Sky Broadband: Is it Really Fast?
You see their ads everywhere in the metro. You drive around and see their banners in Ortigas or even along EDSA. If you have Sky Cable, then you would’ve seen their recent ads stating that their internet broadband service is the fastest.
They offer a 15 day trial for you to experience the speed and compare it with other providers. I personally asked for it and true enough, it was fast…until the trial ended. Why am I not surprised? Of course they would set you up with a more stable connection. Why would they risk you not signing up with them?
It has been several months since I signed up with them (only because PLDT didn’t have available slots anymore in our area) and I’ve called their customer service hotline at least three times every month to complain about the service. My concerns were pretty much the same. No internet service, constantly having to reset the modem; some websites weren’t loading, even if it was a business site that other networks would’ve permitted; and slow internet speed (they explained my router was the culprit). I wasn’t a happy customer.
Did I mention I signed up for a 6MBPS download and 1MBPS upload plan? Yes, that is my current plan because I needed it for my webinar business.
Because of my frustration and disappointment that I couldn’t even use Skpe and get a clear connection, I decided to drop by their website to use their speed test. Here is the result with streaming music being played in the background. Only two (2) websites are open and my Yahoo Messenger.
Speed test done at around 400AM.
I noticed their note that read “For accurate speed test result, please refrain from using other applications that utilizes your internet connection such as file sharing (P2P), file download, browsing, software updates and the like.” This didn’t make sense to me at all. Wasn’t that the point in the first place? Maybe I should consult an IT person so that I can be educated.
Okay, so I turned off everything except my browser and only had their website open.
Tested without anything open except their website.
I’ll let you be the judge and tell me whether I am getting my money’s worth. I’ve accepted the fact that we live in a country that cannot guarantee the maximum plan speed, but this is ridiculous! I should be paying their basic plan.
Now, do I still think their service is fast? I’ve eaten my breakfast and I’m still waiting for my files to download.
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13 Comments
10:21 pm
Chen – thought of that but how are the rates if I get the dedicated line? I remember Sky Broadband telling me I only need to add P200 on top of my bill. If that’s it, then I would say it’s worth it since I use this for my business as well.
Heard about Eastern Telecoms but unfortunately my area isn’t covered. But, just heard yesterday from a supplier they have issues with them now. Bayantel? Probably not. I haven’t been lucky with them.
12:16 am
Service level is usually excellent here when it is dedicated line. An account manager probably will handle your account. Availability is 99.9% I should think so. Even a 512kbps guaranteed speed is enough to make you happy because it is your private line to the internet not shared with your neighbors. Check if they still offer it at data rate coz the minimum might be 1.024 Mbps now. Service should no longer be an issue here where you are treated as VIP. Focus on the rate after you get 3 quotations and negotiate for a discount. The price? Not too sure now but could be P20K up a month.
6:18 pm
I live at QC, and i do not recommend Sky Broadband if u need a constant internet connection.
Today afternoon, i my internet disconnects 5-10 times every hour. NOT KIDDING. It is only for a brief moment though, like 2~3 mins.
Download speed is not that impressive though. You’d never get the speed that u subscribed to. And dont be fooled by speedtest, since not all websites have their servers here in the philippines.
Thats all, TY.
3:28 am
The Truth – thanks for the advice. I’ve had several disconnections in the past but most are because of a scheduled maintenance but wasn’t informed of such.
What provider would you recommend in the QC area?
12:50 am
Eastern Telecoms is what we use and it is not very fast also. And not cheap. Early this year I asked about a 1mb download/upload plan with CIR also of 1mb for download and the price is about 50k pesos a month.
3:01 am
Jonathan – yikes! It’s pretty steep. It probably might make sense to get them if the business is large enough to cover the costs.
9:04 am
Jam – yup,pretty high even for an SME but their service is good even our account managers usually go to the office to check on things. They are also prompt to reply to any questions. BTW, they charge in US Dollars so the conversion is not really always same. I like their service compared to PLDT.. ^_^
1:08 am
I just switched to Sky early in December because I finally got tired of PLDT. PLDT used to be really okay, but since September – every single month, I would lose internet connection, and it would take them a week or so to resolve the issue. It doesn’t matter if they adjust my bill; I use the internet a lot, and losing it for a week at a time pisses me off.
The last incident in December was the last straw. I probably gave myself an aneurysm fighting over the phone with the “customer service” and “tech support” people. Yes, in quotes, as I don’t think they provided any real service or support. It’s a recurring issue they can’t seem to fix.
Since I’d just gotten Skycable in early December, I decided to instantly switch a mere 2-3 days later even without the benefit of a free trial.
To date, I’ve had maybe one minor connectivity issue that got fixed quickly, plus a bit of delay on my email set-up – but the latter is really the fault of the salespeople who didn’t tell me that there was a certain TAT to get the email set up (and to the credit of the tech folks, they got it up a little earlier since I told them about my PLDT story and said I didn’t want to think I made a mistake in switching due to similar issues). So the salespeople need to set expectations better.
Other than that, it’s largely been okay. However, I guess it’s too soon to really tell. I’ll see in the next few months. My plan is the simple personal one (1.5MBPS since I’m a cable subscriber / this would be 1MBPS if not a cable subscriber), and it is slightly faster than PLDT.
Let’s hope your experiences above don’t affect me. Honestly, most of the other ISP’s we have – I’ve also heard horror stories from friends (Smart, Globe, etc.), so I’m not sure what else I could switch to if Sky fails me.
2:18 pm
Allan – yes, among the providers Sky has so far been satisfactory. I’ve had my fights a few times. Root cause? Their personnel need to be more informed and training (sounds familiar?) 
I’m planning to get a dedicated IP address since I use this for my business. It’s only P200 on top of my usual bill. We’ll see how it goes. If business is doing well, I will consider getting a business account with other providers as suggested by Chen & Jonathan.
Keep us updated.
9:19 pm
Jam – your plan with Sky, are you subscribed to them as an individual or as a business? I am not sure if those “high-speed” plans are for residential only. Thanks
12:14 am
Any ISP or telco will do Jam as long as your requirement is a dedicated / leased line since this type of service comes with a service level agreement (sla) that is suppose to stipulate your rights as a customer that is why you will have an account manager to bug and bother with your whims. Bayan can install on your place for a package around P20K a month.
1:55 am
Jonathan – it’s a residential plan. They don’t offer corporate accounts as of yet as they stated.
Chen – thanks. 20K is really steep as of now. I would want to have something that is more flexible though for events that need a leased line. This would mean renting it only during the event.
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4:41 pm
Jam, unless you subscribe to or lease a dedicated line, you wont get what you want. As these are normally corporate services, check with Bayan, Eastern Telecoms, PLDT or Innove about the possibility of you being able to drive at a breakneck speed through information superhighway “at home”.