Tuesday, December 09, 2008

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.

12 comments:

escape said...

thanks for this feedback. i can see why few people prefer globe's online service.

K.C. said...

the donG: No prob dong. I'm really disappointed with Globe. Maybe they should just stick to the cellphone part of the business. :)

rheiboy17 said...

i can feel the fierceness in your blog that if globe (in)visibility is something tangible, you have crushed, devoured and consumed it immediately leaving nothing! no trace at all as if it never existed.

sigh. i hope Globe will do something about their crappy service.

agree with your DSL suggestion. i have the Digitel BIDA installed, its a bundle promo - speed is better than smartbro (to my opinion) plus you have a landline too for 1500/month.

yeah, i know. this may seemed free plugging but i'm quite satisfied with their service (atleast, for now)

may apologies kung parang nanggagatong ako. (buhay pa ba yung globe invisibility gadget mo o nihagis mo na?)

K.C. said...

rheiboy17: Thanks Doc. Steam was coming off my nose while I wrote that.

...and yes. Just the other day, I couldn't control my temper so I threw the modem out the window!

It survived with a few scratches. Kudos to the manufacturer (ZTE) on that.

rheiboy17 said...

hehehe. which means, you threw it out the window, but you went out to pick it up again. sigh. sayang ano?

K.C. said...

rheiboy17: Just wanted to check on the sturdiness of the thing. But I threw it back out again, hahaha

Bernard said...

ya, it sucks!!! I experienced that too. I am very disappointed with that.

Do you have any idea how we can get back on them? Or get our money back. This thing should have a money back guarantee.

This is all I can say about Globe Visibility, It sucks!!!.

K.C. said...

Bernard: Well there was this time when my top blew off due this exponentially bad connection. I loaded P100 pesos and after 30 long minutes of trying to establish my connection, I was still unsuccessful. I tried doing a balance check and lo and behold I only had P70 left! That just didn't seem right so I craved for justice and gave 'em guys at Globe a call. Firstly I explained the how their service was such a big pain in the butt and second that I needed them to give back my P30. The Rep listened, promised that he'd get back to me and my P30 back as well. They did get back to me for technical support but I've already done everything possible on my end to get that figured so they weren't really of any help. They just promised to "forward" the problem to the IT department, well good luck with that! ;) The P30 I got back after 3-5 business days. Their service still, well, sucks up to this very day.

rheiboy17 said...

KC, now that's one helluva follow-up. I know others may say, "Hey, what's 30 pesos?" but geting your message across is really the meat of things. This Globe (in)visibility crap deserves the hype and attention like the "Alabang boys".... ok, that's too much. atleast someone should probe this mess!

Happy Ranting New Year, KC!

K.C. said...

Ei Doc! Unfortunately this is a big reason why I'm not able to go online that much nowadays. But I promised myself to be happier this new year, so "bah, humbug." Happy New Year din!

Anonymous said...

Globe's (in)visibility also applies to their landline and DSL services. My landline's dial tone and broadband's INVISIBILITY is going strong for almost a week now. Their customer support is utterly useless.

K.C. said...

anonymous I feel you man, I feel ya! :D