Jan 2, 2007

Posted by in Telecoms, The Internet | 141 Comments

Broadband provider’s performances after the quake

We’ve all been experiencing the effects of the recent Taiwan earthquake. Our internet connections are mostly down if almost unusable.  Here’s my own experience with the 3 major broadband providers.

PLDT MyDSL
Location: Mandaluyong, residential
While I’m not a heavy user at home, it is still annoying to crawl through websites.  My connection speed is almost, if not slower than, a typical dial-up connection.  There are some websites that are inaccessible.

Globe Broadband
Location: Mandaluyong, business
As our primary internet connection at the office, this one’s useless — unusable. Period.

Smart Bro
Location: Mandaluyong, business
Surprisingly, this provider as our back up internet connection, is the one that’s keeping us alive.  It seems to me that it’s delivering the expected speed as if it wasn’t affected by the recent problems. In my mind, Smart Bro and PLDT must be using or sharing the same infrastructure, but why is the Bro working good and PLDT MyDSL isn’t?

What’s your broadband experience at this time? (please state location)

Related posts:

  1. MyDestiny and the quality of local ISPs
  2. PLDT’s Php5,000 myDSL downgrade penalty
  3. PLDT, Nortel Network Inauguration at AdMU
  4. Increased Bandwidth?
  5. Lousy PLDT DSL Service


  1. -Metallilonggo- says:

    Ang smart bro dito hindi ma reach ang maximum speed na 384 kbps dahil siguro malayo ang smart headquarters o ano man yon.
    Gusto ko sana sabihin sa itay ko na palitan ang broadband provider pero ayaw nya. Nung makita ko to ang maraming reklamo ng mga tao sa iba’t ibang broaband provider, hindi ko na sasabihin sa itay ko na pumalit ng broadband provider.
    Ang speed Smart Bro sa amin ay parang Dial-Up
    pero hindi ako nagrereklamo dahil tatlo ang gumagamit ng broadband sa aming bahay.Kung isa lang ang gumagamit, talagang broadband ang speed. Okay rin ang Smart Bro dito sa Iloilo dahil hindi marami ang gumagamit nito at besides wireless ito eh, hindi ito babagal ng marami at ang downside lang ay dapat malapit ka sa kanilang headquarters para talagang mabilis ang speed.Marami dito siguro gumagamit ng My DSL sa Iloilo. Hindi na ako mag think pa nang DSL, ang bagal lang nyan.

  2. -Metallilonggo- says:

    wala siguro epek ang quake sa Smart Bro dahil wireless noh???

  3. hayy! anu ba yan… i have globelines dsl (ung 999/month)and its soooo annoying! before the quake i was getting disconnected every 3 hours… sure, that wasnt so bad since i could stop whatever i was doing before i got dc’ed pero ngaun.. oh my god im getting disconnections every 5-10 minutes! oh my god.. bihira na ngaun ang araw na i stay connected for a straight 2hours or so… ive called customer service for at least 20 times already.. sure the connection becomes stable for 1day but the next day it comes back to crap again if not even worse!!! and for the record, even the “technicians” and the CS people i called admitted that Globelines has been having problems with the internet connections since the release of their 995/month plan… to which i say BS! if they can’t support those many people, then why bring more in and make their service even more useless??

  4. B*** S***!!! ang globe broadband. tumawag sila sa akin. sabi nila nag upgrade daw sila! pero hindi na ako maka surf sa ibang site. at 100+ lang ang bandwidth ko.

  5. buti nga kayo nun may internet ako meron pag nagdadownload ako ng mga files 0.9kb/s lang ako e hehe,

  6. SHS|Gwafogi_sensei says:

    it’s just ang tatanga naman, natural umaandar ang smart bro ng the usual kc wireless broadband cla gumagamit ng mga cell sites at depende din ito sa mga areas, kung globelines naman 1 week lang ang naging cra katulad ng bayantel with SKY DSL na ginagamit q, kung tutuusin mas mabilis ang mga ito dahil international ang speed nila di katulad ng PLDT at smartbro local broadband lang sila ang bagal ng World of Warcraft at at the best pa rin sa lahat ay bayan tel service guarantee pag di nila naayos ang problem may 500 less sa payment mo ^_^ kaya ang sipag nila…

  7. Globelines Suck… Ang bagal!! kaka discourage

  8. Hugmeeh says:

    Why not all of us gather those information against Globe broadband..and magreklamo tyo sa imbestigador or isumbong mo kay tulfo para ma media na sila. wala kcng development e. at para alam din ng mga gustong magpakabit na how poor they are in terms of connections. Sayang kc ang binabayad natin pero di natin napapakinabangan. Tanggap lang sila ng tanggap ng bayad pero kapag poor services naman.

