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6K views 38 replies 14 participants last post by  M.C.A. 
#1 ·
I have a few questions regarding the availability of services and use of mobile telephones in the Philippines.

I have always heard people talking about purchasing their "load" for their mobile phone devices. Do they not have monthly services available there like the rest of the world? Is this your only option in the Philippines is to purchase a "load" and then when it is used up...go back and buy more "load"?

Also, just about everyone I have met in the Philippines seems to have two phone numbers...a regular mobile phone as well as a Global number...(?)

Why would anyone...especially the locals...need both of these two optional phone numbers.

Can someone or anyone clarify the cellular services in the Philippines and outline the products and services available and perhaps suggest the best route to go when I arrive there so I can actually purchase the right product and service for my needs?

My only requirements, as simple as they are, will be to have a great phone device that I can make a call on whenever I need it...

I would be interested to hear some of the best stories as well as the horror stories about the Philippine options for cellular services.
 
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#2 ·
Yes, there's plans. Most people get loads because they think its cheaper as they only need to use the money in their pocket, poor people don't have bank accounts to make the payments, and people don't want a 2 yr plan.

Loads are a genius idea....how the telecom owners in Asia are billionaires.

Google Smart and Globe and you'll see what's there.

But I would use loads until you settle down to see who's the strongest signal. Also if family members have the same sim so it's cheaper to text/call them.
 
#3 ·
There are the big 4 Globe, Sun Smart and PLDT. PLDT is also the primary owner of Smart. If you subscribe to Globe, and call Smart or Sun it cost more than if you call another Globe. Most people text here as it only cost in some cases 1 peso. In most cases from the mobiles you can't call a landline number, thats an add on. PLDT does have a chip for mobile that is a Landline and you can call Landline.
Globe Smart Sun chips are cheap 50 pesos.
You can get a monthly subscription post paid, I don't know anyone who has that. You can also get internet on the mobiles, but is pretty expensive. You can get a load anywhere. I personally have a dual Sim phone I have a globe and a PLDT chip. I don't use the internet thru the phone because the service is intermittent and most of the big shopping malls have free wireless.
 
#4 ·
When someone over here is buying a "load' they are referring to prepaid credits (sold in 100p, 300p and 500p increments). The costs of texts vary, from 1p to 2p depending on which Carrier they are being sent between.

There are plans similar to the states where you sign a 2 year contract and pay monthly. There are limits on minutes and texts (read the contract's fine print).

Cellular services is spotty and over subscribed. So even if you have a great signal, you can still have issues making a call during peak times. Also, depending on where you hang your hat, you may have better coverage with Smart/PLDT vs. Globe/Sun. This is why some people have both Sim chips. Those people with 2 chips have the choice of buying a dual sim phone or 2 cell phones.

I would start out with a prepaid (Load) sim until you see how much you are spending per month. If you are going to be in a metro area, either carrier (Globe or Smart) should work fine. 500p for me now lasts almost 2 months, plus you get 50+ free texts with the load card. If you are doing a lot of business and texting, 500p may not be enough. When I was working here before I could burn thru 500p in one day.

To use data on your cell phone can cost about 20p per half hour. Again, the throughput is not always usable.

I am not sure what c_acton was referring to about sims that can't call landlines. I have never had an issue calling a landline from a mobile. You just have to know the dialing sequence. However, calls between a landline and a cell phone are considered long distance. The rates are costly and I do not recommend doing that unless absolutely necessary. For this reason you will see businesses advertising both landline and mobile numbers for contact.
 
#6 ·
PLDT DSL Internet with Land line



I have PLDT DSL/wifi built into unit, 3 mbps, phone package, it comes with a land line and you can buy a SIM card for 250 peso's (from the PLDT office only) for your cell phone it doesn't require loading (you can't load it) and you can make a call from anywhere to and from your house land line, you can also buy an additional SIM card and make calls from one cell phone to the other, plan runs me 1,299 Peso's a month.

Most phones here have more than one SIM card slot and that's a good thing, weather here can be extreme and if one company gets taken out you can use the other for making calls, If your traveling you could also lose cell service so back up is a good thing. SIM cards from Globe, Sun, Smart aren't expensive and can be purchased at most spots but do require loading, it's a real pain I agree and another negative with these companies is the constant advertising they send you.
 
#7 ·
I have PLDT DSL/wifi built into unit, 3 mbps, phone package, it comes with a land line and you can buy a SIM card for 250 peso's (from the PLDT office only) for your cell phone it doesn't require loading (you can't load it) and you can make a call from anywhere to and from your house land line, you can also buy an additional SIM card and make calls from one cell phone to the other, plan runs me 1,299 Peso's a month.

Most phones here have more than one SIM card slot and that's a good thing, weather here can be extreme and if one company gets taken out you can use the other for making calls, If your traveling you could also lose cell service so back up is a good thing. SIM cards from Globe, Sun, Smart aren't expensive and can be purchased at most spots but do require loading, it's a real pain I agree and another negative with these companies is the constant advertising they send you.
And they charge you for receiving them. I believe you can turn them off.
 
#8 ·
Thanks for the awesome feedback...particularly the detailed info from mcalleyboy...great info with prices! This really helps me sort out the available mobile telephone options and applicable pricing. Thanks again to everyone for your invaluable services to the members of this forum.
 
#9 ·
Hopefully...(mcalleyboy)...these companies are not charging text message rates for all the unnecessary advertising they send...that would certainly be a double negative issue...receiving all the unwanted ads and then having to pay for the messages.

