Wireless Broadband Showdown (QC Edition)

Finally -- a comparative, completely objective analysis of the big 3 broadband networks (Smart, Globe, Sun). For this review, we’re going to test primarily for 2 things: speed and reliability.

Speed will be tested through speedtest.net.

Methodology for the test:
• Connect 4 times per network
• The speed of the network is measured through speedtest.net – average speed of the 4 connection instances is the official speed of the network at the given location.
---->o Download Speed: How fast you can download from the internet.
---->o Upload Speed: How fast you can upload to the internet.
---->o Ping: Network latency between a computer and the server being pinged. Basically it’s the time it takes the server to answer (“pong”) my “ping.”
-------------->* A good ping time is very useful for server games like WoW or Ragnarok – small packets of data sent intermittently. Your games will react faster and no deaths due to lag. 
• The reliability of the network is measured by the percentage of connection instances that was able to complete a test uninterrupted over the total number of connections (the ones that completed a test plus the ones that got disconnected).
---->o So let’s say I had to connect 5 times to network XXXX just so that I can conduct 4 complete tests. The reliability will be 4/5 or 80%.
---->o Server not found errors (404) are counted as “failed” connections.
• Between each test, I will use REVO Uninstaller (www.revouninstaller.com) (Moderate level) to uninstall each network’s broadband application. In addition to running the application’s uninstall utility, Revo Uninstaller will also remove the associated registry files and all files found in the PC.
• The browser is closed in between tests.

Constants:
• I will use speedtest.net for all tests.
• I will test versus location San Francisco, CA (an approximate distance of 7000 miles)
• I will be testing from one location
---->o QC for now – I’ll test in other locations in later posts
---->o I’m testing from The Coffee Bean in Ayala Technohub, Commonwealth Ave.

View Ayala Technohub in a larger map

• I will be testing at around 6pm.
• I will be using 1 computer:
---->o MSI Wind U100
---->o Intel Atom Processor
---->o CPU N270 @ 1.60 GHz
---->o 1.99 GB RAM
---->o WIFI Turned OFF!
• Browser used: Mozilla Firefox v 3.5.8
• Applications Running: No other online applications except the browser and the network application

Variables:
• The broadband network (duh)
---->o I’ll be using Globe Visibility (I got it before it became Tattoo – I assume it’s the same network. If not, please let us know by leaving a comment below.)
---->o Smart Bro
---->o Sun Broadband Wireless [edited! good eye, fifteenryans! thanks!]
• The broadband network application (syempre)

Okay -- done with the boring stuff. On with the review itself.

THE USER EXPERIENCE:
Globe & Smart installation was painless. Once plugged, the application installed and I was good to go.

With Sun, the application installed alright but it didn’t automatically connect – I was getting "613" errors! The guide the kit came with doesn’t say how to fix it. The lady who sold the set to me said: “Once you install the app, go to ‘Tools’ and then ‘Check Load.’ I installed the app, there’s a Tools menu option but no “Check Load.” After a few tries, it just connected by itself. It probably had to contact the network first to get activated.

Globe & Smart – you were either connected or you weren’t.
Sun – I didn’t know what was happening. Everything suddenly doesn’t load so you think you’re disconnected but when you refresh, you get results. What gives?

Sun – 1 day unlimited internet. But my unlimited internet only lasts until 12am of Mar 1st. Since I started testing at around 7pm for Sun, I essentially get only 5 hours free. Far cry from the “1 Day Unlimited Internet” touted by the advertisements.

THE VERDICT:

The best broadband wireless network to use in QC is (drumroll please) SMART BRO.

Reliability: Smart Bro gave us 100%. I only had to try 4 times to get 4 successful results. Next was Sun Broadband Wireless that got 27% -- 4 successful attempts out of 15. Last place was Globe Visibility that got 25% -- 4 successful attempts out of 16.

Speed:
The best download speed was given by Smart Bro that averaged at 1.08 Mbps. Next was Sun Broadband Wireless with 0.45 Mbps. Last was Globe Visibility that gave a disheartening 0.02 Mbps.

The best upload speed was again Smart Bro which averaged at 0.26 Mbps. Next was Globe Visibility with 0.10 Mbps. Last was Sun Broadband Wirelss with 0.09 Mbps.

The fastest ping time was AGAIN Smart Bro that averaged at 324 ms. Next was Sun Broadband Wireless at 352 ms. Last was Globe Visibility at 672 ms.

I tabulated the results in Google Doc. Check out the table here.

The winner by a landslide in QC is Smart Bro. It's the most expensive unit but given the performance, P995 is a good investment. (Sun goes for P888 and Globe is priced at P895.)

We're going to test in other locations in future posts so keep coming back!