globe wimax prepaid launched!

Whats new with Globe Wimax?
• PREPAID: Globe Wimax Prepaid 4G is the only Prepaid internet for the home. All other wireless prepaid internet services are for mobile or outdoor use.
• FAST: It is super fast at 3Mbps
• No network congestion

Do I need to submit anything to avail of Globe Wimax Prepaid 4G?
• No, need to submit any documents.
• Just pay P2,900 for the Globe Prepaid WiMAX kit.

What's do I need in order to start surfing?
• You will need at least P60 to be able to avail of the 1-day unlimited surfing.
• You will be given a virtual number just like a prepaid mobile number. This is stickered on the box.
• You can load your device through the following using this virtual number:

• Globe Load retailer or Autoload Max
• Share-A-Load
• ATMs
• GCASH

How does the 1-day unlimited surfing work?
• The 24-hour period starts after you click "Start" in the User Portal. Note that you will only be able to click Start if your unit has at least P60.

Can I load an amount that is worth more than the value of 1-day unlimited surfing, e.g. more than P60.
• Yes, you can. When the first day pass ends, you will have to press "Start" to begin the next day pass.

How do I reload my Globe Wimax Prepaid 4G Kit?
• You can reload through:
• Globe Load retailer or Autoload Max
• Share-A-Load
• ATMs
• GCASH

Can I use my Globe WiMAX-4G in other places?
• Yes, it is portable. You can use it in other places where Globe WiMAX is present.

I am a current Globe WiMAX Postpaid or Globe DSL subscriber. Can I shift to prepaid?
• Yes, if your contract period has lapsed.

There are 2 types of Wimax modems available, the small and big one, which one is best for me?
• The type of modem you should get depends on your location.
• After checking the coverage maps, if your area is more than 800 meters away from the Wimax cellsite, you should get the bigger modem. If you are less than 800 meters away from the Wimax cellsite, you can get the smaller modem.

How much does the big and small modem cost?
• Small Modem (Model: UH235): P2,900
• Big Modem (Model: BM622): P4,500

What if I am not happy with my Globe Wimax Prepaid 4G kit, can I return it?
• If you are not happy with your Globe Wimax Prepaid Kit, you can return it within 7 days from the date of purchase.
• Requirements:

• Kit must be complete and in good condition
• Official Receipt

source


My comments.
First, any new isp or plan that is not too disadvantageous to the consumer is welcome. It gives you more choice.
Next, aside from the per day charging, it would be nice to have a per 15 min/30 min just like globe tatoo or smart bro prepaid.
Is the 3 mbps actually attainable?
And technically, only 802.16-M or wimax M is full 4g. This is probably wimax-E so its only 3.9g.

Smart Wimax launched

Finally, smart has updated their website to show the new product, wimax.

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

The lock in period is not shown on the website but it is 2 years. The areas covered are not indicated but its probably on a phased rollout. First metro manila then nearby areas and eventually nationwide after maybe 1-2 years.

For further information and actual reviews, read the tipidpc smart wimax thread.

Smart begins nationwide WiMAX rollout | The Philippine Star Business Features Telecoms

Smart begins nationwide WiMAX rollout | The Philippine Star Business Features Telecoms


This is the first confirmation we have from a more or less reliable source that Smart is plannin to launch a wimax plan.

Unfortunately, the news article has few details so we're still stuck with what we know from my last post here.

Smart wimax Will launch

We have breaking news of smart's new plan, a wimax 2mbps plan for 999 pesos, 24 months lock in. Continue reading for details.



modem is the motorola cpe i750. The same modem modem appears to be a newer model compared to the one used by wi-tribe which is the i150.




















No official word yet from smart. Estimated launch date: May 15, 2010.

I was expecting smart to launch a LTE based plan, not wimax. But the difference should be negligible to the end user.

in reference to:1

"Smart Wimax."
- TipidPC.com | Smart Wimax (view on Google Sidewiki)

UPDATE: as of now, we have few details. Obviously initially, areas covered will be limited. No word if there will be a cap or not.

update: added a link to the specs of the modem. Its 802.16e just like wi tribe and globe

LTE vs WIMAX ~ VHS vs betamax all over again?

