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Philippines, Technology News & Reviews



Smart Bro Big Bro

My meeting with an executive from Smart’s Public Affairs office went well and I got the juicy details about how the service was brought about.

The discussion revolved around the new strategy to approach the growing problem and apparent inadequacies with Smart Wifi. Now that it’s re-branded as Smart Bro, a new team was also put in place to oversee the entire operation.

An explanation from an earlier email to me is posted below:

We’re currently undertaking measures to improve network facilities by deploying advanced radio base stations and terminal equipment, and installing upgraded routers. We’re also expanding the wireless broadband network’s core transmission backbone capacity up to 10 Gbps and the regional backbone capacity to 1 Gbps. International transmission capacity has also been increased significantly to further improve access to servers overseas.

On the customer care end, we are improving the customer service systems and processes that handle queries regarding the wireless broadband service. The number of call center seats dedicated to broadband customers has been increased to 370. On the business end, Smart Bro is now directly managed by a combination of PLDT and Smart executives and technical professionals.

Concurrent to these measures, we intend to expand our customer interaction and feedback mechanisms by partnering with journalists, editors, technology users groups and active bloggers who regularly encounter customer feedback (good or bad) on our Smart Bro service . As such, we would like to invite you to form part of “Smart Bro Big Bro ” core user group. We can discuss this opportunity at length at a your most convinient time.

From what was told to me, their original support personnel was just 70 and it was only now that they added 300 more (after the Meridian mass-walkout?). Oh, well.

Anyway, they will be installing Smart Bro at my place so I can have first-hand experience with the service, provide them direct feedback and suggestions for improvement. Along with the other members of the core group, we will ahve direct access to all department heads, especially their network operations manager.

I also mentioned that this move (tapping active bloggers among others to “beta test” such services) is a first in the Philippines. More on this at PTB.

[tags]broadband, telco, isp, wi-fi, wireless fidelity[/tags]

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    124 Responses to “Smart Bro Big Bro”


    1. Gravatar Icon noemi replied on May 8th, 2006 at 11:05 pm (1)

      they better improve services. We just experienced a 2 day non working service. great for you to try it out. Lucky you get additional internet connection. When Smart Wifi works, it’s really fast though.

    2. Gravatar Icon vance replied on May 9th, 2006 at 12:11 am (2)

      oh good luck with your connection hopefully they arrive on schedule, second if you do experience problems don’t expect that you will recieve straight answer from their tech kasi hangang troubleshooting lang sila and you have to wait 24 hours or more for the higher tech to actually call you. Sana ako rin tawagan nila and i’ll be happy to interview them and ask them all the question that will kill them starting from their commercials to their services.

      and if ever na mabilis ang connection mo, it doesn’t mean na maganda ang internet nila.

      I hope they also ask those people on tipidpc.com and smartbro.r8.org forums na nakakaexperience ng slow connection na around 17KBps to 50 Kbps and those people falls under 100 - 200 Kbps.

      Oh well! Sana nga magimprove sila and hopefully soon malapit na matapos ang lock in ko eh.

      Peace!

    3. Gravatar Icon SlackeR replied on May 9th, 2006 at 12:47 am (3)

      This will be a good move.. Since you they will give you a Smart Bro Connection then you will have first hand experience on:

      1. how long they take to have you connected
      2. how professional their third party contractors are

      from there you can start giving your feedback.

      I agree with vance though I think they should also seek users from Tipidpc.com and http://smartbro.r8.org. From there they will have first hand comments, opinions, suggestions.

      Or better yet if they don’t like that maybe they can create their own Forum site which can be accessible also via LAN/WAN so that means people who encounter connection problem can still post and view any resolutions given by Smart

      Just my two centavos worth of words to say =)

    4. Gravatar Icon vance replied on May 9th, 2006 at 1:13 am (4)

      yah i agree with yellowcard/slacker about that having accessible forum.

      By the way first impression is always good thus they might install it on sced but thats just the beginning after a few weeks to a month once you have a serious problem and needs to be fix, they will make your sched mix up cause they don’t have their own contractors so they can actually give you a estimate time and they can’t also follow it up since they can’t contact them when their on a job.

    5. Gravatar Icon yuga replied on May 9th, 2006 at 1:38 am (5)

      They will be providing the connection for free for 1 year. The core group will also have direct contact with the network engineers so we might get better than usual support. We will also be logging all downtimes so that we get some sort of metrics how often it goes down — %age uptime of sorts.

      I did mention the lock-in period complaints and suggested they do a some package changes — like Php998 if subscribed for 1 year, Php1,298 if subscribed for only 6 months and Php1,598 if subscribed for only 3 months. They explained that the 1-year lockin period was to compensate for the cost of the canopy.

      About the outsourced support, they also admit that they used to have the support outsourced but they have now officially been doing the support internally recently along with the re-branding.

    6. Gravatar Icon audienceone replied on May 9th, 2006 at 5:46 am (6)

      Smart Bro… harnessing the free promotion by bloggers. :D And site owners.

      Smart Fix should be a new name since they’re going to make it “better” and it has a fix/lock-in period. Anyway, hopefully they’ll hold to its speed promise once they have technical people and the better infrastructure up…

    7. Gravatar Icon jun replied on May 9th, 2006 at 8:29 am (7)

      Since you have their ear Abe, and u suggested some alternate pricing schemes, maybe u can whisper my thoughts to them:

      i have been contemplating on getting wi fi but the cost for me right now is an issue. i use it only for about 2 hours a day max (since I’m in the office during the day). If it comes down to 500/month, with a two year lock-in period (with options to upgrade), i’ll probably (and many will, too) grab it. I would even go to the extreme of suggesting lowering bandwidth to 128 kps (if that is possible). Just to take a step off the dial-up world. Or is there a way to have it metered? many people, and students too, may benefit from this scheme.

