Smart Bro USB Modem–Do I deserve this inefficiency?

December 2nd, 2008 by Sexy Mom · Viewed 2341 times · 10 Comments

Connecting through Smart Bro USB modem from the 15th floor of Medical City General Hospital on the second day, I got this result from Speedtest.net.

The first night was okay, at least for chat and opening emails at a very slow speed—though these are not even the barest minimum requirements for running a virtual office. I was able to connect to Skype, but voice quality was soooo bad, so was VOIP. I just had to file leave and catch on sleep instead of getting frustrated and stressed out. Sorry, I was not able to take a screen shot nor a speed test. By the way, I remember responding to a plurk message that I was fine with Smart Bro modem, but it seemed like it was only during the first few hours of using it. Also, the few times I used the Smart Bro USB modem the last two weeks, I was fine, except that it kept on connecting and disconnecting making me lose hundreds of pesos, and in another instance connected to Smart while my son was in Cabanatuan City, but could not connect to the Internet.

What do you think about these second night results? 28 kbps download and 5 kbps upload—Jurassic isn’t it? Dial up must have even been faster. I could not even open GMail, nor GTalk, nor any other website. I was able to open YM but after a lot of attempts, losing connection and connecting again. What I am not sure is if I was charged P10 every time the line got disconnected. But this does not matter as much as the fact that Smart Bro was not able to serve its purpose when I needed it most.

I am not ranting, you know. But yes, I was VERY FRUSTRATED! I am just stating the facts—the screen shots are witness to that. Tell me, do I and all the other subscribers using Smart Bro USB modem, who experienced or continue to experience the same disaster or misfortune deserve this inefficiency?

I was glad to reach home with my Bayan connection, 575 kbps download and 750 upload, though my love-hate relationship with Bayan is another story.

Tags: Blogging and the Internet

10 responses so far ↓

noemi // Dec 2, 2008 at 10:01 pm

do you think your modem could be malfunctioning. I use Smart 3g which I think is the same as SmartBro and my speed is satisfactory of at least 300 kbps and more.

Sexy Mom: No idea, Noems, it’s exactly the unit that Angelo bought last October, and which he reviewed on 27 October: http://racoma.com.ph/archives/smart-bro-plugit-prepaid-kit-review
noemi // Dec 2, 2008 at 10:10 pm

I remember for one year I complained to PLDT about my non-existent internet..when i said I will terminate, they went to the house to check my connection and found modem to be defective
an2nette // Dec 2, 2008 at 10:46 pm

Hi Ms. D, we also have smart bro modem, naubos na ang load, pati pasensya ko ubos na rin, its really dissapointing and very stressful, we really regret buying it, best regards. not anymore cool but angry mom, an2nette
mari // Dec 3, 2008 at 6:54 am

i’m on smart and i use my cel as modem. 10pesos per 30mins din ang charging. lately, mabilis naman sya, which is a very big surprise for me. i’m also thinking of getting a smart bro but i might consider sun cellular din. still checking for consumer feedback.
ba // Dec 8, 2008 at 1:10 am

Depende rin kasi sa signal yan. Baka hindi siya naghop-on sa 3G signal.

And our Bayan connection is supposed to be 1400kbps. Right now it’s running at 1218kbps
Ro Manalo // Dec 10, 2008 at 4:03 pm

I use Globe. At first, everything worked fine. Tapos biglang ayaw na mag-work. I called their customer service and they said to check again after a day or two. But it’s so frustrating! So I’m having my mom complain about it, since she works at Globe and she was the one who bought the modem for me.
yolynne // Dec 19, 2008 at 2:42 pm

I think it also depends on the signal in your place. In our case here in Zamboanga, there are places where Smart Bro has a faster signal and there are also places where Globe Visibility functions faster. Buy the two na lang para you have an option =)
marie // Dec 23, 2008 at 11:03 pm

MALIGAYANG PASKO PO!
Roy Sencio // Feb 8, 2009 at 1:47 pm

You are not the first person who has had an unfortunate experience with smart bro and I doubt you will be the last since these guys never seem to improve their service, and never seem to change some of their policies that are unfair to their customers… here is how they plan to do it.. http://www.roysencio.com/my-smart-bro-problem/
Dr. Danilo P. Calam // Dec 13, 2009 at 6:51 am

so far ,so fair for me the smartbro services because when there’s some problem on my internet connection and i called their hotline no. they can remedy/solve the problem w/in 6-12 hrs. its normal there are some problems or interruptions due to perhaps of signal or increasing users at a certain time… i hope they sustain their prompt services whenever there are problems…

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