Wireless internet was introduced to the country by PLDT, with its WeRoam service, which offered GPRS (64kbps) and later EDGE (170kbps) connectivity. In practice, it was about as fast as dial-up technology. With its high cost and low speeds, PLDT WeRoam was mostly utilized by business for mobile email connectivity. It was not until the third quarter of 2006, when Globe Telecom and Smart internet offered high speed mobile internet to the public that mobile internet took a strong foothold in the country. Globe offered its high speed 3.5G internet service (1.4mbps), called Visibility, service to the general public that mobile internet took a strong hold in the country. On a pay per use basis, this service was prohibitively expensive, but on a monthly subscription cost was no higher than an equally fast DSL line. Smart Communications in turn offered its slower, but than current 384kbps 3G service at a affordable Php10 per 30 minutes of use.
Devices that could access 3G and 3.5G technology were expensive, until the 3G for All initiative in cooperation with LG released the low cost LG Ku250 handset in the second quarter of 2007. Two years later, accessing mobile internet services has become surprisingly affordable. Most cellular phones offered by Smart Communications and Globe Telecom now have 3G/3.5G capability and both companies offer USB modems rated at 3.6Mbps that can be had for less than 1K with Php300 of the cost being consumable for internet access time.
What comes next? Faster speeds. I do not expect any major changes in the next few years except for more and more bandwidth. The novelty service which spawned this blog, had now become a mainstream product. With the rapid changes, I cannot help but feel that this blog has now become irrelevant. With that, Mobility Philippines is signing off.
High speed mobile internet: From novelty to mainstream in 3 years. It has been fun. Thank you.
