PLDT Home Fibr Experience

I recently had PLDT Home Fibr installed in our provincial home. I really didn't want to get it coz I have unlimited mobile data plan on my phone but my parents who are working abroad wanted to get it so they can cut down costs on international mobile phone calls coz we can just use the facebook call feature or skype. A PLDT agent went to our home to have me sign up for the plan. I signed up for Home Fibr plan 1299 which they do not advertise on their website. There are other plans available but it costs too much for what we need at our provincial home.

(photo credit to PLDT Home Fibr website - http://pldthome.com/fibr)

The PLDT agent told me that the due date will always be 5th of the month and the first bill would cost around Php 3,000+ because we have to pay for the Fibr modem then Php 1299 thereafter.  The Fibr plan 1299 comes with 1Mbps internet speed plus landline and a free 3 months trial of their caller ID. 

I know, I know 1Mbps is like a dialup connection for others but I think that would be enough to make facebook calls or skype, right? Besides, my aunt and cousins who also lives here only use the internet for facebook, instagram, candy crush, zynga poker and alike. They're not into heavy downloading nor video streaming plus the fact that I have unlimited data plan on my postpaid line so this 1Mbps plan just suits their needs. Anyway, the installation technicians went to our home a week after I signed up for the service. The activation of the service only took about less than 4 hours unlike before wherein it takes 24 hours to get the internet up and running. The first thing that I did was to run speedtest coz I wanted to make sure that we get what we pay for. I was aware that we're not gonna get 1Mbps coz it depends on several factors such as internet traffic, etc but surprisingly, the speedtest result was more than what I expected. I was getting a download speed of about 4-5Mbps. 

I initially thought that it could just be because it was just installed but so far, it has been 2 weeks now and it's pretty much consistent. I'm still getting a range of 4-5Mbps everytime I ran speedtest. We have no problems with it so far and I just hope we're not gonna have any. By the way, I just got our first bill today and I found out that the Fiber modem costs Php1964.28 so if you're planning to get PLDT Home Fiber plan 1299, expect to pay about Php 3.3k on your first bill. 

Smart LTE for iPhone 5

I finally got my white 16GB iPhone 5 from Smart last February 15, 2013 at Smart - Robinsons Galleria a week after I submitted my requirements. I subscribed to their iPhone 5 plan 999 with a cash out of Php 19,000.00 and a lock-in period of 24 months. It includes unlimited data and limited free text/calls (I can't remember how much and I'm too lazy to check my contract since I use the data more anyway. hehehe). I was so excited coz I'd get to experience their LTE aka 4G service. After I got my phone, I immediately updated it to iOS 6.1.1 so I can enjoy their LTE service right away. I checked their LTE locations but unfortunately, my home town which is Lipa City, Batangas, is not part of their LTE areas. I was ok with it since I stay in Manila most of the time because of work. I was very happy with the speed of the internet connection plus I get to experience iPhone 5 but I got even happier when my friend accidentally found out that LTE is available in my hometown last March 2013 when she forgot to turn off the LTE on her iPhone. What made me more happy was the LTE speed at my hometown was amazing! She was at Mcdo - Ayala Highway when she ran a speed test and she got 40Mbps download speed. At first I couldn't believe it until i tested it myself. I went there to check it myself and boom! I got an amazing 42Mbps download speed. I couldn't believe it so I retested it and boom! I got 45.94Mbps download speed. Smart's advertisement is true indeed. You may get up to 42Mbps speed but the speed availability varies, depending on the location because the highest speed test result I got in Ortigas, Pasig City was 16Mbps then 10Mbps in Boni, Mandaluyong City. Check out Smart's LTE areas here http://www1.smart.com.ph/bro/lte/coverage . Originally, Smart LTE for iPhone 5 promo was only until April 30, 2013 but according to my friend, they extended it until June 2013 so I'm a very happy camper here. How about you? How was your experience with Smart LTE? Anyone tried Globe's LTE service?