    8. Gravatar Icon markku replied on May 9th, 2006 at 11:44 am (8)

      Smart Fix? I like that. Hehehe. At least it sounds like a commitment to fix the mess they got themselves (and paying customers) into.

    9. Gravatar Icon jepoy replied on May 9th, 2006 at 12:43 pm (9)

      wow freeee…… *drools*

    10. Gravatar Icon vance replied on May 9th, 2006 at 2:11 pm (10)

      @jun! smart wifi is a wired connection not a wifi that you can access anywhere on your house. It is called wifi kasi instead of using copper wires they use a microwave signal to transmit between the antenna that they will install on your roof and their base station. If you want a cheaper but reliable connection try getting bayantel its wired DSL but you don’t have to have a Bayantel Line and their in partner with sky cable. Cost around 900 pesos a month for 256 KBps

    11. Gravatar Icon caloyphil replied on May 9th, 2006 at 7:58 pm (11)

      So, when do we expect good services from smart, any time table , spedific date? Most of us feel hopeless on getting better conections and just hoping to graduate from one year lock in period then say adios..babayu !!!!!

    12. Gravatar Icon SlackeR replied on May 10th, 2006 at 8:21 am (12)

      I hope anytime soon? But so far I’ve subscribed to them for one year and ok naman ung connection ko

    13. Gravatar Icon caloyphil replied on May 10th, 2006 at 9:29 pm (13)

      @ slacker,

      stable ba the whole day??? Ano range ng bandwidth speed mo? Kasi saken pang madaling araw lang 300+ kbps sa tanghali 50 na lang !!

    14. Gravatar Icon SlackeR replied on May 12th, 2006 at 1:34 pm (14)

      saken stable naman whole day kahit tanghali umaabot akong 400kbps minsan bababa pero mga 128kbps pwede paren

    15. Gravatar Icon caloyphil replied on May 15th, 2006 at 4:01 am (15)

      Mga bro,

      Chat tayo sa pldt mypad , maraming taga smart dun kaya baka makatulong sa mga problema sa smartbro.

      http://www.mypad.net/smartbro/

      Caloyphil ako dun.

    16. Gravatar Icon Danny replied on May 17th, 2006 at 7:27 pm (16)

      oi KUNG GUSTO NINYO LUMAKAS ANG INTERNET NINYO RESTART NINYO KASABOT WAKOKOKO!!!!!! O BAKA MAHINA COMPUTER NINYO

    17. Gravatar Icon taga_bundok replied on May 19th, 2006 at 10:57 am (17)

      san lang po ay magiging totoo ang feedback nyo.

      btw, smart bro is a troll

    18. Gravatar Icon caloyphil replied on May 19th, 2006 at 3:33 pm (18)

      Ang problemang malaki sa smartbro , kulang na bandwidth nila , tanggap pa ng tanggap ng subscriber, upgrade muna!!!

    19. Gravatar Icon caloyphil replied on May 20th, 2006 at 3:41 pm (19)

      Smartbro= Mabuti na kaysa WALA
      Smartbro= Not giving the right bandwidth to the paying consumers.

    20. Gravatar Icon caloyphil replied on May 20th, 2006 at 4:46 pm (20)

      Eto naman petition laban sa pldt, kasama na dito smartbro…..pirma na mga bro…………………………….mas marami mas mapapansin!

      http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?pldtdsl

      Smartbro= Mabuti na kaysa WALA
      Smartbro= Not giving the right bandwidth to the paying consumers.
      Back to top
      View user’s profile Send private message

    21. Gravatar Icon mike replied on May 28th, 2006 at 10:39 pm (21)

      Sir Yuga, kamusta naman konek mo with this kind of arrangement with Smart BRO?

      Kasi ako na walang arrangement with SMART putol-putol at mabagal.

    22. Gravatar Icon cassandra replied on May 29th, 2006 at 9:39 am (22)

      I just hope they address the issue of those potential customers wanting to apply for smart bro service but was denied because their location…
      When smart bro staff surveyed them they said the wireless signal cannot reach the area because of coconut trees blocking the direct line of sight…
      I just wish they should do something about this…
      I do know maybe invest in more hardware so the more and more people can be connected in this country…
      Maybe through information with the help of the internet we Filipinos can be truly progress…

    23. Gravatar Icon marc08 replied on May 29th, 2006 at 2:19 pm (23)

      ang bagal help me….

    24. Gravatar Icon marc08 replied on May 29th, 2006 at 2:20 pm (24)

      ang bagal help pls…

    25. Gravatar Icon mikhaila replied on May 31st, 2006 at 9:31 pm (25)

      wala pa rin talaga ang smart wifi.. nagapalit ng balot pero bulok pa rin ang laman!

      ganun pa rin naman ang nararanasan ko puro intermitent connection. kahit na tumawag na ako sa tech support nila sasabihin lang “just wait for our call sir”.

      bad trip talaga. ang lakas mag advertise BASURA pa rin naman ang produkto!

      ayusin nyu naman. last 1 month na lang contract ko kung walang pagbabago talaga hinto nako sa pag subscribe sa inyu.

