heard that PLDT had a 7% drop in profits compared to last years. But just how much of their revenues are coming from them being a DSL provider?
Got this new PLDT promo at PEx:
Promo Period: January 23 to April 23, 2006
Coverage: Nationwide
Target Market: New Postpaid Residential Subscribers who will also subscribe to any myDSL package
Offers:
Discounted Installation Fee: P500
Free MSF on the 12th month
Pre-activated NDD access
Free Speed Calling 20
Free first 10 ndd unlimited calls (P10/call)
Optional: Free Activation of Megabundle + Free 1st 2 months MSF of Megabundle (subs must have a CID unit)
Discounted TEL.+ DSL Bundled Rate
1. P 750 + 999 = P 1,749 – 200 = P 1,549 MSF (net)
2. P 750 + 1,499 = P 2,745 – 400 = P 2,345 MSF (net)
3. P 750 + 3,000 = P 3,750 – 600 = P 3,150 MSF (net)
Guidelines:
Application may be filed thru Business Office, 171, CSFs** & all Bilis-Kabit Blitzes
24-month lock-in period (for both voice & data service)
Pre-termination fee of P2,500 (for voice) + 3X MSF for the DSL Plan
**For more details and to apply, contact:
Rene Bautista
PLDT Agent Code: 5003632
(02) 8740183 // (0927) 4567254 // (0918) 22312423
add616reneb@yahoo.com // add616reneb@gmail.com
I never thought that broadband connection would spread this fast around here. My PLDT DSL connection is just Php1,999 a month for 0.5Mbps. It’s nothing compared to the ones in the west where you’d get something like 5Mbps for the same amount.
But if you look back 4 years ago, when dial-up was the king of connectivity, you’d be surprised. DDU or dedicated dial-up connection in 2001 could rake up as high as Php5,000 a month. Now unlimited dial-up can be had for Php499 a month. Internet pre-paid cards charges Php100 for 4 hours. Last time I checked pre-paid cards can be bought in demonimations of Php50 with a 9 hour credit.
Well, you might say that 4 years is such a long time but considering that we also have Smart WiFi (fixed) and PLDTWeRoam at a more affordable price is a very good sign as well. Far flung provinces and remtoe areas can now be connected as well thru Dream Cable’s satellite internet. Not sure how much it costs but they’ve bundled cable TV and internet connection for an affordable price.
Before Smart/PLDT bought into Meredian Telekoms, they used to charge Php8,888 a month for DSL-on-air and the speeds weren’t very good as well (128 – 256kbps). It was about 2 years ago. That’s the reaosn why I moved back to Makati from Bacoor. I’d rather spend that 9 grand on a nice apartment. 
We’re still a long way in terms of connectivity and internet penetration but at the current rate, it’s very promising.
