Connectivity in the Philippines - postal mail, Internet, telephone, cellphone, internet cafes

If connectivity of any kind is important to you while considering a stay or life in the Philippines, the good news is that all a.m. levels of connectivity are available and working above average.

Philippine Postal service

You may need a permanent and reliable postal address. For a short stay usually this always is your resort you reside at. However for longer stay or permanent guests here the choice is to get a P.O. Box from Philippine Postal service.

In the picture we see the central post office Catbangen - San Fernando La Union - with many P.O. Boxes free .. to get your own box is easy and fast. A passport or other international recognized ID and a few simple formalities and you have your own P.O. Box for your important postal mail for an annual fee of approximately US $ 1

Receiving or sending mail from and to all world is quiet reliable. While 2-3 years ago i experienced about 25% loss in incoming mail, last year and the current year it appears that 100% of all mail was safely in and out. Important mail is sent registered and takes anywhere from 10 days to 6 weeks depending on the country you send or receive

Parcels and small freight

Of course you find the global logistic companies such as UPS and FedEx and others in most provincial cities around the Philippines.

Telephone - land-line

In and near big cities, villages and provincial capitals land-line phone connection is available. In an island environment with 7100+ islands, mountains and jungle covered areas however is is obvious - the choice of communication is mobile phone.

IN cities and within a few kms of cities the major land-line phone companies offer DSL connectivity to the Internet. Outside of cities the cable quality usually is insufficient for broadband connectivity to the www.

Telephone - mobile - cellphone

The Philippines is a typical and well organized and well functioning cellphone country - more precisely its a Nokia country - more about that later. Several cellphone providers - the largest
Smart with some 15 million subscribers and
Globe Telecom with some 10 million subscribers - both having a near full coverage of the entire country with the exception of very remote low population density areas and small islands.

The mobile cellphone network of both a.m. providers include SMS, GPRS - for www connection and email to / from your cellphone. MMS is currently limited within the Philippines and with some neighbor countries. The network is UP and working nearly full time. Down-times of the mobile cellphone network are extremely rare - may be a few minutes a week or even less.

All mobile network providers use international GSM ( 900 and 1800 MHz ) - all international cellphones can be used here and cellphone roaming is available for most major global providers - just check YOUR home provider's information.

NDD calls made from your mobile are about 6 - 8 Peso per minute depending on day time and network. National SMS are 1 Peso per SMS and IDD worldwide is US $ 0.40 per minute.

Hence if international or national phone connectivity is important to you - a cellphone may be your choice giving you reliability and 24/7 availability even while underway in the Philippines.

Local SIM packs ( original SIM packs always are SEALED !! ) are sold in thousands of stores and outlets all over the country - even at the air port upon arrival and available for some 300 PHP for a complete SIM pack including some 100 PHP load. 1 US$ = approx 55 PHP. Different SIM packs offer different functionalities - you may want to study the differences before making your choice. Some do offer eMail, other SIM packs may include cell phone banking or the use of Smart Money debit card - a variation of Master Card for mobile use and use with electronic terminals nationwide or to reload your or your friends cellphone without the need of prepaid phone cards.

You may expect mobile phone networks to be better and more reliable than many European or US/Canadian networks and cheaper as well ). An IDD to any overseas country - provided that you have a good signal in your local area - may be expected to be of local phone-call quality !! If you move around the country it may be a good idea to have a SIM pack for BOTH major mobile networks - Globe and Smart. Most mobile users buy prepaid phone cards - available all over the country. Reloading your local cellphone prepaid account by the use of cellphone banking or Smart Money debit card also is possible without the need to purchase phone cards - thus offering you total flexibility to reload as needed any time any place.

Philippines is a Nokia country

Whatever Nokia model you have - even high end models - you may safely assume full functionality and instant availability of all common configuration files for download from any of the 2 a.m. major cellphone network providers. GPRS configuration, Internet configuration, WAP configuration and more - all is usually obtained by sending a code string to a service number to activate the service you need or love to use.

However if you have a high end NON-Nokia cellphone you may end up using it as a simple plain cellphone for phone calls without the ability to use all or any of its fancy high tech communication capabilities. A recent practical example was a GD88 that needed a GPRS configuration and MMS configuration setting - none of both were available !!

