racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

The issue about the Broadband Cap began with the mobile broadband services that are not really “unlimited” and the fire was set ablaze with the capping of the bandwidth of DSL services. But then again, what is the real issue about this?

The draft memorandum of National Telecommunications Commission about the Minimum Speed of Broadband Connections cites the mandate of RA7925 towards the promotion and protection of NTC on the public telecommunications services for consumers.

Rules are promulgated by NTC in line with RA7925 and Executive Order No. 546 series of 1979 (the integration of previous agencies prior to NTC) in order to maintain fair competitiveness among telecommunication companies and protect the rights of users, subscribers, or customers of broadband services.

Broadband services providers are asked to specify the minimum broadband or internet connection speed. Their minimum service reliability must be 80%. NTC even gives the option for broadband services providers to set the maximum volume of data allowed per user per day on a “best efforts” basis.

NTC also mandates the broadband services providers to properly inform consumers about the broadband connection service that is offered to them.

So what about the draft memorandum on Minimum Speed of Broadband Connections of NTC? For some, it is wrong to have a Broadband Cap, while others give the nod on the Broadband Cap.

How about you, consumer? How does this sound to you?

The issue of ISPs setting up bandwidth limits is a popular one these days. The NTC is even mulling a memorandum that will require broadband providers and mobile service providers to limit the amount of bandwidth served per customer. This is intended to help maintain a high quality of service. Heavy users are then asked to pay more, which should be fair to those everyday users who don’t really need that much bandwidth.

We earlier reported that Globe telecom’s unlimited mobile broadband offering is not really unlimited, but has a daily maximum bandwidth, after which you will be cut off.

It seems other service providers are following suit, either by changing their Terms of Service, adding provisions for bandwidth limitations, or simply highlighting existing limitations that were already in place before.

One such ISP is Bayantel, which is already highlighting its acceptable use policy. Users are said to be limited to 100 Gigabytes per month, but can check for usage through fairuse.bti.net.ph.

Yugatech thinks the 100 GB allocation per month is generous enough, and I agree. I’ve checked my usage history, and my monthly use only amounts to 5 to 10 GB, so Bayantel’s allocation is more than enough for my needs. Now I might sometimes have spikes in usage, such as when I’m uploading videos and photos for sharing, or when downloading media. But for most intents and purposes, 100 GB per month is more than enough.

NTC’s proposal actually imposes a minimum assured level of service from broadband providers, which means they are required to serve you at least 80% of the advertised rate.

Some technology commentaries don’t think a bandwidth cap is fair, though, with the argument that not everyone consumes their bandwidth allocation anyway. This means that providers actually have excess capacity, but may not be willing to assure this service to everyone.

How much bandwidth do you consume per month? Do you agree to the proposal for bandwidth capping?

I’ve been on the lookout for an unlimited wireless data provider. Bayantel DSL service is known to be erratic particularly during severe weather, and I do need a reliable backup connection. I do think subscribing to a PhP 1,000 + unlimited subscription is a bit of an overkill, since my main DSL connection costs just PhP 999 per month.

But with an option to pay daily, weekly and monthly for an all-day connection, I think I’ll bite. Smart has recently announced its UNLI SURF plans for Smart Buddy prepaid. You have these options:

• PhP 1,200 for 30 days
• PhP 300 for 7 days
• PhP 50 for 24 hours

I think the 30-day plan is a great deal if you intend to use this as your primary connection. The one-week plan is also good enough, considering you get an equivalent 28 days for the price of PhP 1,200 (PhP 300 x 4).

But what I’m eyeing is the PhP 50 per 24 hour rate. I won’t be using this as my main connection, but it’s good to have this option when you need it. 3G and HSDPA are fast, but latency is quite high, and the throughput is not too reliable, especially if there are plenty of other users in your area.

Mobile WiFi router

I’ve tried using my SonyEricsson Xperia with a Smart SIM subscribed to the one-day package, and so far I’ve been able to use the phone as a wireless router (using this guide) so I can share the connection with my laptops and other gadgets. The speed is acceptable, although it can do better.

Using any prepaid Smart SIM, simply browse to http://m.smart.com.ph/surf on your mobile browser, and then choose your preferred subscription.

To continue my saga on trying out prepaid wireless landlines, I had recently activated Super Duo on my main Globe prepaid subscription. I was very pleased that I could easily call Bayantel lines (which we have at home), in stark contrast to my PLDT Wireless landline, which can rarely connect with my home residence.

But the big issue here is interconnectivity with several networks. For one, I can rarely connect to PLDT landline numbers. This can be very debilitating, since calling PLDT landlines was okay before activation of Super Duo (since this is billed as a regular call from one’s Globe number). But after activation, you effectively lose calling capability to PLDT landlines. Rare exceptions include midnight to the wee hours of the morning. Calling during daytime? Forget it.

Another small issue is calling from Bayantel phones. You get a busy tone, and you get connected after two to three tries. No big issue if you only expect personal calls, but to business users, this can be a deal breaker.

Now I’m not sure if this is only isolated to prepaid subscriptions. I hear that postpaid users are not as badly affected. Maybe that’s the premium one gets with a postpaid subscription. But with Globe heavily marketing their prepaid services such as Tattoo, SuperDuo and the like, they better be sure they have the capacity to service demand.

The bigger issue here is interconnection among the networks. I’m aware that telcos charge each other for each SMS or voice minute. But the charging framework has changed dramatically with the introduction of “unlimited” calling schemes, like the so-called “wireless landline” capability of mobile phones. If we’re going back to the dark ages of walled-garden communications, then we’re screwed. Remember the olden days when Smart subscribers could only text to Smart, and Globe within Globe?

Maybe this is just a honeymoon phase, and things will turn out better. I’m hoping that in the long run, interconnection among telcos would normalize. Things are getting cheaper and cheaper, anyway, and maybe they need to look for alternative business models (rather than charge interconnection fees), in line with the changing trends.

The term “wireless landline” is now in vogue among Philippine telcos. While it’s certainly a nifty idea to bring your landline anywhere, it’s mostly a marketing gimmick for me. Isn’t it just a glorified unlimited calling scheme? But instead of being able to call phones within your own network only, you get to call landline phones within the same locality.

I, myself, use PLDT Landline Plus, which I keep plugged into my trusty ol’ Nokia 1112, and which I use for calling fixed lines while on the move.

But I think I may be switching to Globe’s Super DUO soon. It’s probably more practical, since I use Globe prepaid as my primary mobile number. Globe also upgraded DUO to Super Duo with one great feature. Instead of giving you unlimited calling capability only to landlines within your locality, you can also call other Globe and Touch Mobile phones anywhere in the country with no extra per-minute charge.

Wha’ts even better is that Super DUO is now available to all Globe subscribers, postpaid or prepaid. Previously, when the original DUO was introduced as a prepaid service, it was a bit expensive (P700 per 28 days), and was only available to DUO-enabled SIMs, which you had to purchase. Now anyone can sign up just by texting SUPERDUO (plus some keywords) to 8888. It’s also more affordable at P599 for 30 days.

To activate the service, you would have to text the following keywords to 8888.

SUPERDUO [area] [plan]

Areas include the following:

• MM for Metro Manila
• CEB for Cebu
• TAG for Bohol
• ROX for Capiz

You have two choices for a plan:

• 35 for P35, which is good for one day
• 599 for P599, which is good for 30 days.

I’ll be trying out this service soon. My primary concern is whether it interconnects well with other networks like Bayantel, PLDT, and the like. That’s one of my biggest gripes with my PLDT Wireless landline. I can’t seem to make outgoing calls to Bayantel.

I’ll post a preview and a review soon.