Why I ditched 24/7

I used to be a 24/7 junkie. By 24/7, I refer to Sun Cellular’s offering of unlimited calls and SMS within the network for a flat monthly or weekly rate. This, and the similar offerings launched by Sun’s rival networks Globe and Smart, is such a boon to frequent travellers and people who need to constantly communicate with friends and loved ones while on the road.

Yes, I only got to pay PhP 350 per month (per account) to enjoy that unlimited service, but it turned out that the cost is much, much greater than the benefit in my case.

For one, Sun’s signal strength has a lot to improve on. There are a lot of dead spots even within the Metropolis. Even my own residence is mostly a dead spot for this network.

And given the network congestion, one can only wonder whether it’s worth it to have to dial and re-dial sometimes hundreds of times before a call can push through. True, you can call for “free”–if you can get to connect at all!

When Smart launched its similar “25/8″ service, I was tempted to switch, but I had already invested in re-activating old prepaid Sun SIMs for my wife and myself, and all of our contacts communicate with us through that number.

So I decided to switch back to using my Globe number as a primary contact mobile. Same with my wife–since she didn’t have Sun signal where she works. My siblings, all using Sun, also told me they stopped using 24/7, since they’d rather use the funds to buy regular load.

And by the time Globe launched its own short-lived unlimited service, the novelty had worn off.

I ditched Sun and its unlimited plans; and I kept away from other networks’ similar schemes. Yes, he novelty wore off. I realized that I better stick to using my mobile for those more important and necessary calls and SMS, rather than trivial matters. What’s the use of a 24/7 subscription when important calls couldn’t push through due to the congestion.

And these days, I find myself communicating more through email and instant messaging.

And for those long calls, there’s always the landline!

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