fbpx

The Hunt for a Globe HSPA+ Cell Site

After getting that list of Globe HSPA+ sites within Metro Manila, I took the task of finding out one and do some tests of my own.

The target location is Brgy. San Isidro in Makati. The idea was to circle around San Isidro and take sample speed tests and then move towards the area where the HSPA+ is supposed to be and do the final one.

This will give us an idea what the real-world coverage of the HSPA+ sites and how fast can you get when you’re within coverage.

We used a regular Globe Prepaid SIM running on SuperSurf 50 inserted into a Huawei E353 (this is the Smart Bro Rocket actually, which is open line).

Here’s our collection of speedtests around the area:


Taken at Paseo de Magallanes in front of Starbucks.


Taken at the Shell Gas Station beside Marvin’s Plaza along Pasong Tamo, Brgy. Pio del Pilar.


Taken at the back of BPI Buendia corner Pasong Tamo.


Taken at the Caltex Station in La Paz, Brgy. San Antonio.


Taken beside Cash & Carry Makati along Osmena Highway.


Taken at the Sea Oil gas station (where the Welcome to San Isidro post is) in the corner of Batangas Road and Buendia.

I finally found the HSPA+ signal — it was very sneaky because the Huawei E353 was only able to detect it in a very small area (along Batangas Road, between Rockefeller and Zanzibar St.) with a span of around 20 meters.

And our speed test for this HSPA+ site:

A consistent ~2.5Mbps (tried it 5 times).

The highest result for download speed we got was 5.33Mbps and the highest upload is 400Kbps — and that’s just on an HSDPA signal, even beating the speed tests on HSPA+.

Remember that explanation between 2G. vs 3G. vs 4G. before (see here)? These speed results prove that point.

My previous interview with Peter Bithos of Globe gave me the idea that I can just get any open line or unlocked HSPA+ capable device and I would be able to benefit from their HSPA+ roll-out. My usual Globe Tattoo speed tests would not give me anything near 2Mbps but with the Huawei E353, I am able to get pretty decent to good results. And this is for the same rate as the regular prepaid internet rates (on SuperSurf).

The Tonino Lamborghini Tattoo is on postpaid and might have different results. In my correspondence with @chuckiedreyfus, he shared that he is able to download from P2P with speeds in excess of 500KB/s. However, my own test with a Globe Prepaid SIM card and the Huawei E353 barely got me past 10KB/s (so I guess the prepaid is throttled).

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 983 other subscribers
Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

40 Responses

  1. Avatar for BlueMaru BlueMaru says:

    13Mbps on HSPA+ on our place (Peak) ~5-8Mbps consistent download speed

  2. Avatar for boykal boykal says:

    the services of both provider is very limited especially if you are in the province, I asked the representative of Globe, they say its no used to buy their high speed broadband, because in our town the highest speed is only 2 Mbps…crap

  3. Avatar for Joshua Joshua says:

    @jason

    Solution 1 – Change your location here in the Phil.
    Solution 2 – Contact a relative (if you have any)

    Solution 3 – Use 3g stick

    And on your side note, that is why “Its more fun in the Philippines”

  4. Avatar for Jason Jason says:

    Thank you for this data! I am in absolute CONFUSION in what to do. I am moving from London to Avida Towers Makati West, Lumbayao, Makati City. Which is right near the Cash & Carry mall. When I contacted both GLOBE & SMART they both say they do not have 4G coverage at Avida Towers.

    I am so confused what to do, I need a reliable Internet connection for VOIP calls (work), but I don’t have a Filipino ID card so I can’t get POSTPAID DSL.

    Going by the results here, do you think I will be OK to purchase a prepaid 4G stick from either Globe or Smart?

    Also on a side note, the internet speed in the Philippines seems to be quite expensive for such little speeds, at the moment here in the UK I pay P1,350 for 30 MBPS Cable Broadband (100% Unlimited) :(.

    Any help would be very much appreciated!

  5. Avatar for Rizza Rizza says:

    Good day po! Pwede po ba huminggi ng copy ng locations ng Globe HSPA+ Cell Site? Thank you!

  6. Avatar for anton anton says:

    well.. tago ko na lang Globe 4g stick ko at mag hintay ng 96 months para mag karoon ng HSPA+ tower sa CAINTA,RIZAL!! Sige, balik na ko Cainta, sunog na ata niluluto ko..

  7. Avatar for percie percie says:

    Sir ask ko lang kung ano magandang gamiting broadband sa muntinlupa. sa may bayanan lang po ako. globe superstick po ba o yung sa smart? salamat po

  8. Avatar for sly sly says:

    hi! ADMIN dinala ako dito ni Google, co’z i’m looking for a List Globe Telecom Tower (cellsite)(Location)in the Philippines,

    meron ka po ba nakatago dyan, please kailangan ko lang kasi sa Project ko Directional Yagi Antenna

  9. Avatar for Tara Waterman Tara Waterman says:

    Is this for real? I actually hate Globe sometimes. I am using Tattoo and it always terminate my connection. I am near the town.

  10. Avatar for Joshua Joshua says:

    I think globe has specific simcards provisioned to acquire HSPA+ signal.

Leave a Reply
JOIN OUR TELEGRAM DISCUSSION

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *