Author: Reekay V.
Since 2012 I’ve been traveling through various islands of the Philippines as a full-time Expat and spent 1999 living in Vietnam.
Share with me my ongoing adventures of life in the Philippines. Hopefully you find my observations helpful in your own adventures.
— Reekay
what is phone load, Henry? Is it something u have to buy daily, weekly??? It must give you mins on your phone and texting.
Yah, the cell-phone system is different here than in the US. Instead of buying into a yearly contract (although that’s offered here), what most people do is they buy their own phone and then insert the SIM card of the carrier they choose to use. GLOBE and SMART are the two biggest networks here. You then buy ‘load’ at whatever amount you wish. Each carrier has different promotions like “Unlimited Text/Call” for either 24 hours, 1 week or a month. Internet is done the same way but with a modem adapter.
I like it this way because I’m not locked into any contracts and I only spend what I want. On average I spend about $20 a month for unlimited text to all networks and unlimited voice to Globe. That works out good for me since Smart’s voice service really sucks, but I use them for texting. Here in the jungle, Smart has no signal and Globe is ‘so-so’. And the good thing is you can buy load just about anywhere. Anyone with a phone can buy a bunch of it wholesale and re-sell it for a little more. So, everyone from sari-sari stores (like the one above) to big malls have load available any time you run out.