{"id":17967,"date":"2017-06-13T09:55:12","date_gmt":"2017-06-13T01:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/?p=17967"},"modified":"2017-06-13T18:17:21","modified_gmt":"2017-06-13T10:17:21","slug":"free-high-speed-wi-fi-along-edsa-now-available","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/primer.com.ph\/blog\/2017\/06\/13\/free-high-speed-wi-fi-along-edsa-now-available\/","title":{"rendered":"Free High-Speed Wi-Fi along EDSA now available"},"content":{"rendered":"

Stuck in traffic? The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) have recently launched a way for you to pass the time (as a passenger): free Wi-Fi along EDSA.<\/p>\n

The DICT recently launched the EDSA Wi-Fi<\/strong> project for all commuters moving along the metro\u2019s main thoroughfare. The project was launched yesterday, June 12, as the country celebrated its 119th<\/sup> Independence Day.<\/p>\n

In a statement, DICT Secretary Rodolfo A. Salalima said that this public Wi-Fi offering is a \u201cgift to the people of this free nation.\u201d \u201cWe work to give Filipinos access to the information and technology that they need in their daily lives. EDSA Wi-Fi will benefit the hundreds of thousands of commuters along EDSA daily,\u201d Salalima added.<\/p>\n

DICT has tapped the services of the country\u2019s largest internet service providers, Globe Telecom and PLDT (via Smart), to provide free Wi-Fi to all 13 stations of MRT-3 and the entire stretch of EDSA by August, though it is now available for use by the public.<\/p>\n

Experience<\/strong><\/p>\n

We tried out the free Wi-Fi service for ourselves and here\u2019s what we\u2019ve found out:<\/p>\n

\"\"OPTIONS. Here are your options if you want to use the EDSA Wi-Fi network.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

There are four Wi-Fi networks to choose from.<\/em> There\u2019s DICT FREE EDSA WIFI<\/em>, #SmartWifi @MRT EDSA<\/em>, @GoWifi_Auto<\/em> and @GoWiFi_EDSA<\/em> (both from Globe), and Free Public Wi-Fi \u2013 Juan Konek!<\/em>.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

YES, IT IS THAT FAST. You can normally get these speeds if you’re on an expensive postpaid plan in a covered area.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Among these four, the DICT FREE EDSA WIFI proved to be the fastest<\/em>, topping out at 8.12 Mbps. DICT Sec. Salalima asked Globe and Smart to provide at least 10 Mbps, but we\u2019ll forgive them for now (it\u2019s only been one day).<\/p>\n

\"\"AS SLOW AS IT GETS.\u00a0<\/em><\/span>This was the slowest speed we recorded at MRT-3 Shaw Blvd. Station, using Smart’s public Wi-Fi network, and it’s still faster that what we got via their consumer LTE.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Average speeds<\/em> were clocked between 3 and 4 Mbps, good enough to watch short YouTube videos (1 \u2013 4 minutes) at 720p without any buffering. These were using the Wi-Fi networks provided by Smart and Globe.<\/p>\n

It is only available at MRT Stations (for now).<\/em> The Wi-Fi did not seem to extend far beyond the MRT stations, though that could be because it has not been fully rolled out yet. DICT FREE EDSA WIFI was reportedly only available between Cubao and Guadalupe station.<\/p>\n

No downloading. <\/em>It may be fast, but DICT has blocked off anyone from downloading large files through its free Wi-Fi networks, including those via Torrent. Streaming via YouTube is okay, though you shouldn\u2019t expect high-quality videos (at least 720p) to load without some buffering.<\/p>\n

\"\"SIGN-IN REQUIRED. Globe asks for a mobile number (you can use it regardless of network) so they can send a verification code.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"DATA LIMITS. The\u00a0Free Public Wi-Fi \u2013 Juan Konek! network places a 50 Mb cap on anyone who wants to use their network. Plans are available for 100 Mb and 300 Mb, though we are still confirming with DICT on how to avail of those plans.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Sign-in<\/em> required.<\/em> According to the DICT, all of these networks will require sign-in, and will usually be limited to at most an hour a day. Based on our experience, only DICT FREE EDSA WIFI<\/em> and Free Public Wi-Fi \u2013 Juan Konek!<\/em> required its users to sign in.<\/p>\n

Verdict:<\/strong><\/p>\n

As far as we are concerned, it\u2019s a fast, reliable Wi-Fi that\u2019s better than what consumers could normally get from the same providers.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s only been around for a day, but if we were asked to recommend using it, we can\u2019t say we would for the following reasons:<\/p>\n