Over most of the years that I’ve lived in Davao City, SkyCable, the local Cable TV company has offered Cable Internet service. Problem is, their service area has always been very limited. For many years, only one or two relatively small neighborhoods had access to Cable Internet. I have always wanted the service, but never lived in an area where it was available.
During those years, I would usually call SkyCable 3 or 4 times per year to inquire if the service was available in the neighborhood where I lived. I already knew that it was not available, but I wanted them to realize that there was demand for my neighborhood, and bothering them on a regular basis helped keep a little thought in their mind that there were potential customers! Or so I think.
About a year ago, SkyCable expanded their Internet service area pretty dramatically. I was disappointed, though, when they expanded but my neighborhood was still not included. I kind of stepped up my calling to inquire for my area, I figured it might make them consider expending into our neighborhood.
I was so thankful the other day when Feyma told me that a representative from SkyCable stopped by our house and told her that Cable Internet is coming to our area! The said it might be 2 or 3 months, but they are working on it, and out doing pre-sales. Well, I am definitely interested.
Currently, we have two Internet Services that we use (down from 3 just a while back). Our primary Internet service is Globe DSL. We have a reliable 3 Mbps connection from Globe (we often actually get up to 4 Mbps), and I have been pretty happy with their service. As a backup, in case Globe has a problem, we also use SmartBro Power PlugIt. The SmartBro generally gives us 2 to 2.5 Mbps, and that is pretty reliable too. But, I really want something even faster, and it appears that SkyCable will deliver that for us.
Here are the plans that SkyCable is offering:
Plan 512 Kbps
Download speeds at 512 Kbps
Upload speeds at 256 Kbps
P699/month
Plan 1.5 Mbps
Download speeds at 1.5 Mbps
Upload speeds at 512 Kbps
P999/month
Plan 3 Mbps
Download speeds at 3 Mbps
Upload speeds at 512 Kbps
P1,999/month
Plan 6 Mbps
Download speeds at 6 Mbps
Upload speeds at 1 Mbps
P3,999/month
Plan 12 Mbps
Download speeds at 12 Mbps
Upload speeds at 1 Mbps
P5,999/mo
On the top 3 plans, it also includes a free Silver Subscription to the Cable TV, which is the subscription we have already, so that would reduce the Internet cost a bit.
Another nice thing, so that you can test the service and see how the speed is, they offer a free 15 day trial. No money to pay, they just hook it up and you can try it out for 15 days.
Well, without a doubt, my plan is to get the Plan 12 Mbps. I’ll keep one of my other two connections too, for backup, just have not decided which one yet.
Ah, I can’t wait…. high speed cable internet coming to my neighborhood! I hope somebody doesn’t wake me up and interrupt my pleasant dream! 😉
____________
Addendum: The Cable Internet has come to Davao already. Want to see how it is? Read my review of the service.
Nice to see that Davao is getting reasonable fast internet finaly. Just the price of 7000 pesos is hard to digest. It’s 3 x more compared to what I pay for 20mbit service in Canada known for crapiest, restricted and overpriced service in the world.
Hi Marcel – Not sure where you got the price of P7000, but as I said in the article, the price for the fastest connection (12 Mbps) is P5,999, so roughly P6k.
One important thing to remember… we are not in Canada! 😉
are all these plans unlimited downloads, I have heaps of nieces and nephews you use my computers 24/7
Yes, there are no limits on bandwidth, Paul.
You are correct, typo – I’ve meant 6000. I know you can’t compare…
One would just expect that Filipino prices will be more on par with local wages.
Hi Marcel – for luxury items, which certainly includes Internet, prices are sky high here. Not at all in line with local wages.
Well you have me really confused Bob. You are showing the small “b” on the download speed not the large “B.” There is a huge difference in speed.
Sorry I made you feel confused Gary. Let me spell it out completely, to avoid any confusion. The top download speed is 12 megabits per second. 12 Mbps, just as I wrote originally.
Hope this helps.
Well no wonder everyone is unhappy with their download speeds. 12Mbit download speed is really 1.5 Megs. Rating download speed in bits is a marketing scam.
