Sky Cable giving wrong 'Cignal'

Sky Cable’s recent acquisition of Destiny and Uni-Cable TV is supposed to give subscribers more benefits and advantages, but complaints continue to mount about the disappointing service from the Lopez-owned firm. A common gripe among subscribers is that despite “sky high” charges, a lot of Sky Cable channels feature programs older than Mahoma himself. Signals also get interrupted at the most inconvenient time possible, like what happened during the Pacquiao-Bradley fight with pay-per-view subscribers failing to watch the main bout due to “technical problems.”

But what’s even worse is that Sky’s customer service and technical people do not know how to handle calls from distressed customers. They are slow to respond and take forever to act on complaints and requests – many coming from foreigners living in condominiums – that require technical people to inspect connections and figure out why reception continues to be bad or non-existent for days on end. 

The bad experiences with Sky Cable are making subscribers switch to Cignal TV which, we’ve been told, is now the largest direct-to-home pay-TV in the country, and is set to increase its subscriber base even more with Manny Pangilinan’s recent P6- billion investment in both TV5 and Cignal TV. Subscribers of Cignal tell me they are happy with the service plus the fact that some HD channels have surround sound programming, making the viewing experience even more enjoyable.

Sky Cable definitely has to exert more effort to live up to its promise of “sky is the limit” because subscribers’ patience is not sky high when it comes to recurring unsatisfactory customer service. Otherwise, this would give wrong signals that might just make more and more people turn to Cignal.

Stradcom struggle

Spy Bits sources informed us that Stradcom Corp. president Cezar Quiambao wrote a letter to President Noynoy Aquino explaining the predicament of the IT company whose contract with the Land Transportation Office is set to expire in February 2013. Stradcom has been saddled by an intra-corporate dispute with another group claiming ownership of the company – which is why payment amounting to over P1.2 billion has been withheld by the LTO pending resolution of the dispute.

The LTO through its chief Virginia Torres has earlier filed an interpleader suit (a third party filing for the court to determine ownership rights between rivals claiming money or property held by the said third party) claiming confusion as to who should be recognized as rightful owner since both groups are demanding payment for services rendered. The SC upheld LTO’s position, which is why money amounting to P1.2 billion is being held in escrow, although the company says the amount has ballooned to P3.2 billion to date.

Spy Bits was told that Quiambao has been sustaining Stradcom’s operations by taking on personal loans – with hopes that government would soon recognize his group as the rightful claimant given the fact that it is the one which has been paying taxes to the government. In fairness to Quiambao, operating a business without payment from client is indeed, no joke. According to sources, Stradcom handles over 120,000 daily transactions with more than 4,000 people in its employ, and it has to shoulder operation and maintenance costs as well. Not many companies could sustain operations for so long without getting paid for services rendered.

“The government does not spend a single centavo for this because that is the beauty of the Build-Own-Operate model,” the source pointed out, adding that the LTO meantime has made over P19 billion in revenues using Stradcom’s systems. It’s rather unfortunate that the row involving rival claimants has also affected the delivery of services at LTO, with many complaining about the lengthy wait for new plates and drivers’ licenses due to perceived glitches in the computer systems. In any case, Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas says the bidding for the project that would integrate the IT systems of both the LTO and LTFRB is pushing through – a move which many say is the right way to go since this will give the LTO an opportunity to make a fresh start and dispel whatever negative perceptions have been made on account of problems with the system and the dispute involving the current provider.

We are told that a lot of new players, both local and foreign, are interested in joining the bid for the LTO project. However, the TRO issued by a Quezon City court is another complication that has to be resolved soon because interested – and we might add credible – bidders are being left hanging, to the detriment of the public who will suffer in the end if improved technology and systems are not instituted.

Mining EO repercussions

As usual, not everyone is pleased with the new mining policy with some sectors praising government for coming out with a very good executive order while “antis” denounce it for being less than perfect. Among the salient provisions in the new mining EO is that new permits such as Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSAs) and Financial Technical Assistance Agreements (FTAAs) will not be issued to foreign owners. This is beneficial for companies like Sagittarius which owns Tampakan because it already has an FTAA, but not for outfits like Lepanto/Goldfields which just might have to wait until Congress amends the Mining Act of 1995 for it to get its FTAA (for the Far South East gold and copper mine). Another company that will be affected is Dizon Mines since its tailings dam will reportedly be confiscated by government because it reportedly does not have any existing operations in its mining claim.

According to DENR Secretary Mon Paje, P-Noy will certify the Mining Act amendment as urgent as a signal for Congress to expedite the process. Many will certainly be waiting for what the president will say about the issue in his upcoming State of the Nation Address.

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