Philippines prepaid Internet and Data
Welcome to the Philippines internet, while it has got better since the 5 years ago I lived and travelled here, I have to give credit to both Globe and Smart that you can get access almost anywhere throughout the islands of the Philippines.
But you are really going to need your wits about you if you want to have half decent access as a traveler. I might be a little biased on this as coming from China where internet access on their 3g and 4g networks is 2nd to none for the coverage you can get across the country.
I am going to write on my experience on this trip so that you can have somewhat of an idea of how a short term self confessed tech head has been able to handle getting a half decent access, while here on top of the hill behind a Smart Telecom base station. Some of this might tend to get over the head of the average user but it might also save you countless hours of trying to match different technology together to maximize your signal. The basic’s is both Smart and Globe as the main suppliers of internet within the country.
Understanding that as a traveler you don’t want to be locking in to a contract and you want to go the prepaid route you will need to know what Sim card to get. On the Smart it will be the SMART BRO that you will want go for, the links below will give you plenty of information on the offers that they are running.
For myself I have gone the 995p unlimited on both the phone and the USB (plug-it) modem. There are a few things to note here on this. One is that you cannot go a dual promo, in that once you go the one of the unlimited data plans you cannot then add a txt/call plan to the same number. Which is a bit limiting in my view as it limits you to use the 300 free txt’s (which sounds like a lot but over a month you will chew through these), thus your communication is more directed towards the social networks. More on that in these posts
SmartBro Data Promo's
Both Carriers Promos
Now let’s just say you are like me and want to have a wireless network within your apartment you are renting and that the apartment suppliers don’t have a system in place that gives you good access. Thus you are going to have to setup your own network that will service your tablet, phone.. and any other devices that want to connect. It should be as easy as getting one of the smart wireless hubs.. right. And or just plug your USB (plug-it) modem in to a wireless router and share the signal. Think again before you spend countless hours trying to match incompatible hardware together.
At the moment most of the shops around San Fernando are selling this model “wm66e USB Modem”
Which on all accounts is not compatible with many other types of accessories. If you Google it you will find this as a common message “Your 3g router model TL MR3020 is not compatible with USB modem WM66E”..
This is painful to say the least as you can spend countless hours trying to get it to work with different hardware. Ok, so what is a the fix you say, well there are ways to work around it and I will explain what I have done. The simple method is try to get one of the older version of the USB modems, in my case as I am using a RT-N56U Asus Router and I really needed to head along to the list of verified USB modems to use before I headed out and got the wm66e, but with that in mind, I have been hunting round for an older model and no one has stock. I was able to put it to test with a friends and it worked right out of the box. In my case something like the Huawei E1550 would have been perfect.
Asus 3G/4G support link
So on to the fix’s. There are a few things that will extend the range of the Modems if you are in a bad area and don’t want to be sitting outside and or at the back of a building al the time. One is to use the “share your internet connection windows 7”
Share-Internet-Connection
This other is a nice easy way to do it as well but it will cost you, the software is well worth the price if you don't have tech capabilities.. its pretty much load and setup.
Easily Connect All your Devices to WiFi Connectify Hotspot makes all your devices happy. Share the WiFi from your laptop with your Smartphone, tablet, media player, e-reader, other laptops, and even your nearby friends. Got a 3G or 4G USB adapter or a tethering plan for your mobile phone? Connectify Hotspot PRO works with any Internet connection to keep all your devices online wherever you go.
http://www.connectify.me/
So in my case, I am using this makeshift USB 3G Modem Signal booster as per this youtube clip, it has allowed me to get consistent speeds of around 350-500kbs and can stream youtube videos most of the time during day and with ease at night. It also allows me to go for multiple downloads over night of large files of over 1-2gig per file and I have no problem using Video calls on Tango, Wechat and Skype.
My setup, it may not be pretty but it works.
Few more tools and reading.
RF-signal-tracker for Android
Homemade yagi antennas
www.cdrking.com
I am going to write on my experience on this trip so that you can have somewhat of an idea of how a short term self confessed tech head has been able to handle getting a half decent access, while here on top of the hill behind a Smart Telecom base station. Some of this might tend to get over the head of the average user but it might also save you countless hours of trying to match different technology together to maximize your signal. The basic’s is both Smart and Globe as the main suppliers of internet within the country.
Understanding that as a traveler you don’t want to be locking in to a contract and you want to go the prepaid route you will need to know what Sim card to get. On the Smart it will be the SMART BRO that you will want go for, the links below will give you plenty of information on the offers that they are running.
For myself I have gone the 995p unlimited on both the phone and the USB (plug-it) modem. There are a few things to note here on this. One is that you cannot go a dual promo, in that once you go the one of the unlimited data plans you cannot then add a txt/call plan to the same number. Which is a bit limiting in my view as it limits you to use the 300 free txt’s (which sounds like a lot but over a month you will chew through these), thus your communication is more directed towards the social networks. More on that in these posts
SmartBro Data Promo's
Both Carriers Promos
Now let’s just say you are like me and want to have a wireless network within your apartment you are renting and that the apartment suppliers don’t have a system in place that gives you good access. Thus you are going to have to setup your own network that will service your tablet, phone.. and any other devices that want to connect. It should be as easy as getting one of the smart wireless hubs.. right. And or just plug your USB (plug-it) modem in to a wireless router and share the signal. Think again before you spend countless hours trying to match incompatible hardware together.
At the moment most of the shops around San Fernando are selling this model “wm66e USB Modem”
Which on all accounts is not compatible with many other types of accessories. If you Google it you will find this as a common message “Your 3g router model TL MR3020 is not compatible with USB modem WM66E”..
This is painful to say the least as you can spend countless hours trying to get it to work with different hardware. Ok, so what is a the fix you say, well there are ways to work around it and I will explain what I have done. The simple method is try to get one of the older version of the USB modems, in my case as I am using a RT-N56U Asus Router and I really needed to head along to the list of verified USB modems to use before I headed out and got the wm66e, but with that in mind, I have been hunting round for an older model and no one has stock. I was able to put it to test with a friends and it worked right out of the box. In my case something like the Huawei E1550 would have been perfect.
Asus 3G/4G support link
So on to the fix’s. There are a few things that will extend the range of the Modems if you are in a bad area and don’t want to be sitting outside and or at the back of a building al the time. One is to use the “share your internet connection windows 7”
Share-Internet-Connection
This other is a nice easy way to do it as well but it will cost you, the software is well worth the price if you don't have tech capabilities.. its pretty much load and setup.
Easily Connect All your Devices to WiFi Connectify Hotspot makes all your devices happy. Share the WiFi from your laptop with your Smartphone, tablet, media player, e-reader, other laptops, and even your nearby friends. Got a 3G or 4G USB adapter or a tethering plan for your mobile phone? Connectify Hotspot PRO works with any Internet connection to keep all your devices online wherever you go.
So in my case, I am using this makeshift USB 3G Modem Signal booster as per this youtube clip, it has allowed me to get consistent speeds of around 350-500kbs and can stream youtube videos most of the time during day and with ease at night. It also allows me to go for multiple downloads over night of large files of over 1-2gig per file and I have no problem using Video calls on Tango, Wechat and Skype.
My setup, it may not be pretty but it works.
Few more tools and reading.
RF-signal-tracker for Android
Homemade yagi antennas
www.cdrking.com
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