SKYPE Between Melbourne and Manila keeps dropping

the only broadband carrier I can see is SkyCable Philippines;
http://skycableph.blogspot.com/2009/10/skyvoice-international-calling-from.html

But not being there I can't tell how good or reliable it is.

Hope that is useful.

Mark

Those 3G modems (Smart, Globe, Sun) are almost identical in speed but not sure if its reliable for video calling or even VoIP talk. If you really sure that a wired DSL line isn't available to your parent's house then maybe try Globe or Sun prepaid.

I have both Globe and Smart and it really depends where you at when connecting to internet, on some areas Smart connection is okay but not Globe and vice versa. Sometimes both are good and other times both sucks.

Also if you can ask your parents to check their Smart connection if its VoIP tolerable. Tell them to go here for VoIP connection test.

Latency should be 250ms or below to get good call quality. I use VoIP all the time, calling US numbers or Philippine mobile and sometimes even Aussie numbers and most of the time (90 percent) calls are very good. I use Onesuite VoIP for all these calls but with PLDT DSL so I am not sure how's the quality with Smart or Globe.

Oh and check this tips for improving VoIP or at least knowing how to troubleshoot VoIP connection.