    26. Gravatar Icon mikhaila replied on Jun 1st, 2006 at 11:30 am (26)

      syett!!!!

      wala sumasagot sa heldesk nila mula pa kahapon. bakit ganun??? sobra dami ba reklamo kaya wala available na tech person???

      intermitent connection ko 2 weeks na.

      smart bro> kuya panu ba yan????

    27. Gravatar Icon Maria Victoria Rabo replied on Jun 7th, 2006 at 6:30 am (27)

      I’ve been a smart wifi/wi bro subscriber since Nov 2005 and all I can say is IT SUCKS! I was informed by a certain Ana through phone that I’m scheduled for a field visit yesterday morning but no one showed up. I called for a ffup only to know that I was scheduled on June 8. Isn’t that a great appointment setting???? Sad to say, they only got a well-trained technical support staff to answer the calls but the action is way below POOR. Last month I’ve been experiencing intermittent network interruptions which has not been resolved until now.

    28. Gravatar Icon france replied on Jun 11th, 2006 at 7:51 am (28)

      So far no comments ako to the wireless communication here in davao, in regards with the smart bro madali lang ang pag apply ko after ng payment may ipinadala sa akin na materials used for connection which are schedule 3-4 days said by the agent. After that the agent said that they will call me, surprisingly the day after i apply tinawagan nila ako at ready na ang lahat ng gamit para sa connection. Yun nga kinabukasan nakabitan na ako, when i first used the internet it runs 112 kbps which im A little bit dissapointed but in the long run it geos up to 390 kbps…
      They prove that there company are just simply amazing….

    29. Gravatar Icon buknoy replied on Jun 11th, 2006 at 4:58 pm (29)

      nabasa ko karamihan ng comments dito.

      karamihan puro komedyante.

      ang advertised service e “UPTO 384Kbps”, not “constant 384Kbps”, diba?
      anung nirereklamo nyo kung ~100Kbps ang measured speed nyo?

      kakatawa talaga kayo.

      ang dapat lang na reklamo dito e ung mga intermittent ang connection tska ung pulpol na techsupport.

      tska dun sa nagsasabi hindi daw WiFi ang service, ang WiFi connection mo is not within ur premises but between your antenna and the tower. bale fixed wireless architecture na WiFi ang protocol.

      Pero hindi naman lahat wifi, ung iba Canopy diba? wireless protocol un ng Motorola.

      iembrace natin ang technology mga brad, para umunlad naman tayo.

    30. Gravatar Icon Smart Fanboy replied on Jun 15th, 2006 at 9:13 pm (30)

      tama si buknoy!

      tama na ang whining…

      THE BEST ANG SMART BRO

      Hindi nyo mapipigilan ang pagdami ng subscribers ng Smart!

      Hindi kasi kayo nagbabasa - UP TO 384kbps!

    31. Gravatar Icon sweetchineseeyes replied on Jun 30th, 2006 at 2:02 am (31)

      i thought i’m the only one holding grudges to smart wifi…as some people here say it all, it’s quite tolerable at first, its been a year now since we started, each month i’m itching to terminate the service, but we just can’t becos of the contract, which im waiting to expire this july. and to my horror, it really prove true that their practice are way horrible as i browse through blogs by my co-wifiers…and i could say evrybody’s grudges and experiences are mutual. none of the said field visits/sched were complied accurately, and the so called callback are made even promised by supervisors, even credits are a big hoax. the agents are way disrespectful, if u asked for a supervisor, they would refused to escalate the call, none of them are properly placing the customer on hold, they’ll just place the phone hanging and you could over hear their chismisans…such horrible practice ive encountered when i called, their scripts are well practiced, how could you understand that as u asked to be escalated to a supervisor, the unprofessional agent named Don would make u wait for abt 30 mins, later to find out that he just xfer the phone to another agent who then will mak u wait another 30 mins…i’ve worked in a customer service field for 3 years, and never had encountered dealing with unprofessional and disrespectful agents….even supervisors can’t make a customer feel taken care of or feel satisfied with the services, no resolution whatsoever…im just waiting till july 15th, the date im paid up…and will gladly terminate the service….

    32. Gravatar Icon syncmaster replied on Jul 1st, 2006 at 1:23 am (32)

      Pwede bang dalawang canopy anf ilagay? ex. 1st canopy for upload and the 2nd canopy for download.

    33. Gravatar Icon A guy who lives in the Philippines replied on Jul 1st, 2006 at 10:07 pm (33)

      No service for 10 hours now straight. Right after nawalan for mga 18 hours straight. This is really pathetic.

    34. Gravatar Icon Jag replied on Jul 3rd, 2006 at 11:26 pm (34)

      I had Smartbro installed July 1st, 2006.

      SmartBro didn’t inform me when I applied for service that, unlike the usual broadband service ISP’s, they will not be providing PUBLIC IP addresses. I found out right after the installers left, that I couldn’t play my favorite games which use direct IP connection because my PC’s IP address is in the PRIVATE domain range (i.e. 192.168.xx.xx). The service uses NAT (Network Address Translation) technology to hide the PC from the internet. Why are taking this responsibility away from the customers? If I want to expose my PC to the internet so I can access it remotely, I should be allowed to take that risk.

      Internet access service (even DIAL-UP) allows access both FROM/TO one’s PC…. If they are not going to allow direct IP connection to my PC, I would be unable to play most of my favorite games . This is totally unacceptable, and I believe it constitutes non-performance of contract service agreement.

      Question: Do I have a legitimate right to cancel my subscription (without early-termination fee) and expect to be reimbursed the fees I have paid?

