As I wrote in another post, new worlds has opened up to me since I acquired a DSL line, in particular the world of video and audio streaming –- YouTube.com, etc., not to mention extremely fast web surfing. I now also feel more prolific, especially with respect to my web development businesses since it’s now faster to download, and upload software to my web host. So if you’re still on dial-up mode, I advise you to go broadband already because it is now cheaper (due to competition among providers) and because it will literally change your life.

To help you out in deciding, and to give you an idea of what to expect if you get DSL, I will share with you my experience getting one. Hopefully, you will not just get the needed information necessary for your decision, but will also have a smoother experience because of this article.

First of all, if you are a total newbie to DSL, like I was once was, you need to understand the technology. According to Wikipedia.org, DSL originally stood for Digital Subscriber Loop, but eventually evolved to the more marketing-friendly Digital Subscriber Line. Basically, DSL uses the same wires as a regular telephone line, and might use the phone lines already installed in your home. The copper wires in phone lines are capable of handling much greater bandwidth (range of frequencies), and what DSL technology does is utilize or take advantage of the unused frequencies. Because of this method of optimizing a phone line’s bandwidth, one is able to carry on a conversation over the phone while connected to the Internet. (Qualification: This is true for ADSL or Asymmetric DSL which is what most homes and some small businesses have. With ADSL, download speed is faster than upload speed. SDSL or Symmetric DSL meanwhile is usually found in most small businesses and has the same download and upload speed; the disadvantage is that you can’t use the phone while hooked to the Internet.)

So the first thing I did was research the DSL providers on the Internet. From what I gathered, there are three main competitors in the DSL business in the Philippines: Globelines DSL, Bayantel DSL or SkyDSL, and PLDT myDSL. I Googled for the “best Philippine DSL,” and this is what I’ve discovered in Filipino forums, blogs and online communities. Now there are exceptions to my findings, but the consensus is, if you are going to get DSL, the first choice would be Globelines DSL, then Bayantel DSL/SkyDSL. Most DSL users meanwhile advise everyone to avoid PLDT myDSL like the plague. Which is very ironic since – perhaps due to advertising — most people think that DSL is synonymous to PLDT. One would expect that PLDT having fixed the technical glitches by now, but people are still experiencing the same problems.

At any rate, since I already had two Bayantel phones at home I decided to get Bayantel DSL/SkyDSL. (Didn’t check if Globe is available in Loyola Heights, Katipunan but I once saw Globe digging and installing lines in the village where I live. I guess I have to check later.)

When I called Bayantel, I was told that one of their sales agents (from their Roosevelt office, wherever that is) would get back to me, but after a couple of days, I hadn’t gotten a call yet (perhaps because our helper couldn’t hear the phone ringing or the sales agent simply not calling yet) so I asked for the phone number of their sales office. When I called, I talked to a girl which from now on we will call Daisy. Daisy was the one who took care of my account from the start. Now Daisy had some problems communicating; she talked as if she were always in a hurry, and didn’t seem to be listening to my questions. Thus, it was a bit hard to get the correct information from her. She informed me that the basic Bayantel package (384kbps) costs 899 pesos and that if I already had a Bayantel phone line, the DSL could be bundled with the phone. Installation would only then cost 500 pesos and the monthly phone charge would go down to 300 pesos; thus you would have a monthly bill of around 1,200 pesos for both the DSL and the phone.

The problem was I wanted to use the computer in the hallway, but the phone near it is registered under my mom’s name and she had to sign the application papers, which she cannot do since at that time my parents were in the province. So I asked if the DSL could be bundled with the phone inside my room instead, which is in my name. Daisy said, sure, since DSL doesn’t have anything to do with the phone line. This was the first in a series of information which turned out to be incorrect.

