Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Smart Bro Share It Lock In Period

Smart Broadband, Inc. extended the Smart Bro Share It lock-in period to two years, it confused me at first. Why would Smart Broadband, Inc. want to do that? The previous one year lock-in period was already long enough, for crying out loud.

Smart Bro Share It router’s fee is now waived. In the past, you have to pay for the Smart Bro Share It router. So at first, I thought that this was the reason why Smart Broadband, Inc. extended the lock-in period. Afterall, it would be unfair to Smart if the subscriber would suddenly terminate the service just after getting a free Smart Bro Share It router and before Smart could even recoup the cost.

But after the Smart Bro Share It sales agent told me that I have to return the Smart Bro Share It router in the event that I terminate the service, it became apparent that there must be other reasons for extending the lock-in period. If I have to return the Smart Bro Share It router at the end of my service contract, then there is no reason for them to lock me in longer even if they waive the Share It router fee because they are going to get it back anyway. It’s not like I get to keep the Smart Bro Share It router for free without giving Smart Broadband, Inc. the chance to recover their costs.

So what could be the reason why the Smart Bro Share It lock-in period got extended? The answer became clear to me later, but only after it became moot. Smart Bro Share It sucks–and it sucks big time! (this includes Smart Bro Plug It because they both use the same technology) Unfortunately, by the time you notice that, you are already locked in and you can’t do anything about it. You’ll have to pay mega bucks for a service worse than dial-up—and you also have to pay for it for quite some time, whether you like it or not. This is lock-in for you, boys and girls. It’s the ultimate corporate weapon to compensate for bad service or products.

They advertise their Smart Bro Share It plan 999 as having speeds of up to 2Mbps; but in reality, all I get is somewhere around the neighborhood of 30Kbps. “K”, not “M”. And please allow me to remind you that a technology from Internet’s ancient past called dial-up has speeds of 56Kbps. Smart Bro Share It has 30. 30! Clearly, an ancient technology is way better than Smart Bro Share It plan 999. In addition, Smart Bro Share It is waaaay more expensive than dial-up, disconnects more often and has a two year lock-in period. This makes dial-up not just better than Smart Bro Share It but superior! Finally, if you plan to use Skype calls, Yahoo voice or Bittorrent, forget Smart Bro Share It. These applications require a decent upload speed and Smart Bro Share It can only deliver a measly 5Kbps for upload. It’s double NAT configuration also adds another barrier in the case of Bittorrent.

“So, are they lying?”, you ask. No, they aren’t. They only said that Smart Bro Share It plan 999 has speeds of UP TO 2Mbps—and it does reach that speed once in a blue moon. What they did not tell you is that while Smart Bro Share it can achieve speeds of up to 2Mbps sometimes, you have to stay in the 30-50Kbps range almost all of the time. Their advertisements may not be false, but it is definitely very misleading.

But misleading advertising alone won’t cut it. It must only be the first phase. Something else has to be done to adequately fill the corporate coffers. This brings us back to the necessity of an extended lock-in period. After subscribers find out about Smart Bro Share It’s sorry capability, they could just terminate their service agreement. To prevent that, there also has to be a longer lock-in period—phase two. That’s why they extended the lock-in period to two years. One year may not have been enough for them. With a two-year lock-in period, they will have hundreds of incoming new applicants by the time you are allowed to cut the ties.

The lock-in period could not have been extended due to the waived Share It router’s fee, as I have already discussed earlier. Rather, it’s the other way around. They need a longer lock-in period to complement their misleading advertising and used the waived Share It router fee as a pathetic excuse to extend the lock-in period. Additionally, the waived router fee could also double as a bait for phase one together with the false advertising. That’s two birds with one stone. Pretty neat, huh?

First, they use misleading advertising and a waived Share It router fee as bait. They also use an army of Smart Broadband, Inc. employees and Twitter mercenaries to proclaim how good Smart Bro is, how much they love Smart Bro, how thankful they are to Smart Bro, how Smart Bro saved the day, how Smart Bro is the messiah, how Smart Bro can save the world with one hand while playing Tetris with the other, and other such nonsense. Then after they have lured the quarry in, they snap the lock-in period trap to lock them up for good. How convenient.

This business strategy should not be allowed. No one should trust any product or service from any company that is capable of doing such devious scheme as this. They prey upon the innocence of consumers. To further their goals, they use techno-babble and the fact that technology is inherently difficult to grasp for the average consumer. If you are planning to apply for a Smart Bro Share It account, Smart Bro Plug It or any other pseudobroadband service from Smart Broadband, Inc., think hard and think twice.

74 comments:

  1. YUPPPPPP what you say is ABSOLUTE ABSOLUTELY TRUE. I tested their SmartBro and I get the same experience. So be warned readers don't get there 2 years Plan or you'll be sorrryyyyyyyy.

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  2. this blog hits the spot! absolutely and positively true lahat. i've just experienced the Twitter mercenaries (pati sa Plurk) but i refused their aid (and request to add them before any help can be done) seriously, common sense lang..how can you help me and communicate with me via this avenue when i cannot connect to the internet properly? glad that my lock down of one year for Smart Bro (ken) is done. It was a year of headache.

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  3. Very True the average speed range is just 30-50kpbs (speedtest result) I am canopy subscriber for 2 years getting maximum speed of 70kbps but just last February my connection speed is just .07mbps and after a week of calling their hotline they are still insisting that the connection is fine so I switched (I deeply regret this decision) to plug it 999 the things is it can download up to 250kbps during 2am till 5am but heck! during the regular hours its 20-50kbps and the worse thing is that opening my yahoomail and other web page I have to refresh countless of times because the connection is timing out maybe because of the very high latency value... Now I have to wait for f*cking 23months just to get rid of this sh*t, and advice on how to terminate this sh*t without paying the rest of the months?

    (sorry for some words just so disappointed)

    alrick13

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  4. @anonymous and @alrick13, thanks for sharing your thoughts.

    @alrick13, I don't know if you could terminate the service without paying the remainder of the months. I called the hotline and went to their wireless centers but the answer seems to be in the negative. That's why I put up this blog. If I can't get out of this worthless junk of a service, at least I can try to warn others not to fall for it.

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  5. Does NTC overseer the ISPs?

    alrick13

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  6. @Alrick13, I guess so. But only as to regulating the bandwidth and radio frequencies, I think, and not as to business practices and false/misleading advertisements. But you could be right. The NTC might be able to rein them in.

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  7. they can be sued for fraud advertisement. we should all know our rights and fight for it. this speed is killing me! i'm near my limit of sanity! yung farmville ko!!! LOL

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  8. SO True, im a victim of Smart Bro, now i have to wait almost 1 and 4 months before the contract expires... the internet is really slow. well i guess "Nasa huli ang pag-sisisi"

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  9. @janus, I hope they would be. Somebody with moolah should step up against them. I also hope that more would blog, leave comments on blogs, tweet, or otherwise spread the word of how poor this SmartBro service is. Yup, your farm in farmville is going to suffer. lol

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  10. @Anonymous, that is really sad. But then again that's the marketing genius of Smart Bro. They use misleading advertising and cheap giveaways to lure users and lock them in for good. They are going to get people's hard earned money by hook or by crook regardless of the mediocrity of the service they have to offer.

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  11. oohh.. im just a new user of smartbro plug-it..

    im kinda confused when i subscribe because d agent who assisted me is the one who fill-up the form for me and he put 2yrs as my lock in period. i dont have any idea that time so i just let it happen.. oohh..

    and i really had a hard time with the connection and it is slow.. now, they have this something in twitter.. do i have to trust them?! how much do i have to pay if i want to disconnect the subscription of it?

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    Replies
    1. On the twitter, nope. Those are company men, they're paid by the same guys who also pay the agent who filled in your lock in period.

      Delete
  12. Just last week, my husband asked me to research on which of the big three wireless broadband providers offer the best service. my google search landed me here at techpinas. reading from the comments, i deduced that sun could be the best choice, since i didn't encounter as many violent reviews as compared to smart & globe. and so, after getting my expert opinion, my hubby bought a sun broadband. HALLELUJAH! on the first day, we didn't be able to connect at all. and the next day, the longest connection we got was about 1 minute. no more connection after that! slow and weak connection i can forgive, but my gulay! 24-hour zero kbps? we just live in paraƱaque, not in a faraway boondocks! i wonder if we could just return it, but my hubby signed a contract for a 3-month plan. but anyways, they were the first to breach the contract- their product fails to perform.

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    Replies
    1. At least it's a 3 month plan, Smart locks you in for 2 years.

      Delete
  13. @Anonymous, Yup, that's the strategy of the lock-in clause. As to their Twitter account, a lot have tried using it for getting their connection fixed but to no avail. Skip it. If you are planning to disconnect the service, a Smart Broadband agent told me that the subscriber has to pay for the remaining months of the lock-in period. That's so unfair considering that you are not using the service already. If there is a penalty, it should be less than that. But then again, some companies don't mind doing things like this.

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  14. Well, yes. I guess all of them suck. However, I don't have Sun and Globe broadband so I do not have sufficient first hand data to form a conclusion as to their speed and reliability. But I do hear that they also suck. All I have is SmartBro and I say that if you value your sanity (and your money) then stay far from it. As a general rule, always go for wired. These wireless things are not yet ready for prime time. And they know that, hence the lock-in period.

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  15. so guys having any plan aside from putting blog like this? i read in tpc someone go to makati main branch to complain but i dont know what happen to him.

    may be we can join together then..

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  16. Why not report this to DTI, if there is a deception in just like Aoiwa.

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  17. @zhao, putting up a blog like this is the best way to inform consumers and help them avoid this SmartBro trap. People are bound to search the net for SmartBro performance and service reviews.

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  18. @anonymous, the DTI is also an option. But, putting up a blog is faster and reaches more potential users. We are being empowered by the new media and our Constitution. Let's make good use of those.

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  19. I am also suffering the same issue. I have been complaining for the last 3 months now. Also had my router checked at sm southmall and the speed there was fine. But i only get decent speed from 2am to 6am in my location. The customer service from southmall said that i should request for an on site visit so the tech support can check if it is worth retaining or terminating my account. The recommendation should come from them. This way we can have the pretermination fee waived. But up to now no news or anything from them been emailing and sending DM on their twitter account. All i get are empty promises.

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  20. hello!

    i tend to agree. I just purchased smart bro plug-it and I'm very disappointed with my internet connection :(

    I can't even open my email :(

    waaah they are so madaya

    sana kabagin sila!

    good thing i chose pre-paid instead of unlimited.

    our government should do something to stop misleading advertisements

    thank you for this post

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  21. This is very very true, Their 3G, 3.5G, hpa, hspda networks sucks. Also with the unfair Lock in periods which prevents talented IT people (bloggers,web developers, web designers, graphic artist, e-commerce owners)from getting homebased online jobs from the internet because of the Unfair practices of the ISP's. I work as a homebase web developer that is i create websites for my boss, or for my clients as freelance. There are lot of Jobs out on the internet if the government could only improve the Internet connection many IT people will improve their standard of living and earning because I earn around 30,000 pesos a month and at flexible time, some even earn 50,000 to 80,000(bloggers). This is the advantage of the internet homebase job. I can work and still have time to relax because i'm just at home, And because i work at home I am with my love ones and never to have to go abroad or even go to a local company commuting from home to work lessening the already trafficked streets. Now I was so lucky because I'm very near a smartbro cellsite and there where only few houses that are connected via smartbro canopy so this means i get a good connection but still with some occassional disconnections once a month and last about 30 minutes. But how about those who do not understand how Internet connection works and fall prey to the lock in period scheme, I do not promote smartbro or against them. I'm against the lock-in periods which traps those who have no choice but to try the ISP and ending up getting deceive by the ISP's advertisement. They should have said on the advertisement that not all location will have good connection.

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  22. @Anonymous, yes, they won't let their customers go for as long as they can... Even if they can't hold their end of the bargain. This company is ALL about money, nothing else.

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  23. @Sterndal, I hope so, too. DTI should look into SmartBro's misleading ads.

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  24. @Anonymous Freelancer: The lock-in period truly is unfair. But I guess all's fair in broadband business and war.

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  25. if they really have a good service it should be money back gaurantee not lock in periods.
    they focus more on advertising than good service this are the strategeys of a greedy company.

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  26. One thing for sure we dont have any consumers rights, these companies are free of doing what they want, they have the right to abuse consumers and no law can protect us, DTI? what can they do?

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  27. I totally agree. My connection ranges from 30-60 kbps and it sucks big time. They should have atleast given the interested subscribers a trial period since they'd be investing their money for "supposedly" a decent connection. That way we shouldn't have been disappointed from the expectations we got from their advertisements.

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  28. Im fuking mad! i just got this router share-it connection last month. and now, i cannot terminate this subscription. and i still got 23 more months to pay this shit!! fuk, i hope they die. there internet is sooo slow damit! i was trick by their ads, misleading ads. I HOPE DTI will look on this shet. Talagang mga pinoy, grabe, mahirap na ang pilipinas at ang mga tao. pinaglalaruan pa tayo ng mga companya. naghihirap tuloy tau ng masyado, sakit sa ulo ito!!! sana merong maka fix nito. kung SINO KA MAN, TULONGAN MO KAMI!

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  29. I've experience the same thing...and grabe sabi ng taga tech support mabagal daw talaga pag madami gumagamit! so what the heck?! the more customers they'd get the more their service gets worse! I was advised by one of their reps if to drop by at their office and switch to a different package instead of canceling it. That was ok with me bec before I never really had problems with their smartbro broadband but then when I went today at their office..they said it's not possible. I still have 1 yr and a half to finish the lock in period daw. I have to pay the remaining bal! that is Bull shit! I dont even get the service I'm supposed to get tapos they are asking me to pay for it for me to terminate it. They're nutts! I wont pay them of course! I'll just look for another service. By the way dont try to avail sun's internet too..it's been more than a yr since I availed that and filed for a refund pero until now wala padin.

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  30. i cannot decide now what broadband will i get...for all comments that i read there are no good at all...unfortunately i newly transferred to an apartment with no telephone line ready so i have to get a wireless broadband...i'm a pldt-dsl subscriber,i truly tested that wired is more ok than wireless...now i'm using my SWB of my nephew..i have a magic jack so i need a good connection...

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  31. I had SmartBro prepaid for 1 year and it totally sucked! No question about it. I had Sun's SBW since Dec 2009 and was better a choice until recently. It has started to get iffy download times for the past 2 weeks now. Probably more and more people are switching.

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  32. Hi guys just want to share may experience about smart and globe wireless broadband (sorry if this would be out of the main topic because of the different product or service we availed).

    We moved here in sta. rosa laguna just last year. I searched on the internet on what internet provider should i choose or what is much better for the majority; some said smart; some said globe, and to my confusion because both have positive and negative feedbacks so i opted to avail both smart and globe.I also tried to inquire in pldt and skybroadband but unfortunately our place is still unreachable by their service. Btw, i was a digitel client before we moved here and all i can say is it was like hell under their contract especially their customer service and technicians that took a month or even worse two months to fixed my and some of my neighbors internet connect.

    I availed and payed both smart and globe at SM Sta. Rosa at same date. It took 10 days for globe people and 30 days for smart people to came and installed my internet.

    Connecting to server
    Globe takes 2-5 mins to connect.
    Smart takes 5 to 30 to connect.

    Internet Connection (speed test)
    Both were performing really good within 3 months; no intermittent connection and reaching it full speed day or night but after 3 months the real service revealed.

    By its 4th month, smart broadband started to slow down from 800-700 kbps down to 100-200 kbps; globe from 1 mbps down to 500 kbps.

    Customer Service (by phone)
    So i called their customer service hotline and both of them were hard to reach or holding me for 15 to 30 mins before i can connect to their operator.

    After countless calls i made, after a week my globe internet came back to its full speed and my smart internet had been going down its connection to 30-50 kbps for almost two months before they finally fixed it.

    Weather interruption (cloudy, rainy or typhoon)

    Before both were losing its connection when the weather is bad especially when its raining but atleast globe after few on and off of modem the connection will return. Unlike smart, even how many times you plug-in and plug-out the adapter still no connection

    Current usage
    Until then I often using my globe. I only experienced losing my connection during typhoon Ondoy but after that and until now i haven't experienced any problem.

