It’s been exactly a week now that my Globe broadband Internet connection has been erratic. During the mornings, it would be back to the normal speeds before I experienced this degradation of connection quality: 0.73 Mbps download speed, 0.34 Mbps upload speed.

However, it started in March 31 wherein I noticed that my web browsing, streaming of videos and downloading large media files, of which I paid for, started to crawl down to a notch-above-dial-up speeds: 0.12 Mbps and 0.04 Mbps of upload speeds.

Ang lakas ng Globe!

It is so frustratingly slow, even lighter-loading websites, those low on graphics, Java, AJAX, Flash and other rich-media sites takes nearly 3 minutes to load.

I’m on a wired/fixed residential line broadband Internet subscription with up to 1 Mbps download speeds. Ever since I upgraded to this plan last year, I’ve had no complaints because I was getting 50-60% of that speed until March 31.

Then came the news that Globe had recently implemented its ‘Fair Use Policy’ which puts a daily bandwidth cap of 1GB “across all of its subscribers.” The bandwidth caps were put in place because of the so-called “abusers” who use “80 percent of the available broadband Internet bandwidth in the company’s network.”

Following Globe’s logic, once a subscriber consumes more than 1GB of download a day, then that subscriber falls within the “5 percent” of abusive subscribers. This effectively means that anyone who actively uses social networking sites like Facebook, stream online videos in HD on YouTube or play online games could easily consume that 1GB daily limit and become an “abusive subscriber.”

Consumer group TXTPower is right:

Telcos such as Globe Telecoms should be careful in referring to any of its subscribers as “abusers” especially in this age of the internet and social media. Those same abusers may actually be small and medium-scale businesses, home-based online entrepreneurs, OFW families keeping constant touch or netizens in the cutting-edge of surging social media in the Philippines.

In effect, Globe’s bandwidth caps punish consumers for being precisely that, consumers of information in today’s connected, content-rich and even Hi-definition world.

Globe’s argument that the download cap were put in place because network bandwidth is a finite resource only reveals that the company is more interested in maintaining its fat profit margins at the expense of consumers instead of investing more to increase network capacity and improve its service reliability and quality.

Proof of this is the fact that residents in my home town of Silang, Cavite who want to have a fixed line DSL cannot avail of such because the two telcos who provide services to the area; PLDT and Globe have already reached their network capacity. Asked when would new lines be available, they’d say “we don’t know.”

Instead they’d offer their wireless Internet services which people avoid because of their notorious reputation for being slow and utterly unreliable.

Clearly, Globe Telecom and other telcos are creating an anti-consumer environment where they are the only ones who bathe in their fat profit margins. We consumers can understand that network congestion is a problem. However, download cap is not the only solution especially when consumption is not the problem to begin with. All indicators point to the fact that telcos cannot meet demands and would not even spend a centavo to expand their network capacity nor improve the quality of their already unreliable services.

Instead of giving an Internet service that’s worth the hard-earned money I pay for, Globe Telecom punishes me for being an active netizen and labels me an “abusive user.”

• Globe broadband: slow, unreliable connection now with bandwidth cap (3)
• Globe’s wired broadband service has no monthly bandwidth cap (4)
• Thoughts and suggestions for Globe Telecom (0)
• Globe Ignores NTC Memo? Continues to overbill and steal load from subscribers (0)
• So what if Globe rolls out 4G? What we need are #betterinternet services (0)

Much as I am annoyed with Globe’s broadband Internet services right now, I have just switched back to using one of its DNS server. For almost four years now, I’ve been using Open DNS in a bid to speed up my web browsing. But why revert back to using my own ISP’s DNS server?

Digital Inspiration has a convincing argument for doing so:

You know about Content Delivery Networks like Amazon, Akamai, etc. that have data centers located across the globe and they serve content from the one that’s closest to you geographically. A site like Adobe hosts its files on Akamai so when you download that 1 GB Photoshop installer from Adobe.com, the file will be served to you from the Akamai data center that’s nearest to you.

A CDN uses your computer’s IP Address to determine your current location and then redirects you to the server that’s nearest to you. However, if you use a public DNS service, the CDN may not get to know your accurate location as your IP address is masked by the public DNS Service. The CDN could therefore serve content from a server that’s not closest to you and hence it will take more time to download files.

Makes sense right? So even if the ISPs in the country are notorious for their slow connections, in today’s reality where most websites are using Content Delivery Networks to serve up content and such CDN are scattered throughout the world, the only way to make sure that your are downloading content from the nearest data center would be to use your own ISPs DNS server.

