Connections matter

Moving to a new home the night before the lockdown — March 15, to be exact — was a harrowing experience that I would never do again.

We had all our bags packed and were ready to move when the movers came at 3 p.m. We planned to leave our former home in Pasig at 9 p.m. (to avoid traffic) and reach our new home in Las Piñas by midnight. 

We made it — dogs, cats, belongings, helper and me.

Day One and I realized that we had no connection; the house in Las Piñas had no phone and worse, no Wi-Fi for Internet, no TV either. Through ECQ and MECQ I tried, but had no luck getting an Internet connection.  I relied on the data connection on my cellphone.

Finally connected

It was only after the first MECQ (mid-April) that I began to search for where I could get an Internet connection. Being new where I lived was not helpful, and I never felt so disconnected from the world around me. I asked friends to help me.

I almost jumped for joy when the PLDT truck stopped at my home with the PLDT Home modem — it was like Christmas in April. Finally, I was connected. At that point, any connection was heaven-sent. It also began a time where everybody was connecting with family and friends through the Net, since digital consumption had firmly been embedded in our daily habits. The new normal, I guess.

Everyone learned how to connect through the Internet and users started watching online videos as a source of daily updates on family members who were not at home, and to get information and entertainment, such as watching news and vlogs, listening to music-streaming services, online radio stations, and podcasts.

The demand for affordable and accessible Internet solutions for the home has increased and PLDT Home enabled me to adapt to the new normal by providing bigger data options for my increased video consumption habit — without robbing a bank. I learned about this from the first connection I made, which gave a list of promos that PLDT offers. Now I guess it's time for a bigger device?

There are many connections for family use. Like, there is one plan with bigger data daily for video consumption, and families who use this may opt for the new FamLoad Video Plus, which offers 3GB every day for streaming videos in Cignal Play, iWant, NBA League Pass and YouTube. This is perfect for families who want to enjoy videos every day for movies, TV shows, news, and other entertainment. They may also opt to get FamLoad Video Plus 999, which comes with up to 120GB family-sized data, with 90GB or 3GB every day to access their favorite video apps, Cignal Play, iWant, NBA League Pass, YouTube and on top of it, they can enjoy 30GB data for all sites and apps for 30 days.

Other families and office workers who use data heavily due to work-from-home requirements may opt for the PLDT Home Famload Video 999, which they can maximize for their online video conferences without worrying about their data limits. With 100GB data good for 30 days, FamLoad Video 999 comes with 30GB (or 1GB of YouTube every day) and 70GB data for all sites and apps that they can use for work emails, social media, messaging apps, and more.

Powered by Smart LTE, PLDT Home Wifi Prepaid is an affordable and easy-to-use plug-and-play Internet device that’s perfect for sharing with family. One can get their own PLDT Home Wifi Prepaid units P995, which comes with 10GB of data valid for seven days.

Other FamLoad packages depend on their weekly or payday budget, such as FamLoad Video 199 with 19GB, Video Plus 199 with 28GB valid for seven days, FamLoad Video 599 with 55GB, FamLoad Video Plus 599 with 60GB valid for 15 days, FamLoad Video 1499 with 130GB, and FamLoad Video Plus 1499  with 180GB valid for 30 days.

PLDT Home Wifi Prepaid is available at PLDT Home’s official online stores in Lazada and GrabMart or the PLDT Home at www.pldthome.com/homewifi.

One of the most difficult things about the lockdown for me was feeling alone. Although I am still alone with a house of dogs, cats and a helper — I am virtually connected, anytime, all the time.

Connections that matter.