A reader sent an email last night asking why Smart Bro’s Fixed Wireless Plan 999 has been downgraded to just 1Mbps from 2Mbps starting June 1, 2011. So I double-checked and compared the page using Google Cache and here’s what I got.
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Smart Broadband, a subsidiary of Smart Communications, today launched SMART Bro Share It, a wireless router with HSDPA capability.
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Most of you might have already seen the banner ads here for about a month now but the landing page didn’t really give much detail. It’s actually a Smart Bro laptop giveway — that’s an HP Mini 2133 every time you top up your Smart Bro Prepaid.
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It’s finally here, Smart Bro is now offering unlimited 3G access for a monthly flat rate of just Php1,500. That, and the earlier announcement that they’ve upgraded their network to speeds of up to 2Mbps.
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A new poster ad from Smart Bro promotes their broadband speed to be up to 2Mbps. The operative word is “up to” but that’s still a huge jump from the previous 384Kbps.
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The latest HSDPA 3G modem from Smart Bro and Globe Visibility were manufactured by ZTE in China. Both are practically plug-and-play devices. The problem is running both softwares (3G dialers) on the same PC.
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The latest AdMob report for August shows strong growth in mobile web traffic for the Philippines. This is partly pushed by the iPhone 3G. Our next poll asks how much people spend on mobile 3G every month.
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Healthy competition drives prices down and at the end of the day, consumers win. So it’s not a surprise that Globe Telecom has dropped its Globe Visibility Mobile Prepaid kit down to just Php3,500.
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One of the primary reasons why we don’t have a comprehensive 3G offering from the big telcos is because of the problem of 3G network congestion. It’s an undeniable truth that P2P is killing 3G in the Philippines.
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According to a recent disclosure by PLDT, Smart’s wireless services are still growing pretty strong. Leading the pack is the fixed-wireless service Smart Bro, closing it to half a million subscribers since it first launched 3 years ago.
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Got a sample SmartBro Prepaid Kit last week from Smart for review. I was about to buy my own kit before this got in so I’m putting this one out to the stress test until I finally make the purchase. So, what’s inside the box?
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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.
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Update: The Smart Bro Microsite, Sugod Na just went up. Check it out here!
As most of you may have notice, I’ve got ads up for the new Smart Bro Prepaid. Couldn’t blog about it until the banners were up.
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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.
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A tip from Lawrence got me all curious about this alleged new HSDPA modem from Globe. A wireless landline plus broadband service has been reported as early as last year and is branded as Speak ‘n Surf.
This month, I was told an upgraded system will be rolled out commercially, promising speeds way better than that of Smart Bro.
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Just after midnight today, we headed off to Baguio City to spend the holiday. I brought my Globe Visibility account with me and I borrowed my cousin’s 3G phone (N6680) so we could road test both 3G connectivity along the way. I am trying to do some head to head comparison of both services during our stay here, the results of which will be posted later.
Ok, moving on with some points to ponder for Smart 3G:
- 3G does not always mean broadband speeds. While your conection will automatically switch between GRPS to 3G, whichever is faster, do not expect you’d get some good numbers even if you’re hooked up on 3G. Major reason? Signal strength – the lower the signal strength, the slower the 3G connection. My lowest recorded Smart 3G speed is around 90kbps.
- Coverage is relative. When Smart tells you they have about 800 locations on 3G, it doesn’t mean that the entire area is covered. I noticed that 3G signal only becomes available when we’re at the center of cities we pass thru, not in between them. Not sure how far is the coverage for a certain cell site but my experience with Globe Visibility tells me it’s around 500 meters.
- Smart 3G does not allow all ports so forget about accessing your site’s cPanel, WHM and Webmail. Google Talk, YM and other IMs wouldn’t work. Globe allows cPanel ports t pass thru.
- Smart 3G is cheaper — still Php10 per 30 minutes. Globe doesn’t have that tingi pricing.
The Globe Visibility I used is connected via the PCMCIA while Smart 3G is connected via a 3G phone on USB cable. I don’t think their speeds are affected by these.
The SmartBro installation team just arrived here at my place to hook me up. Took them about 30 minutes to install and configure my account and I’m now running on Smart Bro (Just one of my desktop PCs. My laptop and other PC is still on myDSL.).
First off, some speed tests:
PLDTPlay: 260.3 kbps
GlobeQuest Utilities: 235.0 kbps
2Wire: 99.50 kbps
TestMy: 113 kbps
Smart Bro top speed: 384kbps
During the installation, I talked with the two tech guys and explained to them my arrangement with Smart. The tech guys were actually a bit curious why my account was different, at least that’s what the designated subscriber code says. They added that the subscriber code I am using is for internal use and usually assigned to COs. I told them I hope it does not affect my connection speed from that of a regular subscriber.
The above speed test results would indicate I am in no better luck than any other subscriber. Ok, on with the testing.
Btw, remeber that wifi incident last week at Malate? The techs did confirm to me that it’s something they’ve also encountered before and when they reported it back to the NOC, they were told that it’s for an experimental hotspot. Looks like Airborne Access is going to have some internal competition of sorts.
I was with Ajay all evening last night at Starbucks Adriatico in Malate for some very confidential undercover project. :p
Thinking that the Starbucks branch there had Airborne Access internet, I brought my laptop with me so we could do some online stuff. I was mistaken.
However, there was this wifi access point available somewhere which my laptop detected. The name of the network suggested that it was from Meridian (or SmartBro) but I was surprised I was able to connect to the network. Surfing wasn’t any good though as I could not get anything.
A few re-connection tries later and my browser was pulling some web page. I really though I got in but again got surprised again that I was redirected to the Smart Bro Portal page. I took a screen shot below:
Was that supposed to happen? I entered my Airborne Access account hoping that, since Smart/PLDT also owns AA, I could login successfully. Nay. What if I use a SmartBro account?
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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