PLDT DSL question

[Mr. Bobo]

I live in a rural area in the province of Nueva Vizcaya. As there are no telephone lines coming into my house my only internet option is SmartBro Pocket Wifi. For awhile it was adequate for my internet needs. On a good day I would get 1.5 Mbps, on a not so good day maybe 1 mpbs, and on a bad day 100-200 Kbps, and on a very bad day no connection at all.

 

For the past two months its been virtually unusable. After connecting, when I go to the www.speedtest.net web page to test my bandwidth sometimes the webpage won't even load. If I am lucky I will be able to check my e-mail on Yahoo after I wait five minutes for the page to load. This all costs me 1000p a month (prepaid). Now I understand why they want prepaid. If it was postpaid I not only wouldn't pay them I'd tell them to stick their SmartBro router “where the sun don't shine”. These SmartBro people are literally stealing my (and many other people's) money. I haven't read the fine print in their Term of Service but I as sure to cover themselves legally somewhere it says “If our service is down for the full month that you paid 1000p for it is your problem not ours”.

If has gotten so bad that I have decided to rent a small apartment in Solano, about 50km from my home in Aritao, to use as a “work office”. My hobby, delevoping Android apps requires decent bandwidth as I have to up upload images and data to “The Cloud”. In Solano, Globe Tattoo is available and it is very reliable. It delivers pretty good bandwidth (3-4 Mbps). I have stayed at hotels in Solano and have gotten those speeds consistently with the Globe Tattoo.

I just found out that the apartment that I am going to rent is wired for PLDT DSL which from what I have read on the internet is capable of delivering real high speed broadband, up to 15 Mbps.

Does anyone out there have experience with PLDT DSL, do they actually deliver the bandwidth that they advertise? Or are they another SmartBro stealing money from the people?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[robert k]

What is Globe tattoo, (or even pay as you go) like around your home? Setting up an office in another city seems to be somewhat drastic.

[Mr. Bobo]

20 hours ago, robert k said:

What is Globe tattoo, (or even pay as you go) like around your home? Setting up an office in another city seems to be somewhat drastic.

I tried a Globe Tattoo mobile router and I either could not get a connection or connect and get a signal so weak that a webpage could not be downloaded. Nobody in my area uses Globe Tattoo for that reason. I find it baffling, my city has a population of 40,000 so I think that alot of dissatisfied SmartBro customers would go with Globe Tattoo if they provided a decent service like they do in Solano. Maybe the infrastructure required to deliver 4G LTE technology is too expensive and they don't see a good ROI. Or maybe there could be a political reason (more likely). I made my original post 21 hours ago. In that 21 hours the service was available for maybe 4 hours. It was down when I woke up this am. It just came back up about an hour ago allowing me to reply to your post.

[mogo51]

Does seem you are in the wrong place for your work needs. Were you aware of these problems prior to moving there?

[robert k]

32 minutes ago, Mr. Bobo said:

I tried a Globe Tattoo mobile router and I either could not get a connection or connect and get a signal so weak that a webpage could not be downloaded. Nobody in my area uses Globe Tattoo for that reason. I find it baffling, my city has a population of 40,000 so I think that alot of dissatisfied SmartBro customers would go with Globe Tattoo if they provided a decent service like they do in Solano. Maybe the infrastructure required to deliver 4G LTE technology is too expensive and they don't see a good ROI. Or maybe there could be a political reason (more likely). I made my original post 21 hours ago. In that 21 hours the service was available for maybe 4 hours. It was down when I woke up this am. It just came back up about an hour ago allowing me to reply to your post.

If the signal is weak, an antennae might help to capture more signal. If on the other hand you have adequate signal but the bandwidth allocated by the provider is only enough for everyone to check their facebook or an e-mail as long as they are not constantly checking it, then that is a problem that is not going to be easily solved.

I presume you have check your device to make sure it is trying to catch the most powerful signal you can pull in not necessarily the fastest. I wouldn't even take it for granted that your device has the correct frequencies. If it has a frequency preference setting I would play with that also.

I have found some coverage maps online for places I have interest in where it looks suspiciously like providers have divided the market.

[Mr. Bobo]

4 hours ago, robert k said:

If the signal is weak, an antennae might help to capture more signal. If on the other hand you have adequate signal but the bandwidth allocated by the provider is only enough for everyone to check their facebook or an e-mail as long as they are not constantly checking it, then that is a problem that is not going to be easily solved.

