It was a two-minute conversation that got disconnected FIVE times.
That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I proceeded to call my service provider to ask why on Earth the connectivity was so poor. This took place in December.
I was eventually informed that the bad connectivity “could be due to the migration from 3G to 4G”. I didn’t quite buy that.
Initially, I thought it could be due to my phone. But that was not the case. I inserted my SIM card into another phone and the problem persisted. I’ve changed my SIM card, too.
I reached out to several friends and they too, despite flashing new mobile phones, can’t seem to hold a conversation without the line dropping.
Three months down the road, I still have issues making phone calls.
Two days ago, I called a senior lawyer on his mobile phone but due to the poor service, we ended up speaking on the landline!
Once again, I’m not alone.
A good friend, who makes it a point to keep in touch almost daily, had this to say: “I seriously don’t know what we are paying for as the service is ridiculous.”
True.
Another friend, who lives in Bukit Tunku, Kuala Lumpur, often complains of bad reception. That’s pretty much the heart of Kuala Lumpur. Are the trees also to be blamed for those connectivity issues in these upscale addresses?
A good pal, while trying to use his mobile phone yesterday, sent me a message saying “Totally can’t call through”.
Telecommunication companies are quick to bar phone lines when subscribers do not pay on the dot, but turn a deaf ear when customers complain of poor connectivity. The same can be said about its internet services.
Most of them often have a list of “excuses”. It’s either the gadgets used by callers and/or receivers that are not up to mark, or because of the “poor coverage” in certain areas.
Not all Malaysians can afford a RM6,000 handphone. There are also those who believe spending RM6,000 on a phone is downright silly. And those who had spent RM6,000 on a phone swear that it did nothing to help their connectivity issues.
Poor coverage should be a thing of the past. It’s 2022, yet some of us still struggle to be heard on the other end of the line in Segambut, or Sarikei.
It can get quite embarrassing speaking to a lawmaker, corporate leader, or an international athlete, only for the conversation to end abruptly. The repeated phone calls can be a frustrating experience, and will disrupt the train of thought. The “Hello, sir/ma’am” invariably ends up as “So sorry lah, sir/ma’am”.
There are those who told me to make calls via WhatsApp. It’s “more stable”, and the conversations can’t be recorded. However, I’ve had issues making WhatsApp calls, too.
I truly hope there is light at the end of this connectivity tunnel.
I also truly hope that I would only need to say “Hello” once, and not repeatedly, to the same person, due to dropped calls.