Skip to content

Shopping for a new Cable Broadband Internet Provider

mydestiny_flyer2.jpgMy family is moving to our new home in the Pasig-Markina sometime next year. It’s an exciting move and something to look forward to. One of the things that I will miss in Makati are the array of Cable Broadband Internet providers and free wi-fi hotspots. I just realized how fortunate Makati residents are when it comes to broadband providers. I have been spoiled by Destiny Cable my primary broadband provider since 1999 which provides us with no speed limit at a reasonable rate of 1688 pesos a month. And this includes TV cable as well. In fact the speed falls to 386 kbps, the support service is sent to the house. Now, I also have Smart Bro which is incredibly slow. If you are spoled with 2MBPs internet speed by Destiny Cable, you will scoff at Smart Bro’s dismal less than 200 kbps speed. It’s supposed to be 386 kbps. Speed and reliability are important to me because I am a netrepreneur and derive income from my e-commerce sites.

When I started to ask around the area of our future home, disappointment overcame me when I found out that my trusty cable provider did not have any service there. I need 2 cable broadband internet providers for redundancy measures. What choices did that leave me?

1. PLDT Mydsl– the most popular of the providers in the Pasig-Marikina area. The myDSL Xperience cost Php 999/month at 512 Kbps speed.

2.GlobeQUEST Broadband Internet – Aside from the broadband internet, Globe Innove launched a new product/service called the
Speak and Surf which is an out of the box solution for broadband internet and landline telephone. This is really cool but I’d like to test it first before being stuck to their 12 month lock-in period.

3. Bayantel’s SKYDsl has a 14 day satisfaction guarantee program which is similar to a money back guarantee. This is a great deal since one is never sure how an internet connection works unless you try it out.

4. Smart Bro Wireless BroadbandSlow, Slower, Slowest! I use this service as backup. But see, their site boasts on 7x faster than the speed of dial-up! If you are so used to dialup, it’s not a problem but if one is aware that unreliable speed is unacceptable, it’s illegal for them to even display such a speed limit of 512 kbps.

My sentiments go to all the broadband providers. Don’t promise a speed you cannot attain about 50% of the time. Don’t cram customers in your server/lines. In fact, provide customer service if connection speed falls below 256 kbps for long periods of time. So in the following months, I will be looking for two [tag]cable broadband internet[/tag] providers . Hopefully I can test their services first before getting tied down to the mandatory 12 month lock-in period. Only in the Philippines can you find such a crazy scheme . When I first started out with Destiny Cable in 1999, they were the only broadband provider. They only lock you in if you leased the modem from them but if you purchased it, then you ‘re not stuck with them. I cannot for the life of me, understand why the current cable internet providers impose the lock-in period. Are they not confident of their services? Or are they just greedy and need to contain their market share?

20 thoughts on “Shopping for a new Cable Broadband Internet Provider”

  1. I had once mentioned to Sassy (C.V.) that a truly dependable high speed Internet access may not come about locally for another 3 years. In NYC dsl is cheap (15 bucks) and cable (40.00 dollars) and no one ever has any problems as our local users here in Metro Manila. No silly lock-in contracts, either.

  2. bayantel skydsl and globe dsl are both highly recommended if destiny is not available. Bayantel for its quick 24 service or money back and globe for its reliable and fast connection 🙂

    but…. destiny > all :~)

  3. @eric- our local providers are still not getting it. I don’t know if it’s the infrastructure or just plain greedy on their part to overcrowd their servers

    @jepoy- I hope to test these new providers soon. Destiny may not be reliable in some areas in Manila

  4. Hi,

    Im not a globe/Innove employee, although im recommnding you SNS(Speak and Surf) so far so good naman, particularly their internet connection although it is through dial up! pwede na. Their landline is quite fair, choppy in some places like under the bridge, tunnel etc. This package save you a lot compare to cellphone particularly if you ‘re using PDA or a pocket PC. At least you can surf while driving! he..he.. But dont forget to charge your battery and unit. BTW, you may use an inverter for your car AC Volt.

  5. Hi Noemi, update:

    Skycable high speed Internet access is now available in my area in QC; however, their prices are outright outrageous.

    I don’t know what we can do about this, but the more we patronize such costly online access the more we contribute to the great economic divide in our country. Eventually, only the rich can afford Internet. What these companies are doing is creating a revenue model based on US dollars. Why can’t they develop a pricing scheme according to the average local earning capacity of the prospective subscribers.

