Mobile number portability availability in the Philippines may be available starting next year once both houses of Congress passes the Lifetime Cellphone Number Act. This site has already made a very thorough reviews on being a Smart or Globe Postpaid Subscriber.
Before you think of buying a mobile phone through a Sun Cellular postpaid subscription, this guide made by the Convincer will will help you answer the question: Should I get a Sun Cellular Postpaid Account?
Imagine you are on your way to Manila from Bicol region and suddenly the private car that you are riding suddenly broke down, or some kind of emergency happened, you need to call someone or you need to call an ambulance. Another scenario is you want to contact someone in the middle of the trip but you can’t just stop the entire trip just because you want to go to the nearest convenience store just to buy prepaid load or credit. Another scenario is you are stuck in traffic in EDSA and you suddenly ran out of prepaid credit and all the people you contacted aren’t responding for getting a “Share-A-Load” or “PasaLoad” request.
This is the reason why a postpaid account is important. You can still call someone and you don’t have to worry about not being able to contact someone because you can always contact someone because you are billed on a monthly basis.
Sun Cellular is a Smart Communications-operated network. Although subscribers may not see it but Sun Cellular subscribers can actually “roam” on the Smart network. Previously this network was owned by the Gokongwei-majority owned JG Summit Holdings via Digitel Mobile Philippines but since last year, this network has finally been migrated to Smart’s network.
Even though Sun Cellular has been somehow absorbed by Smart, Sun Cellular still provides the same services for unlimited texting and calling but only between Sun Cellular subscribers only. This guide will tell you the reasons why you shouldn’t get a Sun Cellular Postpaid Account.
1. You will know your number once the SIM card is activated.
Same with Smart, SIM card activation is fast. Once you get the SIM card, you can already start using it. However, you cannot know your cellphone number unless you call someone else.
2. Calls are charged by the minute.
Even though the NTC has already issued a memorandum to all networks to charge calls by pulse or by minute, Sun Cellular still charges calls by the minute.
3. Calling any Smart Number is considered calling another network.
Yes, even though it’s a network owned by PLDT (like Talk N Text), calling any Smart number is treated as calling another network. Thus, regular call fees of PHP 6.50 per minute applies. Isn’t that annoying?
4. 3G Data Signal is awful.
Same with Smart and Globe, 3G data signal is awful. One thing is for sure, if there isn’t any Sun Cellular tower in your area, your phone will automatically connect to Smart’s frequencies. So if Smart’s signal is bad, it will be same with Sun. I’ve only talked about 3G signal here. How horrible can it get for LTE?
5. There is no way to check your available data allowance,
Do you want to check the remaining data in your account? Surprise, there is no way. You will only get notifications when you almost fully consume your data allocation.
6. Sun Cellular Account Online is only for checking online bills. No other useful functions.
Unlike Smart’s MyAccount, Sun Cellular’s MyAccount has no other function except for checking online bills, enrolling your credit card for auto-debit and getting your PUK in case you entered your PIN and the phone suddenly asks for a PUK (PIN Unlocking Key).
7. Postpaid plans do not reflect the current usage of millennials.
There was a time that Sun Cellular offered a Limited Plan 499 that lets you allow to send messages to all networks on an unlimited basis and gave away 1 GB data. However, nowadays this postpaid plan has disappeared. The current plans only allow you to send SMS to Sun Cellular subscribers only. Can I ask, how many people are on Sun Cellular? Thus, it’s pretty useless to avail the current postpaid plan.
The phones being offered aren’t actually attractive.
Why in the world would you pay PHP 799 for an entry level phone and then you won’t be able to use it because you don’t know someone who’s on Sun Cellular.
8. Sun Cellular isn’t Apple iPhone-friendly.
Sun Cellular isn’t one of the networks that is fully supported by the Apple iPhone. Even though your iMessage has been successfully activated on your Sun Cellular number, there will be times that international SMS will keep appearing on your cellphone bill. Beware.
9. Sun Cellular isn’t really for millennials.
Globe and Smart already have mobile apps for doing self-service for subscribers. In Sun Cellular’s case, there’s zero. Anyhow, it’s currently not important because Sun Cellular’s PC version for MyAccount has no useful after-sales functions. What’s even worse, there will be times that you will really need to visit a Sun Cellular Store because…there are also things that the customer contact center cannot do.
CONCLUSION
You have just read the reasons why you shouldn’t get a Sun Cellular Postpaid Account. This list may be partial.
With the Lifetime Cellphone Number Act, which allows a subscriber to continuously use his number to switch from prepaid or postpaid and switch from one network to another, you may need to consider this guide if you are thinking of adding Sun Cellular network of choice and being a postpaid subscriber on this network is really worth the monthly bill you will be paying in the future.
I use Oline Banking.
The Banks try to send me an OTP (One Time Pin)
The Pin never arrives, because SUN is NOT supporting ths technology.
What a Dinosaur!
I need Online Banking.
BDO, BPI and others try to send me an OTP (One Time Pin).
SUN can not manage this, since they don’t have the technology foe this.
I called their Hotline. They even refused to start to fix this?!
Aside from the worst customer service, sun cellular also has the most irritating hotline background music.. guy singing as if he’s being tortured, a pain in the ear even on the lowest volume.
This page is already outdated. I’ve been using the features mentioned above and its all working.
Yes, when I got my plan… They told me that I is free to call Smart and TNT but to my surprise, somebody from SunCellular company asked me to upgrade so that I can have unli call to smart and TNT and refuted that and said that in the plan that I got, that was stated but… Lo and behold he said… It’s no longer like that… So he asked me to upgrade… But I did not give in to that!
Tatapusin ko na Lang ang contract ko with Sun at ayaw ko na sa yo!
Tapos eto pa… Naka bayad na ako ng bill ko kahapon.. Fully paid… at sobra pa nga eh.. Pero until. Now disconnected pa rin!
Same thing happened to my friend. She’d just paid her bill, next day or day after got disconnected for being over her credit limit.
Also learned from Sun call center that they’re discontinuing unli calls and text even to Sun, and she’d be charged 6.50 per min.
Kaso, she can’t just get rid of the number since, having had it for 10 years, it’s the number all her contacts are familiar with. Suggested she convert it to prepaid, the load with unli call and text to the PLDT networks for only 450, good for 30 days. Better deal than postpaid, don’t you think?
…“then load with unli…”