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Looking for Most Reliable and Fastest Internet

25K views 77 replies 27 participants last post by  steveb47 
#1 ·
I need a reliable internet as I am online quite frequently.

I am coming there on January 16th and plan to visit few areas.


I am on a budget like alot of you. Work online with $800-$1000 a month


I do not plan to eat out everyday because it is just poor management of money.


I am just a simple young guy little wiser than your average 23 year old.


Really excited about my trip only concerned about pickpocketers and internet.


Any Advice is Welcome Expats.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Internet Etc



Best thing is to take the time to read through many of the posts here. Stay completely away from the southern islands for your safety. Read any travel warnings at the US Embassy site.
Remember, the only thing that is dependable or reliable in the Philippines, is that nothing is reliable or dependable in the Philippines - and that includes the internet service,,,
 
#3 ·
It depends on where you will be staying and for how long. I remember that I subscribed to a new internet company(that was 2 years ago, I think and I barely remember what it's called) for a month about $20, it's not that bad worked well where I was staying. I had worse with other companies, kept crashing(I think it was because of the area), do not even think about the pre-paid USB internet. Waste of money for my experience.

I wish I could remember what the internet company is called, if I remember correctly that time they were the only one who had 4g.
 
#4 ·
Thanks for post Gene and Jecuisine.


Yes I have read about globe tattoo service. Heard to be very good throughout philippines but I am sure there are areas it wouldnt work well. I would need to know areas I can expect to get superior internet as I am near a computer almost if not every day.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Best Internet


Short answer, there is no superior internet in the country that I am aware of. We live close to Clark Airbase by Angeles City and recently changed to ComClark internet service. So far it is the best we have found. Like anything else here, it does have occasional problems and is not even close to internet speed in more advanced countries. But so far as I say it is the best and most reliable.
 
#6 ·
Generally the internet is very slow in the Philippines but Makati City does have some locations that rival the fustiest in the world but rent is high! Goggle fastest internet in the Philippines. In the western country cable is the fustiest then DSL and connection via cell phone network, I asked a IT professional that has a company in Angeles which is best here. He said it all depends because here the maintence is poor. It all depends on how well the equipment is maintained around where you live.
 
#7 ·
If you're around metro Manila or other popular places, look into sky cable broadband. Great Price, fast, and reliable. I also rely on Internet for my business. Also, if your going to be staying get a smart usb stick to use as a backup. You're never guaranteed to have Internet on a specific day here in this country. Sky has been reliable but I can't take the chance. Also Power outages are common and having the usb stick for your laptop allows you to work without having a UPS when the power is out.

One other word of caution. Stay away from globe at all costs. If you can't get sky broadband get pldt dsl. Make sure to also stay away from satellite.

Oh, and don't expect to have your Internet installed and RUNNING in less than a month!!
 
#9 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'm also 23 and work online--I've been living in the Philippines for just shy of 2 years now and have experienced just about all of the ups and downs that the country's internet has to offer.

I've only lived in Bonifacio Global City (Taguig) and Baguio City, so I can't comment on other foreigner hotspots (Angeles, Cebu, etc)

Baguio City: Your best bet is to go with PLDT. It's the most reliable for the area. It rains a lot more in Baguio than anywhere else I've been to and, unless you're in a few specific hotspots (near SM, along session road, or in the Mirador area) you won't be getting Globe Tattoo to work very well. 4G doesn't work in Baguio reliably but you can get HSDPA via Tattoo so you CAN work online but not too well.

PLDT broadband lasts most of the time throughout the hard rains and their speed is fairly stable. You won't get anything higher than a 1.5mb/s connection though.


Metro Manila: If you're living in an area that is serviced by 4G, Globe tattoo works decently. Makati and BGC both have nice 4G connections and, due to my line of work, Tattoo bailed me out many times as I was waiting for a better connection to get in.

I originally wanted to stick with PLDT because that's what I used in Baguio before the move to metro manila but when my wife and I got here they said it would take 10 weeks before the PLDT guys could get it hooked up. Ridiculous.

Just to check it out, we went down to Sky and they said they could have us hooked up with a 10 day free trial in 5 business days. We said "sure let's do it" on Thursday afternoon, gave them a refundable (consumable) 1,000 pesos and they were knocking on our door the following Thursday.

Had us hooked up in a little less than an hour.
The internet is stable, fast enough to do what I need, and have only had an issue with it going off one time for about 3 hours one evening. I just loaded 50 pesos on my little Tattoo stick and didn't skip a beat.

If you're out in the provinces, it's going to be a different experience, I'm sure, but if you're planning on staying in the MM area I personally think you'll be just fine. My suggestion: go and get Skycable internet and use a Globe Tattoo (get the 4G) stick in the mean time.
 
