Comments on: 3G/UMTS Internet – SmartBro or Globe Tattoo in the Philippines? http://www.nomad4ever.com/2009/08/17/3gumts-internet-smartbro-or-globe-tattoo-in-the-philippines/ Life is what you make it! Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:04:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= By: Chris http://www.nomad4ever.com/2009/08/17/3gumts-internet-smartbro-or-globe-tattoo-in-the-philippines/#comment-58562 Chris Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:18:38 +0000 http://www.nomad4ever.com/?p=1283#comment-58562 <strong>yaraodildara de ojo</strong>, it's easy to lament about other options, if you can use faster technology for free. Unfortunately, most travelers are not that lucky and have to make a choice between Smart and Globe. In the end, some of your points are valid, but if you pay for 30mins for a short check of your FB or only for 15 minutes makes a HUGE difference.....it's actually double the money, if you count it right. Alright, I got it, you don't pay for it, so stop counting already. ;-) <strong>Jun Olivia</strong>, great tests you did there. If they really updated speed and reliability, that would be great news for local users and travelers alike, hopefully not only in Mindanao. :D yaraodildara de ojo, it’s easy to lament about other options, if you can use faster technology for free. Unfortunately, most travelers are not that lucky and have to make a choice between Smart and Globe. In the end, some of your points are valid, but if you pay for 30mins for a short check of your FB or only for 15 minutes makes a HUGE difference…..it’s actually double the money, if you count it right. Alright, I got it, you don’t pay for it, so stop counting already.

Jun Olivia, great tests you did there. If they really updated speed and reliability, that would be great news for local users and travelers alike, hopefully not only in Mindanao.

]]> By: Jun Oliva http://www.nomad4ever.com/2009/08/17/3gumts-internet-smartbro-or-globe-tattoo-in-the-philippines/#comment-58510 Jun Oliva Thu, 01 Dec 2011 13:50:20 +0000 http://www.nomad4ever.com/?p=1283#comment-58510 3G technology are now present in rural areas, normally the range of the 3G signal is upto 2km max from the cell site getting a good internet speed.....as a network solution specialist/provider, ive done spme experiment and it works, you can still get a good internet speed upto 10km using tweek equipment from globe and smart.......speed upto 3.6mbps max... and at 10km... u can get a 500kbps to 1mbps...i tried it in some areas in mindanao... 3G technology are now present in rural areas, normally the range of the 3G signal is upto 2km max from the cell site getting a good internet speed…..as a network solution specialist/provider, ive done spme experiment and it works, you can still get a good internet speed upto 10km using tweek equipment from globe and smart…….speed upto 3.6mbps max… and at 10km… u can get a 500kbps to 1mbps…i tried it in some areas in mindanao…

]]> By: yaraodildara de ojo http://www.nomad4ever.com/2009/08/17/3gumts-internet-smartbro-or-globe-tattoo-in-the-philippines/#comment-58503 yaraodildara de ojo Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:21:11 +0000 http://www.nomad4ever.com/?p=1283#comment-58503 And sorry for my bad english. That's it no hurt feelings.. PEACE! And sorry for my bad english. That’s it no hurt feelings.. PEACE!

]]> By: yaraodildara de ojo http://www.nomad4ever.com/2009/08/17/3gumts-internet-smartbro-or-globe-tattoo-in-the-philippines/#comment-58502 yaraodildara de ojo Thu, 01 Dec 2011 06:15:08 +0000 http://www.nomad4ever.com/?p=1283#comment-58502 <blockquote> :)) Globe offers 15 minutes for 5 Pesos, Smart offers 30 minutes for 10 Pesos. That looks on first view like a win for Globe.</blockquote> What makes globe win? Are you blind? They are even. Globe 5 pesos for 15 min if you add another 5 pesos it makes 10. All I can say that in mobile history Smart is the MOST CORRUPT network in the Philippines. Why? Load 30 pesos in your smart phone it says 3 days expiration if I don't use it after 3 days it's gone. Why its gone I am paying for it I am not unlimited text or call? I do have the right aight coz i'm paying for it? While globe 20 pesos can reach weeks. There are reasons why smart has a widest coverage and globe is not. I build radio repeaters commercial, wi-fi and even security solution repeaters. This repeaters are simple to build but do you know how much it's cost every one repeater? It cost 600.000 pesos. So think about mobile phone repeaters with wireless internet are they simple? The thing is globe targeted areas that have thousands of people while smart doesn't care co'z they can trick people even in court smart has many cases than globe. If you are thinking of what network you should use be wise not what you see what you heard like this guy. If you think globe tatto has worst prepaid issue then it makes them even. By the way I don't use globe or smart I only use radio coz they said the best thing in life is free and I don't pay for my internet shit.

