(Scroll Down for New TelcoTroll Posts!)
Click THIS to visit the official website of the DEU to know the other side of the story!
- In: Digitel (RIP)
- Tags: DEU, Redundancy, The Digitel Employees Union
Roaming Smart Postpaid or Infinity subscribers can call the customer care hotline for FREE while in other countries – just dial +632 888 1111!
Roamers can inquire about rates and data charges, handset support, and billing and account-related information.
Maricris Crisostomo, Smart Head for the Customer Value Chain Group:
“Providing the highest quality service to our subscribers has always been at the heart of our business. This is why we ensure to be always a step ahead of what they need and want… By getting help for free while roaming, they will have one less thing to worry about and more time for their activities while abroad – whether for leisure or business… Even though our subscribers are miles away from home, we assure them that they will experience efficient resolution of their concerns.”
But Which Countries and Telcos Are Covered?
Basically, Conexus* members:
- Japan, Docomo
- Taiwan, FET
- Indonesia, Indosat
- Korea, KT
- India, MTNL
- Guam, NTT Docomo Pacific
- Singapore, Starhub
- Vietnam, Vinaphone
*: Conexus is one of the biggest telco alliances in Asia, of which Smart is a member.
Troll: Boo! What about prepaid subscribers who are on roaming?
Manny V. Pangilinan and the Struggles He Face!
24 May2013
Troll: Emil Jurado from the Manila Standard Today has come out with a piece narrating the many problems that MVP is facing: from the mining problems of Philex, to the fantastic money bleeder that is TV5, to the currently running Digitel strike. The Troll also wonders how MVP is doing – but seriously, what the man earns monthly is probably equal to what most Filipino’s will earn in a lifetime. He can just call it quits and still have an intact legacy. MVP isn’t worried, nor is he losing sleep on the problems that Emil has marched out. MVP is doing fine, even if the rest of us struggle with everyday problems, even of the country burns, MVP will be fine.
- In: Onion Opinions
- Tags: DEU, Digitel Employees Union, Manny V. Pangilinan, MVP, Philex Mining, TV5
Troll: The theft of cable is a problem that most telcos have to contend with on a daily basis – warehoused cable usually has little security, deployed cable on the other hand are absolutely prone to theft. The main motivation is the value of the steel/copper wires which can easily be weighed and sold in the black market for a good chunk of cash.
…
Harold Hombrebueno, a resident of Mabalacat City in Pampanga, was arrested by the police, with the cooperation of Globe’s Task Force Bantay Kable. Harold faces criminal charges for theft after he was caught with P250K worth of copper wire.
Based on police records, four suspects were observed to be cutting telephone cable wire in Barangay Atlu-bola in Mabalacat. Concerned residents reported the suspicious activity to the police who likewise dispatched a team to arrest the band – but unfortunately, only Harold got caught.
Yup, it sucks to be Harold.
Ronald Uychutin, Head of Globe Security, Anti Fraud and Investigation Division:
“We will continue to intensify our efforts to put a stop to cable theft. This is a major problem for us because of its impact on service.”
- In: Globe|Hodge Podge
- Tags: Cable, copper, Globe Task Force Bantay Kable, steel, wires
Hon Hai Precision Industry, aka Foxconn, is the world’s largest electronics contract manufacturer – in fact, around 60-70% of its income comes from assembling Apple devices; and it appears that this Goliath is losing to Pegatron Corporation, a David sized company that is much much smaller than Foxconn.
But as with smaller companies taking on behemoths, the choice of weapon is simple yet very much deadly: price.
Both companies are Taiwanese by nationality – and Pegatron has been slowly getting more iPhone and iPad orders from Apple by virtue of its cheaper pricing, much to the dismay of Foxconn.
Pegatron is a shark who smells blood: the company has even vowed to increase its worker army in China by up to 40% by H2 of 2013 – most analysts now believe that the company will corner the assembly contract of the soon to come cheaper iPhone.
Jenny Lai, HSBC Analyst:
“Hon Hai would see a flat revenue this year at best… while Pegatron has great growth potentials because it is going from nothing to something… But Hon Hai’s margins would improve, benefitting from getting more component orders.”
Foxconn Under Fire!
Foxconn previously resolved issues covering the labor conditions in its factories that manufacture Apple products – the company has since raised wages and added benefits for its workers – which ultimately led to a smaller income.
Currently, the company is moving its operations deeper into mainland China, where things are more cheaper.
Pegatron Gaining Share!
Pegatron is currently manufacturing the following Apple devices:
- iPhone 4
- iPhone 4S
- iPad mini.
It also has contracts to build older Apple devices that are still being sold in the market.
Globe and Smart Declare No Major Hitches in the 2013 Elections! Transmissions of Returns All Went Well!
21 May2013
Troll: This news is a bit late – the Troll apologizes.
…
Globe and Smart have successfully delivered on the transmission requirements of the 2013 Elections amidst sporadic reports of delayed arrival of returns.
PLDT!
As per PLDT, its fixed and mobile network (Smart and Sun) facilities were all operational before, during and after the polls.
Ramon Isberto, PLDT Spokesperson:
“As a result, transmission of election returns that have been coursed through our facilities have been handled with dispatch… There were isolated incidents in various places. One case is the transmission trouble we experienced in the Zamboanga peninsula this morning because of accidental damage on our facilities which affected mobile and fixed services in Zamboanga City.”
(According to reports, mobile voice and data services of Smart were quickly restored in the aforementioned area)
Globe!
For Globe’s side, the telco said that its National Support Center (NSC) helpdesk did not receive a single transmission-related concern from Smartmatic since election day; Globe has assigned network engineers on standby 24/7 to ensure swift data transmissions.
LATE NINJA EDIT/UPDATE!
Well, apparently, all is not well with the recent elections.
Here are some choice quotes that the Troll culled from the media:
Senator Franklin Drilon:
“… We do not want the public to question the integrity of the electoral process… We hope that the root causes of such delays will be addressed immediately… It is expected that some 25 percent of election returns will not be transmitted electronically but manually. This may have an impact on local races where the margins between contenders is tight and could even have an impact on the last two slots in the senatorial race.”
Malacanang weighs in:
Secretary Ramon Carandang, Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO):
“We’re not accusing anyone of anything but at this point, questions being raised by UNA are the same questions that are being raised by Team PNoy. Why the delay in the transmission? Why does there appear to have been some files that have not been accounted for? We also want answers to that… This election has been conducted so far in an efficient and credible manner and we want it to remain that way.”
An ex putsch:
Senator Gregorio Honasan (via Twitter):
“My friends, let’s be vigilant.”
COMELEC
Senyor Brillantes, the COMELEC:
“Iyong mga walang signals do affect the transmission through the province or the city to dito sa amin, pero hindi masyadong problema iyon. A major problem in the transmission of provincial certificates of canvas and the city COCs is really the disputes and the ‘incomplete’ forms… It is worth pointing out that in the May 2010 elections, nearly 80 percent of the election results were successfully transmitted to the central data servers of the Comelec and the PPCRV 12 hours after the polling precincts were closed… From a purely telecoms standpoint, there is no reason why a similar, if not better, result should have been achieved in 2013.”
Well, all’s well that ends well – NOT!
- In: Hodge Podge|PLDT Empire|Smart
- Tags: 2013, elections, PCOS Machine, Smartmatic
Smart unit, Smart Hub, Inc., and the Land Bank of the Philippines, have partnered to launch a payment service targeting Kasambahay’s (maids, drivers, etc.) for their mandatory, monthly contributions to the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund), the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) and the Social Security System (SSS).
A memorandum of understanding has already been signed by Smart Hub and Landbank, a partnership that is being supported by the USAID, and the Mercy Corps.
BayadLoad FTW!
Dubbed BayadLoad, the service is a form of “mobile wallet” that can be used for micro and low-value government payments. Note that load stored here has no expiry date. Smart and Talk ‘N Text (Sun to follow) can initiate payments via SMS for free!
According to Smart, all contributions/payments will be credited to the agency via an end-of-day settlement, to be done by LandBank.
Gilda Pico, Land Bank President:
“This innovation in electronic payment services is transformative as it helps change the lives of our kasambahay and other workers by giving them opportunities to save for their future’s security… It is also an effective tool to decongest bank branches from the long queues and waiting time…”
Voyager at the Back!
But who built the back-end of this wonderful service? Well, BayadLoad was conceptualized and developed by Smart subsidiary Voyager, a newly formed innovations house.
According to reports, BayadLoad will eventually include other government agencies that require payments:
- The National Statistics Office
- The Land Transportation Office
- The National Bureau of Investigation
- The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority
BayadLoad will be available as soon as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas gives its blessing to the service.
Troll: First of all, this service lacks reach: barring any hatred between Smart and Globe, and the fact that a Smart subsidiary (Voyager) and sub unit (Smart Hub) enabled the service, well, BayadLoad must be made available to all subscribers regardless of telco. This is a paramount requirement given that the beneficiaries hail from one of the most taken for granted members of society – the Kasambahay. Globe should initiate talks with Smart on this or Smart should invite Globe to be part of the service, and both should agree to cooperate. Else, a big fucking shame on the two telcos for not thinking of the end user.
Alvin Capino, perennial gadfly of Empire PLDT, in a piece he wrote for the Manila Standard, has again raised the prickly topic of the current strike of the Digitel Employees Union and PLDT’s alleged fuck you to the Supreme Court and the Department of Labor. In fact, Alvin’s article is a response to a letter written by Digitel, in response to another article that Alvin wrote. Confusing? Well, just click on the link below to know more (truth be told, the Troll has written a number of posts covering this topic, but it seems like Alvin has more goods on the matter – so please, continue on to the Manila Standard site).
Vox Populi!