DSL has everything to do with the phone line because an ADSL splitter (looks like a phone jack) will be used to connect the DSL modem (which is external by the way and provided by the DSL company) to the phone jack (take note that the phone line has already been set up for DSL use even before the technician goes to your house; in my case, it was in a nearby street). The DSL modem, in turn, is then connected to the LAN (Local Area Network) card (more on this later) on your computer. This is the reason why installation fee when you don’t have a Bayantel phone is 2,000 pesos because a phone line, or cable (am not sure), will still have to be installed in your house. This latter is Bayantel’s stand alone package.

Later, Daisy would interview me about the specifications of my computer –- which is actually my father’s computer — and among the requirements is the aforementioned LAN Card. I said I was not sure if my computer already had it and told her I had to ask my dad. My father told me via long distance that the computer doesn’t have a LAN card. This piece of information also turned out to be false. There was already a LAN card. I am not sure if my father bought it with the motherboard, but I think most motherboards today already come with an onboard LAN card (please correct me if I’m wrong). How do you know if there’s already a LAN card? If you look at the back of your computer you might see a phone socket which is bigger than usual. If you do see one, then chances are you already have a LAN card. But not knowing this at the time, I bought another LAN card (a D-Link DFE-528TX 10/100Mb Ethernet PCI Adapter; the onboard LAN I would later find out was a VIA Rhine II Fast Ethernet Adapter).

Later the Bayantel DSL technician (he came to the house a little over a week later, but would have been there in less than a week had it not been for super typhoon Milenyo) would see the phone socket and say that the computer already had a LAN card, but when he connected the modem to the LAN card, the computer couldn’t recognize the new modem, so the technician assumed that the LAN card was busted and installed the LAN card that I bought. Turned out he was also wrong. Because a few days later, when I was trying to make a USB mouse work on my PC, I discovered that you only had to enable the onboard LAN on the computer’s BIOS (Basic Input Output System) to make the LAN card work. (Regarding the mouse, I also had to enable the USB mouse in the BIOS to make it work, and enable all the USB ports so that all USB devices/peripherals would work, e.g. scanner, USB stick).

When I told the technician what the sales agent told me regarding DSL being a stand alone and not having anything to do with the bundled phone, he said that it was often the case that they are taken aback by customers having the wrong information after talking to some of their sales agents. I told him that Bayantel should train their sales agents better. Which was, as you now know, ironic since it turned out that the technician had also a bit of learning to do.

Of course, hindsight is 20/20, and you couldn’t have all the information even if you did your research. However, it is my hope that this article will make you more informed than I was.

So how’s my Bayantel DSL? I say pretty good. I’m a satisfied customer so far. Speed is as promised, or usually, a little bit less (The promised speed is actually the “burstable speed” or the highest speed you can get; actual speed will almost always be less than the “burstable speed.”). Moreover, my bundled Bayantel DSL / phone package comes with a free 2-year subscription of Speed on Demand or SOD from 10pm to 10am, when you can just add @sod to your username and speed doubles when you connect.

If you want to check the speed of your DSL connection here are some speed test links.

Bayantel/SkyDSL: http://speed.skyinet.net/

Speakeasy.net: http://www.speakeasy.net/speedtest/

Right now, for example, it’s 11:26 pm. Which means its SOD time. The Skyinet link gives me 613.08 kbps download speed while with Speakeasy it’s:

Download Speed: 603 kbps (75.4 KB/sec transfer rate)
Upload Speed: 296 kbps (37 KB/sec transfer rate)

I’ve also seldom experienced the connection not working or not being able to connect. I think only a couple of times, and the rare instance that you experience a glitch, you can disconnect and then reconnect at once or you only have to wait a couple of minutes before you can connect again.

By the way, and this is important, the speed of your connection or its stability is a function of your distance from your provider’s (in this case Bayantel) central office. I gathered there are many, but I’m not sure where they are located. I’m surmising mine is close to one since the service is, by and large, good. So if you are thinking of getting DSL, perhaps you can ask your provider first how near or far you are to their central office.

So what are you waiting for? Go broadband now! (I hope Bayantel reads this and gives me commission hehe.)