racoma.com.phJ. Angelo Racoma on technology, economics, writing, problogging, and getting things done

The issue of ISPs setting up bandwidth limits is a popular one these days. The NTC is even mulling a memorandum that will require broadband providers and mobile service providers to limit the amount of bandwidth served per customer. This is intended to help maintain a high quality of service. Heavy users are then asked to pay more, which should be fair to those everyday users who don’t really need that much bandwidth.

We earlier reported that Globe telecom’s unlimited mobile broadband offering is not really unlimited, but has a daily maximum bandwidth, after which you will be cut off.

It seems other service providers are following suit, either by changing their Terms of Service, adding provisions for bandwidth limitations, or simply highlighting existing limitations that were already in place before.

One such ISP is Bayantel, which is already highlighting its acceptable use policy. Users are said to be limited to 100 Gigabytes per month, but can check for usage through fairuse.bti.net.ph.

Yugatech thinks the 100 GB allocation per month is generous enough, and I agree. I’ve checked my usage history, and my monthly use only amounts to 5 to 10 GB, so Bayantel’s allocation is more than enough for my needs. Now I might sometimes have spikes in usage, such as when I’m uploading videos and photos for sharing, or when downloading media. But for most intents and purposes, 100 GB per month is more than enough.

NTC’s proposal actually imposes a minimum assured level of service from broadband providers, which means they are required to serve you at least 80% of the advertised rate.

Some technology commentaries don’t think a bandwidth cap is fair, though, with the argument that not everyone consumes their bandwidth allocation anyway. This means that providers actually have excess capacity, but may not be willing to assure this service to everyone.

How much bandwidth do you consume per month? Do you agree to the proposal for bandwidth capping?

According to the US FCC, consumers only get about 50% of their subscribed Internet connection speed (PDF report). Yugatech points out that in the Philippines, what matters more is the nominal amount of bandwidth that consumers get. This is because most consumer accounts here are in the 1 to 2 Mbps league. Half of that would be about 512K to 1 Mbps.

Perhaps if you were subscribed to a 10 Mbps account and only got 5 Mbps, that won’t be too noticeable, if all you do is browse the web and send email. However, if you’re fond of downloading media, like music, videos, and the like, then you will surely feel shortchanged. And if your subscribed bandwidth were low enough, to start with, then 50% will surely be something to complain about.

This is why companies advertise their connection speeds as “up to XXX Mbps.” Look at the fine print. Your subscription plan will usually say that quality of service can be affected by congestion, losses in transmission, and the like. Some companies, like Bayan DSL, even advertise their speeds as “burstable,” meaning it’s not a consistent speed, but you can get it during off-peak hours.

It’s even worse when you do get the advertised speed, but the latency is just too much that each item downloads slowly into your browser or software. This is the case with most 3G or even HSDPA connections locally. You do get the advertised speed, but that’s on a per-file basis. You sometimes have to wait for each item to get through the pipes because of the high latency.

Personally, I can say that 90% of my computer use involves web browsing, email, and social networking. The other 10% involves the occasional download of applications and media. And I usually schedule my media download at off-peak hours, when I can just sleep over it and expect the big download to finish when I wake up. Of course, not everyone might have the same habits. You might want your media right here, right now. And so you might want to squeeze out as much as you want from your broadband subscription.

What connection speed are you comfortable with? And do you actually need that much speed at any given time of the day? If you do have a broadband subscription, do you get 100% of the advertised or contract speed?

You can usually check with speedtest.net if your actual throughput is as fast as the claimed speed.

My Bayantel DSL connection has been slow lately, and I’ve been experiencing some intermittent connections. That would’ve been okay if my connection were just for personal use, but since I use it for work, then I can’t afford to be cut off just when timing is critical. I’ve had important chats, VoIP calls and upload cut off and it while it would usually take a few clicks to reconnect (via router) there are some cases when the connection would be down for five minutes or more.

One other thing, I can’t seem to download using bittorrent anymore. Files that used to take 30 minutes to 1 hour of download (like a 350+ MB Linux .ISO file) would now take days. This is disappointing.

I recently received a call from Globe telemarketers (I wonder where they get my contact info) telling me they have a package almost similar to my current Bayan DSL, but only faster. For PhP 1,295 I get a 1 MBPS connection, a landline subscription and some free gadgets like an inkjet printer, webcam and headset.

Personally, I don’t care for the gadgets. I already have an inkjet printer (which also serves as my scanner and copier), and most of my computers have built-in webcams and mics. What I have been looking for is a package that also gives free hours or minutes with local WiFi providers. Globe broadband does offer free one hour Globe WIZ access per month with the PhP 1,295 package. That’s not much, considering that only costs about PhP 100 or so prepad, and that I could connect using my HSDPA enabled mobile phone (thru bluetooth) for only PhP 20 per hour (P5/15 minutes x 4).

I’m not so sure about the reliability of Globe Broadband connection in my area (UP Village), so I would like to get inputs from those who do have experience with Globe. This might help me decide whether to stick to Bayantel or switch.

Just got word from Bayantel DSL customer service that they have increased speeds across the board. New plan speeds are as follows:

* Plan 899 (PhP 899 per month) – from 384 Kbps now 768 Kbps, burstable to 1280 Kbps during off-peak hours
* Plan 1699 (PhP 1,699 per month) – from 768 Kbps now 1280 Kbps, burstable to 1536 Kbps during off-peak hours
* Plan 1999 (PhP 1,999 per month; new plan!) – 2048 Kbps
* Plan 2560 (PhP 2,560 per month) – from 1536 Kbps now 2560 Kbps

Apparently new subscribers as of Nov 1st of this year are getting these packages already. Existing subscribers have to request for an upgrade, which I find very inconvenient and unfair (because we don’t get it automatically). Still, this is a good move on Bayantel’s part, especially considering that their competitors are also increasing speeds.

Here’s one of my latest speedtest results:

What’s the deal with the ZTE Broadband issue that the Philippine media is abuzz with, anyway? I have my very own ZTE Broadband thing:

And it’s sitting right on my desk – my ZTE DSL modem. It’s ZTE, and it’s for broadband, isn’t it?

Update

I’ve posted an update here, in case you’d like to read more about the ZTE NBN Project.