My Location Lament

I learned today that my internet service provider (Smartbro, ladies and gentlemen) is offering a “Share-It” package for its subscribers. It includes up to 2mbps of broadband speed via a wireless connection (Wi-Fi router) which is available for unlimited use of up to five computers. It only costs Php999 a month, and the Wi-Fi router is free, with a lock-in period of 24 months. A longer lock-in than the fixed broadband package which I have, and which I am fortunately out of already.

But why am I still with Smartbro??? Although I am a masochist by heart, I have a reason why I am still with my old ISP. No matter how much I whine about their services, Smartbro is still the stablest ISP on our side of the jungle. It may not be my ideal ISP, but it’s the next best thing. Plus, they have already managed to up their speed from a measly 384 kbps to 512 kbps to now 1 mbps. Not something to gloat about, but here in the PI, there’s nothing much you can do about such things (except whine about it on your personal blog).

So back to the Share-It issue, the customer rep told us the package needs a 4G connection, which, unsurprisingly, we don’t have in our corner of the woods. We don’t even have 3G here, for crying out loud. It’s always like that. True, we may have a climate to-die for (always three degrees colder than on the town proper), but our place is always one of the last on the list to get a technological upgrade of sorts. It could have been perfect, but hey, welcome to the real world.