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You can now enjoy satellite-broadband internet in the Philippines, albeit for a hefty fee. Cignal Connect is now available in the Philippines, initially to Luzon-based customers, but with coverage in Visayas and Mindanao to follow.
The service will allow users who live in remote or isolated areas in the country currently not covered by fiber and mobile broadband to enjoy decently fast internet access with unlimited data. The Philippines has thousands of islands, and most of them cannot be reached by terrestrial internet due to geographical constraints. Cignal Connect seems to be a great solution for those who absolutely need satellite internet, provided they can afford it.
The kit alone is priced at P36,000 (around $754) and includes the dish itself, a block upconverted that “gives you a stable connection and optimal quality of service,” plus an HT2300 satellite terminal. It doesn’t include a Wi-Fi router, which you need to buy separately to enjoy Wi-Fi access. The installation cost starts at P6,000 ($126) and may be higher depending on your location and specific requirements.
Cignal Connect offers a variety of unlimited data plans based on download and upload speeds, and you can find them below.
- 2Mbps down/0.5Mbps up: P6,500 ($136) per month
- 5Mbps down/1Mbps up: P14,500 ($304)
- 8Mbps down/1Mbps up: P19,500 ($408)
- 10Mbps down/1Mbps up: P23,500 ($492)
All plans come with a 12-month lock-in period.
Obviously, Cignal Connect isn’t for everybody. It isn’t for most people. But even minus the prohibitive setup and monthly costs, we’d much rather have the reliability and speed of our fiber broadband, which we often take for granted. Admittedly, we should be thankful we’re in a position to say that.
Unfortunately, if satellite broadband is the only option available in your area, you may want to wait a while for cheaper internet. Elon Musk’s Starlink service charges $499 (P23,826) for the antenna and router kit and $99 (P4,727) monthly for downloads up to 150Mbps and latency from 20ms to 40ms. There was talk months ago of Starlink possibly launching in the Philippines by 2022. Right now, it’s radio silence.
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