Remember the DOST’s public WiFi project, which has already kicked off, and is now offering free Internet access to people in select locations in Metro Manila? It looks like the government is already moving towards scaling things up to support a bigger audience after bidding out a P74-million contract for 14 access points that will serve as the backbone of WiFi hotspots across 967 municipalities to Innove Communications and Yondu IT Solutions. Both are subsidiaries of Globe Telecom, which, as you know, is one of the largest telecommunications providers in the Philippines. The 14 access points will be spread throughout the Philippines’ 3 …
Uh-oh, 3 arrested over online piracy in PH
Image via Baltnews Score one for the good guys — even if it’s just a small victory in the fight against the Goliath that is piracy. On Saturday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said they arrested and charged 3 IT professionals in separate operations between July 22 and 30 for infringing on the intellectual property of local media conglomerates. Nico Angelo Rempillo of Dayangdan, Naga City, Jim Marcelino Bautista of Baragay Cagay, Roxas City, and Mark Marlon Millendez of Barangay Mintal, Davao City were caught while trying to upload and stream TV shows and movies on their own websites, according to …
10 things you should know about DOST’s free WiFi project
There’s hope for a connected Philippines yet. The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) held a press conference today to discuss the upcoming rollout of its P1.4-billion public WiFi project and to clarify certain aspects of the landmark service that will connect millions of Filipinos to the Internet at no cost. The internet is now a vital component of every day, be it in public or at home. This has spawned a competitive industry of internet companies trying to provide the best deals for customers. Although there are those who prefer using an office cell signal booster to get the …
What does DOST’s 50MB of free Internet get you?
Image via The Verge Earlier this week, reports surfaced that the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has already begun installing Internet access points in the Quezon City Circle. This is in anticipation of a P1.4-billion project that plans to deploy 7,000 public WiFi hotspots across the Philippines before the end of 2015. Its initial rollout is slated on July 24, and according to DOST, it will offer free Internet access to anyone with a WiFi-capable device, albeit with certain restrictions — chief of which is a 50MB daily data cap. You can’t use it to download stuff from torrent sites, …
And the top 5 phone brands in Southeast Asia are…
Research firm IDC has posted a new report about smartphone shipments in Southeast Asia in the first quarter of 2015, along with a list of the top 5 brands in the region. IDC’s findings reveal that Samsung, Apple, ASUS, OPPO, and Huawei shipped the most number of phones, with the Korean electronics giant accounting for 23 percent of the market on 5.5 million units sold. IDC’s findings reveal that Samsung, Apple, ASUS, OPPO, and Huawei shipped the most number of phones in Southeast Asia. Apple came in second with a 7.5 percent share on 1.8 million sales, while ASUS, OPPO, …
Globe’s free Facebook offer now comes w/photo, video browsing
Pretty much everyone is on Facebook now, and chances are, you use it a lot to keep in touch with your family and friends, share pictures, pass on news, and so on. Which makes Globe Telecom’s latest announcement all the more timely and important. Globe and TM subscribers can now get free and full access to Facebook on Web, mobile, and app without data charges. As of today, subscribers to any GoSurf data plan can get free and full access to Facebook on Web, mobile, and app (Android and iOS) sans data charges. They don’t even need to purchase any additional data plan …
Yelp Philippines goes live w/thousands of reviews
That’s right! Yelp, the de facto online business directory for many — the yellow pages of the Internet, if you will — is now live in the Philippines, which means you can now mosey over to Yelp Philippines and read thousands of crowd-sourced reviews to find your next favorite restaurant or watering hole. Business owners, on the other hand, can look forward to a new way of promoting their establishments by tapping into a local community of Yelpers (read: Yelp users). Yelp can also provide them a means of gauging consumer interest online. Yelp, the yellow pages of the Internet, if …
Globe rolls out affordable hotspot service for SMEs