  9. Recently we went home to the Phil. for a vacation. My husband had to work and submit reports to his boss in Norway. We subscribed to Broadband Phils. which unfortunately proved that they are a lousy provider of wireless internet connection. We paid their service but they don’t deliver what they are selling. Their internet connection is not stable and they don’t inform their customers way ahead that they will be down for a day. Onced it happened they were down for 3 long days! I agree with a comment here that these internet providers should be featured in the Imbestigador. I hope someone here would suggest what is the best wireless internet connection we have right now in the Phils. Thanks in advance.

  10. just an ordinary wiz kid says:

    sana after 1 week umayos net ko (im using globeline), if not …
    lets check their caloocan bts…

  11. globehater says:

    Hugmeeh » July 28th, 2007 18:10

    “Why not all of us gather those information against Globe broadband..and magreklamo tyo sa imbestigador or isumbong mo kay tulfo para ma media na sila. wala kcng development e. at para alam din ng mga gustong magpakabit na how poor they are in terms of connections. Sayang kc ang binabayad natin pero di natin napapakinabangan. Tanggap lang sila ng tanggap ng bayad pero kapag poor services naman.”

    i definitely agree with u hugmee. sana un mkabasa n2 kung may balak kayo magglobe, WAG NA! kung maganda man ang makuha nyong connection sa knla malamang sa Customer Service mbbaliw kayo. 4 yrs na kami may PLDT DSL pro dahil sabi ng iba mas mabilis dw ang globe lumipat kami ng connection. im telling you since installed (november) hanggang sa magkaearthquake na wala kami nakuhang magandang connection sa kanla. everyhour dc ng 5 minutes tpos bbalik ulit. ganun everyday until samin na mabwisit customer sa shop sa pangit ng connection nila. and take note ang dumadating na bill walang rebate kesyo kapag ntapos na dw ang repairs ng connection namin. we went back to PLDT, this time walang DC super bilis ng connection. globe still continues to bill us kahit na kinuha ng technician ng globe ang modem nila. because of that 2-yr lock up period. we even wanted to go to DTI pra magreklamo (but we discovered that the E-Reklamo of DTI has an office in Globe’s building in mandaluyong) kaya ngayn hinayaan n lng namin dumating ng dumating ang bills. bahala na!

  12. hsdpasaks says:

    **If you want a business suicide, use GLOBE!!!! **
    Im currently using GLOBE HSDPA 3G… as in 3rd generation daw yung connection…
    1.well maganda gamitin ito kapag inaantok ka na…
    2.as in try mo mag browse sa youtube check your connection if 3.6MBPS… if it is..
    3.try to play your favorite video in youtube
    4. try looking at the video to download… medyo sasakit yung mata mo kahihintay
    5. try to sleep (dahil nga masakit yung glare ng monitor)
    6. Wake up in the morning… tAda!!! at last 98% na yung pagdodownload hahahaha
    7. you still have time to brush your teeth and eat breakfast
    8. check your video 99% na!!!
    9. loading… loading…. suddenly connection time out… hehehe lucky if not :)
    and that will make your day!!!

    DTI and NTC should be doing something with this

    tsk tsk tsk….

  13. I’m experiencing a shit connection with Globe Broadband. i don’t have connection all the time.I hate it.sinusumpa ko sila…BY THE WAY I’M FROM BATANES.

  14. Globelines is a like an obnoxious friend. Poor customer service, poor internet stability/connectivity and is causing my computer to have stop error messages because the modem connected to the system unit always – and I mean always – lose it’s connection from the server. You can’t really work with this ISP it’s just plain terrible service that you have to pay and see their annoying untrue commercials.

  15. It’s like Oct already. Are people still having the same problems with Globe Broadband?

  16. im from davao.in fairness sa globelines..the best! naka upgrade na kami 2 times in 1 yr at no additional cost! but their service is just available in downtown and south area..kaya siguro superb service kasi concentrated

  17. globeline is very disappointing. i had my globeline broadband modem issued to me last november 24. the service attendant told me that it will only be running after 1 week. thus, the modem stayed in my house for 7 days installed in my computer without connection. after the hellish week, i tried my connection but it was super slow. it’s now dec 6, i called globe customer service and globe technical support for some help but according to them they cannot do anything about it since i do not have an account number yet. according to them i need to call their office from time to time to know if i already have an account number. only if i have been assigned with an account number will they be able to help me. but how come they released the modem unit without assigning me my account number?

    this is a classic poor system that globe broadband has. it was truly a big mistake why i switched to globe… it’s super slow! boooo to globe broadband!!!

