To All Filipinos: which network do you prefer, globe, smart, or sun? And why? And are you a postpaid or prepaid subscriber?
By dierdre
@dierdre (2207)
Philippines
June 9, 2010 6:49pm CST
For me, since i use 2 cellphones, i use globe and sun. What I like about globe is their immortal txt/call promo. Also the globe rewards thing. But what i dont like about globe is that sometimes the load gets eaten even just hours after i've reloaded. As per my research, hackers stealing other people's load are responsible for this. Anyway, my other cel has a sun sim in it. I like sun coz of their 24/7 unlimited offers. And your load doesnt get eaten. But what i dont like about sun is their sloow GPRS mobile connection. Like a turtle, really. So how about you, what is your mobile service provider? What do you like or dislike about your chosen network? Are you a prepaid or postpaid subscriber? Me, im only a prepaid subscriber.
1 person likes this
22 responses
@mrfdg1972 (3237)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
My personal net is Smart, i have been using if tor years now, although i see Globe to have the real nation widest coverage, Actually i use the two network, Smart and Globe. All i want is for these two network is to merge into one, it will be quite a savings for us, using just one SIM/CP will be good for everybody
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
Hmm. A dual-network sim card? I dunno if its possible though lol. I wonder how the cellphone can read it.. Especially the ones that arent dual sim. Anyway, the 2 networks combining isnt such a bad idea, just look at sony ericsson, it has become a very successful company merge.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
Hmm. A dual-network sim card? I dunno if its possible though lol. I wonder how the cellphone can read it.. Especially the ones that arent dual sim. Anyway, the 2 networks combining isnt such a bad idea, just look at sony ericsson, it has become a very successful company merge.
@mrfdg1972 (3237)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
HI diedre, Yes a dual net SIM card or maybe we can call it a Universal SIM Card.
@gloryacam (5540)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
I've been a smart postpaid subscriber for almost 8 years, and it just shows that maybe I don't have much to complain about smart. I've also recently subscribed with sun, although the postpaid line is being used by my mom, while i got myself a prepaid line. It's a lot cheaper because of the limited sun to sun call and text. For the internet I use globe tattoo, and most of the time, I hate it.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
How come you hate using globe tattoo? Is it slow? Ive tried using sun broadband for pc and like its gprs for cellphones, it is also verrry slow. How much is the cheapest plan on smart by the way? Since you have been a postpaid subscriber for 8 years now, do they give out incentives like a new phone when your 2-year contract is about to expire? So that you'll be lured to renew it again? Coz sun had that incentive when my brother renewed his postpaid account last 2008.
@gloryacam (5540)
• Philippines
11 Jun 10
the signal is sooooooo unstable. it keeps switching from hspda to wma to edge and sometimes gprs even. everytime that happens, the internet connection gets lost so you have to refresh and refresh and refresh. it's annoying especially when you're downloading a big file. the speed i think depends on your location, and our location is not ideal for any of globe, smart or sun, so i'm thinking of going back to cable (hate wireless!. anyway, i'd use it just at home and when i'm out, i could always look for wi-fi zones.
yup, there's a free phone or discounted phones everytime your subscription expires. i think even globe has that feature. last may, there were other items offered for free, like sm gift certificates worth 3,000 and 5,000 but i missed that. i think the cheapest smart plan now is 600. sun is still cheapest at 350. i think globe has 500.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
12 Jun 10
Really.. I thought that globe tattoo is ok, turns out maybe smart bro is way more better? Or maybe the fixed line connection is always better in general as compared to USB modems? Hmm, smart has the most expensive lowest plan offer.. Sun is quite cheap though, plus it really gives you value for your money since you can make sun to sun unlimited calls and text.
@ellago (127)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
Currently, I am a globe prepaid subscriber. I used to be a plan holder of both Sun and Globe. I switched to prepaid because I can control more my usage than with a plan. I used to have a Smart prepaid sim as swell but it was lost when my sister used my phone and got lost.