    35. Gravatar Icon jumbz replied on Jul 20th, 2006 at 12:33 pm (35)

      connection lost since 1st week of july.. and it lasted for a week.. when i called the smart service hotline.. they say that theres a techinical problem with there server.. i called several times and they all say the same.. after 1 week the connection is fixed.. but after 2 days.. the connection is lost again.. until now i have no internet connection…

    36. Gravatar Icon pongkoy replied on Jul 21st, 2006 at 9:28 pm (36)

      Smart Bro’s service is quite good in morning… but as the hours of the day tick, the connection gets slower and slower… well not really slow, but intermittent. During night, when I play online games, I get disconnected as soon as I enter the game.

    37. Gravatar Icon XeNo replied on Jul 23rd, 2006 at 8:26 pm (37)

      Smart Bro really sucks at nighttime… the time i need the conenction the most! cant we do anything bout it…?

    38. Gravatar Icon elbie replied on Jul 31st, 2006 at 3:17 pm (38)

      i am very dissatisfied with the smart wi-fi tech service. they are always promising to address the issue within 24 hours but their 24 hours is 24 years!

      kung kelan nila maa-address yung issue sa service nila…

      i am really hoping na maayos na nila kung ano man ang dapat nilang ayusin. i believe na basically Smart is a good company with good people, kailangan lang nilang ma-iron out ang mga issues related to their customer service esp higher tech’s service!

    39. Gravatar Icon mha replied on Aug 14th, 2006 at 5:57 pm (39)

      what can i say to smart bro.. its really suck. you know why.. it’s because poor services and always technical activities na ginagawa nila.. puro kau experiment maawa naman kau sa nagbabayad. bakit pa kayo ng smart br0?? kung di rin maganda serbisyo… pa promo promo pa kayo nalalaman bobo lang papakabit sa nyo ngayon… if i were you magtitiis na ko walang internet kung smart bro pakakabit. u wasting u money…

    40. Gravatar Icon bob magoo replied on Aug 14th, 2006 at 6:20 pm (40)

      my bro connection keeps on improving since july and i had no problem since today. i visited their business office at sm megamall when i was pissed off due to frequent disconnection. technician came by that saturday and fix my antenna and others and its working well naman.. i suggest that you go to their business office and tell them that you will discontinue their wifi service if your problem will not be solve in 1 week. i tell you, maaayos yan!!!magic!!!

    41. Gravatar Icon mha replied on Aug 16th, 2006 at 7:03 pm (41)

      ganun ba… try ko bukas… 1 week na wala wenta ang smart d2… pro may advertising for smart.. just read it…

      sa tulong ng SMART Bro Computer Station ng Internet Café Negosyo Bundle. Sa business plan na ito, may computer at broadband Internet ka na para sa dagdag na kita! Also available ang PLDT myDSL Internet Café Plus na 5 to 30-seater unit. Sa Internet Café Negosyo Bundle, susuportahan namin ang pag-angat ng negosyo mo!

      Smart Bro Prices are VAT-inclusive
      **MyDSL Prices subject to government taxes and PC Insurance
      ***(While supplies last)

      Tawag na sa 101-888!*
      Siguradong sasakit ang ulo nyo!
      May isa pa!!! libre 1 box of advil
      San ka pa! what are you waiting for!
      Tawag na!!!!!!!!!!!

    42. Gravatar Icon melvin replied on Aug 31st, 2006 at 2:50 pm (42)

      4 day na ko wala connection sa internet.august 28 nawalan ng connection. sa araw din na un..tumwag na ako sa hotline nila *1888.kung ano ano pinagawa. ipina- ipconfig /release tapos ipconfig /renew. tapos ipinarestart ang computer. tapos ayun wala pa rin…….check daw nila sa kanilang base station. ok daw naman ang connection.. ok ba nman un eh wala nga ako connection. talagang hotline pano ba naman nakakapag init ng punong tenga dahil sa mga agent paulit ulit lang ang sinasabi. next day. tumawag ulit ako na baka nman meron na magsasabi na i sched na lang para mapuntahan ng technician wala pa din gusto nman ipa ipconfig at restart ang comp. kahit nasabi na follow up na lang ang ginagawa ko.at ilang beses ko na din sinabi sa kanila na nagawa ko na ung series ng pagtrouble shoot. pwede na nga siguro ako mag apply na call center agent ng smarbro dahil halos saulo ko na ang kanilang mga sinasabi.
      kahapon tumawag ako. sabi imonitor daw ng technical group nila ung connect sa base station.tumawag daw ako after 24 hours.wala nman akong napala. buti n lang nde ako masyadong kumakain ng ma kolesterol, kung hinde baka nahighblood ako at inatake ako sa puso sa dahil sa galit inis asar…kanina tumawag ulit ako baka meron na development.WALANGHIYANG SMART BRO YAN. WALA PA DIN NANGYARI…NDE PA RAW NA I-EVALUATE NG KANILANG TECHNICAL GROUP. 4 NA 3 DAYS ANG NAKALIPAS NDE PA NA I-EVALUATE… isa lang ang ibig sabihin nun BULOK ANG KANILANG SERBISYO. AT PINAPABAYAAN NA LANG ANG KANILANG MGA SUBSCRIBER… maayos lang sila pag mga application palang ang dumarating sa kanila. agad pag nag apply ka kahit sa internet lang. pag umaga ka ngapply hindi lilipas ang maghapon papadalhan ka na agad ng ref# para sa babayaran mo.at tatawagan ka pa. tapos pag nde ka nman agad nakabayad..para sa installation fee. tatawagan ka ulit. ask nila if kung wala pa raw natatangap na ref #. kababait.talagang sisiguraduhin pa nila na nasa bahay ka para sa pagkakabit ng internet. minomonitor pa nila kung nasaan na ang mga contructor nila.at ipapaalam sa inyo na on the way na papunta sa bahay ninyo ang mga kumag..pero pag ganito na nangyayari nagloloko na ang connection, wala na…wala na makuha na tulong mula sa kanila.kaasar talaga.
      pagikakabit ang internet within 3-5 days meron na.! PERO pag kaw na ang nadisconnect!
      langya. baka nman nakalipas na ang isang buwan wala parin kahit araw araw ka na tumawag sa kanila… KAYA KAYO KUNG BALAK NYO MAG PAKABIT NG SMART BRO. magisip muna kayo..mahirap na magsisi.