Here in the US there are negatives also. My big one is if you buy a new phone, it comes with a bunch of garbage apps preloaded on the device from the factory and most of them cannot be shut off or removed and if you don't use them, they still drain your battery reserves!
 
#10 ·
My big one is if you buy a new phone, it comes with a bunch of garbage apps preloaded on the device from the factory and most of them cannot be shut off or removed and if you don't use them, they still drain your battery reserves!
Here here! Just got a Galaxy S5 and want to clean it up. Hopefully it's explained on Google somewhere!
 
#11 ·
Good luck! I have tried everything to clean up my Android and it seems it can't be done. These companies pay big bucks to have their app added and the cellular companies make it impossible to disable them! My battery won't last one day...even if I never use my phone...bummer!
 
#18 · (Edited by Moderator)
When it comes to mobile Internet Globe now has the most 3g/4G coverage out of all the carriers. Smart claims it has LTE but it is NOT LTE. And where they could have 4G speeds their network is so oversold that you won't have reliable service.

That being said you still have regional differences. Smart was a little more reliable in Valenzuela than globe but down in Lilo-an Southern Leyte globe is king and their Internet is 3-5 mbit.

Just get a dual Sim phone and slap smart and globe Sims in. You'll be covered.

Snip
 
#28 ·
you do not have to 'run down to the store' every time you purchase load.

with two dual SIM phones, I use all three main networks in the Philippines, SMART, SUN and GLOBE, but SMART is the primary one.

I buy load mostly in 500 cards, these should not cost you 500 but less than 500, like maybe 490 or even as low as 475. Though they won't advertise this normally and you have to ask them how much the 500 cards are. They should never be 500.

with 500 pesos you get 83 free texts to any network.

best SMART promo is the Mega 250 monthly promo text MEGA250 and send to 2477.this gives you unlimited text to ALL Networks (Smart, TNT, Sun, Globe & TM), 180 minutes call to Smart, Sun and TNT and up to 100MB mobile internet browsing.

you should always have a stock of P100 cards in reserve of each network you use precisely so you never have to 'run down to the store' to get load.

in addition, I also have a 'spare' SMART SIM that I keep loaded with at least P100 so I can pass myself load to my main SMART SIM using 808 should the need arise.
 
#30 ·
Haha yes, in phil. almost everything is sold in retail.. even the phone loads.

I only use one phone and not two, i cannot handle two phones at the same time.. too multitasking for me, i am also loading it.. im not using plans, i only load enough like enough for text and call my family and friends. i'm not that a texter type. I don't reply much unless its emergency, i'm more active to viber, whatsapp, wechat, fb on my friends.

I know some people here who uses 2 phones, one is their personal phone while the other one is company phone.
 
#33 ·
Any suggestion on where to buy a phone in Manila?
It depends on what you are looking for and how much you want to spend.

What I mean is, if you want an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy or HTC with a warranty, I would go to one of the big malls like MegaMall or SM North Edsa and head to the Cyber Zone and buy from one of the stores there (not kiosks, but actual stores). Just compare prices because the prices can vary from store to store in the same mall.

If you are looking for a new smart phone but arent picky about the brand, every mall in Manila has the stores selling Cherry Mobile and MyPhones for relatively cheap. I would splurge on an extra battery because when the one that comes with it dies in a year, they probably wont have any more stock of that particular battery.

If you just want the cheapest used phone you can get, Greenhills or St Francis Square is the place for you. Tons of vendors who will sell you just about any used make and model that you can name. Just make sure they power it on to prove it works.

Good luck!
 
#38 ·
Globe has a good to excellent sales service.

BUT their after sales is THRASH specifically for postpaid units.

Just imagine yourself calling their "hotline" and waiting for 30-1 hour just to talk to some untrained service advisor that is like a robot but not as efficient.

And NO, after sales can not and will not be entertained through the store that you bought or applied for the cellphone unit.
 
#39 ·
Global customer service disaster



You ain't kidding when it comes to thrashy and down right wreckless customer service with Globe. I worked at a call center for 7 years and your not supposed to laugh in the call center but frequently it sounds like a comedy show and they're probably laughing at responses from customers.

007 clearance before starting your phone call, hopefully you have a full charged battery and don't run out of SIM card load, they do have toll free numbers but those numbers seem to be to the worst call centers. 50/50 chance that they speak enough English to get through the phone call and the option was push "1" for English speaking. Lack of information and virtually no information and zero call backs on issue's.....that's reality.

Globe had some sort of serious engineering issue in our municipality for what turned out to be 6 months (first half of last year), I'd had enough, those WiFi units.....I never want to see them again. Technicians kept leading me on and they are out right liars, they mentioned it was only me and another guy having troubles with our internet but it turned out to be the entire area, I tried to upgrade but there was no option and I mentioned this to the Technician so I asked him is there another service provider in my area? Look everything was done and I hung on for 6 months and his reply was he doesn't know. Found out PLDT had DSL in my area, I switched in an instant the customer service is good, it's fast, it's sane and so is the technicians that fix things.

To be fair to Globe, PLDT botched the installation and it caused me issues for the first two months they set a screw in-between the DSL (power line wire, shorting) mounting so I had a crackling line and it burned out my modem unit, once they figured that out it's been beyond awesome and no more SIM cards that require loads another sore subject I get tired of texting, reason we have phones is so that we can talk.
 
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