Have you been Spanned yet?

In the Dark Ages before the advent of cel-lular phones, my dad called the cops on us. At 2 o’clock in the morning, we would be sitting on a sidewalk eating balut with our friends when a cruise car would pull alongside.

"Your dad is really worried, so you girls had better head on home," the party-pooper policeman would say as he stuck his head out the window. He dallied until we got into our Brasilia, before getting on the police radio to report our movement to the station. Ostensibly, this was just in case my kulit father called again. I can tell you that the cop business became an even bigger bummer when we started dating, and we told ourselves that in the future we would allow our children to be "free spirits."

Now it looks like I’ve become my dad. I don’t resort to extreme measures because the city in which I now live is too big and impersonal. However, I become a worrywart when my boys aren’t home when they are supposed to be.

"But we’re grown, responsible men," protest the two, aged 26 and 21, and it is an acknowledged fact. But still I cannot help it. When the frisson of anxiety grips me and builds up, I need to know exactly where they are for my peace of mind. Fortunately, communication has never been easier. With BayanTel’s new service, it can become cheaper as well.

Bayan Telecommunications makes keeping in touch more effortless. By 2008, the Lopez-owned company expects its landline subscriber base to reach 400,000 — an increase of 100,000 from its current number of subscribers. More significantly, it is allotting P1.5 billion this year for a wireless local service called Span.

Span phones function like mobile phones since users can move around. They have greater reach than the conventional cordless landline telephones and have text messaging features as well. The best part about it is that the service allows for unlimited calling with a fixed monthly fee of P749 a month. The latest innovation has the same features as the conventional landline (Caller ID, Caller Waiting, Three-Way Calling, Call Forwarding, etc.) With its added features, however, Span is "a two-in-one technological wonder," says Tunde Fafunwa, BayanTel chief executive consultant.

Certainly the introduction of Span in the Philippines bodes well for consumers. An industry-wide survey conducted among subscribers of the different telecommunications companies and Internet service providers in the country showed that 90 percent of landline, 85 percent of Internet and 92 percent of cellphone users have experienced frustrations with their service and billing problems: slow connections and poor customer care were cited as causes of frustration.

Moreover, 25.7 percent of respondents stated that they are "steaming mad" with communications technology, 45 percent of Internet, 23 percent of landline and 32 percent of mobile phone users in the country have "moderate or higher levels of distrust" for communications service providers, and one out of four Filipinos feel that telecommunications companies in the country have not been able to deliver on their promises.

Despite the shortcomings, however, Tunde Fafunwa points out that 93 percent of customers will not change their landline service provider, 72 percent will not switch to a new Internet service, and 86 percent will keep on using their current mobile phone system.

"This is because the majority believe that the situation is not likely to improve soon, so they might as well stick it out with the provider they’re used to dealing with," explains Fafunwa. He concedes that BayanTel may have been part of the problem in the past. However, "the difference is that we are going to do something about it," he says.

A customer guarantee program bolstered by a P50-million rebate program has been created to ensure customer satisfaction.

The rebate program comes with a quick-repair promise. Fafunwa explains that in their program, if a phone or DSL connection remains un-repaired for more than 24 hours, "a one-day refund (equivalent to P100) will be given for every four hours the problem stays unsolved." If a subscriber’s connection is out for more than 72 hours, on the other hand, his or her service fee for the month will be waived.

Span is currently unavailable where I live but BayanTel has become an attractive option for residents of Marikina, Pasay, Caloocan and Manila, as well as Naga and Tacloban.

It is impossible to be with our friends and loved ones all the time, but the next best thing is being able to talk to them on the telephone. BayanTel makes this easier.

"By combining pioneering communications technologies with quality service," Fafunwa says, "BayanTel is set on revolutionizing telecommunications in the country and bringing out the best in the lives of every Filipino."