#10 ·
the one thing to remeber in the philippines is that everyone will offer you what you are looking for, this Include the like of Smart and Globe who provide country wide coverage, but by that they mean Manila

If you go to the provinces PLDT provides the most realiable service
 
#12 ·
Like most post read, it depends on your location. As i live in Santiago, we use globe for 900P a month, I dont know the bandwith but, I can click on youtube and watch it without pausing. It is land line, but, i bought a wireless router and just use it. I dont know if that will degrade the service or not??? Hope this helps..
 
#13 · (Edited by Moderator)
I'm not sure that anyone is still looking at this but I have some info for you.

If you're in Metro Manila, and can afford it, fiber optic (FIOS) is offered by both smart and radius.net.pH.

Sky cable offers a good low latency network with some good consistency and speed for a good price.

Globe is cheap and pretty reliable but if the s***take hits the fan, they can take FOREVER to fix it. (I use globe and have the repair tech for my area on speed dial. I simply give him a work order number which I get from globe support and a tip for good service and he takes care of me.)

PLDT is pretty solid but more expensive than both globe and sky cable. This makes them last in my list because I can get better with sky cable for less.

If you rely on your internet it's wise to at least have some sort of backup. I like witribe for this. You can pay as you go and they're good enough for backup.

Remember, this is the Philippines and life is slower out here. Its always good to have a spare.
 
#14 ·
I use Globe also, I called their toll-free number, unsure it this is the same call center anyway the rep told me to get someone to fix my broadband unit, I told him to send their team out and disconnect me, I called back on the regular (non-free line) it seemed like they knew it was me and got me help, it turned out I needed another broadband unit and they said they would show up Monday but they showed up two hours later and this was on a Sunday and the their office is over an 1 hr away, that's some seriously good customer service.

I have a grudge against PLDT, for a decade from 1991-2003 they won't come out and hook a phone land line so we had no phone and no internet, cell phones were a little new and expensive so we had to use the PLDT office for calls, I don't care now to get any of their services.

When I called from the states Globe worked the best (Globe tower is just a football length from me)and then in 2009 they started providing internet service, I have had them ever since, very few problems I use the 1G plan 1,020P but my broad band unit is in a bad spot the You Tube will freeze up when played but general radio streaming and even video calls to the US are very good.
 
#15 · (Edited)
It may not be your "router" that is causing "freezes" on youtube. Youtube routes traffic via a priority system, and they're first priority is the U.S. Also, if you have the 1MB plan, that's not really fast enough to watch youtube videos. It MAY work, but it's certainly not optimal. I have the 2mb package and that barely does it.

There's a reason that PLDT was last on my list. My first choice for non-fiber however is Sky Cable broadband. I wish I could afford fiber!

It took globe 1.5 months to install my internet service when I got here, and I literally went to the office every day and begged, pleaded, and bribed anyone I could to get it up and running as I was out of work while I had no internet.

My cousin in Baccalod was down for 2 months! I constantly hear horror stories like this from customers regarding their internet service. When I am down, I often try to call in and am greeted with a busy signal. (Using their own globe landline and tech support number)

I've simply come to realize that in the Philippines, the customer is rarely treated as #1 with big companies. They seem to run business here with a screw 'em if you can approach.
 
#16 ·
Globe broadband

I have thought of upgrading to the Globe 2G it's not too much more I might try to find a package deal with cable TV instead, I'm getting tired of local drama channels, it's either some ugly girl who gets beautiful, drama queens, family violence and heart attack hospital scenarios, I find the dramas depressing and unbearable (wife loves it), when they do show US movies they are translated into Tagalog and I swear it's the same voices, I can be in another room and hear the voices, same voice actors, man it gets old.
 
#17 · (Edited by Moderator)
I have thought of upgrading to the Globe 2G it's not too much more I might try to find a package deal with cable TV instead, I'm getting tired of local drama channels, it's either some ugly girl who gets beautiful, drama queens, family violence and heart attack hospital scenarios, I find the dramas depressing and unbearable (wife loves it), when they do show US movies they are translated into Tagalog and I swear it's the same voices, I can be in another room and hear the voices, same voice actors, man it gets old.
Sky Cable has a great cable package and their internet service includes iwantv which is an online tv service. Thought of using a VPN and watching netflix/hulu/whatever you want via U.S. services? I happen to own a couple of VPN servers in the U.S.
 
#18 ·
Your money can already fetch you a good Internet connection. I think that PLDT MyDSL is the best so far. Of course, some may disagree for you need to constantly call them to reset your IP when it suddenly slows down. But overall, it is faster than other Internet providers.

