Lagging Internet Again!

I am having the most fantastic time of my life for a few hours..grappling with a failing internet which I jz could not pinpoint the problem except to maybe blame on the tremors from overseas that were also felt in Singapore which might have 'shook' up the cable lines. I dunno..or it's just my cable modem acting up and screaming..'it's about time I get changed!'

I really really dunno..and jz yesterday afternoon, the internet was down for a while coz I owed them 30 dollars as of last month. Yup, they're very desperate nowadays that within mere days of sending you the latest bill, they want their money asap. So I had to pay them earlier than I would usually do which is around the 12th when my pay will come in.

And what do I get in return for paying the bills? A sub par bandwidth connection which is just begging for me to change to a better but more expensive plan even though Im already struggling with the current plan. Oh why oh why..does living in Singapore have to be so expensive? Everyone is so money driven nowadays to keep up with the rising cost of living and people like me who earn peanuts are struggling to make ends meet...or at least survive till the end of the month.

Im not going to be duped into getting more than the basic plan unless Im in a household where a few of my family members log on to the internet at the same time using several internet devices, pc or laptops. And it makes even bigger sense if the household members share the cost of the internet plans every month. Then, there are always the gimmicks where on paper or in words when the sales people first introduce the plans to you with such conviction that oh, you are going to pay this much only and you get this, this and this but at the end of the month, you get this bill amount that makes you go 'what?!!'

Maybe becoz I was experimenting with the data plan initially that was bundled with my recontracted plan by checking my emails and watching you tube videos on my new phone but it was not like I was constantly using the data plan. I was mostly on wifi at home and when Im outside at some shopping centres, I will log on to the wireless@sg which offers free wireless surfing. I only remembered watching one video using the data plan and downloading emails from my hotmail account jz once and subsequently using the mobile version of hotmail by tapping on the wifi connection.

Okay that aside, they promised that my data usage will be unlimited once it hits the price ceiling of $36 but I dont see it anywhere in the bill. And because there is no way you can track and count data usage like voice calls where you have per second billing, you will be paying for extras for all you know which will then contribute to their bonus at the end of the year.

So wow..on one hand, I should count my lucky star for not going overboard with the data plan because I think if I carry on experimenting, it will backlash on me. Now, it's 80 plus which is less than 100 but still shocking because I dont remember using the data plan that much. I read and re-read the bill and I still dont get it. Being their customer for a very long time, I dont trust these providers. Im sure, this problem is not exclusive to just one service provider because Im sure users of other providers have problems with their billing like where on earth these extra charges come from. Of course, nothing can beat the Power Supply who decides to increase the electrical charges due to higher fuel prices while most of the population is already struggling with the bill payments already. Then again, they are the monopoly in this business so they can do or say whatever they want. Not happy? We cut.

So before you go for the middle ranged or upper ranged plans because of the more attractive handphone offers or free gifts, I seriously ask you to consider in the long run whether you can afford to pay the basic subscription charges which will not be the final amount considering you still have the voice plan and data plan charges. It's not about having a better phone model so that you can show off to your peers or be in the same group as the blackberry people. They are not going to pay your bills and if your plan is terminated because of non payment, you will have to face additional termination charges and that sucks because that can amount to several hundred dollars and it's not even because you want it terminated.

Like I said, surviving in Singapore is hard because of the higher cost of living so we have to be smart about our spending ways. Well, for me so what if I have to depend on the free wireless offered by the wireless@sg to update on facebook and twitter status. Call me cheapskate but one of the ways to survive in Singapore is by making use of any free or low fees facilities (like...free carpark usage on Sundays) and then to diligently collect the money given by the government at certain times of the year. Dont say..oh you dont need the money or the amount is too small. In Singlish speak, dont be so yaya papaya..gahmen give u money...take. Their money is your money too because most of them come from our hard earned money where a portion of it goes into paying taxes which will then make up a majority of their revenue.

Anyway, I have given up already waiting for the internet to pick up speed. I'd rather catch up with my sleep now..yawns. And to think I wanted to kick off the brand new month of October doing fruitful things. Obviously I have a long way to go.