I was searching for information on the viability of trading US securities from the Philippines and found forum members already doing it. Some were planning to do it and were asking about Internet speed and reliability. Well, just a few days ago, the two leading cellular providers rolled out 700MHz LTE mobile internet. Speeds range from 66-100Mbps. Using a technique called carrier aggregation, they can combine the newly acquired spectrum with another they currently have and could achieve speeds of ~200Mbps! That's fast for a mobile internet. Costs are said to be the same or lower than what we have now. If you have a new 700MHz LTE-capable phone, then you're good to go. If not, you can buy LTE USB dongles (Globe Tattoo or Smart Bro). Right now, coverage is limited to the key areas of Manila, Cebu and Davao, but they say coverage will be national before the year ends. For those asking about beach resorts, Boracay is the most popular but also the most commercialized. This is a good thing and a bad thing. Good in the sense that there are all sorts of amenities, entertainment, familiar food and coffee chains, great hotels, etc. If you want something more natural, you should head to Bohol's Panglao island. Many foreigners decided to stay and do business there--putting up dive shops, restaurants, and hotels. Somewhere probably in between the two is Coron. And if surfing is your thing, I heard that Siargao is where most surfers go. I see a lot of them with huge boards in airports going to and from Siargao. I won't even talk about diving because, man, there are so many places to choose. Yeah. In the Philippines, trading is a beach!
In theory it could be 200Gbps, that doesn't matter. You're very lucky to have just a consistent 5mbps because that's not happening here (with speed uncapped Globe LTE, that's what I'm using). Other providers have monthly data caps in place. Globe only does over 12-13Mbps from 4 to 6am. 4G is all nice and in Europe it's significantly better than 3G. In the Philippines there's barely any difference and in some locations 3G is actually faster because there are fewer people using it. My dongle couldn't even connect at Puerto Galera's White Beach, that's quite pathetic as it's a fairly sizable beach resort. Ironically even in Makati of all places they seem to practice oversubscription so I've been having constant disconnects every 20 minutes, something that didn't happen when I signed up. Besides, while trading on a beach sounds fun and sometimes is, many of us are pale skinned and will burn with the tropical sun quite easily. The beaches are amazing though.
If you plan on spending any length of time in the Philippines, you're better off getting fiber optic line with PLDT or Globe, currently it's only available in certain buildings and subdivisions but it's the closest thing to first world internet speeds (see attached). Anything on mobile internet is typically a struggle depending exactly where you are and may need some kind of "Macgyver" type set up to get anything decent.
@sandsurfer There's another fiber provider in the Metro Manila area that's better than PLDT or Globe but their name escapes me. I don't even dare to ask what you're paying for that fiber.
Any of you guys living in Global City ? it seems a haven of first world development in destitute Manila, even Makati looks like a shithole comparatively (as well as absolutely, bar maybe Greenbelt) Stayed in a 3 serviced apartments and hotels in Makati and they were very noisy, with low ceilings. I checked some ads and rental prices in Global City are very much first world, is the construction quality and internet access also close to top notch ? I suspect the answer is negative but ask anyway
Globe and PLDT are the only companies with any cable infrastructure to speak of. Any other internet company in Phils just leases the lines from them. I only pay 2499P/mo for it, pretty reasonable. But the catch is its a 2yr contract and you have to be in certain buildings. more deets here: https://www.globe.com.ph/platinum/broadband http://pldthome.com/fibr/areas
That's not true. The provider is Converge ICT and they have their own network. I've heard great things about them. I won't give my money to PLDT b*stards, ever.
There's no decent places in Metro Manila unless you pay a fortune. By chance you might get an apartment where the owner rents below market (doesn't need the money) but those are always full. The older buildings might look dirtier but can have better build quality.