  18. Globe cebu- worst isp ever… right now the net is only usable from 11pm – 9am… has alot of disconnection and the speed is sh!t its crawling and when i check on the bandwitdh meter it was like 19 kbps ~_~.

  19. Globelines Broadband is a scam!!! Letting us customers experience their 7-day trial period of real broadband speed then they will tie us in their 1yr bond then after that the HELL ON EARTH of internet begins.

    I am experiencing problems with globelines broadband… I subscribed to their 512kbps wireless broadband package with wireless phone (PHP1295/mo.)… they gave me 7 days trial period and within that trial period I was amazed with the speed… pumapalo from 700+ kbps to 1+ mb… kaya pina-activate ko kaagad. Pero eto na ang kalbaryo… right after the 7-day trial period nagsimula nang maging intermitent ang connection speed nila either super bagal (I even got 5bps or lower!!!) o totally walang connection. Lagi ako nagrereklamo sa CS nila pero wala naman sila ginawa kundi palitan yung modem na wala naman nagbago ganon pa din naman problema. My work is related to IT and I know that there is no problem at my side (hardware, softwares, cabling, etc…). Kakainis na talaga ang service ng globelines… feeling ko naloko lang ako kase nakatali ako ngayon sa kanila for 1yr dahil sa 1yr bond na kasama sa package. Tanong ko lang guys… meron ba tayong pwedeng magawang aksyon para maipaabot sa mga kinauukulan ang panlolokong ginagawa ng globelines satin?

  20. To the People of the DTI,

    Yes you guys, can you please start to look at the inequities of these broadband providers?

    So many claims in their ads of high speeds and yet none is being delivered.

    The collective sum of this scam is far more the entire ZTE deal!

  21. Globelines broadband (bacolod) sucks big time. gets your net dc’d every 5 mins or so.. the modem signal for the internet connection turns off faster than the supposedly internet dl/upload speed.

    tsk.

    HUGE CRAP.

  22. I am arrived in the Phil just 2 month ago and live in La Union signed up with Digitel broadband 512Kbps my speed is only dialup speed between 35 to 60 kbps.
    I complained about that but nothing happened.
    My neighbour is with pltp and receives 280 on his 310kbps plan.
    If I cancel digitel they will charge probabely
    a cancellation fee. Don’t know what to do.
    In Austrlia where I come from the ISP would be in trouble.
    Any Advise wellcome.
    Thanks
    aburger@mail.com

  23. D2 s batangas lahat ng subscribers maccra n ang ulo, lahat ng mga kakilala q puro globe broadband, and we all have d same problem, disconection, ok n un kht mabagal, pero ung disconnect every 15 mins, putcha parang gus2 q ng bombahin ung office nila, ginagawa naman nila pero di nila maayos, magpPLDT n lang aq

  24. Dka nag iisa bai, dito sa cebu tarantado din yang globeline nayan, sa dami dami ng binobomba sa mindanao bakit hindi pa nila isali tung mga taga globeline na ito, ubusin nila mga globe cellsite at opisina ng globelines, para mahinto na pang aapi at panloloko nila. Namputsa itong mga makakaliwa na congressista natin, mga walang silbi, samplelan ninyo ang globelines para mahinto na ito!!

  25. I am having an erratic connection. Does someone here is currently experiencing it. The problem started occuring yesterday?

  26. Is anyone here having an erratic connection lately? I am a pldt mydsl user living in Quezon city. My neighbor is having the same problems, I even interviewed some of my friends here in manila, and they are all having the same problems. Does someone know what could be the reason for this mass problem?

  27. Hi. I’m currently waging a campaign for people NOT to by Smartbro Prepaid. It should’ve been named Dumbro for that’s what is it. I’m not surprised Smartbro is the name of a PC virus.

    Anyway, I bought the Smartbro gadget for P3800 and up to now, i can’t even use Mozilla as my browser. It’s SUPER SLOW. I tested it at speedtest and it just registered a snail-paced speed of 23 kbps. Imagine that. I can’t even open Youtube and other graphic heavy sites. Sometimes Yahoo suggests that I just open their classic yahoo version since I was having a hard time opening their updated version. That’s how slow it is. I can’t even run my YM Messenger. It really sucks.