But I still want to use a public DNS server because they are still better than my own ISP’s. Good thing I found about namebench – a cross-platform, open-source utility that looks for the fastest DNS server over at Lifehacker.

Since I’m using Ubuntu Linux, I first had to install Python to prepare the system.

sudo apt-get install python-tk

Then I downloaded the .tgz file which contained the source for namebench here.

Extracted it to my home folder:

tar xvzf namebench-1.3.1-source.tgz

I then navigated to the namebench directory and double clicked on the namebench.py file to run the program immediately.

After the tests were completed, it gave following recommendation:

Namebench gives a combination of public, local and geo-strategic DNS server

It found Google Public DNS to be 8.2% faster than Open DNS, and to address the points raised by Digital Inspiration, namebench recommended that I use the Globe’s DNS server as my secondary while another DNS server in Japan to be the third.

For now I couldn’t say for certain if the new DNS settings has indeed increased my web surfing speed because my connection has yet to be returned to normal. I am confident though that it is a good combination of public, local and a geographically-strategic DNS servers.

What do you think about Digital Inspiration’s case for going this route? Do you also use public DNS servers?

• I’m a network abuser – says Globe’s Fair Use Policy (8)
• Globe broadband: slow, unreliable connection now with bandwidth cap (3)
• Globe’s wired broadband service has no monthly bandwidth cap (4)
• Adopting the 30-30 Minute Work Cycle (0)
• How to speed up your transaction with Globe Customer Service (0)

For the past five days, my Globe wired broadband connection has been acting up and remains to be at the 0.02Mbps to 0.20Mbps range. It’s no where near the 60% acceptable speed for a 1Mbps subscription. Heck, it feels like I’m back to using a dial-up!

Ang lakas ng Globe!

On the three times that I’ve called Globe’s Customer Support hotline, I was told that the problem lies with their local network/system here in Cavite. Hopefully that is the truth. Otherwise, my gut feeling is that their recently-made-public ‘Fair Use Policy’ has been applied to my account.

Globe implemented a policy that promotes a more responsible way of using the Internet that will ensure fair and optimum usage of its broadband services across all subscribers.

They also add that the policy’s aim is to maintain:

quality of resources in order to provide subscribers with seamless, uninterrupted and reliable Internet connections.

Now bandwidth caps first became a buzz amongst bloggers back in January when a draft memorandum order from the NTC allowed ISPs to implement bandwidth caps.

My understanding was that the said proposed bandwidth caps were to apply only to wireless Internet services. Other users who are on a fixed line service like myself would be spared. Just to be sure, I sought clarification from a Globe Customer Support representative and at that time, it was categorically stated that indeed, those who are on a fixed line Internet subscription are exempted from the proposed bandwidth caps.

I haven’t been able to find a copy of that Fair Use Policy online and the only thing I know about it is it will affect users who download data in excess of 1 gigabyte a day.

It’s true that I am a heavy Internet user, streaming online videos from YouTube and TED everyday. Download and upload large files for a few freelance gigs I take on regularly. I also regularly download lots of manga and anime videos so my daily consumption of bandwidth easily goes beyond 1GB.

But now that Globe has made the public announcement that it has started to implement bandwidth caps through its Fair Use Policy, I want to be sure that indeed it only applies to wireless Internet users such as WiMax and Globe Tattoo or to all its broadband subscribers, those on fixed line services included.

Knowing this crucial information would be the basis of my next actions with regards to my use of Globe’s Internet services. Should I cut back on my digital consumption now that ‘unlimited Internet’ is over?

• Globe’s wired broadband service has no monthly bandwidth cap (4)
• So what if Globe rolls out 4G? What we need are #betterinternet services (0)
• I’m a network abuser – says Globe’s Fair Use Policy (8)
• A letter to Globelines about their crappy broadband services (16)
• Globelines broadband gave me a new router (57)

When news of that draft NTC memorandum circular approving the bandwidth caps to be imposed by telcos in all internet subscription plans I was not all that surprised.

Local telcos have been putting these caps on plans since 2009 or so but these have been largely kept in the dark or in the fine print of service agreements for new customers who sign up for broadband connections.

I was curious to know how much bandwidth I was allowed per month on my 1Mbps Globe wired broadband subscription, so I visited their website and got in touch with representative via their Chat Assist.

