Dear Dreams

This article is specially dedicated to all Starhub users.

If you are using both Starhub Max-online and mobile service together, you may be one of the fools around.

Starhub mobile line is known to be less stable than both SingTel and M1 services; in fact, it has ridiculously weak reception at many areas. If you are using their line at Tanjong Pagar, you may be finding yourself being in a lost world at certain areas. Starhub’s explanation is that their stations, which produce and receive the signals are far apart just enough to lose coverage of the area. You may imagine yourself standing at a point where ten metres away from the west has a piece of shit, whereas ten metres towards the east has lay shit, and you are just in good distance to avoid the smell, except for a little pungent which strong wind manages to blow it over occasionally. However, if the same situation happens to the mobile phone, the reception is also an on and off situation.

If you are subscribing to the SCV Cable TV or the Max-Online service, you can apply for free home telephone service. The phone line will be connected to the modem itself and all communication will be via the same medium, and Starhub does not get to lose much. By offering this extra service, they can probably attract more users to subscribe to their services. SingTel owns most households’ phone lines since it has started since before I’m even born. The subscription fee together with the count-by-second call rate are wastage of consumers’ money since they can easily get everything for free. Not many people know that by porting over from SingTel to Starhub, they can still keep their home number without extra charge.

However, if you are subscribed to the above services from Starhub, you may face this problem of when the Max-online or Cable TV is or are down, the phone line is being cut off as well. At this point of time, you can only use your mobile phone to call up Starhub customer service care centre.

For English, please press “1”
For Starhub Mobile service, press “!”
For Starhub Cable TV, press “2”
For Starhub Max-online service, press “3”
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The long flow goes by. When you opt for the technical issue, using recorded voice, they try to tell you to check your modem for problems. You are already so agitated and you still have to wait for the craps to finish off before they let you know you have to press “0” to speak to the customer service officer. In the midst of waiting, the recorded message suggests that you can leave your number and name with them through fax machine and then you realise most households in Singapore do not own a fax machine. Another suggestion from them is to email to them via customerservice@starhub.com.sg and you probably feel like screaming to tell them the freaking internet service provided by them is down; but too bad they still do not pick up the call. Ten minutes later, someone finally picks up the phone and the line cuts off because you are using Starhub mobile phone line and the reception happens to die off totally. You have no choice but to call back and the same process happens again. Another ten minutes later, a woman picks up the phone and you know obviously she is not from Singapore for her accent and mumbling that it kills lots of brain cells and saliva to get her repeat her words. Then, she says they need around three hours more to fix the problem, or rather, she is saying other things, which cannot be heard.

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