I presume you have check your device to make sure it is trying to catch the most powerful signal you can pull in not necessarily the fastest. I wouldn't even take it for granted that your device has the correct frequencies. If it has a frequency preference setting I would play with that also.

I have found some coverage maps online for places I have interest in where it looks suspiciously like providers have divided the market.

The is very little you can do to a SmartBro Pocket WiFi configuration wise. You can login into the configuration panels via http://192.168.1.1 other than change you password, or security type, or change the name of your broadcasted SSID name this really isn't anthing you can do to increase bandwidth. You are only going to get the bandwidth that is coming down the pipe as the device level you really can't do anything and believe me I tweaked every possible tweakable setting.

Today I found out what the problem is. I went to the apartment I was going to rent apartment in Solano to test the bandwidth of the Globe Tattoo and I was disappointed when all I got was about 1.5 Mbps and I decided that it was too slow and I wasn't going to rent the apartment. On a whim I decided to try my SmartBro Pocket WiFi. On my first speed test I received 3.5 Mbps!, which I have never received here in my city even when SmartBro was at its best, and all subsequent speed tests at the apartment where in the same bandwidth ballpark. I was flabbergasted as this was in the middle of the afternoon when there is a lot of traffic over the network and SmartBro is usually at its slowest.

There was a SmartBro office about 200 meters from the apartment so I decide to ask them what was going on vis-a-vis the SmartBro problems in my city. I took a ticket and a seat to wait my turn to talk to a techie. As I was waiting I turned on my laptop and fired up my SmartBro Pocket WiFi. On my first speed test I got 10 Mbps! I almost fell off the chair. Subsequent tests in the office as I was waiting were in the 8 to 10 Mbps range.

My first question to the techie was why am I getting 8 to 10 Mbps in your office and 200 meters away I am only getting 3.5 Mbps? He gave me a song and dance about how speed tests can vary, but vary by 6.5 Mbps at a distance of 200 meters? That's a tough one to swallow. I suspected that they have technology in their office that boosts their bandwidth so that when the customer walks in and sees the 10 Mpbs he or she is more likely to buy the device.

I talked to some people who were also waiting for service and they tell me that they average between 5 and 6 Mpbs depending on the time of day, traffic, etc.

Needless to say I was extremely happy to hear this as that type of bandwidth is more that adaquate for my Andriod mobile application development needs.

I then asked him what was going on with SmartBro in my city of Aritao and the fact that SmartBro has been virtually unusable for the past month or two. It turn outs that the they are doing a lot infrastructure changes on the network in my area, maybe moving or adding cell towers, but whatever infrastructure changes they are making require long term outages, a full day outage is not uncommon of late. Of course they do this without informing the customer because this is the Philippines and they can get away with it.

I am an American. If SmartBro pulled this BS in America they would be not only go of business, they would face legal action in court, but this is the Philippines so one must make the requisite adjustments or years will be taken off your life do to frustration and stress!

 

 

 

[Mr. Bobo]

6 hours ago, mogo51 said:

Does seem you are in the wrong place for your work needs. Were you aware of these problems prior to moving there?

I met my Filipina while working in the Middle East. We married in 2000 and built a huge home on my wife's property in 2005. At the time we built the house I never really gave the internet a thought. As I am retired now (since 2012) my "work needs", developing Android mobile phone apps, are only a hobby, not to generate income.

[robert k]

51 minutes ago, Mr. Bobo said:

The is very little you can do to a SmartBro Pocket WiFi configuration wise. You can login into the configuration panels via http://192.168.1.1 other than change you password, or security type, or change the name of your broadcasted SSID name this really isn't anthing you can do to increase bandwidth. You are only going to get the bandwidth that is coming down the pipe as the device level you really can't do anything and believe me I tweaked every possible tweakable setting.

Today I found out what the problem is. I went to the apartment I was going to rent apartment in Solano to test the bandwidth of the Globe Tattoo and I was disappointed when all I got was about 1.5 Mbps and I decided that it was too slow and I wasn't going to rent the apartment. On a whim I decided to try my SmartBro Pocket WiFi. On my first speed test I received 3.5 Mbps!, which I have never received here in my city even when SmartBro was at its best, and all subsequent speed tests at the apartment where in the same bandwidth ballpark. I was flabbergasted as this was in the middle of the afternoon when there is a lot of traffic over the network and SmartBro is usually at its slowest.