    43. Gravatar Icon bob magoo replied on Sep 4th, 2006 at 3:28 pm (43)

      Speaking of 3G, Smart has 3G services not in Metro Manila alone but also all key cities. With respect to HSDPA, tahimik sile pero it was package under WeRoam service of PLDT. Speed can go up to 1.5Mb to as high as 1.7Mbps.

    44. Gravatar Icon janet morcillo replied on Sep 9th, 2006 at 10:12 am (44)

      naman!!!ang tagal na!!!ang bagal tlga ng connection..pls naman!!kanina pa kami tumatwag sa smart..wala namang sumasagot…nako!!gusto nio bang malugi at mawalan ng customers?!!!ayusin nio nga trabaho nio!!!?nakakawalang gana!!

    45. Gravatar Icon Bex Rabo replied on Sep 14th, 2006 at 1:04 pm (45)

      I’ve been experiencing a very slow connection since August 25. A couple of Smart wibro/wifi field technicians were deployed last Sept. 11. and performed some reconfiguration in my connection. I was told that they changed the color code. A bandwidth test was performed through http://www.pldtplay.com/ displaying results registering 236+++kbps connection.

      My fault is I did not browse the internet while they are still around to see how the connection is actually performing. I just stared on the bandwidth test results and felt satisfied with the reading. When I started browsing, I have to click on “Reload” several times to be able to gain access to websites successfully ( e.g. yahoo mail, gmail, craigslist, mybdo.com.ph…); plus the access is very slow.

      I checked my connection through http://www.pldtplay.com/ and it registered 210++ kbps. I tried browsing again but I have to click on “Reload” several times still to gain access. I tested my connection through testmy.net and my connection speed is nowhere above 99kbps. I tried testing via globequest (crude test) and it’s also registering a low connection having 89kbps the highest. I observed my connection with hopes for improvement but I’m still in the same status of very slow connection.

      I’m wondering why pldtplay.com displays way above what other bandwidth meters are registering??? Feeling ko tuloy http://www.pldtplay.com displays bogus bandwidth readings.

    46. Gravatar Icon rich replied on Sep 14th, 2006 at 1:05 pm (46)

      guys help me naman on how to check my connection speed… i just don’t know how because i am new subscriber of smart bro…

      thanks a lot

    47. Gravatar Icon neneborgs replied on Sep 21st, 2006 at 9:18 am (47)

      http://www.testmy.net/dl-97 is a good place to start.

    48. Gravatar Icon Frank replied on Sep 26th, 2006 at 11:32 am (48)

      Tang ina smart bro… pak u… (senxa sa words sobrang galit na ako) noong month ng augost nwala ako ng internet for one week.. ngaun for one month na.. wtf.. tumatawag ako araw araw sa support nla tae.. na memorize ko na troubleshooting nla.. tapos ngaung sept 26 2006 tumwag ako 9:30 am na tapos mga 10:30 am nakikinig ako sa may nag uusap yun pala yung naka usap ko sa fone naka upo lng kin kausap ang mga katabi nya. sinasabi “puta ito tiningnan ko records araw araw tumawag.” sabi ng isang lalaki “taas na proceso na yan… tatawagan ka uli nyan” at may babae nag add pa “sabihin mo nlng na pa monitor at tawag nlng uli” asar na ako.. d nla alam na maririnig ko boses nla.. nag tatawanan pa mga pota.. !!!!!!!! tang ina smart bro service…

    49. Gravatar Icon salimpusa replied on Sep 30th, 2006 at 2:29 am (49)

      gamit ka analogx netstatlive yun ang pang check ng bandwith

    50. Gravatar Icon salimpusa replied on Sep 30th, 2006 at 3:04 am (50)

      puro kayo reklamo reserch muna kayo bago kayo apply.. my bro is bursting up to 390 kbps no problem at all. kahit na dumating yun bagyong millenyo ganun pa din walang pag babago… consistent 2 naging connection ko for 5 months na, and upon reading dis thread ang iinit ng ulo nyo sa mga technical support ng smartbro ganito lang mga tol try to calm ur self 4 sure they will do their best para matulungan nila kayo.. pag opening sentence nyo agad ay mura o galit agad kayo eyyy mga tao din yun mga yun may mga change of mood, nag trabaho din ako sa ibang tchnical support kaso international sop din namin na talagang mag check muna connectivity b4 deploying a contractors or technical personel..share ko lng… one time nag reformat ako ng pc ko dont know how to do kala ko kasi satic ip ang bro kaya nag call ako sa tech support nila may nag assist sakin tech support if im not mistaken his name is eaw di cya by the book mag troubleshoot na restore namin connection ko almost 2min lng, natuwa ako sa kanya and i ask for his supervisor to commend him… kaya wag init mga ulo mga tol… ok???? SMART BRO ROCKS!!!!!

