Fastest Wireless Broadband in the Philippines
By redyps
@redyps (44)
Philippines
October 12, 2011 2:10am CST
Just want to open a thread to vote which Wireless Broadband provider in the Philippines has the fastest internet speed and the most stable. I'm living in Pasig and planning to have a wireless connection. I'm just renting an apartment there and don't want to install a fixed connection.
I'm choosing between Smart Bro, Globe Wimax or Witribe. Any suggestion?
1 person likes this
4 responses
@viney17 (688)
• Philippines
12 Oct 11
Smart bro isnt stable, we rented (or bought) a smart bro and have a contract of 3 years, yes the 1st year is stable and fast, but well after the 1st year it became unstable and the connection went slower, 1/3 as slow as the implied speed and sometimes have connection problems, either it cannot connect through the internet or simply slow very very slow for that matter. We called a lot on their network but still they are giving the same instructions that do not actually work. Smart bro sucks dont even try it, their service sucks too. IN our household we are using globe broadband, and i can say this is the best i tried, by the way pldt and bayantel connection suck too. I have a friend that uses Wi tribe and when i use his laptop the speed is reasonable for it's price, so i suggest wi tribe. sorry i don't have an experience with Globe Wimax
1 person likes this
@knicnax (2233)
• Philippines
12 Oct 11
Maybe it's your location? I'm using Smart Bro and it works without a hitch! Although the one I'm using is prepaid, so maybe there lies the difference.
Usually, the reason why there's a poor connection is because of the geographical location, how far away you are from the nearest tower which provides the service.
For people nearer Smart Towers, smart is faster (and possibly sun, because of the acqusition). If you're near a Globe Tower, the naturally, Globe is faster.
Wireless Internet Connection is very unstable. It's still better to get a wired connection. Wireless connections can easily degenerate because of rain, airplanes and humidity. Walls and microwaves even jam signals.
@redyps (44)
• Philippines
12 Oct 11
Thanks guys! I'm currently using a Smart Bro (prepaid) and the connection is quite unstable. Sometimes it could reach the 2Mbps limit but sometimes it goes between 10-100 kbps. I'm just wondering if there's any difference between the Prepaid and the Canopy Broadband but basing from your replies, I guess it still all depends to the geographical location.
I want to test all of the subscribers but I'm thinking twice because of the lock-in period.
1 person likes this
@viney17 (688)
• Philippines
15 Oct 11
i don't really believe its the location is at fault. We live in Manila and we are between two nearsmart towers, one is farther half the length of the other though. We always call for their assistance and ask for someone to go to our house and fix it but well every call is a failure. My connection currently is globe broadband and the nearest globe tower hear is kind of farther from the nearest tower of smart but they services is better than smart and count the connection as well. Though globe also promises up to 2mbps, i never experienced connection problems in globe unless there is a storm signal, and the speed never goes down 1mbps.
@knicnax (2233)
• Philippines
12 Oct 11
I'm a sun postpaid subscriber and have met a few people who's using sun broadband and they're saying that it's ok and fast.
But since you're choosing between Smart, Glob and WiTribe, my initial purchase would be wiTribe since it's new and I want to try it out. But hey, that's just me.
You want WiMax (the technology not the Globe product)? Why do you need 4G Internet anyway? Would the normal plug and play dongles or the pocket wifis suffice? 4G internet needs to be plugged in, just like a home router that is connected to a modem. What will you use the connection for anyway?
Based on telco performance, I would choose smart over globe. Globe signal isn't good. When there's a typhoon, Globe's signal is the first one out, followed by sun (which was around 4 hours after Globe lost its signal). Smart rarely faltered. (Based on what happened to me during Ondoy).
@knicnax (2233)
• Philippines
12 Oct 11
If you're not mobile then 4G is the best bet if you want wireless, otherwise, go for the wired Internet connection; but not Sky Broadband. Yes it's fast but i think it's using coax cable (the same one for cable tv) and when there's a lot of people sharing the cable (i.e. a neighborhood connected through the same main cable), then the connection greatly slows down. As for me, I'd rather have the small portable ones cause I travel a lot but I also have DSL (wired) at home that's propagating wifi signals through a home router (PLDT). Connection is good, considering that 1 desktop and 3 laptop computers use it. BTW, just an FYI, wifi signal depends on your computer's hardware and OS. Typically, Windows Vista and Windows 7 have faster connections than Windows XP. Also, laptops have faster and stronger connections than net- and notebooks.
@redyps (44)
• Philippines
12 Oct 11
I'll just it at home for internet browsing, downloading and doing some online jobs. I prefer the latest technology (4G perhaps) so I can have more or less the highest speed possible. Although I'm not sure if LTE is already offered in the Philippines which is the real 4G since WiMax is still considered as 3.5G.
And yes, WiTribe seems to be the newbie on the market and I want to try it as well. Tried their internet on some of their booths and it's really fast. But those might be direct to their site and no other computer shares connection with it that's why it's really fast. i'm not sure if they already have an unlimited plan since last time I heard they just offer a limited bandwidth usage per month.
1 person likes this
@jaiho2009 (39142)
• Philippines
12 Oct 11
I suggest you apply for PLDT wireless or PLDT usb modem.
I have friends who lives in Pasig and they have changed their connection to PLDT usb modem and they say it's really fast compared to other ISP.
Have a good day 
@ichipink (541)
• Philippines
12 Oct 11
hi jaiho2009!
I was just wondering if PLDT usb modem could also be use here in Bukdinon. Do they have a website? I want to learn more about it's feature and signal coverage.
@GbSb19 (26)
• Philippines
14 Oct 11
I recommend using 3 broadband, globe tattoo, smartbro and for the sun network. You should try this 3 networks to determine which is the best one for signal strength in your place before buying. You can borrow from your friends and register on Unlisurf for you to be able to see what is your internet speed for one day. Hope this helps.
