Photo grabbed from igadgetlife.com
Smart and Globe are fighting over the title of having the “fastest mobile broadband service”. As they fight themselves in the media, I thought that perhaps its better to make my own study of the three competing mobile broadband products.
To do the tests, I made use of a Compaq Presario notebook computer running on Windows 7 Ultimate, a single openline Huawei E156C dongle/modem and a generic Mobile Partner software dialer to connect to the internet. I got the SmartBro SIM pack from a package I bought last August. I also bought a Sun Broadband Wireless prepaid SIM SIM pack for P50 and a Globe Tattoo SIM pack for P40.
All tests were done on Nov. 23, 2009 at several points in Metro Manila. APNs used were those suggested by the telcos: http.globe.com.ph for Globe, minternet for Sun, and SMARTBRO for SmartBro. Network settings: WCDMA only. To measure the upload and download speeds, I used Speedtest.net.
| Globe Tattoo | SmartBro | Sun Broadband Wireless | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Promised speeds | Up to 2 mpbs | Up to 2 mbps | Up to 2 mbps |
| Mall of Asia, Pasay City | 0.18 mbps | 0.58 mbps | 1.42 mbps |
| Guadalupe, Makati City | 0.22 mbps | 0.36 mbps | 0.93 mbps |
| Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City | 0.18 mbps | 0.38 mbps | 0.65 mbps |
| Vito Cruz, Manila | 0.12 mbps | 0.35 mbps | 0.92 mbps |
| Observations/Verdict | Consistently the slowest | Fast | Consistently the fastest |
What is clearly lamentable is that all three telcos provide speeds much less than their promised “up to 2 mbps”.
As you can see, the results point to Sun Broadband Wireless as the consistent winner. The bad news is that coverage of Sun Broadband Wireless is currently limited only to Metro Manila.
My personal advice is to test which of the three actually works best in most, if not all, of the areas you usually go to. To do this, just borrow modems/dongles from your friends.
You may check below for the details of the speed tests:
MALL OF ASIA, PASAY CITY
Globe:
Sun
Smart
Verdict: Sun emerges on top with at least 1 Mbps download rate, followed by SmartBro. Globe is last.
GUADALUPE, MAKATI CITY
Globe:
Sun
Smart
Verdict: Sun again emerges on top, and again followed by Smart. Globe was the slowest.
ARANETA CENTER, CUBAO
Globe:
Sun
Smart
Verdict: Sun again emerges on top with Smart second and Globe at the bottom.
VITO CRUZ, MANILA
Globe:
Sun
Smart
Verdict: Sun again tops Smart and Globe.
Tags: globe tattoo, mobile broadband, philippines, smartbro, speedtest, sun broadband wireless, wireless internet
And I thought it was a bad move for me to choose Sun. I wont be complaining too much anymore. LOL. Good of you to come up with this article. It would really help us consumers to decide.
For me, Sun broadband is the fastest. But when I’m in Bulacan, Smart broadband seemed to be the better option
Walang duda, panalo talaga ang SUN!
I agree Sun tlga pinakamabilis!
I got a new Sun broadband and it is really fast though my location is out of coverage (San Mateo), I just tried it and it works perfectly.
Wow, hanep sa post ha! Something to ponder on. E how about PLDT DSL? That’s the one I’m using for more than a year na. Is it possible to include it also in your survey? hehe.
too bad I use Globe. hehe. pero I’m switching to PLDT DSL. er, is it a good option?
@Badong — Wireline is always better than wireless internet. Check neighbors what they use and what they say about providers.
no wonder in the tv commercials u dont see Globe or Smart challenging the speed of Sun
This is why I use the fastest.
I just hope Sun expands its coverage soon.
Globe and Smart meanwhile should give subscribers faster mobile internet. They spend so much in ads but don’t deliver the services they promise.
Now I’m decided about what to buy, good thing that I found this post! Thanks!
thanks for the infos. here. Mind if I ask something? How did u get an openline usb modem? do u know how to unlock globe tattoo? If so, please give me some advice.
thanks. I’ll really appreciate it.
I would like to know if Sun Broadband Wireless can be used in Pulilan, Bulacan. I heard some people tried it in other areas in Bulacan and it’s faster compared to Globe Tattoo and SmartBro. Another good thing about SBW is it offers unlimited internet surfing for a minimal fixed amount. I haven’t tried GT in Pulilan; SB was slow, as expected.
Don’t look only at the downloadspeed… if you consider also the pingtime it is horrible slow for all of them but especially for the Smarttest above. Ping’s above 300ms will make internet surfing very slow regardless your downloadspeed. Maybe a help is switching the DNS-Server to opendns.org
UPDATE info on Ping:
This measurement tells how long it takes a “packet” of data to travel from your computer to a server on the Internet and back. Whenever you experience delayed responses in Internet applications – this would be due to a higher than desired ping. Similar to packet loss, lower is better when it comes to ping. A result below 100 ms should be expected from any decent broadband connection.
i am using swb for a month now ,and i surpassed your speed test result by optimizing using advance system care utility. i was also suprised by the speed test result of 2.3 mbps after optimization at 3.0 mbps bandwidth.
thanks a bunch sa article na to.. saktong sakto sa vito cruz ko gagamitin yung laptop ko kase dun ako angOOJT..:-)
Tama saun is the best broadband.. kysa sa smartbro at globe.. i prove it to my self too.. coz already used the 3, but sun is the best.. sa mga postpaid sun parin..
sun is the best.. sa prepaid & postpaid sun parin ang the best.. kya n aman usap usapan ng mga may mga laptop, sun ang gamit nila lalo n ngaun year 2010.. more power sun broadband user
I’m using Sun but for one week now I’m really having a very bad connection and I don’t know why. It takes forever to call their hotline and I’m really disappointed. This is the third time it has happened and now I’m planning to change internet provider n lang. sayang coz I’ve been using sun for a year now pero these past few months talagang super bagal n connection ko
@Arvin Ello, fastest mobile broadband nga eh di ba? dumb ass!