WiMax battle looms in Philippines

Even as Globe made its formal announcement Thursday, main rival Smart Communications held a concurrent press event to disclose it has upgraded its network infrastructure with an HSPA (high-speed packet access) system to enhance its various mobile broadband offerings. At the same time, Smart also revealed it would roll out its own WiMax service, likely to be ready for launch in the fourth quarter of this year.

According to Globe, which is owned by the Zobel de Ayala family and Singapore carrier SingTel, its network is the "first and biggest 2.5 GHz WiMax (802.16e standard-based) broadband network in Southeast Asia".
Globe's WiMax service is available in three monthly postpaid packages: 795 pesos (US$16.5) for 512Kbps data speeds with Internet access only, 995 pesos (US$20.7) for 512Kbps plus landline, and 1,295 pesos (US$26.9) for 1Mbps plus landline.

Santos, however, said this pricing scheme, as well as the cost of its WiMax services, may change in the next few months as the platform becomes more pervasive. The company may also offer a prepaid model, she said. My comment: Prepaid is where the customers are as SMART has already proved! Most (95%) here do not go month to month, but instead buy prepaid cards or loads.

Smart, however, said it prioritized upgrading efforts on its GSM infrastructure because "that's where the critical mass is [right now]". Installed by Ericsson, its HSPA network would also allow Smart to provide faster Internet connection of up to 5.8Mbps per user, the mobile operator said.

Industry observers say the NTC has been slow, if not reluctant, in setting the policy and regulatory framework for WiMax. A telecom executive, who declined to be named, said WiMax could have been deployed earlier if not for the agency's lethargic actions.

Read the complete article by clicking here 6/17/09 ZNET Asia