    I'm still using my smart internet but not as often as globe. But since i started using smart until now i could say that there is no difference, same problem and same action from smart.

    Conclusion:
    Connection will depend in location. For my experience, i would recommend globe.

    Thank you so much for the blogger and also for all the people who shared their experiences because my cousin almost availed the smartbro share it and thankfully i found this site and i immediately warned my cousin.


    Peace out >>>> "Clever JR."

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  33. this blog really help me out. i currently use Sun broadband wireless. currently this time iam satisfied with it. but can't watch youtube or use facebook apps and games though. because during the first two months with sun i always playing at facebook, and streaming at youtube, animecrazy.net etc.. due to that they reduce my bandwith and cant connect at sun at all. but currently im able to use sun broadband now but i don't go to youtube and play on facebook though.

    because of this blog i would say that i would stay using sun broadband even you can't connect sometimes. especially during 11pm-4am, but sun is really fast during 4am-6am, and up and down speed for the rest of the day.

    also iam also using globe tattoo prepaid,it is reliable,when the times sun sucks, but i dont use it often because of it cost lots of money for the load, so i use globe during the times i need to connect to the internet.

    my conclusion:
    Sun broadband is ok in our place, globe tattoo prepaid can be reliable sometimes, and Smart sucks. i hope that you can make a blog about wi-tribe, because they said that it uses 4G technolgy and more reliable and faster than 3G and 3.5G. hope i can have a review about it.

    Peace out to all..

    PS my place is San Mateo, Rizal so it can be reach by sun's 3G coverage, don't know what the speed of sun in other areas.

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  34. Hello guys Clever JR. is in the house again(joke)

    Anyway, last Friday, august 20, 2010, smart customer serv. rep. called me reminding me about my contract that about to expire this coming September. When I answered their call they kept on talking how grateful they are to have me as their loyal client even though this is only my first contract with them.

    The funny thing was they don't even let me to talk or ask first for 10 mins. after I answered their call and kept on talking (maybe that was their strategy to entice me or for me to able to forget all the headaches I had after countless of calls to them reporting their problematic signal and connection).

    They were offering me an exclusive freebies or items to loan if i will renew my contract with them and now for 2 YEARS contract.

    What the hell was that? My first year under their service is already a headache... Wait! i mean migraine because of persistent problem with them.

    I don't even care what kind of freebies they can give to me or if none at all BUT what I and also some clients have been complaining for is the crap service they are giving to us.

    Until now that my contract is nearly to expire, I'm still having a problem with the connection.

    Though all my feedbacks to smart service were all negative, I'm not totally against to it, and I'm hoping that someday they can work or fixed that persistent problem of their service.

    Conclusion:

    I think they don't need to trick their clients with these freebies or other enticing packages just for the client to renew the contract. Client will surely renew their contract to them if their were satisfied with the service.

    I am even willing to avail their service again in future if they can fix their problems. But for now, i will not renew my contract with them.

    Peace out >>> "Clever JR"

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  35. I'm totally confused. I'm here in the middle east and for about four months now i've been asking my wife to get an internet connection in the Philippines. Here, we(about 10 people) are sharing an unlimited 3G broadband connection via a wireless router. To put all your comments to an average, i could say that we enjoy a better internet experience: facebook,youtube, skype calls, chatting, downloading/uploading.We could even watch video streaming from GMA7, ABS/CBN, etc. Yes, we sometimes experience a pause on speedy internet access but it's generally not a headache.Back to my real problem.Four months ago i asked my wife to get a fixed smartbro connection(some friends suggest) but their agent told her that it's not readily available. So we decided to just go on plug it 999 plan. It could be picked up from their outlet after contract signing. But this lock in period is what made me think twice. I even checked online what's all about this smartbro.There i saw those plans and features of each plan. Yes, that up to 2Mbps is included there. But no details regarding that lock in period. Similarly, Globetatoo has this features and condition. Luckily, we're still thinking of what could be the best option, not yet a victim of this lock in condition. i hope not eventually. Now i'm getting closer to the side of a wired connection. But still confused. BTW, i'm from Bulacan and thanks to all who shared their not so good internet experience. It helps.

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  36. Thanks a lot for everybody who shared their negative experience with SmartBro so that others might be warned. Keep them coming.

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  37. 10days experience sa smartbro wimax, hell agad ang service at and support. check his site
    http://www.smartwifi.org.ph/legal-advice/call-for-a-class-action-lawuit/

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  38. I've been on Smart Bro shareit since early 2010.
    And guess what? people should definitely stay away from this product.

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  39. I hate the connection as well I'm from Iloilo city and the connection sucks, before ok naman after 4month of using as in sobrang bagal, imagine hnd me umaabot ng 100kbps minsan naglalaro sya sa 5 to 30kbps tapos 0. Lagi pa disconnected, and I don't have to wait for 2am to 4am just to enjoy connection kasi hindi naman ako aswang...hehehe. Sana gumawa naman ng action yung government, kawawa naman ang mga pinoy kung ginaganito tayo lagi ng mga ISP's. WhenI was in Ireland my trial period sila if for one week, if your not satisfied just return, no question ask. Napag iiwanan na tyo ng ibang bansa in terms of intenet connection..HELP NAMAN PO MR. PRESIDENT. Thank you in advance.