Hi Gary – I know of no company anywhere in the world who advertises their download speeds in MBps, or Megabytes per second. It’s not a scam at all. It is very clear. 12 Mbps is equal to 1.5 MBps, exactly. So, you could download 90 Megabytes per minute. That’s darn fast. 90 Megs per minute.
I have plan 6, its pretty fast when the cable is not overloaded. Since I am in a big condo compelx with a lot of residents, the speeds can drop during peak hours and lose connections (including cable) during monsoon season or thunderstorms.
Was going try Globe Tattoo, but now my wife says hers through her company has intermittent connectivity issues. My colleague likes his PLDT DSL, just dont want to have a hardline into my place.
Hi Don, thanks for sharing your experiences with the Cable Internet. Thankfully, we don’t have much inanimate weather here, so hopefully that would eliminate some problems.
Hi Bob, for those interested in a cost comparison for similar services they will want here as they did in the States they will find that the Philippines is substantially more expensive for things like home wireless/wired Internet as well as cable TV.
Based on your cost and services = $141.00 in Davao versus in USA with Charter = $100.00 (Also with the inclusion of unlimited domestic telephone and free modems with Charter). I found prices as low as $35.00/mo. for about 6mb in States as well also with cable, phone and free modems.
Electricity is also much, much more expensive here than the States.
Hi “Jimmy” – How are you doing? Thanks for your comment. You are right, the cost of things like Internet Service are much higher here than in the States. It’s good to remember that we are not in the States, though. I often tell people that living in the Philippines is not necessarily cheap, it can actually cost more to live here than back in the States, if you live a lifestyle where you need the “good stuff” like good Internet, Cable TV, and other amenities.
My cable bill here in MS is bundled (phone, TV, internet) and runs around $140. Could be a little cheaper if I did away with premium TV programming. Bob, I think when you dollar cost average the overall cost of living, it is cheaper in the RP (as long as you keep your food costs in check).
Hi Randy – I think it is a bit cheaper, I can’t argue. I have a very close friend who lived in Davao for many years, he moved back to Illinois maybe 5 years ago or so. He tells me that he lives cheaper now in Illinois than he did in Davao. Go figure!
Yeah, he’s probably living on soybeans!
Ha ha.. I don’t think so.
Thanks for this informative article, Bob. As a potential retiree to the Philippines, I have concerns about Internet speeds in Metro Manila. I’ve been doing a fair bit of online research and it would appear that speeds are pretty pathetic. Two questions: (1) Do you know if SkyCable offers the same deal(s) in Makati and (2) Do they guarantee a certain minimum? If the answer to #2 is No, what sort of variance from the ideal/promised rate could one reasonably expect?
Hi isagani – Thanks for stopping by. Haven’t heard from you in a while!
To be honest, I have been fairly happy with Internet speeds here for a few years now. It’s not something that I worry much about anymore, although back before about 2008 or so it was terrible.
To answer your questions:
1) Yes, I believe that they have the same packages in Metro Manila, including Makati. Actually, I have heard of some fantastic speeds available in parts of Makati. I once saw a demonstration on TV of 100 Mbps Internet Connectivity in Makati (I think it was through Globe as I recall), but it was P20k/month, as I recall.
2) No, for the packages mentioned, they do not guarantee a minimum speed. If you want that, you can get a contract with a minimum guaranteed speed, but the cost will be significantly more. I don’t know what to expect from SkyCable, since I have yet to try their service, but they do give a 15 day free trial, which means to me that they must be providing a pretty good speed, or else people would not be happy with the trial. As I said in my article, my Globe DSL is on a 3 Mbps plan, but I regularly get speeds of up to 4 Mbps, and don’t recall ever getting less than 2 Mbps.
Isagani: Sky’s service is not 100% coverage in Metro Manila…. Different neighborhoods have connectivity. I think coverage in Makati is good, but here in QC, our compound does not have it, but the compound across the road does (I wanted it but they “don’t know when” it is available here. I think the C5 construction may be making their expansion more difficult with digging, etc)… Something you need to call them and ask or ask your building mgt if in a condo or moving to a flat..
Hi John – You are exactly right! Any time that we are moving, part of our location search is what internet options are available in the neighborhood. I have, at times, found houses that I liked a lot, but didn’t sign the lease because of limited Internet connectivity options. It is our number 1 criteria, as our business depends on having decent internet.
