SINGAPORE–As usual, being in Singapore has reminded me how unfortunate we Filipinos are when it comes to our information technology infrastructure.
Frankly, I don’t know how our telcos do it. I don’t how, year after year, they can get away with providing us with lousy service while still raking in money. While the availability and affordability of broadband has, to be fair, improved over the years, it doesn’t change the fact that what passes for broadband in the Philippines is laughable by the standards of other countries, such as Singapore. And forget quality of service — if all the horror stories we hear about the quality of broadband in certain areas are anything to go by, even when we part with our hard-earned money, we’re never really sure just what kind of service we’ll get, depending on which area we happen to reside.
So why do telcos get away with providing broadband services that are sometimes much slower than dial-up connections? Why are we consumers expected to grin and bear it if the service in our area is horrible due to some technical problem or lack of adequate coverage?
And to think of all the money they spend on glowing ads that tout how cutting-edge their technology is and how much they’re improving the lives of Filipinos. How many Smart Bro users out there feel like puking whenever they see those ads claiming that this service is the “broadband ng bayan”? Where exactly are these areas where Smart Bro actually has speeds that qualify as broadband? And if you’re one of those users who doesn’t get to enjoy these speeds, sorry ka na lang ba. tiis na lang?
You hear horror stories about all broadband services in the Philippines, whether it’s from PLDT, Globe, Destiny, whatever, that you start wondering if availing of these services in the Philippines is a crapshoot, a game of chance, only we keep ending up with crap.
So what’s the solution to finally ensuring that Filipinos won’t have to put up with shitty service? Is it finally time to get rid of the service area scheme, because quite frankly, I’d like to have as many choices as I can — if only to get the lesser evil. How much are telcos actually investing in their infrastructure?
It’s a pity, because we Filipinos do have world-class talents and skills. We can compete with the best of them when it comes to creativity. But unlike Singapore and countries more blessed than we are, we’re held back by private companies that keep dropping the ball when it comes to infrastructure — and a government that keeps letting them get away with it.
So tell me, who’s your broadband provider, and what’s your horror story?
July 1st, 2007 at 12:54 pm
since the question being posed is “do w actually have broadband?” and some people are defining broadband as somewhere around 200kbps … then in my situation the answer is a resounding NO!!!
i have three net connections that i use: 1 SmartBro in Manila, 1 DSL in Manila, 1 Globelines in Davao.
1. The SmartBro “Broadband” registers an infuriating 90kbps on average (sometimes less!).
2. The Globelines in Davao is a supposed 2MBPS connection but in reality we average 200kbps. (WTF? not even half of the advertised speed!)
3. The PLDT DSL in Pasig is a 5mbps connection and we get a fantastic 3mbps average connection. Happiness!
The SmartBro and Globelines also suffer from frequent dropped connections which is a huge bummer as I’m an avid mmorpg player (hello? death by dead link!)
July 1st, 2007 at 12:25 pm
Here’s a bit of history. For many decades during the analog age, PLDT rules as the single biggest phone company despite giving lousy service and limited connections. Up to the early 90s, a phone line can be sold for 10,000 upwards by a lineman or someone who already has it simply because of the limited number of available lines. PLDT was slow to expand despite the demand. They were earning from long-distance call traffic so they could afford to drag their feet.
Sometime in the early 90s, Singaporean premier Lee Kuan Yew, builder of the first First World country in SE Asia, addressed the Pinoy business community with Pres. Ramos onstage. Lee was known as a man who will not mince words and, in the course of his speech, chortled about how Philippine business could even imagine getting off the ground when phone lines were so scarce. This embarrassed and irked Ramos who promptly went after the tail of Tonyboy Cojuangco and then liberalized the telephone industry.
Fast forward. Today, PLDT and other telcos are doing the same foot-dragging and backward business practices that pull down the country. Poor service, high charges, slow progress, skyhigh profiteering. Siguro sanay lang ang Pinoy na pagsamantalahan.
July 1st, 2007 at 3:37 am
I am currently subscribed to a ‘tycoon’ plan of 768kbps with ‘2mbps download speed’ with globe broadband and I am not satisfied with their service. We experienced slow downs, intermittent data loss even though the router shows i’m connected. Sometimes we failed to pay the monthly bills, and after we settled our accounts, it will take more than 24 hrs to reconnect it. by the way, how can we measure the CIR? Can it be measured by a Site?
July 1st, 2007 at 1:17 am
I think that its only a matter of time before we can truly get fast and reliable internet connection here in the Philippines.
The market for broadband internet is just starting to emerge here, largely due to the current offers of relatively cheap broadband (ex. Smart Bro and Globe Budget Bundles).
Since these companies have just realized that there is a market for such a service, they would want to invest more on it to capitalize on the trend. But right now its a fight for who has more subscribers, and we simply cannot expect that the service will be 100% satisfactory because their focus is on this at the moment.
I have read though that both Smart/PLDT and Globelines have invested rather heavily on data connections (cables,etc.) to meet the growing demand. We can expect that in next year or two the services that they provide will significantly improve, and hopefully can at least equal our more advanced counterparts abroad.
June 30th, 2007 at 11:52 am
stop whining. I have a 10MBPS in singapore via SingTel and it doesn’t feel like 10 MBPS. It’s only 10MBPS if I connect to Singtel website and services, other than that, I don’t get the advertised rate.