Now, that I'm going into business, I am thinking of getting a line. I am still thinking of globe or sun. Unlimited landline calls are cheaper in sun. But I am already used to globe and I like GLOBE's signal in our place compared to SUN.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
13 Jun 10
I agree with saintneil that you should just go for sun instead of globe coz it will save you alot of money in the long run. Sun's cheapest unlimited plan is plan 350. It also includes 250 free texts to other networks. When you exceed your free 250 text messages, you only get charged P0.89 cents per text message to other networks. Plus, as you have said, sun's landline call rate is cheaper, around P5 right? So sun isnt a bad choice after all. They are just a bit strict with your documents and income info when you apply, they really check your background.
@saintneil (28)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
That's great. Well if you are really into business i preferred you have to use Sun at the moment, especially Sun has cheaper and better Unlimited Promo Text and call. Sun is really great when you have business. You won't worry about the time limit of your call / text, because of their Unlimited system.
@aileen2008 (838)
• Philippines
14 Jun 10
Globe and it is prepaid. Why globe? Its signal is strong in Antipolo. I don't like sun. Its choppy and the signal is fluctuating.
@hisoka147 (606)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
Yes you are right and it seems that you've been traveling around the mountainous regions of our country. Anyway, I also prefer to use smart in times of going or visiting remote places.
@cyrus14 (42)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
I use GLOBE. I actually tried all the networks and by far im very satisfied with Globe. Not only on the service but their promos are amazing. Signal wise Smart has the edge in the provinces. But in service nothing beats GLOBE. Im always subscribed to Super150. Though it is by far more expensive than postpaid i prefer it rather than the hassle 2 apply 4 a plan(Im knda lazy). Also tried SMARTS Unli call and text which is cheaper bt I was really disappointed with its service. U call for 5mins and takes u almost 30min 2 be able 2 call again. I mean WTF?! I didnt get the same problem with GLOBE. SUN is also gud with its cheap unli call and txt the only problem is 8s signal where i live in.
So overall i have 2 rate GLOBE as the best.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
13 Jun 10
Really? You cant connect with smart's unlicol for 30 whole minutes? That's a really lousy service by smart, so its not really 'unlimited' after all. Or maybe, it was during peak hours thats why you cant connect? I myself always have difficulty registering in the 258 unlitext promo, you can only easily register during off peak hours. Well, applying for a line is really a hassle because they ask you for documents and proof of billing, etc. but i think in the long run, you can save more money.
@cyrus14 (42)
• Philippines
13 Jun 10
Yes it is peak hours. But I don't have the same problem with GLOBE when its peak hours. The only problem ull be having is registering ur Unli call in peak hours. But when ur already registered u can call anytime without any hassle. At times it will tell u that the network is busy but 3 tries is the longest i got b4 being able 2 make ur call. That took about 5-10 minutes. I'd say GLOBE still gives the best service with Unli Call and Txt is concerned.
@totallyundecided (3190)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
Well, since mobile phones envade the lives of us many - I have always been shifting. I used globe first but due to its log signal performance. I transferred to Smart. Then back to globe. But now, I used two networks: Globe and Sun. Globe - mainly because of GCASH and the rest is shouldered by Sun.
I chose to be prepaid subscriber because it is that way. When you're in a post paid and some instances like - your phone gets snatched - there's a possibility that the snatcher might take advantage of your "unlimited" features. Plus, I get to control the usage of my call and text - depends on the credit I have. Pretty much of a practical way. =)
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
13 Jun 10
Yes prepaid is suitable for most people because they can control their usage, especially if they're not really heavy users, like they dont usually make calls and stuff. And in the event that your phone gets stolen, you can immediately report it to globe, smart, or sun and they will promptly block that number. Even if you're prepaid, you can even request to have the same mobile number, coz my friend lost his phone and then he got the same new number again, he's a globe user.
