The Four-eyed Journal » Telcos

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.

Globe broadband: slow, unreliable connection now with bandwidth cap

jhay — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 07:53:37 +0000

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?

Smart Gold brings back ‘Double Deal’ promo

jhay — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 04:32:14 +0000

Great news for those who are on Smart Gold, Smart Communications, Inc. has brought back its ‘Double Deal’ promo.

With the ‘Doubel Deal’ promo, all approved postpaid subscribers will receive an
extra mobile phone or a netbook with their postpaid plan, absolutely free – on top of the free handset which already comes with the plan.

Here’s how it works, at as low as Plan 800, a Smart Gold subscriber can have two Samsung Champ handsets. For a little more monthly service fee, two Nokia C3 handsets can be availed at Plan 1200.

Those opting for the Plans 500-1200 may also take advantage of no cash-out required if they sign up for an auto-debit-agreement via approved credit cards.

Smart Gold Plan 1800 offers two Sony Ericsson X8 devices, an Android-powered slider phone.

Plan 3500 subscribers will receive two Samsung N150 netbooks, plus two Samsung E1080 handsets, for FREE. It’s a great way to startup your mobile lifestyle. For business-savvy subscribers, they have the option of getting the BlackBerry 9300 bundle, free at Plan 3500.

The ‘Double Deal’ promo is ongoing at all Smart Wireless Centers nationwide until February 28, 2011.

Need more info? You can visit this website to know more about the Smart ‘Double Deal’ offer.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored press release

Easy Pasaload with Smart’s Facebook Pasaload App

jhay — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 04:13:43 +0000

Running out of credits or load has come to be defined as something similar to an emergency nowadays.

Be it the need to reply to an important message from our boss, our colleague, our classmates especially our significant other; we need ways to instantly replenish phone credits or re-load our phones.

That’s why telcos have come up with services where we ourselves can share or pass on credits or load to our friends, family members and colleagues and vice versa. This comes in as a lifesaver in those ‘emergency’ situations I’ve mentioned earlier.

A minor problem is, the instructions for passing on load can be complicated for some and since it’s used mostly in rare situations memorizing the mechanics has had little fanfare.

Good thing some folks at Smart Communications have come up with a clever and hip way to make the whole exercise of passing on load to your fellow Smart subscribers.

Behold, the Smart Facebook Pasaload App! Yes, with this Facebook App, Smart Pasaload has become as easy as a few mouse clicks.

Smart Facebook Pasaload App

Using the Smart Facebook Pasaload App is very easy. Just follow the steps below:

1. Add your mobile number

Add your Smart Mobile number

2. Add your Pasaload Contacts

Add Pasaload Contacts

3. Drag numbers into the Send & Receive boxes

Select who will recieve the Pasaload

4. Choose the load denomination or call & text package to send

Select the load denomination to send

5. Pasaload instantaneously!

No need to memorize keywords, edit contact’s numbers or access numbers, you can now Pasaload to your fellow Smart subscribers in just a few mouse clicks and all inside Facebook!

Go ahead the Smart Facebook Pasaload App a try! Don’t forget to share this with your friends!

Globe’s wired broadband service has no monthly bandwidth cap

jhay — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 02:39:01 +0000

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.