Telecoms

Globe caps Visibility users to 5GB a month

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief July 20, 2007 · 2 min read

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The other day, we had a meeting with a Globe executive to finalize details of an upcoming project (that’s for another story though). During our meeting, I stirred our discussion to some juicy stories and they were candid enough to share some information (which I believe is bloggable since I wasn’t asked to sign an NDA *hehehe*).

I was told that new Globe Visibility users will be capped at 5GB of usage per month. The current monthly service fee for their mobile broadband solution (3G/HSDPA) is still at Php2,000 plus some activation fee. The cap is now included in the fine print but the existing subscribers will retain the eat-all-you can feature (unlimited).

Apparently, a lot of the Globe Visibility users are abusing (their word, not mine) the network. Almost ten percent (10%) of all users are pulling down in excess of 10GBs of data each month. That goes without saying that people are really maximizing their use and could be running P2P clients like bittorents. An analysis of the network usage even indicates that some people are not turning off their 3G modems and running them 24/7.

Globe Visibility

And though it’s the customers right to make use of their subscription however they want, this could led to other subscribers suffering in the end. Network congestion becomes a problem — a similar phenomenon commonly experienced by internet cable users. That May incident where a lot of Visibility users couldn’t use the HSDPA network was an isolated incident and purely a network problem (though the GPRS connection was fine, albeit excruciatingly slow).

They added that at the current rate, they’re already loosing from this project due to cost of running the network. Not surprisingly, I believe Smart Communications could be suffering from the same dilemma.

Looking at it in an economic perspective, the 3G roll out in the Philippines could be in danger. That’s why competing telcos like Smart and Globe are more aggressive in the sales department than in the after-sales support. It’s because in the end, if market usage/penetration cannot justify the cost of deployment and operations, the wisest thing to do (in the business sense) is discontinue the project.

What is the new monthly data cap for Globe Visibility users?

New Globe Visibility users will be capped at 5GB of usage per month.

Will existing Globe Visibility subscribers be affected by the new cap?

Existing subscribers will retain the unlimited feature and are not affected by the cap.

Why did Globe implement the 5GB cap for new Visibility users?

A significant number of users were abusing the network, with some downloading over 10GB monthly, causing congestion.

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Abe Olandres

Editor-in-chief

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and is considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines.

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29 Comments

onyok · 16 years ago

why does my globe visibility dnt work on windows 7?

Obed · 17 years ago

Would it be possible if they put a plan for torrent downloaders? Like give then additional payments? Nah, I guess not…

JC John SESE Cuneta · 18 years ago

Hmm, you have a very valid point schmirck. Right now I am thinking of getting one of these services for “work” purposes.

Now I have to think 10 times before I waste my money on such services… as someone said before you “disability” not “visibility”.

We have a very serious problem here then. Limit it to 5gb and kill your SURE-PAYING people who use it for their businesses? Or keep it unlimited and let the network suffer outages?

They should start offering “business” plans then. Or “work” class plans. But how can they guarantee those who acquire “work-class” plans and “business” plans will be trustworthy? Make it expensive? No one will use it. So back to the drawing table.

Well, I’ll hold-off my money for now. Globe’s sale turned stone, thanks to blogs and comments ^_^

schmirck · 19 years ago

i couldnt believe that some people praise globes initiative of putting a 5GB cap… i thought this was an unlimited internet anywhere anytime??? (check their ads late 2006)

There was a month when i downloaded more than 12GB (well, in the better days)… no P2Ps.. they were more like installers and software updates.. because that’s part of my “work”.. and that’s the primary reason why i got Globe Visibility…

Also, i have to stay online 24/7 to support my clients.

So, am i abusing them???

i’ve been getting crappy service for 7 months, and i’m getting billed 2K for each month for service that i do not get…

if those f**kin globe execs would come to look at it this way, i think i’m the one being abused here.

and the d@mn government isn’t doing anything with these non-delivering service providers… with the taxes i pay… >sigh

DAEMON · 19 years ago

We are paying 2k , and we are not getting the promised speed. And they are blaming the subscribers for the slow speed. What will you do with a high speed internet if not for downloading. Kapalpakan ng globe. Anong gagawin mo sa internet pang browse ng globe.com.ph lang LMAO.

Rey · 19 years ago

Pano kasi ang daling hackin ang network ng globe, dami ko ngang kilala na they calling this trick as “FBT” Free browsing trick, they’re using it and i think those guys adds on the expenses of globe. Maybe globe should consider a time based rate for now, and a affordable for the prepaid users, because prepaid users who use HSDPA or GPRS services pulls the network’s limit. Tsaka,”abusing” is not the right term for this, dapat sabihin nating, “di umabot ung inaasahang tubong malaki ng globe. hehe. Plan ko pa namang kumuha na visibilty this october. How dissappointing cause im a kind of user who would exceed 5GB a month, im a gamer kasi. Online games needs a lot of simultaneous upload and download.

bingo · 19 years ago

dapat siguro hindi globe visibility … globe DISABILITY ang tawag sa service.

Miguel · 19 years ago

Can’t blame those 10% users, since Globe is marketing Visibility as a broadband service and they would use it as such.

What happens if you exceed the 5GB cap? Extra charges?

Abe Olandres Editor-in-chief · 19 years ago

Yup, I agree. I think it’s a good move on the part of Globe. By capping the big users, they can better serve the entire userbase with adequate bandwidth. They just need to be transparent about it and the customers will understand. The commodity has limitations and if everyone tries to optimize the use of the service, I think the bandwidth issue will be addressed properly.

ral · 19 years ago

5GB sounds fine. I only used to use 2GB a month. Reliability is more important. Have since moved on to Smart 3G. I guess I never really need the speed nor do I stay online that much. Smarts P10/30 mins. does limit user “abuse”.

n95 newbie · 19 years ago

pls tell the Globe exec’s to make 3G more affordable similar to smart. charging it per KB is really really expensive.

max · 19 years ago

.. IF they could deliver the advertised service …

dave · 19 years ago

I’ve had Globe Visibility for several months. At first it was great and I got up to 900kbps. Then there was the period where it was practically non-functional. And for the past several weeks it is only operating at dialup-like speed, even though I have an HSDPA connection.

The 5 GB cap would be fine with me, if they could deliver the service with decent speeds.

I couldn’t in good conscience recommend Globe to anybody given what is, in my opinion, very poor service.

jhay · 19 years ago

One simple question, “How many Pinoys owns a laptop?”

Shelling out 2-grand on an a 3G connection is quite simple, but something from 30K and above is another.
Unless laptops, notebooks and other mobile devices become much more affordable for the public, services like these would really be in danger of being discontinued.