The Four-eyed Journal » Broadband Internet

So what if Globe rolls out 4G? What we need are #betterinternet services

jhay — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 10:26:38 +0000

First in the Philippines! That’s the only thing that excites me about Globe Telecom’s recent announcement that it will be rolling out 4G mobile technology in the country this year.

While techies are marvelling at how 4G technology would now be available to the public, those who have seen the ugly side of local telco’s substandard Internet services are barely amazed. The excitement of a new technology roll out will easily wear off once most of us are slapped back into the reality that Internet services in the country simply sucks.

To be honest, I really don’t care about the new 4G technology. What I really care is getting a #betterinternet experience. A more reliable broadband Internet connection for what I pay for every month.

I’m a Internet user with simple wishes, give me a connection that will at least give me 50% of the “up to” speed that I signed up for, give me a Customer Support service that will actually work with me to solve my connection problems instead of adding to my headaches, then I’d be a happy customer and gladly fork over my hard-earned money to settle my monthly bill.

But until that day comes, until my “up to” 1Mbps Globe Broadband connection becomes stable at around 50-60% of that rated speed, any new announcement of a technology roll out from Globe would just be another marketing bull for me.

They even brag that they’ve invested $500 million US – that’s half-a-billion US dollars – in this 4G roll out, yet Globe still cannot provide me with a reliable Internet connection. They cannot even provide more capacity in our locality so that residents can sign up for their fixed line services instead of being forced to sign up for their equally unreliable wireless Internet services regardless if it’s 3/3.5G, WiMax and now 4G.

Come to think of it, so what if Globe is now rolling out 4G mobile technology? If they still cannot deliver on their part of the service agreements and cannot provide satisfactory customer support bragging about being a “first-mover” in introducing new technology would just be blowing a lot hot air.

Perhaps this is the reason why Globe has just announced the imposition of bandwidth caps a few weeks back. So that its 4G roll out would come out shiny and smelling nice but in fact, all they did was added 4G capability to their networks and increased it coverage. What they left out is adding capacity and improving the reliability of their systems.

So Globe Telecoms can gloat all they want about their 4G roll out, we customers on the other are still waiting for a more reliable Internet connection. Something we’ve been waiting and languishing on for years.

New Gadgets to Look Out For In 2011

jhay — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 00:22:04 +0000

As we all know nowadays it’s normal to always see an influx of new gadgets hitting the technology marketplace; whether it’s a new smartphone, laptop, netbook, tablet or even games console. One thing that is most certainly a must have with most of the smartphones and other internet enable gadgets out there is the ability to easily connect to a broadband connection, whether at home or on the move.

Android Mobile Devices

Google, as always are becoming a very loud in the mobile industry, and are on some levels overshadowing other manufacturers such as Blackberry & Apple. What these three have in common is that they all have smartphones and tablets currently on the market, and want to be the first choice when consumers thinking of purchasing. It’s been said that for the best broadband connection for your mobile phone you should pick an Android. Two in particular phones you should definitely look out for are the Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc and LG Optimus 2X

BlackBerry Playbook

The long awaited tablet device from the Research In Motion company, it has not yet been released in the UK, however it should be available during the Summer. RIM stress the fact that it is a fully operating computer in a tablet form. One of the unique selling points of this device is that it can run Adobe Flash unlike the Apple iPad. It runs on a 1 GHz dual-core processor, has a 1 GB RAM and has Symmetric multi-processing.

Dell Inspirion Duo

Whether you need to do some work on the move or watch a video? This 2 in 1 device from Dell incorporates both a netbook and a tablet depending on your preference. With a device like this it pays to have easy access a mobile broadband connection, . The Inspirion Duo has a 10.1” screen and runs on an Intel Dual Core Atom N550 Processor, which makes multitasking on this device extremely easy; Unlike many netbooks, it a 2 GB memory. Another advantage it has over similar tablet devices such as the iPad, it that it is Bluetooth and Flash enabled.

