Globe upgrades 4 Bukidnon areas, Wao to 4G
Don Carlos town, site of the proposed Bukidnon domestic airport, had its upgrade last year.
Bagadiong said Don Carlos was upgraded next to Davao City, where Globe made 4G upgrades starting in 2012.
Bagadiong was in the Bukidnon Sangguniang Panlalawigan Monday to address complaints referred to board members about the network’s service in Bukidnon.
Among the concerns thrown at her was the alleged theft of mobile phone load. Board member Melchor Maramara said it is a perennial problem that they must address. Bagadiong said phone users must check if they have accidentally availed of promotional offers from the network.
Bagadiong listed the cities of Valencia and Malaybalay under areas with 3G connectivity, along with the towns of Maramag and San Fernando.
The cities of Valencia and Malaybalay, she added, were not prioritized for 4G upgrade because they have been recently upgraded to 3G.[]
She said when an area is classified under such connectivity standard; it is true for all barangays in those areas. She admitted, however, when asked about it that there are still “dead spots,” especially in remote areas.
The rest of Bukidnon is still under “2G”, she said, but added that upgrading is in progress.
Bagadiong said upgrade to 4G is based on internal technical recommendations using, among other parameters, the number of subscribers.
The term 4G LTE is really two terms, according to http://www.verizonwireless.com/news.
“4G means the fourth generation of data technology for cellular networks – following 3G, the third generation. LTE stands for Long Term Evolution and is short for a very technical process for high-speed data for phones and other mobile devices. Together, they make 4G LTE – the fastest 4G service available today.
Being the fastest network available means download speeds four to five times faster than 3G networks… Consumers can access the internet wherever there is coverage with any 4G-enabled device, including smartphones, tablets and mobile hotspots.[]
Bagadiong could not reveal actual number of subscribers but she said their network owns a total of 65 to 70 percent of the market in Bukidnon for both pre-paid and post paid subscribers.
Valencia City-based social media advocate and tech enthusiast Kristopher Julius Alcordo told MindaNews there is huge difference between connectivity standards 2G, 3G, and 4G.
“2G is awful slow, barely loading Facebook; 3G is fine, can load Facebook easily; 4G is super fast,” he added.
He clarified that it also depends on the bandwidth: 2G is slow like a straw, 3G is like a garden hose, and 4G is like the main pipe.
“Despite having huge amounts of water that can flow at any given time on the network, there’s only so much water or bandwidth that you can consume (using water as analogy),” he added.
Alcordo warned that customers must be watchful about the networks’ imposition of limits on the bandwidth they can use, adding Globe allegedly “throw the term unlimited around a lot without backing up what it means.”
Bagadiong said in an email Monday they offer unlimited surfing if subscribed to “Unlisurf promo” with no other charges as claimed by many.
She added that they refer to a Fair Use Policy (FUP), which is implemented across all telecommunication networks anywhere in the world. For Globe, she said net cap of 1GB per day and 3GB per month is allowed.
“Once the consumer or subscriber (as we call them) exceeds the allowable cap per day, he/she will not be disconnected in the internet but speed will decrease and signal will automatically shift to 2G,” she added.
Alcordo clarified that potential customers should be careful and be made to understand about the network’s use of the word “unlimited.”