Alcatel-Lucent has placed its money on LTE. What does this mean for globe wimax and wi-tribe users? Is wi-max a dead end technology? Is this why both globe and wi-tribe have ridiculously slow actual speeds (1 mbps and below)? Is Smart's upcoming LTE the wave of the future? Or will wimax still be OK?


in reference to:

"the firm is "not putting a lot of effort into [WiMAX] any longer" after noticing that there's "a clear direction taken by the industry towards LTE." Of course, it doesn't take an analyst to notice that Europe, Asia, and virtually every carrier in the Americas have all taken on a decidedly pro-LTE slant in the past couple years,"
- Major infrastucture supplier calls it: LTE over WiMAX -- Engadget (view on Google Sidewiki)

wi-tribe: no cap during trial period

This is my previous wi-tribe thread. Read it for basic details.

LINK


There are some unconfirmed reports from the Tipidpc wi-tribe thread that the trial period is uncapped, after paying up you get slapped with the 3 gig cap.

This is fraud!!!

wi-tribe 4g - new ISP in the philippines

wi tribe website




There has been a lot of buzz about this but the website itself has few details. Special thanks to the tipidpc wi-tribe thread here, otherwise we would have few details. Well actually, there are more details now feb 3, 2010 compared to 2 days ago. For example, they now have a page where they give the price and speed (see below).

For reference, this is the pakistani version of wi-tribe.

This is the modem they offer, a Motorola CPEi 150 802.16e wimax modem.

Based on the PDF specs of the modem which you can DL from the wesbite above, it is a modem only. No wifi. Only 2 ports, an ethernet port and a power port. No provision for external antennas. The internal antennas are high gain and have a up to 2km range. I'm sure many people will want to hack this to place a bigger antenna anyway.

Wi tribe calls it the boom modem <link>.

The pakistani website clearly shows a usb modem so maybe in the future wi-tribe will offer it too.

So is this 4g? Probably not. The modem is wimax-E or 802.16e. Only LTE Advanced standardized by the 3GPP and 802.16m standardized by the IEEE are considered full 4g, see here. 802.16j is the latest and 802.16m is not released yet. LTE advanced should be out 2010. So maybe technically this is only 3.9g. Well, its close enough.


Looking at their website, at the moment they only offer 1 plan . 998 pesos a month, 1 mbps. 24 month lock in or pay an extra P 5,000 for a 12-month lock in period and P 2,500 for a 6-month lock-in period. That has to be a typo but thats what the website says. Anyway, 1 mbps is ridiculously slow for 4g. 1% of full 4g speed. I can get inconsistent actual speeds of 1-1.4 mbps with my 3.5g smart bro share it.

update: no info yet as to why the throttling is so bad. I'm guessing they are afraid of network congestion and cant afford to upgrade their equipment.

Actual users in the tipid pc wi-tribe thread are reporting speeds of 300-1200 kbps. So it seems this ISP is not immune to the "up to" disease prevalent in philippine ISP's. we are left wondering what will happen to the speeds if a lot of people sign up and network congestion occurs.


This is their fair Usage Policy.
Theres a lot of depressing stuff in the fair usage policy, specially for heavy users.


I have no idea if they use a shared, static or dynamic IP.

Oh, one big drawback a 3 gigabyte per month cap. After 3 gigs, you get throttled to 256 or 512 kbps (not realy sure which it is at the moment). AFAIK its nowhere in the official website but the 3gig limit is in the unofficial website.

See the 3 gigs under "capacity"?? Capcity is a euphemism of cap.  Look at the higher caps in pakistan, 7-17 gigs. The euphemism used is "volume".

IMHO the fact that they did not mention the cap in their official website reeks of dishonesty.

In the tipidpc wi-tribe thread, one poster claims that there will be other plans with higher price that have either higher or unlimited caps. Well, there are no details either in TPC or on the official website. Maybe the other plans are not out yet. There are other unconfirmed reports that you can pay a small amount to have your cap raised for that month only.

The modem is usable anywhere in the philippines with a signal (its not area locked). But unfortunately, again, the wi-tribe website does not give us covered areas.

update: there seems to be a 1-2 week trial period. Cant confirm it yet.

update: I always support a free market but this dishonesty and secrecy is coming from this new player in the philippine ISP market is very disheartening. I hope they learn from their mistakes

Globe wimax is actually 8mbps

Wow, so thats why globe wimax is so slow.
in reference to:

"While the fastest option/plan currently available on Globe WiMax is only up to 1Mbps, the network can actually deliver real-world speeds of up to 8Mbps. We did the test yesterday with an uncapped WiMax connection at GreenHills, San Juan."
- Globe WiMax tops at 8Mbps uncapped | YugaTech | Philippines, Technology News & Reviews (view on Google Sidewiki)