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  40. I've been using SmartBro canopy for more than 3 years already. That is the Plan 999 for 384kbps speed and with 2 years lock-in period. The first 2 years was ok, sometimes there are interruptions but that will just last for a day or worst a week. But still the connection resumes to its original speed from the first day. The usual speed for my location in Mandaluyong is 100-200kbps that time. On the third year, nobody from SmartBro called me if I still want to keep their service. I also didn't mind because I still need it anyway and their service is still good that time.

    However, during the 3rd year I frequently experience interruptions and slowing down of its usual speed. I even experienced no connection at all for 3 weeks to a month! And to this date my usual speed is around 30kbps and. For a month now, my connection from my SmartBROken usually lasts for 15-30 minutes then it will be cut, and connect again after 30 minutes to an hour or more. I already reported this to their customer service, even requested for their Tech group to check out my canopy in my place so they can transfer it to a better area in the house where it could have better signal. I thought this could resolve it since in our area people already renovated their houses since Ondoy happened, so my poor canopy might be blocked in getting signal. Sadly the CSR politely declined my request even after I made several appeal. He said we should try to observe first if my connection can get better after their base site returns to normal, because currently it is inaccessible. Eventhough not directly said, I think he means "for now you have to bear with that slow connection or none at all" and so I asked him how long should I wait? He replied, 2 hours without even thinking twice. I was waiting from 8PM til 2AM last night but still my connection is very bad and cutting from time to time. That is more than 2 hours, yet nothing has improved.

    I am now thinking of cutting this SmartBro permanently and getting another service. But I have not decided yet on what to get. Globe also sucks in our place. Because my bf has Globelines 384kbps wired Internet,it's just like a dial up. So that's also out!

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  41. SmartBro really sucks!!!
    have the same experience with you guys... and decided not to pay the remaining months of the lock in period..
    3 days palang na sa akin yung plug it, nag decide na ako to give it back, wether they are going to accept it or not, nag walk out talaga ako sa wireless center nila..
    still waiting for their "summon"! hahahaha...

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  42. thank god.. nabasa ko to. I'm about to purchase one.. Stick nalang ako sa DSL

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  43. Yes mabagal nga ang Smart Bro. Gamit ko dati yung Smart Bro prepaid. Mga March 2010 ako nagsimulang gumamit nito. Prepaid muna ginamit ko para naman ma-try ko muna kung okay ba ang connection before committing to postpaid plans. Dati, sobrang ayos nito. Kahit na di masyadong mabilis basta consistent lang ang connection, okay lang sakin. Pero simula nong June, bumagal nang bumagal sya each day hanggang sa umabot sa point na pati Facebook ayaw nang mag-load nang maayos. Paminsan-minsan din bumibilis bigla yung speed pero nadidisconect din maya-maya lang. Nakakainis kasi meron kang dinadownload na file tapos malapit na itong matapos nang biglang maputol ang connection mo. Diba nakakainis?
    Okay lang naman sakin kahit up to 384kbps speed ng connection eh (which is ang kadalasang speed ng Smart Bro), basta consistent lang sya. Pero pag mas mababa pa dyan tapos nadidisconect pa parati, parang di na okay yan. So I decided to switch to another wireless broadband(kasi I'm on a laptop so wired DSL connection is a no-go).

    I was about to buy Globe Tattoo nang pagsabihan ako ng kapitbahay namin na 1 bar lang daw ang 3G signal ng Globe 3G samin. Tinest ko sa phone ko kung totoo by inserting a Globe SIM and switching to UMTS network, laking gulat ko kahit sakin wala ni isang bar man lang. Some might deem this as invalid considering that Cebu is one of the key cities to put up proper network infrastructure pero wala akong magawa, as I have observed, very spotty ng 3G coverage ng Globe sa Metro Cebu. Yung 2G network nila sobrang okay pero yong 3G, medyo may kahinaan sya. And I hope merong taga Globe na makabasa nito. Please boost your 3G coverage here in Metro Cebu particularly in Lahug near Marco Polo Plaza Hotel and onwards. Try nyong mag-roam around, may mga parts dyan na walang-walang 3G signal.

    Anyways, I have no choice but to try Sun Broadband Wireless. So far sobrang okay yung Sun Broadband Wireless Plan 799 sakin. 5 months na akong gumagamit nito at ang masasabi ko, okay na okay sya. Mabilis sya sa web browsing and watching videos sa Youtube. Sa downloading, medyo kapareha lang ng Smart Bro(bibilis nang sobra tapos babagsak yung speed tapos bibilis na naman). So far, hindi ko pa naranasan ang kalbaryo na naranasan ko from Smart Bro (na minsan halos di mag-load ng Facebook sa sobrang bagal or laging nadidisconect.) Kaya ang masasabi ko, mas reliable ang Sun Broadband Wireless for me (based on my experience and location).

    My advice sa mga kukuha pa ng Postpaid Plans:

    Bago kayo magdecide na mag-Postpaid, try nyo munang bumili ng Prepaid Kit. Total naman meron din namang free 120 internet hours yong Prepaid Kit ng Smart Bro at Globe Tattoo at 125 internet hours sa Sun Broadband Wireless na valid for one month. Tapos, try nyong gamitin at ubusin muna yung free internet hours nito para masubukan nyo ang reliability nito. Kung alin ang mas okay yong connection, yun yong applyan nyo na Postpaid plan.
    Plus, yung Sun kasi meron silang Plan 799 SIM Only or Plan 350 Lite SIM Only na walang holding period at saka yong Smart Bro din meron na rin silang Smart Bro SIM Only Plans 499 at 999 na 6 months holding period lang (according to a promotional leaflet na nakuha ko and not from their website).

    Good luck at sana nakatulong itong comment ko.

    ReplyDelete
  44. f**cking smart bro! I can't even download stuffs online! same with my yahoomail and other sites!!!
    BTW, nice blog. now I feel like burning the entire building of smart communications

    ReplyDelete
  45. IM A SMARTBROADBAND SUBSCRIBER BEFORE,,,MARCH 2010 BUT THE PROBLEM IS 1 DAY NAGING MALAKAS ANG SIGNAL THE NEXT DAY SOBRANG BAGAL N AT NG NETWORK AND LAGING SERVER NOT FOUND...SO I ALWAYS CALL THE CUSTOMER SERVICE BUT SA ARAW ARAW KUNG PAGTAWAG SAME ANSWER I RECEIVED THAT SORRY MAM BUT THE TECHNICAL SUPPORT HAS NO RESPONSE YET AND I NEED TO WAIT FOR 24 HRS PARA TUMWAG CLA PERO WALA NMAN TUMTAWAG SO..I DECIDED N WAG N BAYARAN ANG BILLS KO NG 2 MOS. I MAKE A COMPLAIN LETTER N I LIKE TO TERMINATE MY CONNECTION BUT THEY TOLD ME I NEED TO PAY THE LOCKIN PERIOD,,CUT N NILA CONNECTION KO COZ I DIDNT PAY...BUT THEY TOLD ME TO PAY THE SAID AMOUNT ANG SA AKIN BAT KO BABAYARAN YUNG HINDI KO NAGAMIT AT LAGI KUNG TINTAWAG SA KANILA N SLOW CONNECTION..NOW THIS NOV IM RECEIVING A DEMAND LETTER COMING FORM SMART N THEY WILL TAKE IT TO THE FORMAL DEMAND LETTER DAW...JUST WANT TO KNOW IF REALLY I NEED TO PAY THIS SAID AMOUNT...OR WHAT ARE THE BEST THING TO DO? SHOULD I CONTACT THE NTC FOR THIS?WHAT NO?KINDLY PLS HELP ME...SOBRANG NAKAKAHARASS N CLA CLA PANG MY GANANG MGDEMANDA EH CLA NMAN YUNG PANGIT ANG SERVICE ANG KAPAL TLAGA NG MUKHA NG SMART INC....PLS SOMEBODY GIVE ME AN IDEA HOW TO HANDLE THIS SITUATION..EMAIL ME at vanjay0501@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  46. file a letter of complaint/termination sa smart center where u subscribed, state mo lahat dun ng naging problema mo na d nila niresolbahan, kelangan may copy ka ng letter pa receive mo sa kanila, then give them 2 weeks, kpg ala parin sila ginagawa email ka sa NTC, send mo din sa NTC yung copy ng letter of complaint/termination mo sa Smart, mga 2 days lang mag eemail back sayo NTC na tutulungan ka i resolve ang problema mo. ako hintay pa kc kakatanggap ko lng ng confirmation sa NTC kahapon na tutulungan nila ako sa problema ko with smart. gudluck

    ReplyDelete
  47. Smartbro sucks big time. maan, i cant even get a good connection within 5 minutes. the only time i get a better connection is between 1 am and 7 am. after that connection gets wuzzy. the technicians are no less better. they would come to your house and fix the connection 2 hours after they left you get the same problems again. the calll center agents cant help you either. i been calling their hotline so often that i already memorized my SRN. and f***in jingles too. video chatting takes a lot of patience because of intermittent connection. playing online game so frustating because you get disconnected a lot and you'll get booted out of the game for lagging.
    i tried the pingtest. smartbro failed big time. so as the in speedtest. i am just waiting for the lock - in period to expire by then i will get rid of this smartbro that is so f******in sucks!

    ReplyDelete
  48. smart. com .ph/bro/apply/ (walang space)

    basahin nio to nakalagay pede i pa disconnect ung smart bro. .
    hahaha term of agreement nila buti binasa ko. .
    lang ya. . sa wakas. . 3 month ko palang 2ng gamit dc ng dc. . share ko lang. .
    e-mail me racemaster23 @rocketmail.com (walng space)
    e-mail me

    ReplyDelete
  49. My experience with share-it is same with most of you here. Tuwang-tuwa nung makuha ung router then dismayed pagka-uwi dahil mabagal ang connection even though sbi ng sales rep eh may 3G signal naman sa lugar namin dito sa Porac.
    It's really bothering now after I read most of the forums concerning share-it. Talagang marami ng naloko at wlang magawa sa lock-in period. We all should unite in one common goal...Let NTC know in a one BIG splash this marketing ploy that Smart is doing. Youtube na pahinto-hinto, Online games na laging lag if not disco or booted dahil mataas ping mo.
    And it's true na mame-memorize mo mga jingles nila sa tagal kang e connect sa tech support kapag tumawag k sa hotline nila.
    My advice lang sa mga undecided pa, mag cable internet nalang kau..khit medyo mahal, di nman sasakit ulo nyo sa konsumisyon.
    Pero I'm not loosing hope na one day, at buhay pa ako na maayos ng Smart ang problem na ito. Kaya nga sila Smart eh :p

    ReplyDelete
  50. SMARTBRO POSTPAID CUSTOMER SERVICE and DOWNLOAD SPEED is highly UNSATISFACTORY. I tried GLOBE TATTOO Unlisurf and they suck too. I have an INTERMITTENT connection or get disconnected all the freakin' time! I can't get a decent download speed and they have a BANDWIDTH LIMIT FYI. What's the point of being UNLIMITED when you are LIMITED to 1GB or less download size? I did get to try the SMARTBRO PREPAID KIT for a couple of days and I must say I'm SATISFIED at the time being. I reach 100-140kbps for torrent and another hundred for direct downloads simultaneously and I still get to browse without the lag. Nandito lang ako sa bahay all the time monitoring my downloads. I don't go out often so I didn't notice if Smartbro's signal goes off when you enter buildings pero as far as I'm concerned I'll stick to Smartbro Prepaid Kit when it comes head to head with Globe Tattoo Prepaid Kit :D I have yet to try Sun Broadband Wireless. Oh just one concern I did hear a complain from our neighbor that they got problems on their Smartbro postpaid internet connection. That probably started when I used Smartbro prepaid kit. Maybe we were sharing the same signal and I was eating all the bandwidth due to my downloads HAHA. Too bad for areas with multiple users and internet hogging people like me. :p

    ReplyDelete
  51. I am one of their victims too. I subscribed their Share It since 2009 to avail this promised 2Mbps speed. Unfortunately, it only went well for a couple of days. Worst, I used it to put up a small fucking piso-piso coin-operated machine. It only runs for a rough 4-months, and the connection is unstable if not disconnected. Now, my small fucking business is gone and I still continue paying to these scam SmartBro for the next 1yr till my contract expires. Hey SmartBro, I may not be wise but I don't want to make the same mistake twice! You're simply AMAZING!

    ReplyDelete
  52. Sana Ma-karma ang mga may pakana ng misleading claims ng Smart Bro regarding internet speed. Mr. Pangilinan, you and your company suck big time.

    ReplyDelete
  53. SMART BRO SUCKS! CHARGE TOOOO MUCHHHHH!!!
    HAVE TO PAY A BIG AMOUNT FOR THE TERMINATION FEE. RIDICULOUS!!!!!
    DON'T AND NEVER TRY SMART BRO! NEVER!!!! YOU'LL REGRET!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  54. I bought Smart Bro Prepaid kit coz naka full bar signal dito sa area namin Cainta, but then when I tried their prepaid Sun Bro Wireless Kit, di talaga nagloload mga pages, mamumuti mata mo, so I decided to return the kit sa dealer the following day, and since ayaw nila pumayag, pumunta me sa pinakamalapit na Smart Center sa katabing mall.

    Aba, sabi ng CS nagagamit ko naman raw coz may naka register na kbps use yung history ng stick, naka eh 0-11 kbps poh and speed, kung di ko pa sila sinigawan di pa nila tatawagan yung dealer na i-reverse yung credit card transaction ko for the purchase. Pinarinig ko talaga sa lahat ng tao dun sa center kung gaano kakupad yung connection nung broadband nila.

    So the next time, Globe naman binili ko as I tried first on my celfone, nagload naman ng maayos yung pages sa Opera.

    When I got home, naka, same experience, one bar signal ng 3G, 0-40 kbps, makakapag-log-in ka lang sa msn messenger or sa yahoo mail pero after magdidisconnect na ehe....

    PLDT dsl gamit ko at home, I was just checking out the wireless broadbands...sa malls lang malalakas signal ng mga yan, kaso sa mall may free wi-fi, so what's the point...wag na kau mag-try ng mga broadband na yan...

    And kung ako sa inyo, if u ought an aPad or ePad, use your mobile phones as modem instead of those sticks, dagdag gastos lang mga yan, eh nka 7.2 Mbps nman most new phones, pwede talaga gawing modem anytime anywhere.

    ReplyDelete
  55. de putang smartbro plug it plan na yan! isang beses ko lng nga nagamit! pagkabili pa lang putol2x na yung connection! tatawag ka sa technical wla namang nangyari! tapos pababayarin ka pa! isipin nyo naman ang kapakanan ng iba hindi puro pera lng!

    ReplyDelete
  56. "Hey everyone!" I just figured out how to get a good clear(But not fast) signal using my Smartbro internet service by following these few easy steps.

    1st) Take a nap around about 7pm and wake up at 11pm

    2nd) Drink 2 cups of coffee w/extra sugar

    3rd) Wait until 12 midnight

    4th) Go to your internet connections tab located in the control panel.

    5th) Click Repair 5 to 10 times depending on how slow you want your connection.

    6th) Start you surf or Online game play

    7th) Enjoy!!! (sigh...)

    Do these steps quickly because now you only have about 10 to 15 minutes of play time before you have to repeat steps 4-6.

    I hope a CEO or VP from SMARTbroke comes across theis post and reads it (Using Globe Hahaha) so they can know that their ship is sinking faster the a star ferry in a thunder storm. This is the problem we the people are facing in this Company Owned Country, making you pay for something that doesn't work, then when you don't want it for that reason, making you pay for it again. Just know these CEO & VP's are the same people who are backing your government officials to be voted into office, under the "Turn your head and look the other way policy". They are some of the biggest thieves the world has ever seen and they believe their money will protect them but I'm here to tell you the chickens are coming home to roost you all. Karma is a "Bitch" and you can't ice skate a bill forever.

    Oh P.S. Fix my damn internet connection!!!

    sincerely, Pissed Off Smartbro user

    ReplyDelete
  57. You people are lucky to have 30kb. My speedtest result shows I have 2kb internet speed (yes, i usually have 2000 bytes of DL speed when I download files - most end up corrupted). I have been a smart bro subscriber since 2005. To this day I still can't change to a diff. ISP because nothing else is available in my area.
    I have called their hotline more than a hundred times for the past 2 years and to this day, still no resolution to my problem. 2000 bytes of internet for P1000 a month is a crime. I have sent emails with screenshots to their customer care and I got no reply from them.
    I am a business owner. My cafe has stopped functioning for almost a yr now because of my problem.

