PLDT myDSL's Take On

As promised, PLDT myDSL underwent thorough assessment under my critical eye. I had measure its speed, observe its stability and its befitting overall package. My evaluation is base on a 10 day period with speed tested via speedtest, stability in comparison to Smartbro's residential base antenna and the overall package it offers.

Well... as far as I had observed, its a mix bag, it has some advantages and disadvantages and I will point it one by one as I go along.

Speed, one of the most important aspect in internet connectivity, the PLDT myDSL was not as fast as I expected it to be. Speedtest measured it below the SmartBro with general download of only 0.44Mb per second compared to 0.51Mb per second of Smart Bro while the general upload is only 0.12Mb per second compared to 0.24Mb per second of the later. Ping is 77ms over 148ms of Smart. This was really surprising because I thought myDSL would beat SmartBro hands down because its cable base with all those new technology.

But don't get me wrong here, myDSL allows you to surf web pages easily and watch youtube videos normally with loading delays just like SmartBro's. It only matters on download and upload of files. According to the PLDT representative I have talk to, I can increase the speed of my connection by subscribing to a higher package. Not a good idea on my part, I can only afford the 990 package.

Another important aspect of internet connectivity is Stability and PLDT myDSL championed this area with flying colors. Since the first day of my connection, I haven't encounter any crush or disconnection from the service compared to SmartBro which had crushed 3 times cutting the connection for more than 30 minutes during the same period and a day with no connection at all which I suspect could be due to bad weather we had this past few days. I believe SmartBro connection is very receptive to weather condition being antenna base compared to the very secured cable based myDSL.

And last but not the least, overall package. The PLDT myDSL offers more on the table compared to the antenna base SmartBro. Aside from PLDT being safer because you don't have to worry about rooftop antenna falling down during storm, it also offers more like unlimited landline that you can enjoy province wide, and Watchpad, a video treaming service featuring TV channels and movies. I didn't find the watchpad helpful though on the connection speed of Plan 990 because its slow and more often than not delay and chappy reception.

And so the final verdict? PLDT myDSL rules big time. First and foremost, I don't think there is a big difference in the surfing experience between the two, I got the same impression and work capability. Second, stability, I couldn't stand the erratic connection of SmartBro, makes you feel a loser since your paying huge amount of money yet you wont be able to connect to the internet for days sometimes. Thirdly, the landline, I may not have use of it at the moment rather than calling Tool FREE and business landline numbers but its very convenient in general sense. Last but not the least, its cheaper by 9 pesos.

In this regards, PLDT myDSL topples SmartBro hands down! So if your confuse as to which one of this internet connection to get, read to aloud, take on PLDT myDSL.

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PLDT myDSL Quick Preview

After a long and tedious year without internet connection in the house, I finally got a link to the world wild web via myDSL, Philippine Long Distance Company's primer Broadband Internet access. The company recently added a broadband service here in my area, progress that I have been watching closely since I lost my Smart Broadband connection last December of 2009 when we transferred to a house that was a dead zone. I got no other option since Globe Telecom also have no broadband service in the area.

Anyways, the set up that I got is the Plan 990 Bundle, unlimited internet, landline and watchpad under a 12 month lock up period. The DSL connection is up to 384kps as advertised, the landline as a norm is unlimited call province-wide while the watchpad is a service that allows users to watch TV online, chat with fellow watchpad users, blog and share files.

The myDSL speed so far was good enough like if compared to Globe's EDGE with my phone as a modem while against Smart Broadband, I would say its the same as far as I can remember but I'll try to compare them up with the office's SmartBro using Speedtest.com and gauge the difference.

How about the landline? I cannot appreciate it really because I got a mobilephone but lets see in the few days time how this "old" technology could work for me.

And the watchpad..?.. Well, at the moment, I have a problem in registering my account so I have no idea how it works. The system lead me to install a PC application so far, a watchpad application but I cannot log-in because I don't have an account set-up yet.

So there you go, few info's I can share o far. Lets see how everything works out in a weeks time. Stay tuned! Gotta surf, surf and surf!

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WiMAX Set to Conquer Broadband Technology in the Philippines

Interesting to note that Philippines is not far behind from the latest technology in telecommunications and broadband technology as two of the largest telecom network in the country toast the newest breed of connectivity option, WiMAX or the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access is a telecommunications protocol that provides fixed and fully mobile internet access. The current WiMAX revision provides up to 40 Mbit/s with the IEEE 802.16m update expected offer up to 1 Gbit/s fixed speeds. WiMAX is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard, also called Broadband Wireless Access.

The bandwidth and range of WiMAX make it suitable for the following potential applications:

- Providing portable mobile broadband connectivity across cities and countries through a variety of devices.
- Providing a wireless alternative to cable and DSL for "last mile" broadband access.
- Providing data, telecommunications (VoIP) and IPTV services (triple play).
- Providing a source of Internet connectivity as part of a business continuity plan. That is, if a business has both a fixed and a wireless Internet connection, especially from unrelated providers, it is less likely to be affected by the same service outage.
- Providing a network to facilitate machine to machine communications, such as for Smart Metering.

Companies are deploying WiMAX to provide mobile broadband or at-home broadband connectivity across whole cities or countries. In many cases this has resulted in competition in markets which typically only had access to broadband through an existing incumbent DSL (or alike) operator.

Additionally, given the relatively low cost to deploy a WiMAX network (in comparison to GSM, DSL or Fiber-Optic), it is now possible to provide broadband in places where it may have not been economically viable.

Smart Telecom already started its WiMax offer around the National Capital Region offering the following broadband plans

Plan 999
Speed : Up to 1 Mbps
No. of Hours use : Unlimited
Requirements : Proof of identification and Proof of Address
Total Initial Payment : P999

Plan 799
Speed : Up to 512kbps
No. of Hours use : Unlimited
Requirements : Proof of identification and Proof of Address
Total Initial Payment : P799

Globe on the other hand has started earlier and is now operational nationwide, the following plans up for grabs.

Plan 995
Speed : Up to 1 Mbps
No. of Hours use : Unlimited
Requirements: Proof of identification, Proof of Address, Proof of income
Total Initial Payment: P995

Plan 795
Speed : Up to 512kbps
No. of Hours use : Unlimited
Requirements: Proof of identification, Proof of Address, Proof of income
Total Initial Payment: P795

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