    And this 12-month lock-in period is unacceptable.

    This reminds me of when I was a young kid, only the rich and “connected” had telephone landlines.

    Without an affordable high-speed online access for the general public, we will remain behind other developing countries. But then again, perhaps, it’s the access to information by common Pinoy folks which scares most of our ruling elites.

  6. @eric- I’ve seent the price list of Sky Cable and they have been outrageously high. I think the only affordable internet service is Smart Bro, Bayantel and Globe internet. The smart bro we have is getting better though but I am not sure of the bayantel and globe.

  7. hello. read your comments. i’m from hawaii. planninng to come there to the philippines to open an internet cafe and a wedding bridal shop. my problem is, i am searching feverishly online for a reliable broadband internet service provider. we use clearwire here and it runs like a bullet. i can’t ever imagine using dial up. do you have any good places to open up business there?

  8. Dear Noemi,
    Thank you for your post. As a balikbayan here for the “winter” holidays, this post has been helpful.

    It seems many of the broadband internet companies have a 1-year minimum contract. For example, http://www.pldtdsl.com/packageres.asp says in Note number 6: Lock-in period is 12 months (without promo).

    So my question is: where can we get promos?

    Thanks.
    Please email if you can.

  9. Yes, it is informative. I am just using pre-paid card for internet
    connection. I am still studying what broadband or dsl type I may
    try to get into. I reside in New Manila, Q.C. What do you think
    should be a good broadband or dsl provider: fast, reasonable cost,
    good service and prompt for assistance, etc. Thanks for your
    effort and energy. Jetiu

  10. Jeez, Here we are almost 2 years after this was first posted and STILL having the same problems. I just moved to Legaspi Towers in Malate, Manila and after 3 months, still have not been able to secure the services of an Internet provider. I tried PLDT first, but “naubusan ng ‘ports’…sorry na lang…'” I tried Sky, Destiny, Bayantel, Globe, and Smart – – ALL refused. None of them provided alternatives until I asked, no pleaded, and at least 3 providers didn’t even bother to call back. I even tried lesser known providers that I dug up off the net, but apparently they only do dial-up. The only glimmer of hope seems to be coming from SMART, but I’m reluctant to pay P4,000.00 PLUS P10.00/hr of use!! So to hell with the lot of them. I’m cancelling my landline and moving to Sun. Here’s a big middle finger for you all.

  11. Good day!

    Somehow, my previous post didn’t send successfully. This is a rewrite.

    I just would like to know if anyone could provide me any suggestion for ISP provider.

    I have applied for PLDT myDSL but application has been ivalidated due to unavailability of facility/equipment.

    I am now looking into SMART Bro or Globe prepaid kits.
    We also have SKY cable service, but am not aware if they offer internet services.

    I will be using the internet mainly for research/surf/job search.
    Video/music downloads are not that yet crucial to me.

    By the way, I am residing in San Joaquin, Pasig.

    Any input suggestion highly appreciated.

  12. im from new manila Qc…from my experience …dont go with bayan and destiny if your near hear….bayan dsl gets DC when the bundled landline rings…called them about 5x.well they went here 5x also and replace this and that cofig here and there..but cant resolved the DC problem(they said grounded poste daw)…so i changed to destiny..but the problem with destiny..on peak hour connection 10am-12mn crawling speed about 128kbps below..the upside is on offpeak 1am til early morn , i get speeds up to 3mbps/ down speed 400kb/up is 200..but as i have said only on offpeak hours…planning to get pldt…

  13. dont get my destiny…congested na here at new manila…peak hours speed is 128 below…offpeak nga lang bawi 2-3mbps..so kung may insomnia ka at gising ka 1am onwards…destiny na …hehehe

  14. I don’t see anybody mention DIGITAL. I have had them for 2 years in a second class neighborhood. I had to pay p2400 once just so they could install extra wire. Globe is out here in GMA but don’t service my area. The line kept getting stolen for the copper wire so I moved 2 times and now that this problem is solved I get a new one. The speed is only fast between 11pm and 8am. That is when the Internet Cafe’s open and close. I call them every other day now for 1 month and just get the run around, I told them it must be they overselling there internet connections.