Bob
Thanks once again for a piece of information that I would have not even thought about as I assumed all Internet service was universally available in all locations/neighborhoods.
Hi Neal, glad you found the article useful.
Really, internet speeds can be pretty decent in the bigger cities like Manila, Cebu and Davao. In more rural locations could be spotty.
I live in Bonafacio, which is in Manila (Taguig City), Since Bonafacio is built by Ayala, its primarily Skye Cable. And they do not guarantee min speeds but claim 80% of time, its at its claimed speed. The 20% is of course during peak hours.
Skye versus Globe is pretty much based on what company built the condo/division. I believe Ayala owns Skye and SM owns Globe. I forget which one owns PLDT.
Hi Don – Hmm.. I think Globe is independent and not owned by SM. PLDT owns Smart. If SM owned Globe there probably would not be any Smart Offices in SM Malls. 😆
Really, 80% of the time getting the claimed speed is, in my opinion, pretty good performance. I’d be happy with that.
Bob and Don,
Globe is owned by Ayala Corporation, Sky Cable by ABS-CBN (that’s why you can see announcements in GMA-7’s shows to inform them if they’re experiencing problems with their signal via Sky) and SMART and PLDT is owned by MVP (Manny V. Pangilinan).
Ah, thanks Jonathan. Now I remember!
We are still struggling with internet access in Bohol. Our only option (to date) is Globe Wimax which is a constant pain because there “unlimited plan” is brought with caveats and fair use policies that are unintelligible. Even though we are away, often for six months of the year and have no usage on the service we get ‘turned off’ for supposedly exceeding the fair use policy. Calls and emails asking for a report on our usage are simply ignored. Can’t wait for some competition!!!! I must keep reminding myself we are in a developing country : )
Hi David – Very sorry to hear of your connectivity issues.
One tip…. given the “fair use” and such, I am assuming that you are using prepaid connectivity? Normally, Globe imposes fair use on those who are on prepaid, but for postpaid customers, they do not give any such policy. For example, I am on postpaid Globe DSL and have no such restrictions. Maybe you could change to a postpaid account?
We have Globe Wimax in Laguna, and get the same issues with the fair use policy. In the small print of the contract fair use is stated as 30gb in a 30 day period. After you exceed that your speeds are throttled. We have a 1mb connection, and we frequently exceed that, but after the 30gb has been consumed it drops to about 100kb until the 30 days are up and then reverts to hi speed.
At least i get hi speed for part of the month, unlike Smart where I never got close to the advertised speeds…
That sounds terrible Steven. If I was in that situation I would get multiple WiMax accounts and switch between them when the throttling kicks in.
I am seriously thinking of buying two cans and some string. The only issue is when it rains and the string is hard to keep tight.
Ha ha
Fils is really developing, true that, at least in telecommunications, in Russia, Siberia u can have Unlimited 30mbps for $30 a month, http://myttk.ru/tarif/?tab=internet
same with cellphone services, SMS in Philippines cost P1,=~50cents, in Russia SMS ~less than 1 US cent, but truly, as Bob says, we r not in Canada, Russia anymore, hehe, though cost of living is much more expensive there on the other side, like food & rent, life
personally i didnt came to the Phils. for the fast speed internet, so im enjoying here in Fils
Hello S – I need good internet to operate my business, so it is important to me. We all have different needs and wants. 😆
Hi S – Yeah, but we are not in Russia, so what you can get in Russia is really of no consequence. 😆 It’s a trade off one way or the other, I guess.
wt do u mean, Bob? trade off?
wt do u mean Bob? trade off? 🙂 its like lawless Putin can get all he wants for free? hehe
;0
No, I mean like Internet is cheaper in Russia, but food is cheaper here. You trade some cheap stuff for some expensive stuff. No place in the world is 100% cheap.
yes, Bob! thanks
Your are welcome.