    Customer support is passable but they can’t really do anything about it but tell you that they’ll report it. I’m planning to sell my gadget but I get guilt feelings about duping other people like Smart duped me.

    So don’t be fooled into buying this Smartbro. You’d be wasting your money.

  28. Bong Vicente says:

    Geez.. Am visiting the Philippines next week, Davao City to be exact – looks like ones choice of broadband provider is between lousy and lousier.

    i’m on COMCAST cable broadband and have 24/7 uptime with DL speed of 7MBPS – seems like there is no comparable service in the PI.

    crap – now am worried about getting a VPN connection to my office – given the lousy networks of Globe and PLDT.

  29. globe broadband SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i cant believe it ive been experiencing the WORST OF THE WORST POOREST OF THE POOREST SERVICE F**K Y**u GLOBE!! EVRTYM I CALL!! ALL THE REASON THEY HAVE IS THEY HAVE RESTORATION GOING ON!!! GO TO HELL YOU A HOLES!!! ITS BEEN 2 MONTHS AND THE SERVICE IS GETTING WORST!!!!!!

  30. Smart bro here in QC reaches up to 512kbps download and upload. It is good to tweak the canopy. Not bad at all!

  31. smart sis says:

    SmartBro after sales and service is far more worst than SUCKS! I’m having an antenna problem and have been calling their office 3 weeks now, but still no one drop by to check the prob.

    I’m planning to change mine and I know most of them are not that perfect, but what would you guys recommend to me? help!

  32. tatanung ko lang po,,if pangit din ba ang globe broadband dito sa lugar namin,,bago lang kasi sila dito,,please i need your help,, address nga pala namin is, General Santos City,

  33. Felix Manalo says:

    PLDT MYDSL – CAVITE CITY

    5 days nang wala

  34. Globe Broadband in Davao City and Isulan Sultan Kudarat is wlang kwenta!!!!! They are always in restoration and mag restore sila tig almost threeweeks, pero pag maningil ng billhay ang bilis!!! nakakainis saan kayo nakakita ng maintenance na ganun ktgal
    …………………………….. sayang lang ang PERA and worst !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Nilock nila ako for one year sinungaling tlga ang agent nila

  35. always sila ng rerestore ng connection hindi naman ngiimprove, haynaku ano kaya ang best connection yng sulit sa binabayad mo

  36. broadband service my friends says youcan downloding and restore is very easy is avery good.

  37. GLOBE BROADBAND

    TE3!!!! MALKING TA3 ANG COMPANY NA TOH!!!!
    walang kwenta ang service, ang internet, at lahat lahat.. wag na papaloko… sana lang ma ipa cancel ko yung lock in period nila dahil sa walang kakwentahang service nila!!!!! letche….

  38. talagang napakawalang kuwenta talaga ng service nila, kaya nga kami nagpakabit ng broadband para magamit namin sa pag su surf pero walang nangyari nakadismaya lang po ang service nila tuwing manonood ka ng video sa you tube nakakatulog k na sa pag aantay wla p rin lagi putol putol p rin, nakakainis lang talaga. hay naku sana naman aksyunan naman ng globe company ang ganitong klaseng problema ng broadband user nila kasi sa umpisa lang sila maganda ang service tapos ng ilang weeks or months wala nakakapanghinayang lang ang monthly na bayad ng mga members nila.

  39. creature83ph says:

    hello do you want your broadband unlock? message me up i accept locked broadband the usb type from SMART GLOBE and SUN! so u can use it to other networks if you have weak signal with your present broadband! :) for more details chat me up on yahoo: creature83ph is my ym id! bye

  40. mga para sa mga globe connection…. my first two months… sa globe ay grabe ang bagay… kc 7 to 8 km ang lau ko sa base station…….. … may mga ginawa lang me na tweak ng konti… convert ko ang antenna nila… sa old ko na idea…. now connection is stable…… at — 512kbps ang plan ko…. normal ko dati ay 26kpbs….. shit ang bagal….. pero ng convert ko na un atenna sa idea ko…. ok na stable na……. pumapalo p ng 60 t0 70 kpbs… minsan while testing pumalo ng 1.5 kbps…. pero dina na ulit.. tapos…. try ko din hack un globe tatoo nila…. using sim card ng globe broadband gumana naman…. eto email ko…. pm nyo lang me…… rvinram@gmail.com baka makatulong me… batangas ang place ko…

  41. Believe me it takes time to recover to normal after a crisis situation.

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