    51. Gravatar Icon Machtung replied on Oct 9th, 2006 at 5:52 pm (51)

      Using http://www.pldtplay.com as a baseline for bandwidth tests is not very smart.

      Those servers are located locally and if your ISP has a peering arrangement with PLDT access to those servers will definitely be much quicker.

      Try using international bandwith checking sites instead. In fact, in my comparison of different ISP services, sometimes the cheaper and “slower” plans are able to download faster leading me to believe that it’s not so much the subscription plan you have as much as it is the collective pipe out of the country.

    52. Gravatar Icon toricia replied on Oct 10th, 2006 at 8:23 pm (52)

      smart bro sucks. download speed of 11 kbps… ‘nyeta. broadband pala, ha. for 999 a month??? jeez.

    53. Gravatar Icon bryan replied on Dec 8th, 2006 at 2:33 am (53)

      mga putang inang SMART na yan!!!!!! SMART talaga manloko ng mga tao!!!!!! kunwari ta2wag ka sa *1888 putang ina sa2bihin sayo MONITOR ka lang ang putang ina kung monitor lang dami kuna sana monitor ngayon!!!!!!!! kaya kung ako sa inyo mga SMART user mag GLOBE nalng tyo o kaya PLDT ayus pa un!! sulit ung iba2yad mo ndi kamukha sa PUTANG INANG SMARTTTTTT!!!!!!!!! ayyyyy, LECHE ung mga nag ttrabaho sa SMART mamatay na kyo!!!!! SMART BBBBBOOOOO!!!!!!!

    54. Gravatar Icon bryan replied on Dec 8th, 2006 at 2:36 am (54)

      ikaw naman salimpusa baka kapit bahay mu lang un transmitter ng SMART BBOOO!! ^_^!! pis TYO!!

    55. Gravatar Icon Metalena replied on Dec 22nd, 2006 at 5:26 am (55)

      puro kayo daldal!!!
      tara na!!! pasabugin na natin smart!!!

    56. Gravatar Icon MR.president replied on Dec 22nd, 2006 at 1:35 pm (56)

      ..yes…. yes tama nga ang sabi nila up to 384 kbps..pero di nila sinsabi na maintain ang speed nila..masyado taung na akit dun sa bilis at 999 pesos… un pla kpag nagpakonek k na sasabihan k muna na 1 yr ang kailngan mong bayaran at kumpletuhin sa ayaw at sa gusto mo dun p lang malinaw na panloloko n nila yan ibig sabihin kahit di ka satisfy sa sevice nila eh kelngan mo parin sila bigyan ng byad.. how sad kya sa totoo lang panakot ko lang ung pull out (natkot namn)pero magbabayd pa rin ako ng 1 yr nun dba kya tinuloy ko n lang. yan ang sabi sakin. tinanung ko pa. ilang araw ba mainstall yan.. sabi nila 3-5 days. aba 2 weeks na wla pa rin sabi ko bka mraming nagpgwa at malyu ang lugar namin. kya pinunthan ko sa center nila. ang sabi ko pag di nyo kinabit yan pull out ko n lang.aba kinabukasan magic. nkabit kgad.5 tao pa pumunta samin ng 5pm at nagmamadali aw.pero sa totoo lang sabi ng ate ko wla sila lban kahit di ka magbayad nung 1 yr kc wla k namn pinirmahn na agreement kya wla sila lban dun…minsan tinanung ko pa ung customer service kung kelan maaayus yan sabi nya eh.. ser i advise that u keep monitoring and indefinite time kung kelan maayos. sabi ko ganun ba indefinite time pero definite ung byad at singil nyo…di nkpagsalita cguro npahiya..parang bkla pa ung nkausap ko na nka braze kya hirap ako umintindi ng sinsabi nya prang may lmang tit3 ung bibig nya..joke.. pagbutihin nila ung service nila pra di sila namumura ng customer. s advertisent ang sayang ng nagkokompyuter na babae nanlalki pa ung mta sa bilis…. ako hindi eh naiiyak ako sa bilis pero in fairness may time na mabilis sila mga 1 month cguro tpos babalik ulit sa dati…. peace yah i just said my side
      magpapsko pa namn sana give speed on christmas day..
      SMART BROKEN

    57. Gravatar Icon gerryb23 replied on Dec 26th, 2006 at 12:10 am (57)

      sino may problema sa smart…may tweak dyan mga bro para mapabilis ang connection. 09157893666 or 09206703586. dati galit na galit din ako smart at 2 mos na super super bagal connection ko…ako na mismo nagayos pati antenna…hay…leche tech service nila kasi ako lahat nagayos.

    58. Gravatar Icon Eliteskill replied on Dec 27th, 2006 at 5:52 pm (58)

      grabe nkakainis hmmmp d na yata nila maayus ang service nila para bumlis ang mga connection…….d rin sana ako mag papakabit nito eh kaso no choice…..badtrip 1 yr na ako subcriber ng smartbro…..pero 2 mnths lang ako nasiyahan sa connection ko….bago dumating ang bagyo….ang ganda ng connection ko……pero natapos na bagyo ang pangit na ng connection ko……huhuhuhuuh…ive lost my project…….im a web designer…..

    59. Gravatar Icon leo replied on Jan 2nd, 2007 at 2:06 pm (59)

      Mga Bro..

