What are HSDPA’s Limitations?
Visited 439 Times Published by Rico April 25th, 2007 in Internet, Tech and What.Thanks to Marc, I’m now trying out Visibility on Matus, while enjoying the comfort of my home. And a special no thanks goes to PLDT for making me consider getting Visibility for myself!
The Visibility service lets you surf the web at speeds faster than your typical home DSL connection. All for only Php 2,000 a month. It depends on HSDPA (High-Speed Downlink Packet Access) technology, which means you can access the web wirelessly as long as you’re within Globe’s cellular network coverage.
I’m suddenly reminded of HSDPA’s limitations. For all the high-technology it represents, people interested in getting HSDPA for their laptops or purchasing an HSDPA-capable smartphone and PDA should consider these two things:
- Upload speeds are slow. Technical jargon aside, you’ll have no problems downloading lots of stuff from the web, as this happens real quickly. But uploading videos to YouTube or photos and music to Multiply is a painful experience, since HSDPA uploads data at a much slower rate than it downloads it. Uploading stuff through a DSL connection is still faster.
- Your speed depends on your reception. Since HSDPA is based on cellular technology you’ll need to have a good signal to be able to reach the fast speeds promised by Globe. Just as dead spots make it hard to text or call, the same is true with HSDPA; you may browse at significantly lower speeds, or be unable to connect to the web at all. This is why I borrowed Marc’s HSDPA modem, to see if there’s good coverage in my house.
No technology is perfect, but currently subscribing to an HSDPA service is a great option for people who must be connected to the Internet anytime, anywhere. Whether you’re in a mall, at home, in the office, or even on the road, services like Globe’s Visibility lets you access the web without wires. And the two issues mentioned above are being addressed through technology upgrades (people are talking about stuff like HSOPA, which is a lot faster than HSDPA) and companies like Globe increasing their coverage.
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6 Responses to “What are HSDPA’s Limitations?”
- 1 Pingback on May 8th, 2007 at 10:52 am
I would really love to try Visibility, but Globe’s 3G coverage is still too small. I’ve had a small talk with Chris Haravata and he said that Visibility is currently not worth it yet.
From my experience, Visibility can provide the consistent connectivity needed to get stuff done online. Especially if you’re not moving around while surfing (like in a car). I’m happy to report that it works in my deadspot of a house (though at speeds lower than the max). And I actually enjoyed great coverage in Punta Fuego!
seems like my sister and rico had the same reason for getting a visibility - damn pldt dsl.. we originally had pacific dial up in our house in bulacan.. but then, she got tired of using dial-up (who wouldn’t be? she’s already using dsl at the office) and so she called up pldt to convert our home landline to their dsl-landline bundle.. alas, our phone was cut-off… when we called pldt customer service, they said that this wass due to our dsl application.. a month passed and there was no dsl nor phone line.. my sister was on the phone with pldt’s CS but after two weeks, the were saying that we did not have any dsl application, and that the line will not be cut even if the dsl applied for.. my sister insisted that the chrages for the whole month that the line was cut-off should be reversed.. they never reversed it.. this is the funny thing that’s happening now… there are 2 PLDT reps calling our house, one is insisting that we pay our overdue account - w/c we refuse to pay, else our line services will be terminated… another rep is calling, scheduling the installation of the dsl modem.. stupid stupid stupid!
now i’m afraid of the rainy season.. i have noticed that whenever it rains, my connection is erratic.. and so far, only showers have been experienced in manila… also, if my huawei is directly infront of an electric fan, connection would constantly change from hsdpa to umts… what do you guys think would be our connection speed during a storm? but at least, if there is a blackout and your notebook still has battery, you’d still be connected, unlike dsl modems which need to be plugged in.
Yeah, Pacific Internet was my first ISP too. Ah…those were the days when dial-up was your only option.
The PLDT DSL in my house also suffers when it rains. I think it has something to do with old wiring, which doesn’t resist moisture very well.
At least with Visibility, everything’s wireless. All you need power, and like you said xenie, you can surf for a while even during brownouts.
Hi I have visibility and do commend globe for its stability, it has not missed a second of connection since Xmas.
However i was very angry that IO was lead to believ that upgrades from edge speeds were coming soon.
The speed is dial up even though it has doubled since the beginning.
For student research or basic internent functions Globe visibility is just fine.For voip or games or for downloading software, it cant be done .
I have not paid for the three months that i no longer bother with it after connecting to smartbro which is 10 times faster.
Smartbro was agony to get installed and running but my patient insistance goioot ioit going and its fabulous and im apparently too far from cell tower as well.