Below is an excerpt from transcript of the how the conversation went:

XXX XXX
Mikhail: Going back to your concern, your plan’s speed is up to 1 MBPS.
Jay: Yes. And I want to know how much is my monthly bandwidth limit, if there is any.
Mikhail: The wired connection has no bandwidth limit Sir Jay.
Mikhail: It has no monthly bandwidth limit.
Jay: Really? Even if for example, I have downloaded 100GB of videos and games in two weeks, my connection will not be cut off or my connection speed be throttled down?
Mikhail: Yes Sir. The wired connection is not guided with any download capacity policy wherein the downloading capacity is limited.
Jay: I see. So the bandwidth limit I’ve read on the news only applies to wireless service like WiMax?
Mikhail: Yes Sir, the wireless services like Wimax and Tattoo are the only services that are guided with the Fair Use Policy.
XXX XXX

Since the agent confirmed that the Fair Use Policy applies only to the wireless services like WiMax and Tattoo, I asked for a copy of the Fair Use Policy or Service Order Agreement that governs the wired broadband services.

It turns out that there is none or the agent didn’t know how to answer my question. It was at that point that the chat session was again abruptly disconnected after I repeated my question.

Now, on one hand I am happy because if what the agent told me was true, I don’t have to worry about exceeding my monthly bandwidth cap because he said there was none.

On the other hand, I’m a bit confused because YugaTech reported September 2009 that a friend of his whom had switched from PLDT MyDSL to Globe Broadband read in the copy of his Service Order Agreement about a provision that specifies that bandwidth allowances are imposed depending on the service plan:

Plan 384Kbps : 15GB per month
Plan 512Kbps : 20GB per month
Plan 1.0Mbps : 25GB per month
Plan 1.5Mbps : 30GB per month
Plan 2.0Mbps : 35GB per month

So it seems I’m back to square one; is Globe really imposing a monthly bandwidth cap on its wired residential broadband service or not? If it does, how much are allotted per plan per month?

It would be great if Globe would be more transparent about this issue, it would definitely help a lot of customers who are still in the dark regarding this bandwidth cap controversy.

• Globe broadband: slow, unreliable connection now with bandwidth cap (3)
• I’m a network abuser – says Globe’s Fair Use Policy (8)
• Globe Ignores NTC Memo? Continues to overbill and steal load from subscribers (0)
• So what if Globe rolls out 4G? What we need are #betterinternet services (0)
• Faster web browsing: Using a public, local and geographically-strategic DNS server (0)

In all the 6 years I’ve been a Globe subscriber to their landline, broadband and mobile services, I’ve had tons of experience dealing with their customer support. This includes the agents who answer calls to their hotline, agents whom I’ve talked to in person at their Globe Business Centers and lately, the agents whom I’ve talked with over their online chat assist and their Twitter account.

The experience stems from the crappy services I’ve put up with them through the years, which have been amply documented on this blog. So by now, regardless of the medium, I’ve come to know their standard operating procedure when it comes to receiving complaints/reports from customers.

• Ask for your Name, landline/mobile/Globe account number
• Ask for your location/address
• Verify your identity with questions pertaining to the information in your account. (eg. your date of birth and middle name)
• Ask for your complaint/report

In my experience this process of identifying you the caller, the account owner and the location takes roughly around 2 to 3 minutes. Which can be crucial because often times, your call gets dropped especially if you’re calling from your mobile phone and during times when they receive massive calls from irate customers as well.

And when your call does get disconnected, it would be another tough labor of calling the hotline, dealing with the answering machine and waiting in queue. The entire ordeal can be really frustrating, to the point that you’d just give up and curse at Globe.

So, to speed things up. Prepare the following information beforehand, whenever you would call/chat/Twit Globe’s customer services:

1. Introduce yourself with your full name. State immediately if you’re the account owner or not.
2. Your landline/mobile number or Globe Account Number (This is found on your monthly bill)
3. Your location/address

If the agent were paying attention to what you’ve just said/typed/Twitted, they’d give the customary thank you then proceed to verify your identity by asking for your middle name or date of birth. Afterwards, they would proceed to ask for the nature of your complaint/report.

In general, at the end of your conversation stating your complaint they will inform you of what action they’ve taken, most of the time, all they did was file a report about this and then forward it to the respective team/department. They will give you a reference number for your report.

Take note of this number. You will use this to follow up on your report if they haven’t done something to fix your problem after the standard 24-48 hours of waiting or turnaround time. Which happens 98% of the time. So you really need to follow up and that reference number they gave will help.

I think the same procedure is followed by the other telcos, so next the time you’d call up customer services, you’d be able to help them help you a little faster.

• I’m a network abuser – says Globe’s Fair Use Policy (8)
• Faster web browsing: Using a public, local and geographically-strategic DNS server (0)
• Globe broadband: slow, unreliable connection now with bandwidth cap (3)
• Globe’s wired broadband service has no monthly bandwidth cap (4)
• Has Globe finally granted my broadband speed upgrade request? (1)