Smart Bro is getting some competition?

A tip from Lawrence got me all curious about this alleged new HSDPA modem from Globe. A wireless landline plus broadband service has been reported as early as last year and is branded as Speak ‘n Surf.

This month, I was told an upgraded system will be rolled out commercially, promising speeds way better than that of Smart Bro.

Speak and Surf

The previous Speak and Surf uses CDMA technology and can connect you to speeds up to 256Kbps (via a wireless axess*tel phone as shown in the picture, colored black). The phone is battery operated so you can actually move it around the house, even outside, for up to a max of 2 kilometers from the ZTE router (white box). On the other hand, the white phone in the picture is a regular wired phone hooked up to the router so you got 2 options.

Wireless WCDMA Phone

From what Lawrence told me, the new speeds will be up to 512Kbps once this is commercially re-launched. I suppose that since it’s an HSDPA modem, you can theoretically go up to 1.8Mbps or 3.6Mbps with that IF the network capacity allows it.

HSDPA Testing

The ZTE modem/router is supposed to be positioned in a location inside the house where it gets the best signal reception from any of the nearby cell towers. The nearer you are to the towers, the better the signal and the speeds.

I have yet to test the unit/service though initial testing at home shows there’s strong reception here. Previous road tests with Globe Visibility had mixed results depending on location.

On the other hand, existing Speak ‘n Surf (SnS) subscribers who are not satisfied might also get some speed bumps anytime soon.

Notes:

* ZTE – yup it’s the same Chinese company that’s the focus of the recent NBN contoversy.
* Rouge Subscribers – I was told some SnS Resellers are selling subscriptions to customers without field testing. This usually results into poor performances if the area does not have good coverage as they’ll end up getting GPRS/EDGE speeds instead of 3G/HSDPA/UMTS.

Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

https://www.yugatech.com

9 Comments

byter says:

15 years ago

i am planning to subscribe to globe ZTE, actually i have my application already but i am still hesitant about it. i need some trustworthy feedback regarding the product. so far, hows your experience with globe zte?
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BlackMarlin says:

17 years ago

I’ve used globe’s HSDPA and it’s quite advantageous as compared to SMART Bro. The only disadvantage is that it uses a shared IP so you won’t be able to connect via VPN. Also, for sharing IP’s with a lot of users you wont be able to download from file sharing sites like Rapidshare which track the number of times a particular IP is connected.

Yun lang ang disadvantage. Pero if you use this for home or personal surfing, truly better than smart.
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kulas says:

17 years ago

dapat lang, sana noon pa.

tagal nakong nagtitiis sa smartBro-ken.

sayang binabayad ko sa smartBro-ken na yan. dapat sa kanila magsara nalang. sabi sa commercial “Faster than dial-up” daw, baka baliktad “SURF AS DIAL-UP”, mga bugok pa TSR nila.

puros turo sa ganito ganyan ping dito ping doon hanggang sa mapingi ka na wala naman mangyayari. Hanggang sa sasabihin sayo magpapapunta nalang ng mga taga MERIDIAN para ayusin ang connection nyo sir, or madalas na sinasabi nila “sorry sir meron po tayong technical activity sa base station”

isa pa.

sa mga subscriber ng smartBro-ken, hndi nyo ba napapansin. kapag tatawag tayo sa TSR nila by *1888+4 walang sumasagot. nalowbat na cellphone mo wala paring sumasagot. pero sa *1888+1 “apply on the phone” mabilis, grabe isang ring lang. kaya tip ko lang sa inyo kung tatawag kasi sa TSR *1888+1 gamitin nyo, wag sa *1888+4
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sylv3rblade says:

17 years ago

I suggest that Globe implements it in areas with already congested networks like in Manila and Cavite *cough*sana para pati ako makalipat na from smart brok-ken*cough* New subscribers will likely flock the new system rather than go with the already crawling speeds of a wired DSL.

Any word on when this will be out?
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Youngmaze says:

17 years ago

oh!, im a former globe subscriber pero! hindi ako na satify… lol maybe ngayon at marerelaunch sila mas maganda ang service nila…. pero im satisfied sa smart… ang haba lang talga ng extension ng tubo from my place… siguro almost 45 feet para lang maging oks ang reception ng antenna ko…! hope maging maayos ang service ng globe… heheheh!
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jeffrey says:

17 years ago

thank God! another option… im getting tired of using my smartbulok connection… well i hope it will be available in our area here in bulacan.
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Chino yray says:

17 years ago

if it’s Globe, it will be definitely available throughout the country. HSDPA utilizes globe’s mobile signal so where there is signal for your globe mobile phones, definitely you can connect through this.
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sasieboy says:

17 years ago

Will that be also available in Bacolod area?
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mr nice ash says:

17 years ago

we are actually planning for an internet connection at home (dasmariÃ±as, cavite). what do you think would be the best?
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