[QUOTE=GoodEnough;1644031]True, the quality of the phones makes a difference. However I've got an iPhone 6 and that doesn't stop me from getting dropped calls, garbled transmissions, pitifully slow Internet speeds and generally poor service. I think that both major telecom groups--PLDT and Ayala--don't unvest in systems improvements because the ROI is simply not there. The fact is that most Filipinos do not subscribe to plans, and don't engage in voice calls. Most people here text, and texting doesn't require much in the way of state-of-the-art infrastructure. This, the percentage of the population that's affected by the lack of quality service is quite small.
GE.[/QUOTE]The point about texting is certainly true. Calling from my mobile in the Manila to another mobile in Manila the calls drop several times. Using my very same mobile I call my parents' mobiles on the other side of the planet and the quality is very good. And don't get me started about calling a PLDT land line. It takes much less time to physically go the location and speak face-to-face to the person.
[QUOTE=Amavida;1644106]It appears to my untrained eye that Phillippine mobile phone cells, compared to first world mobile phone cells, are fewer & bigger judging by the huge towers spaced far apart.
[/QUOTE]Rent has to be paid to the building owners to allow those towers to be installed. I don't know whether Manila has a height restriction for them, but if one exists I reckon a few pesos in the right hands takes care of that annoyance.