Mobile Internet in the Philippines

March, 2008

Some hints and tips that helped me and might also work for you.
Note, all the following is without any warranty or guarantee. The details may have changed from the time of writing.
Nevertheless it might be helpful. ;)

There are 2 big network operators with good coverage all over the Philippines:
GLOBE and SMART.

GLOBE charges per KB and limits speed to GPRS with Pre-Paid cards.
Smart runs its internet service at PHP10/30min (without data volume restrictions) and supports up to HSDPA (where available) also with Pre-Paid cards.
Both concepts have their advantages and disadvantages. I've used GLOBE but had some trouble with the GLOBE proxy server. It prevented me from checking my personal webmail and some other information. I thus tried also SMART and that proxy worked fine for me.

Equipment

Dopod 838Pro, either standalone or connected via USB cable to Fujitsu P2040 (WinXP; Firefox; Dopod modem driver; Dopod USBModem_Dialer).
SMART Buddy pre-paid SIM card or
GLOBE Starter pre-paid SIM card

Pre-requisites

Make sure to have the modem driver for the Dopod 838Pro installed to the PC before connecting. Disable the USB connection in ActiveSync when you want to connect for modem purpose (don’t forget to re-activate the USB connection to use with ActiveSync later on again). Have the Start > Programs > Wireless Modem application on the Dopod 838Pro.

Setup with GLOBE Starter pre-paid SIM

Once SIM is placed into Dopod 838pro, the network configuration wizard starts some background activities and ends with a restart request - wait for it and do it.
After this check the settings manually.
Start > Settings > Connections > Connections > Advanced > Select Networks
Set both connection paths to myGlobe GPRS Settings.
ok.
On Start > Settings > Connections > Connections > Tasks > Manage existing connections > Modem > Edit check the settings:
Name for connection: myGlobe GPRS
Modem selection: Cellular Line (GPRS, 3G)
APN: www.globe.com.ph
User name: 'leave empty'
Password: 'leave empty'
Domain: 'leave empty'

Advanced > TCP/IP tick Use server-assigned IP address
Servers tick Use server-assigned address
Finish.
Proxy-Settings
Tick This network connects to the Internet
Tick This network uses a proxy server to connect to the Internet
Advanced
HTTP: 203.177.42.214 Port 8080

You might want to use the Connection Manager (side button) to close the Phone connection and then re-connect the Phone connection (just to make sure the settings are in use).

To connect with the P2040, make sure the pre-conditions (above) are ok.
Use the Start > Programs > Wireless Modem application on the Dopod 838Pro with Menu > APN set to www.globe.com.ph.
Use the USBModem_Dialer.exe that comes with the Dopod 838Pro.
Set APN to www.globe.com.ph, leave User Name and Password empty.

Remember to adjust the Firefox settings:
Via Tools > Options > Advanced > Network ‘Configure how Firefox connects to the Internet’ Settings ...
Select Manual Proxy configuration,
set HTTP proxy: 203.177.42.214 Port: 8080
and tick the box to use this proxy for all protocols.

Setup with SMART Buddy pre-paid SIM

Once SIM is placed into Dopod 838pro, the network configuration wizard starts some background activities and ends with a restart request – wait for it and do it.

Send a SMS with MMS ON to 3401 to activate the data services of the SIM card.

After this check the settings manually.
Start > Settings > Connections > Connections > Advanced > Select Networks
Set both connection paths to Smart GPRS Settings.
ok.
On Tasks > Manage existing connections > Modem > Edit check the settings:
Name for connection: Smart GPRS
Modem selection: Cellular Line (GPRS, 3G)
APN: smart1
User name: 'leave empty'
Password: 'leave empty'
Domain: 'leave empty'

Advanced > TCP/IP tick Use server-assigned IP address
Servers tick Use server-assigned address
Finish.
Proxy-Settings
Tick This network connects to the Internet
Tick This network uses a proxy server to connect to the Internet
Advanced
HTTP: 10.102.61.46 Port 8080

You might want to use the Connection Manager (side button) to close the Phone connection and then re-connect the Phone connection (just to make sure the settings are in use).

To connect with the P2040, make sure the pre-conditions (above) are ok.
Use the Start > Programs > Wireless Modem application on the Dopod 838Pro with Menu > APN set to Internet.
Use the USBModem_Dialer.exe that comes with the Dopod 838Pro.
Set APN to Internet, leave User Name and Password empty.

Remember to adjust the Firefox settings:
Tools > Options > Advanced > Network ‘Configure how Firefox connects to the Internet’ Settings ...
Select Manual Proxy configuration,
set HTTP proxy: 10.102.61.46 Port: 8080
and tick the box to use this proxy for all protocols.

Some additional hints

Part of the problems I've been facing were related to the Firefox profile. To solve this, I've started Firefox from the Start > Run command line with Firefox -P and created a new profile. That solved at least some strange behaviour of the browser.

A look at the Dopod Start > Settings > Connections > USB to PC settings and changing the tick box for the advanced modem commands might also help with some issues.