Hi Bob,
We have a Globe Tattoo on the island and it’s very spotty due to the remoteness of the closest available cell tower. I put up a Wilson truckers antennae and it got a little better, If I walk down to the beach, place a Pringles tube with a slot cut in the side over the USB and aim the tube across the water towards Calbayog the connectivity is pretty good, lol. To say I’m not impressed is an understatement. Even my phone connects to the internet better on Sun than the tattoo. We have prepaid cable which is really satellite but I’m not sure if they have an internet plan. Too darn expensive just for the cable anyway! In the U.S. I just switched from ATT DSL to ATT Uverse 6MB for a $19.95 a month promo for 6 months. When the promo period ends it goes to $43.00; after ditching the home phone and DSL I’ll still be saving about $10 a month. Enjoy your cable modem and keep a warm spot in your heart for those of us in the boonies, lol.
Mark G.
Hi Mark – Yeah, if you are out in a rural area, any of the solutions will likely be spotty. I have a Globe Tattoo as well, and it does quite well for me here in Davao. I get between 1 to 2 Mbps with my Tattoo. My best at this point is my Globe DSL, but I’m sure looking forward to seeing that 12 Mbps Cable! 😆
Mark, sounds like you need to make the big jump to the metropolis of Calbayog City! While I was in Tomaligues (12 klics north of Calbayog) there were no issues with connectivity (wireless) and at about 40 pesos load per day, it was well worth it to me.
Hi bob,
The main reason of high internet price in the philippines is due to the fact that most internet requests are “outbound” i.e. must go through the international circuit, and the price of international circuit is quite expensive too and with limited speed to cater the entire philippines, another factor to consider is, 90% of website hosts that most philippines users visiting are all located in the states, there’s very little philippine based website hosts, these two factors are the main reason of pricey internet service and a slow access, and we must not really compare the price with US or canada where large portion of websites are located locally. if you will study carefully the price in the states or canada, a 20mbps *should* cost less than 100 dollars since it is just a local circuit.
Thanks for the info Dans. Very interesting.
Hi Bob, Interesting talk about techno stuff. Here is what I want. Turn it on, type, turn it off and be happy during the process. I have cable internet bundled with my home phone and television. I have no idea what it really costs as the bills are in code and I gave up trying to figure it out a long time ago. (I like to live in an unfrustrated way) Going to get rid of the phone portion soon though as it is redundant with our mobile phones and the only people that call our land line are marketers. Its not cheap as it pushs a couple of hundred a month (comcast/KC area). However I am happy as I turned it on and I am typing and I know I can turn it off. Glad your getting what you want after so many years of doing without. Google is doing something here in our area as a test site. I read something like speeds that are unheard of anywhere. Wonder what that will cost. Have fun. Ron
Hi Ron – I hope that the Google high speed thing works out well! $200 or so per month is quite expensive, but if it works, it works… and that’s worth paying for! 😆
Hey guys, on the lesser side of communication, PLDT phone card purchases silakan PI compared to kasapan US at Peso to Dollar on balance offers clearer and longer call time. Sample … PST 11:01 P.M.
Hi James – sorry but I really don’t understand what you are talking about or what it has to do with Cable Internet.
Take care.
Hi kids,
Ref. Dumaguete and Sky cable. It goes by our street 300 feet away. Sky says they will only run the cable 150 feet from the line. There are 9 units in our complex and every single one has some sort of internet. In their ultimate wisdom they are passing up a potential of 9 new customers over running an additional 150 feet of cable. Is there some technical reason for this does anyone know, like the signal can’t crawl through 300 feet of cable ? Two of us are trying to get an answer that makes sense, but you know how that goes. Meanwhile we are Globeing it, you just have to put a little Viagra in the little modem thing once in a while to keep it up.
I got worried one time though when we had our connection for so long.
Bahala na
I told Globe the other day I was only getting 1/3 my advertised speed so I would only pay 1/3 the bill. Suddeny I have full speed. Amazing.
Hi Charlie , ha ha, you really figured out how to get the speed up, or get the bill down!
As far as I am aware, there should be no reason why they can’t get the signal down that extra stretch of cable.
Bob. My understanding is that with Cable distance shouldn’t be a huge issue. With ADSL however you need to be within a certain distance to the telcos on street equipment (5,460 meters) as you get quality issues if the line is to long. This also applies if the quality of the copper in the street and connections to your house. The other issue here is that they usually over subscribe services.