Also, just don't think about the pickpockets too much. As long as you dress down and keep your stuff to yourself, then you will not face any problem.
 
#20 ·
What about for TV, using a satellite provider? Hotels in many areas us a company called Sky Cable. A friend of ours here close to Angeles has one called "Signal" I think. He seems happy with the service although it still includes the same local channels. He tells me that both companies have US movies and at least some sports. I just never get involved with TV much anymore as news and movies are available here on the computer for the most part...
 
#21 ·
cable

I think in our area its Cignal cable or satellite dish, I too get wrapped up in the news, I guess in the evening's sometimes I miss the Tonight show or other talk shows and Fox news, history, discovery channel.

Previous cable experience wasn't so good, unsure what company she had used but they never came out to repair problems and my wifes other complaint was that they play the same movies over and over.

I could improve the signal by placing the antenna in a different area around the house and moving it higher by 15 feet, for some reason she's stubborn and doesn't want to do this now, we have HD TV's also I wonder if they require a different "air" antenna.
 
#22 ·
lol at the local TV, i have to put up with that too, she loves all those series.

Have you noticed that they kind of live in fantasy land, like all of those series they all have nice cars and live in nice houses with pools. It just seems so fake to me. Additionally, you cannot watch more than five minutes of any show where there is no crying, i mean jeez always waterworks.

They always involve a cheating husband, a girl who has been ugly but suddenly becomes beautiful...i just cannot watch them anymore.

Cable is okay but there is still not too much for us foreigners. The movie channels always replay the same movies, so you are left with a choice of "top ten most crazy crashes etc" on AXN, Caeser The dog whisperer or gold digging on the discovery channel.

I dont really watch TV to be honest.
 
#33 ·
Mikey That is what we call a soap popper in the states.... Filipino Ones are more annoying though I have no idea whats going on and all they do is cry, cheat, and get revenge.


lol at the local TV, i have to put up with that too, she
loves all those series.

Have you noticed that they kind of live in fantasy land, like all of those series they all have nice cars and live in nice houses with pools. It just seems so fake to me. Additionally, you cannot watch more than five minutes of any show where there is no crying, i mean jeez always waterworks.

They always involve a cheating husband, a girl who has been ugly but suddenly becomes beautiful...i just cannot watch them anymore.

Cable is okay but there is still not too much for us foreigners. The movie channels always replay the same movies, so you are left with a choice of "top ten most crazy crashes etc" on AXN, Caeser The dog whisperer or gold digging on the discovery channel.

I dont really watch TV to be honest.
 
#24 ·
I have a friend that is a retired engineer who maintains all the larger hotels IT systems. I asked him what the best internet connection is. He said it depends! If you use smart or globe wireless then the distance from the antenna is very important. DSL is the distance from the Central office. Cable is the load (number of users). These guidelines are the same even if in the USA. Cable does have the potential of being the best but since we are in the Philippines we now have another issue that is how well it maintained. Sloppy cable work can make a big different. Ask your neighbors, either one could be the best for where you live.
 
#26 ·
Dont know if you are still looking,, but due to the place we moved in the deep of the province noone carries network that far out,, we can still use globe on our phone but, very slow.. After several weeks of searching I am going to get,, AZ Communications Network, Inc,, Dont know if they are any good and its satellite?? We will give it a go..

Would be nice to see that cignal carry satellite that would be good,, my buddy not from philippines seen a job position open for a technical job for dishnet position for manila,, not one for rumors but maybe we will soon get that???? would be nice..
 
#31 ·
Dont know if you are still looking,, but due to the place we moved in the deep of the province noone carries network that far out,, we can still use globe on our phone but, very slow.. After several weeks of searching I am going to get,, AZ Communications Network, Inc,, Dont know if they are any good and its satellite?? We will give it a go..

Would be nice to see that cignal carry satellite that would be good,, my buddy not from philippines seen a job position open for a technical job for dishnet position for manila,, not one for rumors but maybe we will soon get that???? would be nice..
Sattelite Internet has its own issues. Your signal is affected by the same weather conditions that affect your tv service.
 
#35 ·
Globe is pulling cable 15 miles north of me on the Natl Hwy in E. Samar so hoping next trip to have something reliable in the house instead of sweating it out with 100 kids in an internet cafe like I am now, they need a VIP area lol
 
#39 ·
And yep, my husbands lover is the one right now and the one that is on directly before it about an ugly girl who is now beautiful.

Before that it was the Marian Rivera (she annoys the hell out of me) one where her hubby cheated on her with a psycho woman who thought she had killed her, only for her to come back, have plastic surgery and inflict a long and drawn out revenge.

Cannot believe i pay 1,300 a month for the sky gold package and all i get is the F1 racing, other random sports and storage wars out of it.
 
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