@Ingkingderders (3832)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
I have sun postpaid subscription. My boyfriend and I feel that Sun is really the best way to go for us, since we rely heavily on text and calls every day. Sun really provides the best coverage for us, it's the cheapest unlimited call and text in the market, and unlike before, their network is much much better now. Also the free phone is really a great reward for the subscription contract.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
13 Jun 10
Ah yes it is a great perk, the only downside to it is of course, the unit is sim locked to sun. If its a nokia unit, it can easily be open-lined even remotely, but if its another brand like SE, Motorola, etc. You would have to go to a cellphone shop. Anyway, i agree that sun is the one that gives us consumers more value for our money.
@aphroditelily (172)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
I've forever been a Smart user for the simple reason that there isn't much of a Globe signal in Antipolo. My experience with Globe involved having to go outside the gate just to get a message - the greatest hassle to do just to text. Smart reaches so many places, and it has never failed me whenever I went on vacation to remote parts of the country. I don't have anything to complain about Smart's call and text service, and I've had relatively good experience with Smart Bro wireless internet.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
13 Jun 10
Oh, globe should pay attention to this thread if ever someone in their company is a mylot member. Lol. So many signal complaints, and they've been in the business for more than 10 years now. And going to the gate just to text is really a major hassle. Im from laspinas so i never had any signal problems in any of the 3 networks. Globe ought to improve their signal asap, or they would be losing more subscribers.
@chuacx (95)
• Philippines
11 Jun 10
i am using sun and globe. i am a postcard subscriber of sun and it's been 3-4 years already. i am happy with their service. I am using globe because some of my college friends are using that network. I love the immortal promo of globe though too bad the immortal10 is gone.
@jonnifc (1017)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
I have a prepaid smart, prepaid globe and a postpaid globe. My family have been using smart for more than 10 years. We like it because the signal is strong where we live. Since my parents are abroad, smart is the best roaming service they have. So it's easy for us to text them. i use globe in case smart's service is down. a lot of my friends are globe users too, that's why i keep my globe number.
@k2r3ncute (97)
• Philippines
11 Jun 10
smart..though they eat your load especially the promos in the cellphone but nonetheless it's good provider and because almost all of my classmates are smart too it will not be difficult for us to text brigade whenever we needed something to be announced.
@saintneil (28)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
Few years ago, when i was still 14 years old, i used Smart for almost a year. For me, Smart is fine especially there signal is really high in our place. During my age that time, what i like about Smart is that there are so many users on that network, teenage users actually. And in that age, i only used phones for Texting friends and no other. That time Sun network was not yet available, as i remembered. Then when the Sun network was introduced, i found it a bit interesting, and used other phone to try out Sun network. Time passes by, many People uses Sun especially for business and for contacting purposes. I stop using Smart the time that they always Stole a lots of load, almost everyday, and switched to Sun network. For me Sun is a really great network for texters and callers. Because their Loads cost you only a bit of cash, and their Promo's are great too. Sun is a really user friendly network, even though sometimes their Signal goes down.
Am i a prepaid or postpaid subscriber ? I am a prepaid Subscriber.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
13 Jun 10
I agree with you, the other thing that i hate about sun is that when you talk to someone, the signal gets choppy at times, unlike globe, it's signal is usually consistent. And yeah, what i dont like about smart is that they eat your load. It also happens to globe, but never to sun.
@meemingNEW (2226)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
I am currently using 3 networks all at the same time now. My globe and smart sims are on postpaid and my sun is the only one on prepaid. I think the better network with the unlimited offers is either globe or smart. Sun is the cheapest and most popular with the 24/7 no doubt about that but during peak hours during 6:00-11:00 p.m, I can't really contact sun numbers easily maybe because hundreds if not millions of users are on the line at that time. I have to redial more than 10x to finally reach someone using sun rather than when I use the globe and smart unlimited offers. I don't know if sun postpaid subscriber has the same problem. I'm only on prepaid and that is I think the main problem aside from the slow gprs connection that you mentioned.
As for the connection, no matter where I go.. on mountainous areas or to the farthest plain... Smart is really number 1 because among the three, smart is the only network who remains to have signals than the other two. That is why Smart has the most number of subscriber here in the Philippines because of how its signal reaches the farthest places in the Phils.
