Travel Globally, Dial Locally
February 8, 2006 6:53 AM Subscribe
Client needs local internet access phone number(s) in the Philippines, at an affordable price.
My client will be traveling in the Philippines for several months (Peace Corps) and wishes to have dialup internet access while she is there, and doesn't want to pay a per-minute charge.
She is already aware of internet cafes, and is prepared to take advantage of that, but wants to be able to dial out from her lodgings as well.
Does anyone have a firsthand experience or recommended company she should contact to set this up? She wants to get this settled before leaving on the trip, as she'll have enough details to keep track of without worrying about her ISP.
My client will be traveling in the Philippines for several months (Peace Corps) and wishes to have dialup internet access while she is there, and doesn't want to pay a per-minute charge.
She is already aware of internet cafes, and is prepared to take advantage of that, but wants to be able to dial out from her lodgings as well.
Does anyone have a firsthand experience or recommended company she should contact to set this up? She wants to get this settled before leaving on the trip, as she'll have enough details to keep track of without worrying about her ISP.
Best answer: My experience with dialup in the Philippines was that it was absolutely not worth the costs. I was able to buy prepaid internet cards that had a value of 300minutes, but I also was charged per minute to use the phone. This made dialup very expensive. If she'll be in metro Manila she can always try for cable, DSL, or wifi (through Smart). She can also use a prepaid cellphone and bluetooth to a laptop and pay per kilobyte. This is also an expensive option, but may be her only choice in some locations and may be cost effective for email. My recommendation is to find a good internet cafe and stick with it. I look for cafes that let me bring in a copy of portable firefox on a USB key and offer me some level of privacy. I carry a copy of PuTTY and have a nice webmail setup to make things work more smoothly.
posted by joelr at 12:25 PM on February 8, 2006
posted by joelr at 12:25 PM on February 8, 2006
PLDT's prepaid internet is very cheap for anyone not earning their pay in Philippine pesos. A 20 hour card is under US$2 As long as she's not paying additional charges on the use of the line (like what joelr said), it's really the way to go.
Depending on where in the country she is, the phone in her room may not be physically wired to the network. I've had many many problems with landlines which relay via cellular repeater -- sometimes modems will work and, if they do, good luck staying connected for more than five minutes.
posted by nathan_teske at 5:09 PM on February 8, 2006
Depending on where in the country she is, the phone in her room may not be physically wired to the network. I've had many many problems with landlines which relay via cellular repeater -- sometimes modems will work and, if they do, good luck staying connected for more than five minutes.
posted by nathan_teske at 5:09 PM on February 8, 2006
Best answer: And I just checked your profile and noticed you're in St. Paul. If you want, you can give your friend my email address. I lived and worked in the Philippines for awhile and would be happy to answer any questions
posted by nathan_teske at 5:11 PM on February 8, 2006
posted by nathan_teske at 5:11 PM on February 8, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Wild_Eep at 7:14 AM on February 8, 2006