Globe offers 15 minutes for 5 Pesos, Smart offers 30 minutes for 10 Pesos. That looks on first view like a win for Globe.

What makes globe win? Are you blind? They are even. Globe 5 pesos for 15 min if you add another 5 pesos it makes 10. All I can say that in mobile history Smart is the MOST CORRUPT network in the Philippines. Why? Load 30 pesos in your smart phone it says 3 days expiration if I don’t use it after 3 days it’s gone. Why its gone I am paying for it I am not unlimited text or call? I do have the right aight coz i’m paying for it? While globe 20 pesos can reach weeks.
There are reasons why smart has a widest coverage and globe is not. I build radio repeaters commercial, wi-fi and even security solution repeaters. This repeaters are simple to build but do you know how much it’s cost every one repeater? It cost 600.000 pesos. So think about mobile phone repeaters with wireless internet are they simple? The thing is globe targeted areas that have thousands of people while smart doesn’t care co’z they can trick people even in court smart has many cases than globe.
If you are thinking of what network you should use be wise not what you see what you heard like this guy.
If you think globe tatto has worst prepaid issue then it makes them even.

By the way I don’t use globe or smart I only use radio coz they said the best thing in life is free and I don’t pay for my internet shit.

]]> By: Chris http://www.nomad4ever.com/2009/08/17/3gumts-internet-smartbro-or-globe-tattoo-in-the-philippines/#comment-58168 Chris Sat, 19 Nov 2011 13:30:07 +0000 http://www.nomad4ever.com/?p=1283#comment-58168 <strong>Nir</strong>, good question....but what do you need that SmartBro modem for anyway? Meanwhile you should be able to get any 3G modem much cheaper elsewhere. Electronics are usually more expensive and of lesser quality in the Philippines. You can order any similar modem from your preferred online retailer or walk into any IT shop near you. The Smart Card is unlocked and can be used with any 3G GSM/UMTS/HSDPA modem, it doesn't have to be the original one. But what you wanna do with it outside the Philippines is anyway beyond me. Care to elaborate? ;-) Nir, good question….but what do you need that SmartBro modem for anyway? Meanwhile you should be able to get any 3G modem much cheaper elsewhere. Electronics are usually more expensive and of lesser quality in the Philippines. You can order any similar modem from your preferred online retailer or walk into any IT shop near you. The Smart Card is unlocked and can be used with any 3G GSM/UMTS/HSDPA modem, it doesn’t have to be the original one. But what you wanna do with it outside the Philippines is anyway beyond me. Care to elaborate?

]]> By: Nir http://www.nomad4ever.com/2009/08/17/3gumts-internet-smartbro-or-globe-tattoo-in-the-philippines/#comment-58165 Nir Sat, 19 Nov 2011 10:59:39 +0000 http://www.nomad4ever.com/?p=1283#comment-58165 Hi Chris! Need your help - I want to buy a SmartBro modem (Huawei E353) but I don't live in the Philippines. Do you know any reseller which would be able to ship it to me using DHL ? (on my expense) Rgds, Nir Hi Chris!

Need your help – I want to buy a SmartBro modem (Huawei E353) but I don’t live in the Philippines.

Do you know any reseller which would be able to ship it to me using DHL ? (on my expense)

Rgds,
Nir

]]> By: Chris http://www.nomad4ever.com/2009/08/17/3gumts-internet-smartbro-or-globe-tattoo-in-the-philippines/#comment-55007 Chris Sat, 10 Sep 2011 06:37:22 +0000 http://www.nomad4ever.com/?p=1283#comment-55007 <strong>Pop65z</strong> and <strong>Luther</strong>, thanks for describing your first-hand experiences. That will surely help other users in your area. And yeah, too bad you can't take it generally, the service reliability, coverage area and available bandwidth is unfortunately different everywhere. Hmmm! Way to go. ;-) Pop65z and Luther, thanks for describing your first-hand experiences. That will surely help other users in your area. And yeah, too bad you can’t take it generally, the service reliability, coverage area and available bandwidth is unfortunately different everywhere. Hmmm! Way to go.

