Warning: This is a very lengthy post…

For the longest time, I’ve been curious on getting Sky Broadband as my Internet connection at home.

I’m sure you know by now that I work-at-home as a virtual assistant (VA) for about 2 years already. One of the very few overhead expenses I incur is internet connection. Currently, I am subscribed to Sun Cellular’s Wireless Broadband SBW Plan 649 Bundle. It’s an add-on to my existing Php 600 (about $15)  per month postpaid subscription worth Php 649 (about $16). While ideally, I should get up to 2Mbps speed, I don’t. And really, I’m not complaining.

But I’ve been on the lookout for another ISP (internet service provider) for the longest time since we’ve moved here 2 years ago. A couple of months ago, Sky Broadband became available in our area and I was seriously contemplating on getting one because as I’ve mentioned earlier I’ve been curious and I really wanted a faster internet connection.

I wanted speed for my job. I want to be able to provide more VA services. I know I cannot record a webinar if my internet connection is slow nor attend a webinar for trainings if the sound sometimes goes in and out.

So 2 weeks ago, I had called in and inquired about Sky Broadband’s services. I specifically wanted to avail their 15 day trial for a 6Mbps connection. It costs about Php 3,999 (about $96) per month and all I have to shell out for the meantime is Php 1k (about $24) for their 15-day free trial.

Their techs were supposed to install it on the 16th but said failed to do so. The feedback was they cannot find our house. Really weird because our place is really to spot especially with all the landmarks I have provided. The sales person Omar who I talked to followed it up the next Monday and said that it will be rescheduled next week if I’m still interested. I said yes and confirmed to the reschedule.

The technicians arrived yesterday during lunch time. We’ve eaten brunch so I was working on answering tickets at the time that they arrived.

The guy who talked to me asked for the requirements (which I have failed to ready but was really easily accessible at that moment) and so I just told him that I’ll ask my brother to do them for me. The guy said he’ll be checking how far our apartment was from the cable post and determine if we can have it then set it up.

It took a while and the guys were outside not sure what they were waiting for and so I went out and talked to them. One of the other guys there talked to me and explained a “situation”. He’s saying that Sky only provides 120 feet of cable length and that the maximum length for the cable will only be up to 220 feet. So if ever there was an excess of that 220 feet, I will need to pay extra for the cable. I was just asking how much it would cost and the guy cannot give me a straight answer as maybe he really doesn’t know how much really it costs. Anyway, he pointed out that what would happen is that it will just be billed to me. So I said yes. But there was another one mentioning that if ever there was really an excess, it was NOT allowed by their company and so if ever they will continue with it, I will have my connection BUT they will be given a memo.

I was starting to smell something fishy in this scenario but nevertheless, I asked them what do I need to do to have it installed. I knew then and there, they were asking for some “lagay” — this is some sort of under-the-table payment they were asking for, albeit, not directly.

Good thing though, my brother was there. He said that there should be no issues whatsoever if they will report and we get billed for that extra wire.

I went inside and woke Marts up as the cable connection will be installed in our room. I’ve already transferred my home office in my room to prevent distractions. The guy who was installing it reported to whoever he was talking in their main office that it was just 90 feet.

Good gracious! These guys are UNBELIEVABLE!!!

I really hate it when people do these kind of stuff. Yes, they have jobs but most probably, they’re doing them for the heck of it and just to get easy money out of those people who want to subscribe easily.

Anyway, my Sky Broadband got installed successfully yesterday BUT there was another teeny-weeny problem that I noticed after the guy left.

I’m not complaining about the speed, mind you. It’s not the speed as most other customers would be complaining about. Nor is it about intermittent connection.

Right now, my main complaint is about why I’m getting my ip address changing every second! Yes, it’s true! I know and I understand that I have a Dynamic IP connection.

Dynamic Ip is when you get a different ip address for your connection. This usually changes when you turn off your modem or router such as in the case of my Sun Wireless Broadband connection.

The reason why I’m complaining about this is because I work as Software Support for one of my clients. I provide assistance for customers having problems with their SEO software. In order for me to assist them, I answer tickets they submit in our Support site. I’ve been trying to log in to the Kayako software site that we have and after logging in, it boot me out! Imagine my frustration yesterday, when this happened. It took me about 2 hours to realize that they’re using a Network Shared Proxy.

I’ve talked to their Customer Support and what irked me the most is that they were asking me all about speed tests, ping tests, etc. and it wasn’t about speed that I was complaining about. I know and I understand that the CSR I was talking to doesn’t have any idea on this issue.

Further research on this issue has made me realize that I will be having trouble with watching movies on sites like MegaVideo because their site is able to detect ip addresses and since the ip address for the connection constantly changes, it will tell you on the site that you have reached the maximum time for watching on their site and you have to try after a certain amount of time. Some who have complained about this mentioned that Sky’s answer to this issue is because MegaVideo and other similar sites are 3rd party sites and they require subscriptions which the subscriber must do in order to avail of their service.

This post may all be rants about my initial experience with their service but I tell you, that I agree that their internet connection is fast. This is the current speed I get:

I was able to download a 349Mb movie in Torrent within 20 mins earlier! It’s fast comparing it to Sun which will take me about almost half a day in doing so.

Nevertheless, I have already vowed to myself that I will just cancel their service before the trial ends and get my money refunded as I won’t be satisfied with their service if this issue doesn’t get fixed.

Yes, I need fast internet connection but I also need a connection that will help me do my work properly. I can’t keep on switching to my wireless Sun connection then go back to Sky for faster speed just for browsing leisurely. I earn my living at home. Without properly doing my work, I won’t be able to pay for their services, which by the way is really expensive.

As I’ve said before, I don’t mind paying for expensive stuff as long as it’s worth every penny. Their 6Mbps is expensive and not worth it even with the fast speed because it’s totally unreliable especially for the work that I’ll be doing.