• Internet Access Options In The Philippines
• What I do
• Recommendations For You
• Thinking of Moving to the Philippines? Get Reliable Guidance

Internet Access Options In The Philippines

There are several options available for internet access in the Philippines.

1. Wireless carriers: Smart & Globe (device wifi hotspot or wireless home internet solutions)

• Generally good service in the major urban areas.
• Spotty coverage in rural areas. Varies. One Burangy has four bars; the next has no signal.
• Data prices are generally homogenous (same) across the country. There are a variety of plans available; with some patience there are deals to be found.
  • You can find current options in the SIM Manager app for Globe / Smart.

2. Starlink

• Available service plans. Residential & roaming plans are available.
• If you don’t have space with a clear view of the sky, don’t bother.
• There are limits to how many people in geographic areas can use the service. In the urban areas, this may delay your service activation. More a problem in the urban areas
• The price for the residential plan increased in 2025 from 2700PHP to 3800PHP.
• There is no data cap on the residential plan that I have experienced so far. Between the security cameras, NAS appliance (fancy external hard drives) data replication, Netflix / iTunes, and my laptop, I can use 2TB+/month for download.

3. Fiber or other terrestrial network options

• Several companies offer service depending on where you are located.
  • Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.
  • ComClark Network & Technology Corp
  • VITRO Inc.
  • Eastern Telecommunications Philippines, Inc.
  • Smart Broadband, Inc.
• Fiber, DSL, etc.
• Prices vary by region.

What I do

This setup reflects what has worked reliably for me after living and working in the Philippines long-term.

At the house, my primary internet access is provided by Starlink. I use their 3800PHP residential plan. I’ve had that since it was basically available.

I have a backup Starlink dish and router that runs on the standby plan (300PHP/month). If anything happens to my primary dish, I can switch over to that one with a few minutes of work.

Both dishes are on the roof. During typhoon season, I take one of them down just to be safe. If a typhoon is coming through where the predicted windspeed exceeds Starlink published thresholds (75MPH, 110KPH), then I take both dishes down. During the two recent typhoons in November, 2025, I had more-or-less uninterrupted internet access throughout the first storm (the eye of the storm was far from us). During the second storm, there was a few hours where there was no service. The difference seemed to be how heavy the rainfall was. Neither storm exceeded the published thresholds.

The Starlink speeds vary widly throughout the course of a day. I do a lot of my work in the dead of night. I’ve seen Starlink speeds as high as 250-350Mbps download (20-30Mbps upload) in the rural Philippines late at night; though, most of the time it is in the 100Mps-200Mbps download (20-30Mbps upload) range. When it rains heavily, speeds can fall to less than 50Mbps download (less than 10Mbps upload).

Starlink works well for many expats, but installation, placement, and backup planning are where most people run into issues. We often help clients decide whether Starlink makes sense for their specific location.

My secondary internet access is cellular data. I have Smart and Globe eSIMs on my primary phone. I usually use the Smart eSIM number as my main number here in the Philippines. I have to keep a load on it in order for the eSIM account to remain active. Once a month, I renew a plan that will give me data. I get 50GB or 100GB data plans in case I have to use the wifi hotspot for my laptop. During bad weather, it seems completely random whether Smart, Globe, or Starlink stay up the whole time. I switch between these as needed to have a data connection. Where I am at in the rural provinces, I can consistently get 3-4 bars for both Globe and Smart networks. Both eSIMs are prepaid.

The Globe eSIM cannot be activated on a second device. So, if you lose the primary device, you’ll have to get a new eSIM from Globe. The Smart Prepaid eSIM can be transferred between devices. So, if you are going to use your prepaid eSIM number for your bank, government services (Bureau of Immigration for example), GCash, etc, it makes sense to use the Smart Prepaid eSIM because it can be transferred to a new device relatively easily.

If you’re unsure which carrier works best in your area, this is something we help new arrivals evaluate based on location and usage needs.

Now, not everyone has the need for redundant Starlink and cellular data connections from different companies. My situation is somewhat unique in that regards; however, these are all perfectly usable internet access options in the Philippines. Though, your mileage may vary.

In the USA, I use MintMobile for a cellular data connection, but my primary phone number is a Google Voice number. The Google Voice number over an always-connected VPN allows me to make / receive phone calls and text messages as needed. There are technical details that I won’t go into here—maybe a future blog post. Alternatively, you can pay MintMobile a fee for international roaming and have a usable solution; though, this will cost more than what I just described.

Internet reliability becomes especially important if you work remotely or run a business. Many expats underestimate this until they experience their first typhoon season.

Recommendations For You

The easiest thing to do for someone new coming into the Philippines will be to buy a Prepaid eSIM online. I’d recommend using a Smart Prepaid eSIM so that it can be transferred to a new device if you lose the original. There are a couple of prerequisites for this to work:

• You need a smart phone.
• That phone needs to be unlocked (outside the US, this generally isn’t a problem; a phone one buys through a US cellular carrier might be locked and unusable).
• Your phone must support eSIMs (most phones of the last five years do).

Whenever traveling internationally, I’d strongly encourage you to have a second phone in case something happens to the first one.

Having a local phone number makes many things easier here in the Philippines—banking, working with government bureaus.

You should also have a plan for being able to access your US phone number while overseas.

Before traveling to the Philippines, make sure you have:

• An unlocked smartphone that supports eSIM
• A prepaid Smart eSIM (primary local number)
• A secondary phone as backup
• A way to receive US calls and texts
• A plan for internet redundancy if working remotely

If this feels overwhelming, we regularly help clients set this up correctly before or shortly after arrival.

If you want help setting up a reliable phone and internet setup before or after arriving in the Philippines, we can walk you through the best options for your situation.

Thinking of Moving to the Philippines? Get Reliable Guidance

Online communities are helpful for general questions. For anything important, you still need accurate, professional, and updated information. E636 Expat Services helps foreigners with:

• Residency and long term visas
• Bank account opening
• Health insurance guidance
• Real estate assistance
• Business setup
• Retirement planning
• A smooth and secure transition into life in the Philippines

If you want to move with confidence instead of relying on random comments online, we can guide you every step of the way.

Book a consultation with E636 and start your journey the right way.

Photo by Ivan N on Unsplash