A Glitch in the Machine: Globe SMS Problems

It's amazing (woops, sorry Globe) how a little glitch in technology can cause enormous inconvenience.

Last Jan 9, my wife and I eagerly went to UP Diliman to see the Centennial Kick-off Events. We arranged to meet some long-lost friends there by sending the usual "text-text na lang" message.

But when we reached UP, our phones could no longer send nor receive SMS messages. We also tried calling, but that did not work either.

Ironically, we could see some people talking on their phones and even sending text messages. We didn't know the source of the problem then, and we blamed it to interference probably emanating from the microwave antennas of media vans who were broadcasting live.

This messed up our pre-arranged appointments at UP, which in turn, highlighted to me a fundamental change in the way we agree on appointments.

In the days of land line, we were meticulous in fixing appointments. We had to specify the exact place, time and a contingent activity in case someone was late or could not find the place (eg, "Let's meet from between 6:00-6:30 pm, afterwhich, we will move to Jollibee at Philcoa. We will wait there until 8:30 pm so that's your last chance to catch up.")

The difference between then and now is that mobile phones allow flexibility in setting appointments. If there's too much traffic, or someone is lost, everyone is just a phone call away.

Our phones started functioning again after leaving UP, so this reinforced our explanation. But the next day and the days that followed, my phone hiccuped a couple more times -- in Ortigas and Makati. And I then experienced intermittent service after a couple more days.

It now appears that this was a technical glitch that Globe may be refusing to acknowledge (and it's also a wonder why media is not covering it).

<!--Of course this only happens once your life becomes intertwined with tech. In the good old days, I kept on holding off getting a mobile phone, thinking why would I need it when I would always be within reach via landlines and email?-->