]]> By: Luther http://www.nomad4ever.com/2009/08/17/3gumts-internet-smartbro-or-globe-tattoo-in-the-philippines/#comment-54517 Luther Sun, 28 Aug 2011 06:34:15 +0000 http://www.nomad4ever.com/?p=1283#comment-54517 I got a Smart Bro plug-it in June and had several problems but all were resolved within a day or two by calling tech support *1888. I live 5 kilometers from Panabo City about an hour or less north of Davao where the signal comes from. I was surprised how good the signal was. When it worked, it worked well. I got tired of buying load so went to the wireless center in Davao and was approved for a postpaid account. About 6 weeks later the signal or its usability was getting worse quickly. I blamed this on an almost full hard drive and windows vista (3 year old Toshiba laptop). I took the plug-it and the laptop to the wireless center in Davao and it worked fine there! The tech guy also blamed a full hard drive and Vista so I got an external drive and freed up 50 gigs on the C drive, and I bought Win 7. The computer is now working perfectly considering its age but the bad performance of the Smart signal was unchanged. I had taken the laptop to Panabo and there it also worked fine, this was before the upgrade. So the problem lies in my specific area. I had also suspected I was being punished as a bandwidth hog because I had downloaded a 180 mb file and a 700 mb file right before the problem started. Also there was a huge rain storm so I thought maybe the bay station servicing my home area (less than 2 kilometers north of Lasang, closer to Davao than Panabo) was damaged by the storm. One tech support person says the bay station servicing my area in undergoing enhancements but I don't believe everything I'm told. What's weird about my problem is that the signal strength is good, remember I was happy with my SmartBro connection for 2 months or more or I wouldn't have gotten a postpaid account, because it locks me into paying for 6 months whether I use it or not. About 95 percent of the time I wasn't able to connect to this great signal, often 5 bar 3G. Then when it did connect the download rate was still zero, or it would go to one website and stop, or it would pick up my email and then stop, unable to send anything or get any websites. This is with a good signal. But during this time when I took the laptop and plug-it to Panabo or Davao, it worked good. Two days ago a tech support person was hearing me say that my attorney is a lot closer than the Smart Wireless Center, because I went there already and they passed the buck on to me and I spend lots more money than I wanted to see if I could improve things. She told me to manually switch to a 2G signal, which I did, and then the email and signal stabilized but works so slow I feel I am living in Tibet or the Sahara desert instead of in a suburb of the 2nd largest city in the Philippines and the promises to have a supervisor call me within 24 hours have all been broken, every one. Compare this to when I first started with SmartBro in June, when I got three phone calls from supervisors over my first issue, wanting to make sure my problem got solved. It makes me suspect that they profile customers according to how new they are, whether they've been hooked into a contract, whether they use a lot of bandwidth, whether they are good Catholics, or whatever. I would appreciate any feedback and I will also look into "unlocked 3G/UMTS USB stick" which I have never heard of, but I can't keep throwing good money after bad. The whole point of this was to keep me home because I was spending too much money going to town to use internet cafes. Thanks so much for this page--is there hope that Smart Bro is actually trying to solve my problem? Luther I got a Smart Bro plug-it in June and had several problems but all were resolved within a day or two by calling tech support *1888. I live 5 kilometers from Panabo City about an hour or less north of Davao where the signal comes from. I was surprised how good the signal was. When it worked, it worked well. I got tired of buying load so went to the wireless center in Davao and was approved for a postpaid account. About 6 weeks later the signal or its usability was getting worse quickly. I blamed this on an almost full hard drive and windows vista (3 year old Toshiba laptop). I took the plug-it and the laptop to the wireless center in Davao and it worked fine there! The tech guy also blamed a full hard drive and Vista so I got an external drive and freed up 50 gigs on the C drive, and I bought Win 7. The computer is now working perfectly considering its age but the bad performance of the Smart signal was unchanged.

I had taken the laptop to Panabo and there it also worked fine, this was before the upgrade. So the problem lies in my specific area. I had also suspected I was being punished as a bandwidth hog because I had downloaded a 180 mb file and a 700 mb file right before the problem started. Also there was a huge rain storm so I thought maybe the bay station servicing my home area (less than 2 kilometers north of Lasang, closer to Davao than Panabo) was damaged by the storm. One tech support person says the bay station servicing my area in undergoing enhancements but I don’t believe everything I’m told.