Since Philippines is a sold Nokia country - of course you can purchase just about any last high end Nokia model - at prices 10 - 30 % lower than Hong Kong prices !! However a few things are to consider. Nokia cellphones sold here are sold in original package - with NO international warranty - the local warranty usually is 24 hrs - ONE day ) - test all functions right away when purchasing a cellphone !! IN addition you may experience that usually NEW Nokia cellphones are sold with OLD firmware versions. If you purchase a Nokia cellphone locally - do it at a reputable shop and ask for a FREE upgrade to the NEWEST available firmware version. Only a very few shops can do such upgrades and even less shops HAVE the actual HW and software available to give you the NEWEST version firmware !!

One of the few qualified shops able to make Nokia firmware upgrades - even to high end Nokia models i found as a result of several months intense search in 2003.

Internet - www access is easy and simple - the Philippines are an Internet cafe country !!

Several ways to access your website, eMail or surf the web:

• You have a land-line phone subscription that may already include 24 hrs free www DSL access


• Prepaid Internet access cards for national provider or provincial providers - such prepaid cards are available at most stores selling prepaid cellphone phone cards. Many ISP providers offer such prepaid service for dial up www access. IN cities dial up is usually 56 kbs while outside cities usually it is 28 or 33 kbs due to poor line quality.


• and of course - you find Internet cafes all over the country in most larger villages or smaller cities. Provincial capitals such as San Fernando La Union has more than a dozen different Internet cafes - they come and go and all good ones survive.

Most Internet cafes have one access line share with all computers - hence sometimes ONE 56 kbs for 6-12 customers surfing ...

A few however have exceptional bandwidth and excellent quality. One such is Master's work cafe in San Fernando La union. 2 Rooms - 1 for computer games ( loud ) and a separate room for www via broadband.

In above picture - Master's work cafe in San Fernando La Union is inside a small passage - upstairs 1st floor - and offers space to work peacefully for hours if needed - fast and well maintained desktops with a very fast broadband connection to the www. A powerful generator is started during power black outs. All desktops usually offer full software for office work. Master's work cafe is located near the center ( near Town Plaza of San Fernando La Union ) approximately opposite "Danish Baker" - one of the few places to get fresh crispy bakery, baguette, rolls, etc or cakes, sweets - daily fresh and delicious !

... a few meters away from Mr Donuts - a place with some of the very finest fresh brewed coffee in the Philippines. Note that i found the coffee to be different quality in each of their outlets in the Philippines - THIS one offers the freshest and most tasty brewed coffee ... and friendly service. Why i know ? because i spend hundreds of online working hours at Master's work cafe with my laptop as well as using their desktops during 2002 - 2004 and enjoyed a coffee break after having tested almost every other possibility here.

If Internet access is important - you may try various Internet cafes in your area and select the most convenient one. Some offer 24/7 operating hours while most open early morning around 0800 -1000 and close early evening around 2000 to 2400. Most Internet cafes welcome visitors with their own laptop !! All you need is to know how to configure YOUR laptop for THEIR LAN !! Sometimes need your own LAN cable sometimes you can use available LAN cables. The better Internet cafes have their own generator - power failures often are frequent and if working online is important - then contingency plans are important as well. Most Internet cafes use cable LAN - fewer wireless LAN but wireless is expanding in the Philippines and may become more popular in the near future. Be prepared for all variations of equipment needed to assure safe connectivity withy your own laptop - built in modem, LAN cable and eventually wireless cards fully configured may be ideal. Of course when considering long time residence here you may use a desktop - however rather unwise if needed for work !! Why ? Power failure do occur !! In some locations daily or many times daily - in some areas a few times a day up to several hours each time - hence - with a desktop you either need UPS and generator or you may loose all currently opened data each time you enjoy power cut. With a laptop you keep on working for hours meanwhile the network may work as it may be independent of local power-sources !!

Many times i use Internet cafes daily many hours for my work - and quiet often i get a permanent work slot / desk space offered at no extra cost for my laptop ! All Internet access - prepaid or in Internet cafes is charged by the minutes and prices vary depending on area and provider and usually range between 1 and 5 US$ per hour but be as low as 0.50 US$ per hrs in some places - most of the time www access is charged on a minute base with a minimum of 10-30 minutes.

To conclude the topic connectivity in the Philippines

All needed variations for a decent life and work is available in most areas of this tropical country. Reliability and quality of connectivity is sufficient for all normal living and work and often much better than in European or American countries !!

Enjoy direct contact - eyes to eyes, heart to heart - soul to soul - that is the specialty of all smiling and loving Philippinos !

Enjoy the Philippines