Playstation Mobile Phone

As well all have heard Sony are said to have been working on their new innovation, the Playstation phone. The device has a 512MB RAM and a screen size of approximately 4.0”, The device is going to be half Android (Gingerbread) and half PSP, it’s going to be very hard to try and change the company’s association from video games to an android mobile phone. They have made it so that users can download a majority of the PSP version games and play them on the phone.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post

Finally: House Inquiry on Substandard Broadband Internet Services in the Philippines - KABATAAN party-list files House Resolution No 407

jhay — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 07:43:59 +0000

When Senator Juan Ponce Enrile led the Senate inquiries on the sneaky practices of telcos about their SMS and call services in December last year, most of us netizens thought that an inquiry in to the crappy internet services the same telcos offer would be next. After gaining political brownie points from putting telcos on the hot seat, which gave birth to the short-lived non-expiring prepaid credit promos, no one else in congress bothered to look into the other woeful services we consumers had to put up with.

We all know the sorry and crappy state of the internet in the Philippines. Forums, blogs and social networking sites are teeming with stories from irate customers about how screwed up broadband internet services are in the country.

Now, we have a new hope, as fellow blogger and Kabataan party-list Rep. Mong Palatino has filed House Resolution No 407 which would call for an investigation about the ‘substandard’ broadband internet services here in the country.

HR 407- Inquiry on Broadband Internet Services

It’s about time. Let us call on our Congressmen to support this measure. Exercise their duties of really voicing out the concerns of us their constituents and finally make this telcos accountable for shortchanging their subscribers.

You can visit Kabataan Party-list’s website and send stories of your experience with your internet connection.

Using the Internet on your iPad - Consider your connectivity options

jhay — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:53:18 +0000

So, you have an iPad and cannot wait to get it out of its packaging to explore its exciting features. Some of the device’s features may need you to connect to the Internet. Before you get started however, you need to be able to connect to the Internet on your iPad. You are able to use it with wired connectivity because it has a dock connector, but the simplest and most popular way to connect to the Internet on your iPad is to use a wireless connection.

If you have high speed internet at home this is ideal for browsing on your device. If you do not have high speed internet then it’s recommended to purchase a high speed internet deal, as this will allow you to get the most out of your iPad. After all, you do not want a slow and sometimes disconnecting iPad. Fortunately, modern technology allows you to get the best deals for your Internet.

The iPad is able to pick up a wireless connection and connect to that when a password has been inserted. This will then be saved for future uses so you don’t have to remember it every time. Broadband gives you this freedom, and is a lot easier than connecting to the Internet with wires or cables. Make sure you get the most out of your iPad.

Connecting to the internet on your iPad can be expensive depending on what type of broadband you decide to use. If you opt for home broadband you are likely to find the best broadband deals online and all you need to do is pay a monthly fee for a great service and fast broadband. Do be careful if you decide to use mobile broadband pay as you go or take out mobile broadband as a contract, as some providers offer unlimited browsing but with a fair usage policy. Fair usage means your provider reserves the right to manage your speeds at certain times of the day, or days of the month, to make sure everyone on the network enjoys the same quality of service.

Do you run your home network 24/7?

jhay — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:41:22 +0000

Things were much simpler when there was only one computer at home. Whenever no one was using the old desktop, it would be turned off along with the broadband modem/router. This is usually the case when I’m out of the house, asleep or I really have nothing to do on the computer.

Now that I have my laptop, there are two computers at home. Both are connected to the internet thanks to the D-Link DIR-300 Wireless Router I bought along with my laptop. And since then, things have changed.

When I’m done using my laptop or would have nothing to do on it, I would turn it off but I would have to keep both the broadband modem and wireless router on because they’re still in my room and my sister or little brother is still using the old desktop which I have moved out of my room and into theirs.

I sleep at around midnight but sometimes my sister would still go on using the desktop computer up until the wee hours of the next morning. Since I’m already asleep and the modem + wireless router is locked inside my room, they just hit the sack as well leaving the home network running for more than 24 hours.

Asides from pumping up our monthly electricity bill, much to the anguish of my parents, I’m also concerned about the safety of our home and of the equipments themselves. What if these things overheat and just burst into flames burning our house down? Or either or both modem and wireless router just and break down and die from the prolonged use?

I would not be this concerned if this situation would happen like once or twice in a week but for the past weeks since the home network was established, this has been the typical daily scenario: the home network running almost 24/7

I’m new to setting up and running my own network so I ask the experts and masters; do you run your home networks 24/7? Is it safe to do so? What tips or advice could you offer to address some if not all, of the concerns I’ve raised here?

Every bit would be greatly appreciated.