Hiring an IT guy to handle a commercial establishment’s complimentary WiFi service might not be something all entrepreneurs welcome for various reasons, which is why Globe Telecom has come up with a new service aimed squarely at small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that makes it far simpler to turn any store, restaurant, bar, or any place where people wait, for that matter, into a hotspot. Globe’s WiFi Hub not only allows business owners to attract more customers, but also lets them make more money by charging patrons for WiFi passes. Globe’s myBusiness WiFi Hub not only allows establishments to attract more customers …
Report: PH Internet speed is second-worst in Asia
U.S. broadband-diagnostics firm Ookla (aka speedtest.net) has ranked the Philippines 176 out of 202 countries worldwide and second-last among Asian nations in its latest household download index, which compares global download speeds over a period of 30 days (between April 18, 2015 and May 17, 2015). As if we needed further proof that we’re getting the short end of the stick, the Philippines’ connection speed is listed as 3.64Mbps — a far cry from the global average of 23.3Mbps. Only Afghanistan’s median download speed of 2.52Mbps fared worse than the Philippines in Asia. To give you a better idea of …
PH is first country to make Uber legal
In a statement released Monday, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) will later this week introduce a new category to the public-transport sector to include ride-sharing services, thereby legalizing Uber in the Philippines after more than a year of unregulated operations. It marks the first time the likes of Uber have been given the green light to operate on a national scale without any issues whatsoever. The announcement comes in the heels of months of collaboration between the department, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), and ride-sharing companies. Under the DOTC’s revised classification of public vehicles, Uber …
FAQs: Smart’s ‘tingi-tingi’ video data bundles
Roughly two weeks after announcing its partnership with Skype, Smart Communications has introduced new video data plans to make online video content more accessible to Pinoys. We say accessible because the bundles should appeal to the sachet or tingi-tingi nature of Filipinos. Imagine availing yourself of a plan as low as P5. So what are the offers all about? How do you subscribe to them? We answer these questions and more in the guide below. Promise, this should be quick. What are Smart’s new video data plans? There are four bundles: * YouTube5, where you pay P5 to get 65MB …
How Globe-Disney team-up is different from Smart-Disney deal
Globe Telecom yesterday announced a multi-year partnership with The Walt Disney Company, which owns Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and multi-channel network Maker Studios, among many others, in an effort to bring more family-friendly content and experiences to a swelling user base of 44 million. Now, if you’re on Smart — and there’s a good chance you are given the carrier’s 56-million-strong subscribers — you may be thinking, “Haven’t I heard of this a few months ago?” Um, not really. Because what Globe is serving is the full-course meal of the Disney experience that’s objectively superior to its rival’s appetizer plate …
Globe offers free WhatsApp access to subscribers
(UPDATE: According to Globe Telecom, the duration of its WhatsApp promo, which doesn’t require a maintaining balance to use, is yet to be determined.) Globe subscribers, take note: Starting April 30, those who are on its myLifestyle postpaid plans, as well as prepaid-SIM owners who subscribe to any text, call, or data package, are now entitled to free access to WhatsApp without taking a hit on their data allowance and incurring additional charges. GoSakto, GoUnli25, GoUnli20, and GoSurf are just a few examples of packages included in the promo. For eligible Globe subscribers, that means free messages and voice calls between WhatsApp …
Globe vs Smart: Which of them is number one in PH?
Unlikely as it may sound, Globe Telecom and Smart Communications laid strong claims to being the top mobile-service provider in the Philippines, both companies said in separate statements issued yesterday.
We’re breaking the rules of online publishing…
Who are crazy enough to soft-launch a site that’s so bare? My writing partner since my Mega Publishing days, Ramon Lopez, and I are. We have disregarded the first, second, and third rules of online publishing: You do not launch a website unless it’s packed with articles, or as my former boss, Summit Media president Lisa Gokongwei-Cheng, would call it, puno. Surprisingly, we’re okay with breaking “those rules.” First, we already bought two phones so we could write about and take videos of them. Second, we couldn’t bear to watch our clips just sitting on our computer for weeks. Sayang. Third, it’s …