What’s weird about my problem is that the signal strength is good, remember I was happy with my SmartBro connection for 2 months or more or I wouldn’t have gotten a postpaid account, because it locks me into paying for 6 months whether I use it or not. About 95 percent of the time I wasn’t able to connect to this great signal, often 5 bar 3G. Then when it did connect the download rate was still zero, or it would go to one website and stop, or it would pick up my email and then stop, unable to send anything or get any websites. This is with a good signal. But during this time when I took the laptop and plug-it to Panabo or Davao, it worked good.

Two days ago a tech support person was hearing me say that my attorney is a lot closer than the Smart Wireless Center, because I went there already and they passed the buck on to me and I spend lots more money than I wanted to see if I could improve things. She told me to manually switch to a 2G signal, which I did, and then the email and signal stabilized but works so slow I feel I am living in Tibet or the Sahara desert instead of in a suburb of the 2nd largest city in the Philippines and the promises to have a supervisor call me within 24 hours have all been broken, every one.

Compare this to when I first started with SmartBro in June, when I got three phone calls from supervisors over my first issue, wanting to make sure my problem got solved. It makes me suspect that they profile customers according to how new they are, whether they’ve been hooked into a contract, whether they use a lot of bandwidth, whether they are good Catholics, or whatever. I would appreciate any feedback and I will also look into “unlocked 3G/UMTS USB stick” which I have never heard of, but I can’t keep throwing good money after bad. The whole point of this was to keep me home because I was spending too much money going to town to use internet cafes.

Thanks so much for this page–is there hope that Smart Bro is actually trying to solve my problem?

Luther

]]> By: Pop65z http://www.nomad4ever.com/2009/08/17/3gumts-internet-smartbro-or-globe-tattoo-in-the-philippines/#comment-54476 Pop65z Thu, 25 Aug 2011 01:30:02 +0000 http://www.nomad4ever.com/?p=1283#comment-54476 Hi Chris, I got to say good info. However, I'm an American living in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental. I have all the broadband sticks(Smart,Globe & Sun) This is the worst area to be in. The Globe stick works the best. I have download speeds above 900kb with it. Sun Is the worst. download of 8-10kb. Smart has lost it's 3G here and you have to use GSM to use it. I need to give you a download for speeding up you broadband internet that really doubles your speed. It's www.fullspeed.com It has made life better here in the mountains. We have no DSL or landline phones. There is No PLDT here. Have you ever been here ? Hope you get more input from broadband stick users. Prepaid really s**ks. Hi Chris, I got to say good info. However, I’m an American living in Canlaon City, Negros Oriental. I have all the broadband sticks(Smart,Globe & Sun) This is the worst area to be in. The Globe stick works the best. I have download speeds above 900kb with it. Sun Is the worst. download of 8-10kb. Smart has lost it’s 3G here and you have to use GSM to use it. I need to give you a download for speeding up you broadband internet that really doubles your speed. It’s http://www.fullspeed.com It has made life better here in the mountains. We have no DSL or landline phones. There is No PLDT here. Have you ever been here ? Hope you get more input from broadband stick users. Prepaid really s**ks.

]]> By: Chris http://www.nomad4ever.com/2009/08/17/3gumts-internet-smartbro-or-globe-tattoo-in-the-philippines/#comment-54145 Chris Tue, 19 Jul 2011 08:07:29 +0000 http://www.nomad4ever.com/?p=1283#comment-54145 <strong>Teddy</strong>, hehe! I can understand you perfectly. bro! I have a HTC Legend Android phone since a bit over 1 year and while there are better and faster models out there, I still like that phone for its small form factor, sturdy aluminium unibody and it's full set of features. So go ahead, use your Android with Smart, snap your pics and make yourself happy and your family and relatives jealous! :D Teddy, hehe! I can understand you perfectly. bro! I have a HTC Legend Android phone since a bit over 1 year and while there are better and faster models out there, I still like that phone for its small form factor, sturdy aluminium unibody and it’s full set of features. So go ahead, use your Android with Smart, snap your pics and make yourself happy and your family and relatives jealous!

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