By Estanislao Albano, Jr.
Globe Telecom headquarters has no answer to the simple question “What’s the minimum speed of Plan 1299?” Or for reasons of its own, it deems it better not to answer the question. Whatever, up to now, I still have to receive an answer from Globe Telecom President and Chief Executive Officer Ernest Cu to the following email which I sent to ir@globetel.com.ph, their official email address appearing online, on February 6:
“This is to ask from Globe Telecom Management the actual minimum speed for the Plan 1299. I am compelled to come to top Management to settle the question once and for all because different Globe Telecom sources give different answers. The Globe Telecom Facebook account says that I should have at least 60 percent of the advertised speed. Several of the people manning your hotline 211 said it’s 6 Mbps but at least two of them said it is 3 Mbps. Your email feedback address talk@globe.com.ph wrote I am supposed to get no lower than 8 Mbps, a figure which was echoed by at least one 211 personnel I talked to. The team leader of the Globe Telecom contractor E.G.M.L Telecom who installed my connection told me it should be 7 Mbps. But Globe Telecom Tuguegarao City employee Jayson Arugay claimed on tape that per company policy, the obligation of the Globe Telecom to holders of Plan 1299 in Tabuk City is already considered met with a minimum speed of 200 Kbps.
I need an answer to the question because what I have been getting since the second week after I subscribed is an average of less than 2 Mbps from 9 AM to 9 PM going to as low as 130 Kbps during peak hours. It is only at around 12 midnight to around 7 AM that the 6-10 Mbps range is experienced.
All your Globe Internet users in Tabuk City have similar experiences with your service.
Your prompt clarification of the matter will be highly appreciated.”
Customer Service Representative Koby Haguisan of the Globe Telecom Customer Service official email address talk@globe.com.ph which I furnished a copy of the letter replied also on February with the following neither here nor there letter:
“We apologize for the inconvenience. Please extend your patience a bit more. Globe Fair Use Policy is implemented to ensure that all our customers get to equally share an enjoyable broadband experience. This policy is designed to protect those who might be affected by the few subscribers who use the service/promo for activities other than its intended use.
The Tattoo Home Broadband product was designed to provide you a steady browsing experience in the convenience of your home! With it, you can enjoy consistently fast and reliable broadband service. It even lets you stream data and download large files. But if you use this service other than its intent as mentioned, you might experience slow browsing.
Keep in mind that our Fair Use Policy applies to ALL products and services, which include special offers and/or promotions. It aims to provide you with free data usage or lower than standard usage charges, or unlimited access to data usage.
Once you exceeded your data allowance, your connection speed will drop up to 30% of the plan you have availed. In order to regulate data usage and ensure that our network can accommodate all our customers, we set very high thresholds per plan. Your speed will only be throttled after you’ve reached your data allowance. This resets is on a monthly basis. You can expect your experience to normalize every 1st day of the month. You may inquire for your data usage by contacting us through Hotline, Chat or Email.
For us to further assist you, kindly specify the internet connection difficulties you are experiencing as of the moment. We appreciate your immediate response.
Thank you, always stay safe.”
In February 10, I responded to the letter telling Haguisan that since he answered the letter to their top honcho, he should now answer the question on the minimum speed of Plan 1299 but the email trail went dead since then.
I have some guesses as to why Globe Telecom Management refuses to answer the question but that would be the subject of another column.**