There was a SmartBro office about 200 meters from the apartment so I decide to ask them what was going on vis-a-vis the SmartBro problems in my city. I took a ticket and a seat to wait my turn to talk to a techie. As I was waiting I turned on my laptop and fired up my SmartBro Pocket WiFi. On my first speed test I got 10 Mbps! I almost fell off the chair. Subsequent tests in the office as I was waiting were in the 8 to 10 Mbps range.

My first question to the techie was why am I getting 8 to 10 Mbps in your office and 200 meters away I am only getting 3.5 Mbps? He gave me a song and dance about how speed tests can vary, but vary by 6.5 Mbps at a distance of 200 meters? That's a tough one to swallow. I suspected that they have technology in their office that boosts their bandwidth so that when the customer walks in and sees the 10 Mpbs he or she is more likely to buy the device.

I talked to some people who were also waiting for service and they tell me that they average between 5 and 6 Mpbs depending on the time of day, traffic, etc.

Needless to say I was extremely happy to hear this as that type of bandwidth is more that adaquate for my Andriod mobile application development needs.

I then asked him what was going on with SmartBro in my city of Aritao and the fact that SmartBro has been virtually unusable for the past month or two. It turn outs that the they are doing a lot infrastructure changes on the network in my area, maybe moving or adding cell towers, but whatever infrastructure changes they are making require long term outages, a full day outage is not uncommon of late. Of course they do this without informing the customer because this is the Philippines and they can get away with it.

I am an American. If SmartBro pulled this BS in America they would be not only go of business, they would face legal action in court, but this is the Philippines so one must make the requisite adjustments or years will be taken off your life do to frustration and stress!

 

 

 

I understand you can't tweak the equipment they sell you, that is why I always use my own and when at home I use an outside antennae. I also had screen wire behind the antennae because it was outside the window. I placed it there because I figured it couldn't hurt. I know they aren't using the frequencies with the best building penetration.

[Mr. Bobo]

34 minutes ago, robert k said:

I understand you can't tweak the equipment they sell you, that is why I always use my own and when at home I use an outside antennae. I also had screen wire behind the antennae because it was outside the window. I placed it there because I figured it couldn't hurt. I know they aren't using the frequencies with the best building penetration.

Robert K, we do have something in common, I am also a Robert K (King) and we both are Americans. What type on internet equipment do you have in Sibulan that gives you the ability to adjust frequencies?

 

[robert k]

23 minutes ago, Mr. Bobo said:

Robert K, we do have something in common, I am also a Robert K (King) and we both are Americans. What type on internet equipment do you have in Sibulan that gives you the ability to adjust frequencies?

 

Not so much adjust frequencies as my Huawei Mediapad allows me to ignore certain frequencies. I have noticed that if you can barely acquire LTE a device may ignore a HSPA+ signal that is much stronger and actually be a better connection. The same that some devices working off cell towers may not make the hand off until the previous tower is undetectable and or you power cycle the device. My device will work with Globe or Smart, whichever is best by changing the sim card. I always try to buy devices that will work with either. I used an antennae and a power booster, the antennae worked, the power booster had no noticeable effect, the device would show maximum signal even when the connection was unusable, double nothing is still nothing, of course.

The equipment in the Philippines is generally capable, I'm sure it is throttled. In a place where I normally never got more than 200KB/s previously I once got 2MB/s for exactly 8 hours and like throwing a switch it went to 16KB/s. I think someone woke up and noticed. The capability is there just the bandwidth isn't. It's like them selling people fiber to get 50MB/s, ordinary cable can do that if they provide the bandwidth.

If I needed a really good connection I could drive 10 Km in to downtown Dumaguete and download whatever I needed using pay as I go so they don't throttle. I never used anyones wifi there because the broadband I could pull down was superior and for 11 pennies/5 php for 15 minutes it was a bargain. I was never throttled doing pay as you go without promos. I DL 6 GB of data one time in about 2 hours cost me 50 php. My plan in the US would have cost me $60 for 6GB broadband data. I thought it was the bargain of the century. My next accommodations I'm going to check for good broadband before I rent. I had heard too many horror stories of people waiting for a router for two weeks because the provider didn't have any. I have commitment issues with cable providers in the US, signing a contract in the Philippines is out of the question.