Things to Consider before Getting a PLDT myDSL Broadband

As promised, another explosive posts is due today and it’s a straight from the bottom opinion and advised that I can share to everyone not that I had a grunge with PLDT at the moment but on the grounds of truth as a subscriber.

1. The connection is slow compared to the competition. I have used Smart Bro before, a sister company of PLDT and you can really see point blank the difference in the speed. Count the speedtest in and you get the validation you need. I think it’s high time for the company to consider increasing their bandwidth speed. There closest competitor is now offering 512kbps for their basic package though the latest offering the company for new subscriber is similar to the latter but I do hope they will include current subscribers.

2. The package is expensive because with the offered speed of 384kbps (only 200+ in reality), you pay PhP990 as compared to the plan 799 offer of Globe Wimax/Canopy with a maximum speed of 512kbps.

3. You get to pay services that you don’t need, for instance, a landline that I consider obsolete on personal level or home use since mobilephones is the mainstream of communication nowadays. Even the business establishments now prefer mobilephones over landline because it’s more portable to use.

4. The Watchpad service bundled on the package is a big joke. Who would ever want to watch a video stream on a 386kbps it offers. It’s like watching a stop motion video.

5. Lacks package personalization like Globe offers to its subscribers. They even encourage users to personalized packages to their taste so they won’t pay things that they don’t need.

6. Abysmal online supports system. Take for example, you forgot your password for Watchpad, the page doesn’t offer a password recovery system via email, instead you have to call a telephone support to do so. What if you’re not at home and a PLDT phone is nowhere to be found?

7. As mentioned in my article yesterday, the company is inhumane and inconsiderate when it comes to payment of bills. Unlike the competition where they offer at least 3 months grace period, PLDT doesn’t give any consideration on the matter. Would a multimillion company be hugely affected with the nonpayment of subscriber’s bill for a month that they would cut their internet right away for not doing so? Be reasonable sometimes!

So there you go, the important reasons you need to consider before getting PLDT myDSL. I'm leaving it up for the users to decide wither the package fits their needs or not.

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I'm Back and Catching Up!

Well, its quite obvious that I have not updated the blog for awhile, that because I lost my internet connection for 9 days due to a 5 day lapse of my due bill, yes believe it or not, only 5 days lapse and they cut my connection. That's how inhumane and inconsiderate PLDT MyDSL is when it comes to bills. Word of advice if you are from the Philippines and wants to avail a broadband connection? PLEASE! Don't consider getting PLDT MyDSL, it will cut your throat out in a second. I'm locked for the next 7 months to the service so I can't do anything about it at the moment, sad!

I missed quite a few in the web world, some important product launching, few events and a whole lot of nonsense social chattering, most importantly, the stuffs I often do online, blogging! Anyways, I'm doing a run down on stuffs that mattered.

Blog worthy News #1

The launching of the Nokia 500, an entry level touch screen smartphone that incorporates 1GHz processor (Nokia's fastest to date), 5MP camera, Symbian Ana (the latest and the most formidable Symbian operating system), the best of music and entertainment features and preloaded with Maps and turn by turn navigation, summing it up to become the most powerful entry-level smartphone in the market. And it even have an interchangeable back cover, reviving the grand old days of cover hunting and accessorizing.

Excluding any local taxes or operator subsidies, the Nokia 500 will cost just PhP9,000 (€150) before taxes and subsidies, and will be available from the third quarter of this year.

With a value for the money being widely considered, this phone earns my support since it would give the rest of the mass market a chance to own a powerful touchscreen device without compromise. I believe this will hit big in the market like the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic does 3 years ago.



Blog worthy News #2

Surprise, surprise! Nokia and Windows Phone announcing something BIG this August 17, 2011 in Cologne Germany, that would be 13 days from now. Well , the launching the very first Nokia Windows 7 Mango is inevitable but what surprise me was the time of launching, I never expected it to be this early as Nokia have been telling everyone that the phone will be ready Q4 this year and will be available early next year.

I believe the phone will be available in time for Christmas, when all the year end bonus and specials is up for grabs or even earlier. Hopefully I can trial one to compare with Nokia N8 and Symbian^3.

That will be all for now folks, there were more interesting and explosive articles on my dashboard, so stay tuned.

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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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