Globe (in)Visibility

South East Asia, originally uploaded by karoluscamilius.

[Please pardon the incoherence of this post, this is a rant and I just feel obligated to warn those who might fall victim to this Globe Visibility folly. ]

Globe Visibility sucks, period! (or should I say, exclamation point.)

To anyone out there planning to subscribe to Globe's mobile broadband service, be it a prepaid or a postpaid plan, I'm telling you now, forget it!

The service isn't worth it at all. Now see, the real problem lies not on finding a strong signal nor is it on connecting to the network (believe it or not, this thing connects to the network in a jiffy. Hence your meter also begins in a jiffy, uh-huh) it's not about the speed even! It's about sustaining the download line, making sure that the flow of data is sturdy and constant. Globe Visibility has this problem and it's a miserable problem!

To give you an idea, the service comes with a software that allows you to configure the type of connection you prefer, EDGE, GPRS, or HSDPA/3G. There's also an internet odometer of sorts that indicates the flow of data being processed through the connection, thus you are able to monitor if the computer is successfully downloading/uploading data so you'd know how soon you can watch that popular video on YouTube or if the urgent email will be sent to your boss on time. 90% of the time, despite of the strong network signal also indicated, the download/upload meter reads 0.00KB sent/received. That means no YouTube for you, no email sent either. I know that the modem used for HSDPA/3G internet connections are based on radio waves and in itself isn't that reliable for networking purposes and that there's a whole bunch of other factors to consider that may contribute to this crap, but if it happens all the time, ALL the time, then something really has to give and I don't care if the problem lies with my computer or with Globe's infrastructure, it still is a problem! I think I should sue... hmmmm... Anyway, what bothers me really is the value I get in return for this product. For the price of the modem at P2,500, plus the rate of the service at P20 per hour (P5 per 15minutes,) it's just not worth it.

Say I'm an average internet user who spends 2.5 hours of surfing per day. P50 times 30days equals P1,500/month, that's the price of a decent Cable or DSL connection. Why am I wasting so much money on such a crappy connection??? This doesn't even include the 30minutes I have to wait to establish a download line, nor the hundreds of times I hit the refresh button whenever the dreaded "This page cannot be displayed..." message shows up, argghh!!! Beats me...

I have had the service for close to a month now, and Lord knows how much of my precious time has been wasted just trying to establish that download line! Take note also, that once you're connected, your credits start ticking off too. It doesn't matter what time of day you try to connect, and I'm guessing it doesn't even matter where you're located. I live at the heart of Makati City, my room is slightly elevated, there are no barriers that surround my residence, nothing whatsoever that may cause significant interference to my wireless connection, the same problem leaves me at the end of my wits everytime! Well at least they're consistent in that department, leaving me unsatisfied, stressed and so freaking grumpy.

If you have the budget, I suggest you get a Cable or a DSL internet service instead. You'll save more money, plus it'll be more reliable regardless of what speed package you get. Remember, consistency is the key.

An additional note to those who might attempt to refute my recommendation here: My computer has it's own Wi-Fi modem which works just fine whenever I find a hotspot at malls and such. I turn this off whenever I connect to Globe Visibility using the USB modem so as not to cause any interference. I tried using Globe Visibility at 4 different locations now namely at Ayala Center, RCBC tower, Makati Executive Tower 2 and at San Antonio Village. the results are the same. I'm also using the newer modem the one that has no wires and can be inserted with a micro SD card (Lord knows what it's called) so go figure.