Balikbayan Telecom and Internet Resource

Balikbayan is a terminology use to describe Filipinos around the world going back to the Philippines either for short visit or permanent. "Balik" stands for come back and "bayan" means country.

If you are in for a short visit, how can you get in touch with your family abroad from the Philippines? You can use skype with a computer but you need internet access to use it. Yes you can get a MiFi on a stick but the drawback is you carry that laptop and mifi everywhere. Following are what I find useful during my visit.

First, grab yourself a gsm, internet-capable smartphone that is unlocked. Second, buy a SIM for local carriers. I used Globe Telecom myself as the features I found useful at the time of this writing are from Globe Telecom. Checkout their websites for more details.

Unlimited Calling from Philippines to International destinations from your smartphone
Checkout Globe SUPERIDD feature for prepaid phones.You pay only Php149 for 24hrs of unlimited calling to at least 3 international numbers while Php1999 for 30days to at least 10 international numbers.

To register, just text
SUPERIDD 149 to 888 ; for the 24hr plan
SUPERIDD 1999 to 8888 ; for the 30 day plan

To make a call, dial:

12808 + country code + area code + phone number

To check list of available destinations, just text
SUPERIDD LIST to 8888

To check status, just text:
SUPERIDD STATUS to 8888


Note: As of this writing, this is a promotional feature by Globe Telecom that runs until December 2011. Checkout their website if it is extended or made permanent. Also, this feature is available to non-smartphone. A regular cellphone will do if only unlimited phone calls is what you're after.



Unlimited Internet access from your smartphone
Checkout Globe Telecom SUPERSURF feature for prepaid phones. You pay only Php50 on 1 day use and Php220 for 5 day use

To register, just text:
SUPERSURF50 to 8888 ; for the 1 day feature
SUPERSURF220 to 8888 ; for the 5 days feature

If your phone is Blackberry, just text:
BBMAX50 to 8888 ; for 1 day feature
BBMAX220 to 8888 ; for 5 days feature
BBMAX599 to 8888 ; for 30 days feature

Again, checkout globe.com.ph for more info.