Filipino families in every corner of the country can now have Internet access with the help of the most ubiquitous home appliance -– the television set. This is now possible with the launch of Smart Bro SurfTV, a new, world-first service from Smart Broadband, Inc. (SBI), a subsidiary of leading wireless services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART).

Smart Bro SurfTV is a device that connects to a television set through a quick and easy procedure, to provide Internet access using Smart Bro’s nationwide coverage. When plugged into the RCA port of a color TV set, Smart Bro SurfTV provides users a ready-to-run Internet experience, and users can surf, chat, and email –- through a multi-tasking TV — at home.

“Over the last few years we have been steadily advancing our Internet for All advocacy and investing our energies to make wireless Internet more affordable and widely available – whether via mobile phone, the PC, or laptop – anytime, anywhere, so that Filipinos may benefit from it. Offering Smart Bro SurfTV is a natural progression of that strategy, this is a service that will put the Internet right in the homes of Filipino families,” said Orlando B. Vea, Chief Wireless Advisor of SMART.

Internet in all homes
Smart Bro SurfTV comes in a boxed set complete with a keyboard, a mouse, a remote control, and a Smart Bro USB stick-type modem with a prepaid SIM, pre-loaded with PhP100 worth of load. The entire kit costs only PhP4,500, and Internet access costs only PhP10 for every 30 minutes. Load for the prepaid Smart Bro SIM is available through any of SMART’s network of over a million Smart Load sellers all over the country.

“Limited access to devices such as desktops computers used to be a barrier to bringing the benefits of the Internet to Filipinos. Even basic desktop computers are still priced beyond what most households can afford. This is what we hope to address through Smart Bro SurfTV. With this service, people can access the Internet using a low-cost device and an appliance they already have,” said Danilo J. Mojica, head of SMART’s Wireless Consumer Division.

Broadband for all
Smart Bro SurfTV widens the Internet service portfolio of SMART, through SBI, which reported a million broadband subscribers by end-2009, the largest in the industry.

In the same period, SMART had also extended the coverage of its GSM cellular network to all of the country’s 1,619 cities and municipalities.

SBI’s high-speed broadband service covers the country’s major towns and cities, through a network of 3G/High-speed Packet Access (HSPA) cellular and fixed broadband base stations. SMART is the only Philippine telco and one of only a few in the world that have deployed HSPA running on the 850-MHz and 2100-MHz frequency bands, which offer improved coverage quality and data rate capacity for mobile broadband.

SMART is also set to deploy the more advanced broadband technologies such as HSPA+, which delivers three to four times the speed of HSPA, and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access or WiMAX, which is expected to complement its HSPA network.

“In the same way that SMART’s innovative but affordable offerings made the use of voice and SMS ubiquitous, we would like to turn broadband into another universally available service from which every Filipino will benefit. With our unique and superior combination of wireless broadband networks — HSPA, HSPA+, WiMAX, and Canopy networks — blanketing the whole country, SMART is on track to making broadband available and accessible to all,” Vea said.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Hi,

I am currently having problems with transferring my connection to my other PC. I can’t get authenticated correctly by the smartbro-lok portal *sigh*

Details of what happened:
- transfer lan to other pc
- wait for IP to be retrieved
- try initial browsing (i.e. www.google.com)
- diverted to smartbro-lok portal
- logged in
- account authentication… (which doesn’t work correctly for X years already)
- error message “New setting in your connection has been detected…. “account will be temporarily deactivated”
- tried again for IE and firefox.

Just like to ask if any of you has encountered this problem. Thanks! ^_^

Note: I didn’t bother calling the hotline as they are full of (*&@#*%$. I already know how to restart my PC and how to release/renew my IP. No need to tell me over and over again.

Popularity: 24% [?]

Hey guys, just to let you know BBC News today (19 December, 2007) has published the calling that a watchpanel in the UK called Ofcom Consumer Panel had asked the Broadband Carrier in the UK to do something about the “Up to…” thingy that they promise their consumer. You know what the U.K. people are promised speed of “Up to … 8 megabits per second” and they more likely get only a third of that!

By simple computation, those poor Brits are only getting 2.67 megabits per second, w/c is actually 14 times greater than what our “subject” offers! And ask yourself… “Am I getting a third of 384 kbps?” You could test your speed with this link broadbandtest. Post your result as comments, if you don’t mind.

Soo, what is it that the Ofcom Consumer Panel want? Below is the full text.

“An open letter on broadband speeds to the chief executives of the UK’s leading Internet Service Providers

James Murdoch, Chief Executive, BSkyB

Ben Verwaayen, Chief Executive, BT Group

Charles Dunstone, Chief Executive, Carphone Warehouse

Olaf Swantee, Chief Executive, Orange UK

Mary Turner, Chief Executive, Tiscali UK

Neil Berkett, Acting Chief Executive, Virgin Media

9 October 2007

As you of course will be aware, there is widespread concern being expressed at the moment about the difference between the “up to” speeds advertised in your broadband packages, and the actual speeds experienced by many subscribers.

As this is an issue of such fundamental importance to consumers here in the UK, I am writing, as Chairman of the Ofcom Consumer Panel, to seek your views about how this problem might be addressed. The Consumer Panel is an independent body that advises Ofcom on the consumer interest in the communications market.

At the most basic level, it seems to us that in any transaction, people need to be able to see:

• What they are buying

• What influences the performance of the product or service they buy

• How to do something about it if, in the event, the product or service doesn’t live up to expectations.

Against these simple tests, we believe that broadband customers are not at the moment getting enough information.

We are of course aware of the technical reasons for the “up to” terminology that you use in particular in your advertising and marketing literature.

I would however like to have your views about how these technical issues might be better addressed in terms of giving clearer information to potential customers.

Some suggestions that we would welcome your view on are these:

1. Advice to potential customers at the point of sale about the speed likely to be available on their specific line (plus an explanation that this will also be impacted by the contention rate).

2. Extend the cooling off-period within your contractual terms to a sufficient length so that the customer can actually experience the speed and quality of the connection before becoming contractually committed.

3. Enable customers who sign up to a 12 or 18 month contract and who experience speeds and quality well below the advertised speeds, and whose problems persist rather than be resolved by a technical solution, to exit from the contract early and without penalty.

I would very much like to hear your views on this problem in general; and your response to the three specific points made above.

I would be very happy to meet with you if this is the most convenient way to move this forward.

I am copying this letter to Ed Richards at Ofcom and Chris Graham at the ASA.

(signed)
COLETTE BOWE

Chairman, Ofcom Consumer Panel” - (I ask forgiveness if I’m doing something wrong in publishing this text)

What do you say? I hope that somebody from the Senate, the Congress, the NTC, the consumer’s advocates or whomever with a bit of influence notice this.

Salamat and Merry Christmas

Othello

Popularity: 46% [?]

Smart Bro has just announced a new service package available under Smart Bro Plan 799 and Plan 999 for wireless mobile. This is a direct competition to Globe Visibility.

Here are the new packages:

Smart Bro Plan 799
Speed: up to 384Kbps
Usage: free 60 hours, Php10 per 30 minutes thereafter
Initial Setup Fee: Php1,999
Device: USB Modem
Lock-in Period: 24 months

Smart Bro Plan 999
Speed: up to 384Kbps
Usage: unlimited
Initial Setup Fee: Php999
Device: USB Modem
Lock-in Period: 12 months

Popularity: 13% [?]