
By Estanislao Albano, Jr.
Appearing in printed and online advertisements of Globe Telecom Internet plans is the following small print so small it could hardly be read: “Minimum speed is 256 Kbps. Minimum service reliability is 80%.” Obviously, this is the compliance of the telecommunication company (telco) to National Telecommunication Commission (NTC) Memorandum Order No. 07-07-2011 which states: “Broadband service providers shall specify the minimum broadband/internet connection speed and service reliability and the service rates in their offers to consumers/subscribers/users in their advertisements, flyers, brochures and service agreements. The minimum service reliability shall be 80%.”
Globe’s declared minimum speed is one for the books, an unthinkable absurdity. Please consider the following:
First, the small print means that if you are subscribed to Plan 1299, Globe has already given you your money’s worth by delivering 2.56 percent of your contracted speed of 10 Mbps. And it’s not only that. Because the minimum service reliability that the company guarantees is 80 percent, Globe is also free to give you a speed lower than 256 Kbps 20 percent of the time.
Second, the advertisement materials which bear the minimum speed small print also offer entertainment services such as Netflix, Hooq and NBA pass. Globe’s own website states that to have a satisfactory Netflix experience, one must have at least 3 Mpbs so how could you make use of the service if the only signal strength the company guarantees to you is 256 Kbps?.
Third, there is no distinction in the minimum speeds of plans. The client who is subscribed to Plan 6999 who pays a base fee of P6,999.00 a month and the Plan 1299 holder are both guaranteed only 256 Kbps. That’s like buying cars of different models at different prices and ending up with the same engine power.
Lastly, PLDT flyers state that the minimum guaranteed speed for its Plans 1699 and 1299 is 5 Mbps. That is roughly 20 times faster than the minimum speed of Globe.
And that brings us to the question as to how come the NTC had approved the preposterous 256 Kpbs minimum guaranteed speed of Globe. Did it think 256 Kbps at 80 percent reliability fair to Globe subscribers? Has it noticed the gaping difference between the declared minimum speeds of PLDT and Globe? Clearly, the NTC has a lot to explain on how this absurdity has been forced on Globe clients.
In approving the crawling 256 Kbps minimum speed of Globe, the NTC has allowed the Globe to continue to deceive the unsuspecting customers with the false promise of “blazing speed” contained in its advertisements. They could continue to point out to angry clients to the “hidden” text in the advertisements. By the way, there is no article online announcing Globe’s decision to set 256 Kbps as the minimum speed for all its Internet plans.
On January 6, 2017, I wrote Globe President and CEO Ernest Cu asking the minimum speed for my Plan1299, which advertised maximum speed is 10 Mbps. I was forced to write him because the different Globe sources are in disagreement on the matter. The Globe Telecom official Facebook account said I should have at least 60 percent of the advertised speed. Their official e-mail feedback address talk@globe.com.ph wrote I am supposed to get no lower than 8 Mbps. Despite my personally following up the letter to the Globe Tower at the Global City and blasting him for refusing to clarify the issue in a letter to the editor published by a national paper, Cu has yet to respond until today.
I understand Cu’s dilemma. If he comes out publicly backing up the speed cited by either the company’s official Facebook or email accounts, the company will lose its liberty to play from 256 Kbps up to the advertised speed as it will be forced to deliver a minimum of 60 or 80 percent of the contracted speed. Globe can no longer engage in its ugly and greedy practice of sucking its available bandwidth to the bone to the detriment of its hapless clients. Obviously, the adjustment would mean additional expense possibly billions of pesos to the company. On the other hand, if Cu confirms the 256 Kbps guaranteed minimum speed information in their advertisements, the company will be forced to own and explain to the public its utterly preposterous, heartless and unconscionable compliance to NTC MO No. 07-07-2011. **