A: Smart. next is globe then sun.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
12 Jun 10
You must be well-off, since you have 2 postpaid subscriptions at the same time. For me, 1 postpaid subscription is enough, i dont see the need to subscribe to another network. Unless its just a prepaid subscription. Anyway in my experience with sun, its quite easy to call nowadays, compared to several years ago. Im also a sun prepaid subscriber, but i can call easily during peak hours. Maybe it depends on what type of load you have? I load TU 150 per month. The ones that load CTU are the ones that complain that its hard to call during peak hours, maybe coz they have unlimited mins. unlike the ones that load TU that's why sun wont give them slack when it comes to calling someone lol. For postpaid, you can easily call anyone anytime of the day. Hmm, its very apparent that sun doesnt treat their subscribers equally lol.
@kharlav (1669)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
I am currently using globe and sun. I love sun cellular because it is very cheap and I can really save a lot, the negative problem about it is not all my friends have sun cellular so I have to use globe, which many/most of my friends and relatives are using. I also love globe now because they have immortal texts and calls which does not expire. Sometimes I dont really text so much and other times I do, so I would really need the immortal so that I dont have to buy load all the time. For smart, few of my friends use them so I dont use them, so I dont know any of their advantages.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
13 Jun 10
Well if you have to send many messages to globe or smart users using your sun sim, then i suggest you try sun's budget text promo, that's what i usually do, just type BGT 5 (or BGT 20) then send to 247. They only charge you P5 for 10 texts to other networks and P20 for 40 texts to other networks. And yeah, i also like globe's many promos like immortal text. Smart has alot of catching up to do when it comes to promos.
@setsuna26 (2751)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
Im a smart user, i preffer smart than any other local network not because its better but because most of the people whom i text are always smart too thats why i need to bare with smart lol. Come to think of it the service of globe and smart are almost the same they offer both service and some promos are almost the same,ive been with globe sometime ago and to tell you frankly i dont like it lol. Now that im with smart i think im staying for good. The coverage of smart in our place is far more stronger than that of globe thats why i preffer it more
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
Oh so you've tried globe before, but you didnt like it huh.. To each his own, lol. Smart's unlimited text is cheaper as compared to globe, although smart doesnt offer a no-expiry text/call unlike globe. Signal wise, based on what i've read here, smart seems to be the frontrunner for that.
@bonus150 (62)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
I also use two network sun and smart. My sun is postpaid because its very cheap yet I have unlimited sun to sun call and text. I can also have conference call using my post paid plan its easier to communicate with more than two person at a time. The only thing that I don't like with sun is that it has a weak signal in some area especially if you are far from the city. I hate it when I need to go away from the city and there's no signal and I badly need to text or call someone.
I have a prepaid smart because I used it to text other people who aren't sun cellular subscriber. Its also very convenient because in most areas where sun have weak or no signal smart almost always have a good signal. Its better to make sure that I can always communicate wherever I am.
@iristacey (112)
• Philippines
10 Jun 10
I have also been a post paid subscriber of Smart Communications for about two years now and generally I have no complain on their service. I would want them to have more offers just as Globe but it is something that I can not control. This will depend on their network. I can also commend Sun Cellular for lowering the cost of cellular services and bringing in more competition between the two giants, Globe and Smart.
@dierdre (2207)
• Philippines
12 Jun 10
Yes i agree, if sun didnt come up with the unlimited plans, those 2 giants wouldnt follow suit and we will still be paying P1 per text. That's the advantage that we get as consumers when 1 service isnt monopolized by 1 company, they will try to get many subscribers as much as possible by lowering their prices. I hope meralco will have a competitor soon lol. And yes, i agree that smart has fewer promos than globe, maybe its because they are still the number 1 network of choice here, that's why they dont feel the need to come up with all sorts of promos, since they have a large subscriber base lead over globe. While globe, on the other hand, is chock-full of promos in an attempt to overtake smart's lead over them. They even launched globe rewards, hehe. But i dont think they'll overtake smart though.