It has been 2 weeks since the storm Frank passed by where I live and had damaged my Smart Bro antenna. It bent a steel bar (see pic below)! That storm really had a strong wind. So, I waited for a week to see if it had damaged my connection since the power was fixed a week after the storm.

Obviously the storm damaged something on my internet connection, it was just not clear to me what; was it my antenna or the smart’s main system in my area?

I tried calling the smart support hot line *1888 but I could not connect, it says “Your number cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and dial again.” With that, I decided to go to their office to report the issue, but when I went their, even their support is not available, because they said, they were offline and could not check.

WOW — that was really bad! They are Internet Service Provider, yet they went offline.

Anyway, I also have a Smart Bro plugin, but it didn’t work as well.

NOTE: I love my smart bro unlimitted because it is the only fast internet connection that could reach my area, and the speed I had with it and the service when it was working was satisfying. I just had my connection back today, after weeks of torture from the storm. I am happy with my connection now, but not happy of the support that Smart has.

I just got my Smart Bro Plug-it yesterday and this morning I tested it in the office. Here’s my first test of its speed. This is the speed for a full bars GPRS / EDGE connection.

I was really disappointed and can’t believe of the result, so in a matter of minutes, I tested it again and there was a big difference. This is the speed for a full bar 3G / HSDPA connection.

Somehow this gives me a relief, but then again, there’s only a few spots in Iloilo that HSDPA is available.