If you are one of the less than 10 people following my posts regularly, you would know that I recently changed address. It was a move to a much better neighborhood with easier access to malls and commercial establishments , so I'm pretty happy with the move.
Except for one thing. It's taking forever for PLDT to install my telephone line and consequently my Internet connection. It's been weeks of excuses and whatnot.
Finally the other day I just got fed up and got a Smart Bro Prepaid Kit.
The kit will cost you 4,500 which is relatively expensive because you are basically just getting a HSDPA USB modem. But certainly better than getting one of their fixed plans. With my erratic schedule and out of town trips, I didn't want to get monthly bills for something that I wasn't able to utilize fully. The lockin period of 2 years was also bothersome. So prepaid broadband is perfect.
Aside from just loading the amount that I need, now I can take my laptop anywhere there is a Smart Signal and voila, instant wireless broadband internet and you know what that means. Poker Anywhere. Now when my wife drags me to the province to visit her parents, I'll be set. Heheh. Playing poker while lounging in a beach chair in Laiya is now a reality.
The rate is quite reasonable. P10 for 30 minute blocks. The speed is just average. They claim you can get 384 kbps, but actual speedtests give me somewhere on the 200+ range. Good enough to run any poker software. Of course, you will still get better speeds with your fixed DSL line. Also, sometimes the speed drops for no apparent reason. But all in all, I was quite satisfied with the thing.
I am also expecting the usage rate to drop within the next few months as Globe is also gearing up for their own mobile internet thingie, so competition rules. =)
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6 comments:
nova,
hows the service? im thinking of getting that but unsure if it can handle ftp software while multi tabling
hey grind,
The service is ok. As long as your area is covered by the 3G network of Smart. Otherwise it shifts to using GPRS and the service crawls.
So far I've tried multi tabling 2 and 3 tables at FTP and it worked OK.
The signal does drop every once in a while and you will get disconnected. But it would usually connect back after a few minutes.
So may pros and cons. As with any new service, there are a few bugs. But again, nothing beats the flexibility of playing online poker anywhere you like. =)
nova,
I got this smart bro prepaid and it has only one IP address. When my friend uses the dongle USB on his laptop, it has the same IP as mine on my laptop which is 121.1.18.242. Im just worried that the poker site might think that Im multi accounting. Do u have the same IP. Do u have any idea how to change it.thanks for your reply
hey anonymous, the one that starts with 121 is the DNS server address. It will usually be the same for a certain area. The IP address for the Smart Bro svc is dynamic and will change everytime you log on. The number is usually something like 10.146.192.128. It cannot be the same for 2 people because it will create IP conflict and one of you will not be able to surf. So no need to worry there.
nova,
I just checked my login history at FTP and the IP is the same as my friends login history at FTP too. yikes! Could you check yours too pls. Also if I go to whatismyipaddress.com or showmyipaddress.com its the same IP 121.1.18.242 which is the WAN IP address that FTP logs. Wherever I go, be it north or south of luzon. I still get the same friggin IP. Could it be the USB dongle that I have has this IP address assigned to it permanently? I wonder what FTP will do. LEt me know whats your IP when you go to whatismyipaddress. Thanks very much.
Your avid reader, :)
hey avid reader,
you are right. I have checked my own FTP logs when I use Smart Bro and it reflects the same IP address. 121.1.18.242
Hmmm... I am guessing that its the live IP being secured by the Smart Bro network before some kind of router/server assigns the dynamic IPs to each of the wireless users.
Right now I don't see any solution. If our accounts are blocked, we just have to write an email explaining the service to them. Just hope you don't play with anybody in the Philippines using Smart Bro... heheh =)
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