Cheers
David
Hi David, your thoughts and mind are the same.
Oops, just a little ignorant, Bob, really don’t know a thing about Internet or Cable or any other type of combinations of communication.
Mr. Tuna is kinda funny, O.K.
When the time came for me to make a move from Dial Up service I had a choice of cable or DSL. The IT Gurus at my job advised me don’t even bother with DSL if I could get cable broadband so that is what I did and for the most part have been well satisfied with it. I am paying $45 / month for what I believe is similar to what you show as plan 12. I just checked it on a bandwidth test on pcpitstop.com and using a Washington DC server the result I got was Download 12.98 Mbps and upload 3.24 Mbps. Obviously even with the fastest possible internet service it is not going to be any faster than the response from what ever website is being used, and that is my general guage of my internet speed, as I use many of the same websites from one day to the next. Some appear instantly and others take a bit more time depending on the page being called upon. I am happy with what I have except for the once or twice a year ( average ) that a problem happens and then it is a go round and round thing with the cable company which is just like dealing with almost any big company these days. Sometimes it takes them days and days if it is a local problem in the street, and more than one visit.
After the last go-around with the Cable Co. I remember reading adds from the phone company here about an offer of DSL for $19.95 per month for life ( they didn’t say whose life though ) . I thought about it for a while and decided for 5 bucks a week it might be good to have it as a backup so I got it. I don’t use the DSL that often but my impression is that it is about 60% of the speed of my cable broadband on sites I have used it on and for the cost that is fine with me.
On my last 2 visits to The Philippines, I was quite pleased with the result I had from the Globe Tattoo that I bought on a previous visit. All I can remember about the speed on that was I think something on the screen read something like 3.8. Obviously slower than I am used to having to at home but all things considered I was very happy with it.
I am sure you will be happy to finally have Cable Broadband Internet Service Bob, I just hope it will be reliable for you and give you a much noticeable difference.
Hi Bob – Thanks for sharing your Cable and DSL experiences, it gives me more information to consider. I really can’t wait to try it out in person!
hi Bob, i tried 15mbps for 55$/month, b4 i moved in Fils., you’ll be happy with it, its really fast, u can watch tv on internet, radios, 700mb movie torrent downloads for 30 minutes 🙂 enjoy!
I can’t wait, S.
hehe, 🙂 they said in 2 months?
No, probably more like 3 months or so.
Any news here? Do you have fast Internet now?
Actually, yes, there is recent news about this. I will have an article coming out with an update soon.
im a retired american age 60 in cebu with globe wired dsl internet and im paying for up to 3 mb down load speed but im getting more than 4 mb down load but never get more than .84 mbps upload is im sure im being throttled for my upload speed will complaining to globe to give me more upload spedd to get a 1 meg or more upload speed help.
Hi Clifford – I personally would not be worried about that upload speed. I believe that Globe only offers “up to 1 Mbps” in the contract, which you are pretty close to.
Hi Bob,
I’ve recently located back to Davao from Makati. I now work from home and I need a decent internet connection to do my job well. We have Globe DSL here but planning to get a back up internet connection. I applied for a PLDT DSL and after more than a month of waiting, they still haven’t connected it. I’ll totally pissed. Now, I’m thinking of getting the Sky Broadband. I need a stable internet connection. Is the speed really reliable? Is 1.5 Mbps speed enough for me, you think?
Hi Jevy – My experiences with PLDT over the years have been poor, but it has been at least 4 or 5 years since I gave them up for good, so things may or may not be improved now. I have Globe DSL and it is excellent. I have their 5 Mbps plan, and am very happy with it. In fact, I just signed up for a new 1 year contract.
I also have Sky Broadband. It is generally pretty good, although there have been times when it has been only OK. But, for several months now, it has been excellent. I have the 6 Mbps connection with Sky, and I am pretty happy.
For me, 1.5 Mbps would simply be unbearable. I need something faster than that. I can’t say if it would be adequate for you or not, depends on what type of work you do, and how much waiting you want to do! 😉
And……? How is the service working for you? Can you give us an update??
And… you didn’t read far enough, because I already wrote an article telling how it is working! 😉
Read here:
http://liveinthephilippines.com/cable-internet-it-is-finally-here/