    Other then those problems, I have not had the ones other mention in this blog like the line drop DC, when you pick up the phone to use it. It has went out then on a gain after a few hours of interruption, and I think they just installing somebody else connection, one time they took mine off and gave it to somebody else by accident. The tech told me that, seems he should be working at a bank to be so honest like that. I find, if you want to know whats going on with your line ask a tech, go to the office and wait around for one if you have too, but you don’t get strait answers by phone or the billing guys at the office. Instead of a honest I don’t know, it is a they be out today or tomorrow to fix, connect, etc. your line? Next week, same thing. You get Useless information. Did the tech test your speed at http://dslspeedtest.digitelone.com/ (That is DIGITEL of course it is fast from you to there office, but as I told them, what about after that, everything so slow as the Internet backbone of your so congested). Try this place instead: http://www.speedtest.net/

    I went there and showed the tech and they call back up again to there head office to tell them. You can’t always rely on them, they pretend to know what they doing so you don’t think unprofessional about them, but in long run you figure out just how unprofessional they are, lies and steeling are short term conditions and they going to loose in the end when all there customers go some place else. They get new ones and the old faithful ones move away because it so congested and slow.

    I lived in the USA, C0MCAST 8 GIG cable!!! for $45 per month. Never problems. Go to a page and it is like you just loaded it up from your hard drive. Ameritch DSL 768K $19.95 p940. so about the same as PH.

    I am a tech, and talked to some people at big servers around. They say China has the best Internet. I read that Philippines is getting good because of there coral riffs so easy to lay fiber optic cable.

    If you want to test your connection the best to get is Visual Trace Rout, you can download it from the Internet. It will show you what servers you going through. In fact I found some phone numbers and email addresses of DIGITAL that they not give out, so good place if you trying to get in touch. Yep, DIGITAL has no email address other then the one I found, they don’t give one out. They give you service but it is slow, up to 1 week.

  15. You are absolutely RIGHT! Your experience is a common one especially for internet owners like me. Yeah, they don’t give outright and clear answers to your queries. After talking to them, you are left still wondering what’s really the problem and there’s nothing you can do but wait for their line to be “repaired” or reconnected. Users are at their mercy. One thing annoying is that they are industrious in sending their billings yet we get very poor service. They knew their faults but they don’t voluntarily give discounts/rebates for their internet line downtimes.

    Our gov’t is seemingly numb or unconcern on this matter. We don’t see proactive actions to address this problem. They are so busy keeping their high profile but undeserved positions yet neglecting their required functions. What a pity for Filipinos…

    1. Well after watching my speed go up and down, I noticed for long time it fast after 11-12 midnight and slowed down after 7-8am again. I called there support again and told them I know they are overselling there DSL that the backbone is overloaded at peak times. Especially the week ends, I have to wait even longer. After monitoring this for a while it just way to obvious. Now sometimes it faster during the day, took 1 and 1/2 months of calling up and complaining. So I check my speed at am hours and notice it more then I should get. They simply compensated my speed so it be faster during the day, but still during the day it not what I should be getting.

      I need my DSL for business so thinking to switch to Globe but will have to move to get it. Now I meet a guy not far from me that said he has Smart Bro DSL wire. I thought they only had satellite I told him. A friend down the street got there Satellite and he said, it disconnects and reconnects a lot. I asked him if that was at times when a lot of clouds or rain and he said no. I am a HAM operator so had to learn a lot about radio signals to get the HAM radio license. But at the high frequency they use, it should penetrate most weather conditions.

      You guys and gals can check your speed at different server locations around the glob at http://www.speedtest.net and also see a comparison chart to all the Internet Provider services in different locations of the country, world. If you have a web site you can even get there speed test to put on your site.

      Good luck to everyone. I think my next step is to check out Smart Bro again or move and get glob. geez, DSL is controlling my life and were I have to live. OMG

  16. GLOBE HAS THE WORST TECH SUPPORT…

    I’ve been a globe inove subscriber for a couple of years but their technical support pisses me off…

    There was a time that it took 45 days before their technicians did an on site visit and fix the problem.

    I’ve had like 15 times of failed connections and it took away 5months of my internet connection. I am in a P999 plan with 1.5mbps, one of the cheapest but service is ONE OF THE WORST…

    I won’t recommend GLOBE as your broadband provider.

  17. I just started using My Destiny for about 2 months. My plan is Php 999/month and during the first few weeks, i was amazed at the download speeds.
    But after that I’ve seen it go down to even 10 kbp/s They keep saying it’s because of the Taiwan Hurricane incident. But c’mon that was a long time ago. The technicians could not give me a straight answer.

    So i can’t say they are the best.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *