EDITORS DESK

In the not-so-distant past, dependence on basic necessities meant that “Walang tubig!” or “Walang kuryente!” were laments that represented the ultimate pall of gloom for every Filipino household.
Be it for a few hours, even a whole day, or a week – being without water or electricity translated to a life of inconvenience, of being in a state of grime and heat, or just finding yourself in a world of nothingness.

But forward to these days, dependence on a new form of utility has taken shape, a platform – and that is our inevitable attachment to the internet.

From the necessary connections to our email or social media on our cell phones and computers, to the needed signal for the YouTube feeds on our Smart TVs, internet has drastically changed our dependence for this addition to a new form of basic necessity in our lives.

Much like water and power, a life without internet means an existence that is left in limbo, without information, or without direction.

However, unlike the water and power services that we have grown accustomed of, not much has been done in the way that after-sales services are being rendered by internet service providers.
While companies like Manila Water and Maynilad keep the public informed about scheduled cuts in water service, or energy giant Meralco even puts out advertisements featuring spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga giving out updates on power service or costs, there is nothing to be heard of from the internet service providers – be these on cuts in service, adjustment in rates, or even the return of botched service.

And while cuts in water or power service just last for a few hours, interruptions in internet service could even last for days.

There is this internet service provider, which purports to purvey the fastest internet speed around. It prides itself of running up the internet speed test to as much as 350 MBPS, or megabits per second.

That, in fairness, is true.

But when it comes to service when the service bogs down – an occurrence that happens quite often – that reputation of having the fastest internet speed woefully turns into the worst service around.
The company’s supposed hotline does not even have a customer service assistant who could answer and address your complaint. What it has is a prompt that just tells you that something is wrong with the internet service in your area. No assurance, no time frame when your internet service would be restored.

Instead, in a desperate bid, you have to wait for the service van to visit your place – or happen to visit your place to address the problems of other clients – so that you could get an update on when your internet service could be restored.

And when that opportunity comes, the technician will direct you to go to a physical outlet of the internet service provider so you could register your complaint, and get a number for it.
Huh? All that for a tech firm that is supposed to hinge its reputation on a speedy internet service? And yet they require those who would want to report poor service to make a physical report at an outlet located kilometers away.

Thus, it tickles the mind how this internet company could maintain a reputation of having the fastest internet speed, when the service needed to fix its problems is so tedious, slow, and inconvenient.
This, folks, is among the new realities of having a new utility – internet service. Well, at least, as far as my provider is concerned.

Sadly, while internet service providers have trumpeted the lightning speed by which data could be streamed through their lines, the service that is needed to fix it when it bogs down has left my blood pressure soaring, notably also MBPS — instead of megabits per second.

As such, please allow me to venture in providing this suggestion to this internet service provider, which has been remiss in addressing the needs of its clients.

Perhaps, it would be appropriate that it employs a concierge to help it address its problems which, obviously, it cannot manage.

It is definitely time for the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) to look into the shortcomings of some internet providers. Or it should even look into a firm’s accountability or extent by which it should be made responsible for the minutes, hours or days that it was not able to restore internet service to clients.

A congressional probe should also be appropriate because, unlike the other public utilities, there is little oversight on internet service, which is already acknowledged as a daily, essential service that is being availed of the great majority of the people.

After all, such an essential service, like internet, is a form of public facility or utility.