    60. Gravatar Icon PrettyD replied on Jan 11th, 2007 at 4:20 pm (60)

      Urgent Complaint/Request re SmartBro/SmartWifi
      National Telecommunications Commission
      BIR Road, East Triangle, Diliman, Quezon City
      Metro Manila, Philippines

      Dear Sirs/Mesdames:

      As a co-convenor of TXTPower, a consumer advocacy group formed in 2001, to safeguard and assert consumer rights and welfare vis-a-vis the telecommunications companies, we wish to inform the Commission of mounting complaints from subscribers of SmartBro, formerly known as
      SmartWifi, the wireless broadband service of Smart Communications.

      Since the start of commercial operations of SmartWifi and even after its subsequent repackaging as SmartBro, this service has generally been perceived by its customers as substandard, unreliable and untruthful in its marketing pitches.

      Since April this year, when Smart Communications relaunched the service as SmartBro, problems of intermittent or dead connection, lack of automatic refunds for such occurrences, inadequate number and lack of knowhow of the Smart customer service personnel assigned to the service, and the refusal of Smart business center to accept complaints and service queries (except to accept service applications) have continued to rile SmartWifi/SmartBro subscribers.

      A certain Mark Baul, who calls himself “a SmartWifi/SmartBro victim” has emailed the Commission as late as yesterday, as per a copy forwarded to us. His problem is the same as those of many others, as the Commission will know by visiting online forums where subscribers pour their anger and frustration over the service:
      http://www.pinoyexchange.com/forums/showthread.php?t=210173&page=22

      Some have even set up a website dedicated to chronicling the travails of being a SmartWifi/SmartBro victim: http://www.smartwifi.org.ph/

      Due to the bad and unreliable service, many SmartWifi/SmartBro subscribers have naturally entertained suggestions of shifting to other broadband internet providers. However, they are prevented from doing so by contracts binding them to SmartWifi/SmartBro for one year.

      Needless to say, these subscribers demand government action to protect their consumer rights and welfare. On their behalf, we in TXTPower ask the Commission to:

      1.Order Smart Communications to immediately respond to all complaints regarding SmartWifi/SmartBro including that from Mr. Baul;

      2.Conduct its own investigation and provide all fair and legal remedies to aggrieved subscribers including rebates, refunds and the rescinding of subscription contracts;

      3.During the pendency of (1) and (2), to order Smart Communications to stop accepting new subscriptions to SmartWifi/SmartBro; and

      4.Investigate similar complaints of subscribers of SkyDSL, BayantelDSL, PLDT myDSL, Globelines Broadband and other broadband internet services.

      We would gladly extend all possible assistance to the Commission for the thorough investigation of this issue and towards the satisfaction of consumer rights and welfare of aggrieved subscribers.

      Looking forward to the Commission’s positive response.

      Respectfully yours,

      Tonyo Cruz
      Co-Convenor
      TXTPower

    61. Gravatar Icon jason replied on Jan 13th, 2007 at 2:15 pm (61)

      walang kwenTa sMARTBRO>..after xmas til now..di na kami makapaglaro ng ran online..tapos cinisisi pa nila ung e-games….napapagod na rin me tumawag sa *1888 nila..
      lang ya kau

    62. Gravatar Icon explorer replied on Jan 19th, 2007 at 12:48 am (62)

      whats up Smart Bro subscribers!

      kung tinatamad kaung tumawag sa *1888. punta kau sa
      PLDT Exchange Building, Garnet Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig, Philippines [near Strata]. don ang contact center nila. don ako nagttrabaho eh. kami sumasagot ng call nu. he he. naiintindihan ko mga hinaing nu. kung alam nu lang. whats behind smartbro.

    63. Gravatar Icon clorox replied on Jan 22nd, 2007 at 2:37 pm (63)

      hi po sa inyong lahat hehe… grabe naman kayo magmura uy! ok naman smartbro ah.. sakin ok ang connection, mabilis, daig pa ung dsl ng mga internet cafes mabilis din mag download, mabilis mag surt kaya lang mabagal pag nag viview ng video.. pero ok na un, di naman importante, ang importante ay ung mabilis ang pag babrowse sa net… ang problema ko lang ngayon ay bumili ako ng bagong hard disk and syempre panibagong install ng xp, mga 3 days na na wala akong smartbro kasi nga nasira ung dati kong harddisk, ngayon, tinatry kong contakin ang smartbro nag riring pero walang sumasagot??? ano ba un??? gusto ko sana kasi may pumunta sa house namin para i set up ulit ung smartbro connection namin kasi di po ako marunong hehe.. KUNG SINO PO ANG NAKAKABASA NITO NA TAGA SMARTBRO NA PEDENG PUMUNTA SA BAHAY NAMIN PARA MAG AYOS, PAKI EMAIL PO AKO csmzlink@yahoo.com DI PO KASI AKO MARUNONG.. DONT WORRY SYEMPRE BABAYARAN KO PO KAYO HEHE.. UN LANG PO

    64. Gravatar Icon clorox replied on Jan 22nd, 2007 at 2:40 pm (64)

      i add ko lang po hehe.. taga makati po ako, if sino po nakakabasa neto na available sa tuesday and wednesday (jan23 and 24) pls paki txt na lng ako 2loy hehe.. 09102240393.. salamat po.

