Make mine ‘Plug and Play’

You’re sick of all the noise in the office and you want to get away, but you have a deadline to meet and the boss is breathing down your neck. What do you do?

A) Say you’re sick and suffer the consequences of your boss’s wrath.

B) Wear your earplugs and hope they shut out all the noise in the office.

C) Go to a GlobeQuest hotspot with your handy laptop or notebook, have a cuppa brew while you write the story in peace. You finish your award-winning piece and the story you write is just what the boss wants. You e-mail it right there and the best thing is, you meet your deadline as well.

You opt for option C of course.

And this is exactly what GlobeQuest’s WiZ or Wireless Internet Zone, is all about. ‘’’Plug and Play’" is what we like to call it," says Cocoy Claravall, head of the application and solutions delivery group of GlobeQuest at the launch of the service held recently in Cebu City. The same service was launched in Manila on May 16 and the hotspots are at the Ayala Greenbelt 2 and 3, Greenhills Theatre Mall, Pioneer Highlands and the RCBC EAT Food Court.

"But our hotspots in Manila do not end there – we will set up more eating hotspots both in the Makati and Mandaluyong areas," adds Boboy Romero, head wireline data.

"What is a hotspot?" we ask.

"Actually it is similar to what we say when we use the cell phone – may signal ba o wala. So, a hotspot is a place where we have an access point or a signal, and anyone who is a GlobeQuest Internet subscriber and has a Wifi enabled laptop, notebook or PDA can simply log into the service, punch in the password and they are online," says Boboy. "What makes the service different from the other Internet Service providers is that it can be availed of minus the need to log into your service provider by dialing up."

Of course, subscribers can still avail of dial-up services if they choose to work from home, he adds.

"What we have succeeded in doing through our ‘Plug and Play’ system is to remove from our subscribers the hassle of having to configure their laptops, notebooks or PDAs when they get to a hotspot," says Cocoy. "It’s really easy. All a subscriber has to do is type in their password when they are in a hotspot and they are connected – all this in less than two minutes."

Needless to say, it is the notebook, laptop or PDA users that GlobeQuest has targeted for this service. People who need to be connected and mobile all at the same time.

Since we were in Cebu where the launch took place, it was harder to convince us that such a system could work, so we asked for a demo. And a demo we got. At the Cebu Sports Complex, which is a stone’s throw away from the Marriot Hotel, another Globequest hotspot, we got to try out the service.

"The first thing that you notice with GlobeQuest Broadband service is that you are connected to the Internet 1,000 times faster than if you went through your dial-up service provider. After all, with a dial-up connection starts at 56K; with GlobeQuest’s WiZ connection starts at 400K. The other plus as we have already stated is that you can go wireless or dial up, the choice is yours," adds Cocoy.

While I checked out my favorite Internet sites, it was not so much the speed that impressed me, although I must say that I liked the fact that I did not have to wait for five minutes to get to a site, or did I get a busy signal while trying to connect (because I was connected wirelessly) like I usually do when I go through my Internet service provider in Manila or the one in the office. But I did like the freedom of not having to go in search of a telephone jack with a working telephone line or go infrared with a cell phone to get connected, and for anyone who likes to work with their notebooks on the fly, that is the major plus.

Plug and Play, indeed. From switching on the computer to logging on to GlobeQuest to downloading e-mail all in a matter of a few minutes. What more could I ask for?

Nuff said.

We hopped over to the Marriott Hotel, where I got to try out the same service in the comforts of the hotel’s VIP lounge.

"GlobeQuest service started being put up in September. By January we had a test run and in March it was officially launched," said Christiane Wasfy, Cebu City Marriot Hotel general manager. "One of the conditions we set with GlobeQuest was that the service they give would be Plug and Play. For us here at Marriott, it was a transition from a dial-up service to a broadband service provider," adds Wasfy.

What GlobeQuest provides at the Marriott is GlobeQuest Biz, which is a broadband- to-room service that lets hotel guests surf the Net or do business online and at top speeds at that. At the Marriott hotel guests can get connected 70 times faster that they used to with their dial-up service provider in the past, we were told.

"The service has been well appreciated by all our guests specially the business travelers who need to get access to their e-mail quickly. Even I use the service and I have been impressed with the speed by which I can download my e-mail," adds Wasfy.

At the Marriott, all 303 rooms are broadband-capable including the executive lounge, business center, meeting rooms, ballroom, lobby, Garden Café and pool area. "We are happy to have GlobeQuest Biz here at the Marriot and very proud that our hotel is the first in Cebu to have this service," Wasfy says.

GlobeQuest started its wireline data service about three years ago, but the service was only launched in July last year. "We have already reached the goal we set out to reach. That is to be a strong player in the field.

Right now we hold the number two spot and that is good for us," says Boboy proudly. Although there is no doubt that Globe Telecom is one of the strongest players in the Handyphone business, the need to make sure that people stay connected whether it be through the cell phone or through the Internet is a growing concern in these parts of the world.

"The need for people to be connected whether they are in the office or outside is a must.

And GlobeQuest hopes to be the carrier that will do just that," opines Boboy.

The fact that connection time is faster is one big plus, the other is GlobeQuest’s claim that there is less downtime. This is what GlobeQuest refers to as their broadband Internet Service.

And just what is that? We ask. It starts with a Digital Subscriber Line or DSL in technospeak. This means that through GlobeQuest’s DSL the connections are faster. And there is the Broadband Internet Direct, a leased line Internet Service. There is the GlobeQuest BiZ or the Broadband Internet Zone. This service provides secure, reliable and convenient Internet access for travelers. The advantage of becoming a "BiZ partner" with GlobeQuest is that it allows hotels, condominiums and other multi-tenant establishments to build their service image and profitably cater to the online requirements of their clientele.

And there is the GlobeQuest WiZ or the Wireless Internet Zone, which is the newest Internet service of GlobeQuest. This service provides customers the best convenience for mobility and high-speed Internet. To make it even more customer-friendly, GlobeQuest has come up with both post-paid and pre-paid service, which they hope will meet all the needs of their clientele.

There are several pre-paid plans to choose from or a post-paid plan of P2,500 for unlimited WiFi use.

Romero admits that the ISP market is a very competitive one, where the only ones that will survive are those that deliver the best services. "But the price for the service has come down and now it is more affordable to many more people," Boboy adds.

"GlobeQuest has reached a point where we know that we are ready to offer our services and offer them well," shares Boboy. "This is why we know that with our WiZ and BiZ we provide more convenience, faster connections and the greatest access to the Internet world for all our customers. That is what GlobeQuest wireless connectivity is really all about."

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For more information on this service call 757-8378.