The fastest mobile broadband
Nov. 30, 2009 19 Comments Posted under: Consumer Rights, Resources, Reviews
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.
This entry was posted on Monday, November 30th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Consumer Rights, Resources, Reviews. You can leave a comment and follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Marcuss said:
Nov. 30, 2009
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.
Prudence said:
Nov. 30, 2009
For me, Sun broadband is the fastest. But when I’m in Bulacan, Smart broadband seemed to be the better option
Jhelo Cruz said:
Nov. 30, 2009
Walang duda, panalo talaga ang SUN!
aeirin said:
Nov. 30, 2009
I agree Sun tlga pinakamabilis!
Mel said:
Nov. 30, 2009
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.
Arvin Ello said:
Nov. 30, 2009
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.
Badong said:
Nov. 30, 2009
too bad I use Globe. hehe. pero I’m switching to PLDT DSL. er, is it a good option?
tonyo said:
Nov. 30, 2009
@Badong — Wireline is always better than wireless internet. Check neighbors what they use and what they say about providers.
The Photoblogger said:
Nov. 30, 2009
no wonder in the tv commercials u dont see Globe or Smart challenging the speed of Sun
uberVU - social comments said:
Dec. 1, 2009
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by tonyocruz: New @ tonyocruz.com: The fastest mobile broadband – Smart and Globe are fighting over the title of having the “fast… http://ow.ly/165g1u...
John Carl said:
Dec. 1, 2009
This is why I use the fastest.
tonyo said:
Dec. 1, 2009
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.
Visyel said:
Dec. 12, 2009
Now I’m decided about what to buy, good thing that I found this post! Thanks!
Joyce said:
Dec. 13, 2009
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.
Bob said:
Dec. 15, 2009
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.
AlienInCebu said:
Dec. 19, 2009
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
AlienInCebu said:
Dec. 19, 2009
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.
bong said:
Dec. 28, 2009
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.
carlo mercado said:
Dec. 31, 2009
thanks a bunch sa article na to.. saktong sakto sa vito cruz ko gagamitin yung laptop ko kase dun ako angOOJT..:-)