Minimum not maximum

“This is too slow”.

Even my 10-year old daughter and her friends have noticed how slow the “internet connection” has been lately. After writing my piece “Facebook on the tortoise back”, more people have paid attention to the quality of their service providers and have been giving me their updates.

At the moment, most consumers are convinced that they are now victims of fraudulent misrepresentation on the part of many telecom service providers. The common impression is that telecom companies advertise “high speed internet connection” by using their maximum speed rating such as 1Mbps or above.

But in reality many consumers are not getting what they think they are paying for. We are in fact being promised high speed but end up with minimum speed, which explains why even children can observe the drop in performance when they try to do their homework or research or games.

In fact even the telecoms companies and their lawyers knew this from the beginning. So while their marketing departments were busy selling us the “Dream deal”, the legal departments crafted their escape clause or excuse:

“Quoted speed is MAXIMUM speed. Actual experience may vary depending on computer specs, website congestion and number of people on-line”.

Even for someone like me who took math 11 seven times, it does not require a rocket scientist to tell you that the quoted speed or maximum speed of inter-connectivity will rarely be achieved. If the whole thing is dependent on congestion and population, common sense tells us that the promise of “maximum speed” is an “Ideal concept” far from reality and commonly referred to as “Internet Utopia”.

Since many Filipino consumers are now being short-changed or outrightly lied to by telecom marketing people, the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), as well as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) should step in and make the necessary interventions.

To begin with, my wife who is the real “techie” in the family suggests that the DTI and DOTC should require the service providers to categorically state the guaranteed “MINIMUM Speed” for interconnectivity that each company sells and provides. This minimum speed just like taxi meters, smoke emissions etc should be measurable either by the consumer or the monitoring government agencies.

In the long run, this idea works for both consumers as well as the telcos because we actually end up getting what we are willing to pay for. The Filipino consumers are entitled to truth in transactions, offerings and advertising. If the telcos are not responsible and grateful enough to their customers, then we the consumers can use telecommunications to get what we deserve: the truth.

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Enough already!

That has been the common response of ordinary Filipinos to anything being said or aired about the Quirino Grandstand hostage incident. Filipinos from north to south are wondering if there is nothing else that we should be concerned about?

If we are so concerned about the impact of the hostage incident on tourism or diplomatic relations, then why isn’t the Secretary of Tourism not screaming bloody hell at the PNP and the NBI regarding the robbery-murder of a Korean MISSIONARY just a few hours before the hostage crisis or the abduction-robbery of a Malaysian tourist in Pasay?

The murder-robbery of the Korean missionary was the third incident that started with the robbery-shooting of a family related to Luli Arroyo. People familiar with criminal activity will agree that the gang operates out of the airport, knows who has money and what route they will take; usually Villamor/ C-5/ Ortigas-Pasig. They are either ex-military or ex-police based on their M.O.

In spite of three high-profile, violent incidents in about six months, the NBI and the PNP are zero on the problem. Now we have Malaysians being victimized by what reports claim to be rogue cops. Last year was a “high” in crimes against foreigners, this year we posted 10 foreigners killed in one day.

As for all the hype that some legislators have been giving the matter, I don’t recall any diplomatic feud that took place when terrorists took over hotels in India, killed local and foreign nationals while the police and the army groped in the smoke and confusion barely able to stop the carnage.

Mr. President we have a situation and the police and the NBI should address it as well.

Even Congressman Edcel Lagman should focus on the poor police work and less on the politics and privilege speech. There is serious work that needs to be done and the time for talk and threats is over.

Either come up with REAL solutions and not political statements. Don’t ask for resignation where people want answers. Resignations will come once the investigations and conclusions are made but not before the OFFICIAL investigation is done. Lawmakers must be the first to observe the dictates of the law.

Let us not hold the entire Philippines hostage because of one man’s sin.

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Perhaps we can also suggest to Secretary Leila De Lima of the Department of Justice to put up their own “truth commission” at the Bureau of Immigration so people can discover how many foreign permanent residents have been framed up, deported or prevented from returning to the Philippines because their competitors, ex-spouse or enterprising lawyer used BI connections to keep them out of the country.

In the mean while, my sources in Chinatown and Divisoria personally pointed out stall upon stall that were owned and operated by “Mainland Chinese nationals” who took advantage of a package deal.

The package deal contained immigration documentation and a turnkey retail store of their choice in various malls and commercial buildings in Manila. So while the BI has been watching the airport for illegal or undocumented Pinoys leaving the country to make a living, the corrupt BI people were making real deals within the country.