PLDT WeRoam 3G Prepaid Part 1

Filed in archive Wireless on April 30, 2008

April and May signal the summer term for the Philippines and rest assured, most people are either overseas on vacation or just spending time on the beach in some province. To the road warrior, there is nothing better than having full connectivity even whilst one is on vacation. Wireless connectivity, not the WiFi kind, in the Philippines is serviced by two major players, PLDT WeRoam and Globe Visibility.

Personally, I chose PLDT WeRoam over Globe Visibility primarily because of the pre-paid or pay-as-you-go plans available. The PLDT WeRoam 3G Prepaid plan comes in 3-month, 6-month and 12-month packages. You get to pay a premium for the USB or PCMCIA HSDPA modem plus unlimited usage for 3/6/12 months. Since I am almost always within the range of my home or office WiFi, prepaid is the best package.

The 3-month package, costing a little less than PhP 12,000 (USD 290.00), includes the cost of the modem, unlimited 3G/HSDPA connection for three months AND unlimited WiFi connection for three months as well, courtesy of AirborneAccess hotspots.

With the package, you get a ZTE USB Modem and a SIM card, along with installation CD. Installing it on my Macbook Air is straightforward. However, using it is another story - being prepaid, you need to call the customer service hotline and ask for the SIM to be activated. Extra hassle but it only takes a couple of minutes to have it activated. You'd be spending more time waiting for the customer service representative to answer the call!