    ReplyDelete
  58. walang kwenta yang smart bro na yan, i tried their services bagsak talaga, kaya ayun, i smashed the router, hehe now i'm using sbw it's great.

    ReplyDelete
  59. I agree..same problem. I didn't pay them because I didn't get good services..hindi pa nga dumadating ang bill ko...pati bill mabagal...tapos gusto nila bayaran ang 24 months subscription...ano sila hilo...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi until.now.ba sinisingil ka ng smart?binayaran mo parin ba sila?

      Delete
  60. I've read from some other blog that someone managed to get out of the contract by diligently noting their calls and complaints, and sending it to NTC. NTC in turn send Smart Bro a letter telling them to nullify the contract for the customer due to not being able to provide the promised service. I'm gonna have to go that route if Smart Bro continues providing me intermittent connection.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Hello to everyone ...pare-pareho po tayo ng problema sa smart bro... ask ko lang po kung meron na talagang naka suhan sa di pag bayad ng bill nila sa smart bro...kc hina harass po nila kmi at ededemanda daw kami kapag di namin binayaran ang bill namin.... pa share naman po ng expirience nyo ...thank you po!!!

    ReplyDelete
  62. Pwede bang makasuhan nating customer ang WISP tulad ng SmartBRO, Globe at sun? Meron ako dating plug it pop plan sa smartbro. Di ko na binayaran hanggang maputol ang service..

    ReplyDelete
  63. Smart Broadband Sucks! ! ! Mukhang Pera yan Si MVP yong tabatchoy na yon, Napaka sugapa Mukhang Pera sa laki ng kinikita niya hindi niya ma upgrade ang mga equipments nila? My goodness sabagay may lahing Chikwa yan si MVP isa siyang Glutton walang ginagawa kundi magpayaman, walang pinagkaiba kay CY mga buraot ang laki ng kinikita ng companya nila ang mga trabahante naghihikahos sa liit ng sweldo. Nag hahabolan lang yan mga yan para tanghaling pinakamayaman sa Pinas. Mga Chikwa talaga yan ang salot sa Pilipinas.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Just wished some foreign company will somehow penetrate the ISP market of the Philippines, this way maybe we will see changes. To up the game maybe?

    ReplyDelete
  65. Please help... what would happen if we're not going to pay the lock-in period? we use smartbro for only 3 months and now we are receiving letter from law office 'though we already informed them to cut/disconnect the line, sobrang pangit ng serbisyo nila napakabagal. :(

    ReplyDelete
  66. Same problem here.. Anu un, pg di n ko ngbayad kc gsto ko na ipaterminate service nla, pwersahan un?

    ReplyDelete
  67. I having the same problems as you guys with this fucking SMART BRO PLAN 999 connection, if ANYONE wants to STAND UP for us not to pay the monthly bills, LETS MAKE A COMPLAIN PAPERS with signature of the other costumers and file it up and if possible, bring to the court. And maybe this will aware the SMART BRO COMPANY how bad their service is. I see everyone is complaining but no one's been doing any action. And maybe that's the reason why they don't mind us coz all we do is COMPLAIN and DO NOTHING! Sila pa may ganang magdemanda e, ang pangit ng service nila!! Ok lng sna magbayad ng monthly, kung nakukuha mu ung service na gsto mo! Hays! And sino nmn gugutushin magsayang ng pera pra sa walang kakwenta kwentang paputol puutol na internet connection?! Ni simpleng downloading di magawa, and even opening the emails! If they want to keep their costumer paying the bills, maybe they shud think abt keeping the good service! like their advertisements and commenrcials to misleading the consumers! Lets communicate here so that maybe we can start doing something about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tol!!! ako 8 years na ako sa smart bro ang binabayaran ko lng monthly around 700 php pero this last december 2012! bigla akong ni cut ng no reason! then nag renew ako sa name ko bayad ako ng 999 amonth again! maganda sana yang sinasabi mo i demanda at gaya ng sabi ng iba false advertising pero kung ggmitin mo ung utak mo talo pa din tyo!! khit mag demanda! tang ina pumirma tyo ng contract eh lol!! at saka mag lalabas ng malaking pera pra sa lawyer for the court hanggang maubos na ung pera ntin lol dahil big companies mga yan e!

      KUNG MAGPAPAKABIT KAYO NG INTERNET BAYANTEL OR GLOBE!!!

      Delete
  68. i have the same problem with you guys. Very depressing receiving a letter from their attorney after sa nakaka stress na experience of their connection. let's hold our hands to act on this matter on waiving the pre termination fee.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mga tol kamusta na ung mga demand letters nyo? ano na updates? may nakasuhan na ba? ano verdict?

      Delete
  69. I also had bad experience about this lying smart deals. My connection lost for almost one month ( around 25 day. i complaint bakit wala... and they have a record of this report. i reported sa local namin office, they called the main and alam pala nila ano ang nangyayari. ang instructions nila ay eto "turn off ang device and turn on again." i have been doing this for how many days and yet the same thing happen wala pa rin signal.. then the customer service called me up and you know what they ask sa skin? ang tanong nila kung na settle ko na raw ang bill ko... what a question. talagang buo ang bill ko for the month na walang connection... ibang klase talaga..... kaya smart broadband... wag na lng kau mag subsrcibe sa kanila... pinaperahan lng nila tayo.

    ReplyDelete