    65. Gravatar Icon kathrina replied on Feb 3rd, 2007 at 10:42 pm (65)

      hello…………
      ok nman ang smartbro,mabilis xa kso my virus ang ang pc ko sna mymagservice d2 sa haws nmin d2 sa molino,phase 3,blk.3 lot 26,rose street, citihomes, molino4, bacoor cavite
      e2 cel # q.09106889850….attention mr. erlan gambalan pki tignan naman po ang pc ko d2…bngay kc sakin ni sir olan # nyo….tnx hope to see you soon here….

      kathz cuesta

    66. Gravatar Icon pissed replied on Feb 7th, 2007 at 2:39 am (66)

      kung wag ko nlang kaya bayaran toh? did any1 tryed to do this? ayoko mag bayad ng 999 for the rest of the yr for a fuck shit service i always lag and DC sa tantra tpos ang bobo nga mga CSR monitor tangna untog ko sa monitor mukha nia e

    67. Gravatar Icon pissed replied on Feb 7th, 2007 at 2:43 am (67)

      may kilala nba kau nakulong? kc di nag byad ng monthly dues? wag nlang tau lhat mg byad pra instant eb naren tau lahat hahaaha

    68. Gravatar Icon sniff replied on Feb 12th, 2007 at 1:00 am (68)

      TANG-INA talaga yang smartbro na yan alam lang mangolekta ng pera kaso di maayos-ayos serbisyo nila. Try nyo sendan sila ng disconnection letter of course always make two copies: para sa inyo and para sa kanila. Try nyo din kuha ng screenshot ng kabagalan ng linya nila. Den punta kayo s ofis nila pra iabot ang letter na yun complaining sa speed ng connection nila and condition na kung di nila maabot yung speed na inaplayan nyo ipapadisconnect nyo na.

      Pagkatapos nyan sasabihin sa inyo na kelangan bayaran yung 1 year kasi yun ang nakalagay sa contract. Ang sagot nyo dyan “tama po kayo kung narereceive po namin yung speed na nkalagay sa contract kaso di po, kayo nga po di tumutupad sa contract so bridge-of-contract na po yung ginagawa nyo”. Sasabihin sa inyo test ulit yung connection for the last time after ng sangkatutak na tawag nyo sa tech nila and pagpunta ng contractor nila. So pagbigyan nyo and sabihin nyo sa kanila na kung di talaga maabot yung line speed na nakasaaad sa contract ipapadisconnect nyo na. Yan maya laban kayo dyan sa 1 year contract na yan basta may kopya kayo ng letter and kung may mga email kayo sa tech nila. BRIDGE-OF-CONTRACT ang nangyayari dahil di nila ntutupad ang nakalagay sa contract na line speed na inaplayan natin..

      Try nyo yan gagana yan sa 1 year contract ng putang-inang smartbro na yan.

    69. Gravatar Icon joseph replied on Feb 19th, 2007 at 11:35 pm (69)

      you better not pay 999!

    70. Gravatar Icon chips galore replied on Feb 24th, 2007 at 3:12 pm (70)

      I’ve been with SmartBro/Smart Wifi/Meridian for almost 2 years. Before, ok naman. Starting last November, halos araw2 ang problem. Always nawawala ang connection. And useless din ang pagtawag sa customer care hotline, useless din ang pagdeploy nila ng tech teams dito sa bahay. Wlang improvement for the last 3 months. It’s a waste of money. Also, their agents have no manners at all.

    71. Gravatar Icon NagMaMaRuNoNg replied on Feb 25th, 2007 at 8:13 am (71)

      Alam nyo guyz… pasalamat tyo sa mga bandidong abusaf MNLF MILF na yan eh etc… kc inaksyonan na nila dati yan, kya nila pinasabog mga cell sites dati dahil dun…. hnd na sila gumwa ng forum tlgang todo action kagad.. yan ang serbisyo na dapat gayahin ng smartbro at sa mga makukupad na ewan jan….

      tsk tsk tsk..

    72. Gravatar Icon desert fox replied on Mar 1st, 2007 at 4:26 pm (72)

      it’s breach of contract, not bridge of contract

    73. Gravatar Icon kugang replied on Mar 7th, 2007 at 2:20 pm (73)

      mga pre…. i think smart are doing their best right now to fix connection problems..i believe they will discount those who have connection problems. just call the hotline, and leave your name and account #. i feel bad for you guys though. sana matapos na problema, coz so far my smartbro connection is ok. not so great.. but ok na rin… those who have phone, mag-dsl na kayo! me i live in a jungle, wlang linya. hehe..

    74. Gravatar Icon redvampire replied on Mar 11th, 2007 at 2:03 pm (74)

      amputa smartbro di ako makakonek sa dal.net mirc.

      smart bro installer di nagrereply pag etext or tawagan. kainisssssss

    75. Gravatar Icon ace replied on Mar 18th, 2007 at 8:52 pm (75)

      poooooooottttaaaaaaaaaa tama yan lam nio b npakabagal nitong smart bro na 2 kinunan lng ata tau ng pero ng mga haup n2 Smart BRoken!! waa tang ina ung phone ko uminit s tagal kong pag tawag s hotline alng sumasagot poota 1hr din un hlos nppnginipan ko n ung tugtog s tagal haup!

    76. Gravatar Icon bulat replied on Mar 27th, 2007 at 12:01 pm (76)

      ang bagal ng speed ko tapos sobra lag pag play ako ng WorldofWarcraft nakakaasar nga sila ang bagal.pede ba mag request sa kanila na iupgrade yung speed? kalowka ang up to 7x nila eh lagi ako nsa 120+ lang ang speed minsan nga nsa 80 lang..hindi kaya ng nilalaro ko ang ganon kabagal..kahit mag pay nlang ako ng extra ma upgrade lang ang speed

    77. Gravatar Icon