Bataan Heroes College

Internet and Wi-Fi modem Case study:

Effects of system errors and slow connectivity.

Dela Rosa, Ralph Bernard N.

BSME-4C

Jan 19, 2022

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I. Introduction.

The Internet became almost necessary to our daily lives, especially in the past few
years where you almost can't do anything if you don't have access to the Internet. The
internet is a revolutionary invention since before its invention, there is o standard or normal
way to connect the different computer networks and allow them to communicate, it also
allows people to become more connected though it is not used as much then as it is now. In
1997 The Wi-Fi was invented which lead to the invention of WLAN, at this point Wi-Fi is
still slow but made the Internet more accessible. For the past few years, Wi-Fi modems
became the most common way to gain access to the internet. The main topic of this case
study is the Wi-Fi modem with some discussion about the Internet since we can’t discuss a
modem if we did not include how it connects us to a bigger web of connections.

The problem with our over-reliance on our Wi-Fi modems to gain access to the
internet is that if the line got damaged or cut we will lose access to the web forcing us to buy
load or data to regain access. These incidents can cause damage especially when you are in
an important meeting and your line got damaged.

A. Statement of the Problem

This study will focus on the external factors that cause errors or damage to our Wi-Fi
modem and access to the internet.

1. What are the most common factor that damages our internet connection?
2. Why do most Wi-Fi modems in the Philippines still need phone lines?
3. What are the ways to prevent the loss of access to the web?
4. How can we improve the Wi-Fi modems in our country?

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B. History of the Problem.

The first-way people had access to The internet before was by using Dial ups where
you use your landline to call the provider and keep it in line and the moment someone used
that phone to call someone else, your access to the internet will be cut and everything you
were doing before will be lost. Now, most Wi-Fi modems Still need a phone line to work,
while you can still use your landline phone and use The modem to provide a Wi-fi signal at
the same time, you will still temporarily lose access to the internet and make phone calls
when the phone line gets damaged.

. This study is made to make suggestions or at least make the readers aware that The
internet is fragile so are the modems we use to access it.

A. Extent of the Problem.

1. What has happened?

Wi-Fi modems are invented to make accessing the internet faster and easier. It
does that well but that doesn’t mean that the invention is perfect, we can still expect that
it will have problems that can cause catastrophic damages to small businesses that require
internet access to work properly. In 2018, it was reported that businesses lost
approximately 60 million hours due to internet downtime, An internet connection failure
can be catastrophic to a retailer or professional business, exposing them to the risks of
lost revenue, reduced productivity, and customer complaints

2. Why should we be concerned?

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 A concern for most internet users is the stability of the connection and the speed
of access it provides since we need it now to gain access to our work, class, businesses,
and meetings. As stated before, the Internet is an essential part of our daily lives and a
huge part of most businesses out there. A modem that connects us to the internet is also
fragile. In my experience, we replace our modem almost every year and it always takes a
couple of weeks to a couple of months before the new modem arrives forcing us to use
mobile data which is unreliable and unstable.

B. Who is affected? 

1. Examples

Everyone who relies on a modem to gain access to the web is affected by the
problems caused by modem errors or when the line gets damaged. To most of us, the loss
of access to the internet is just a nuisance and a cause of frustration especially if we are
gaming, but if there is money, business and learning involved the problem suddenly
becomes even more serious since the threat of losing your job/business and catching up to
the rest of the class is scary especially after the pandemic started.

To further explore the issues, let us give an example of each problem in business,
academics, and monetary issues that the sudden internet loss can cause, let’s start with
academic concerns since it is the most relevant and relatable topic to us, students.

The internet is now essential to the academic area since the start of the new
normal since studies are now mainly done through the internet and the strict deadlines of
google classroom do not allow you to pass your assignments a minute after the deadline,
you can pass it but it will be marked as late submission and it usually means that it will
not be checked. There are also the google forms that are only available for a limited time

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and restart when you don’t have a stable internet connection rendering all the work you
have done before the disconnect useless and sometimes just gone. Now since The usual
way we can connect through the internet is by using a wi-fi modem which is connected to
your phone line, the moment the line gets damaged, you will lose your projects and make
you miss your deadlines. Using mobile data can be a substitute but not all of us have
access to that especially here where we can only buy mobile load through a qlick in 7-11
which NEVER WORKS unviable.

On the business side of things. While some businesses have ceased to be because
of the growth of the internet, some have also been made. App developers, online delivery
services, online shops, network developers, social media directors, marketers, etc. while
the rise of the internet gave more opportunities for technologically fluent people we still
can’t avoid the usual internet crashes and connection problems. The most impactful
damage internet problems can cause to these new jobs will be to their reputation, online
businesses, and businesses in general works because the people trust in them and their
reactive services. If you lose internet connection for a couple of weeks, the number of
negative reviews and complaints will pile up damaging your reputation which will result
in a loss of money. You can also miss out on your online interviews and meetings that
might be important to you and your job.

The last example will be the problem on the monetary side. This is connected to
the business part of the problem but let’s elaborate. Most of us are familiar with G-cash
and the concept of digital currencies. Sometimes, an unstable internet connection can
make our money transfers double which could be devastating if we are transferring
cryptocurrencies or money through G-cash. I experienced this when I was selling ETH on
Facebook, I sent them the ETH and they sent me the money through Gcash. At first,
everything seems normal until the next day when I received a message saying that they
paid me twice and I confirmed it and sent it back.

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2. Stories

Most people have stories about losing something because our modem started
acting up. It causes us problems, financial loss, academic problems and it might also
cause some misunderstandings. As for this part, I would share some of my stories that
almost have me lose thousands of PHP since most of the stories on the internet are about
breakup stories and lost game data.

As the popularity of Play-to-earn games has been on the rise since last year, I
decided to join in on the fun and played a low-risk Play-to-Earn game. In there you earn
cards and tokens that you can sell on the market or in the Facebook groups for direct
payment through Gcash. I opted for the latter one. A couple of weeks in I decided to sell
a card in the marketplace since it was too expensive to the members of the Facebook page
and gained some eth which I traded for 20 tokens which were worth 250PHP at the time.
After some time, I decided to sell 10 of them for 300 apiece, found a buyer all that’s left
is the payment, and send the tokens. I sent him the tokens but my internet starts acting up
and reloaded my wallet so I sent it to him again since nothing changed in my balance, this
time the transaction went through and he confirmed it. But after a couple of hours, my
wallet showed me that I had no Tokens so I contacted the previous buyer and asked him
to return the extra 10 that I sent, fortunately, he agreed and sent it back and sent me the
transaction history as a proof that he sent it to my wallet so I checked my inventory. It is
still showing me that I haven’t received the 10 tokens but my transaction history shows
that I received the tokens. So basically I lost 3000PHP because of connection issues.
Imagine if this happened when I was transferring money to the bank or when I was
paying for my laptop.

I’m sure most students attending online classes have a story themselves about
how they can’t send or pass important documents on time because their modem is broken
forcing them to rely on mobile data. This happened to me when I was trying to submit my
quiz in DC/AC. Our Wi-Fi modem was blinking red so I knew that it won’t work because
the line is damaged. I submitted the pictures of my solution and equations and attended

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 the next class. I was in the middle of class when a notification showed that my prof
commented on my work so I opened it. It says that what I sent was corrupted so I asked if
I can resubmit, I was permitted to resubmit so I did and came back to the class. After
class, I checked if it was corrupted and it was. Those were just three pictures that I kept
taking to submit but they won’t send properly because mobile data is unstable.

As our country is ranked in the lower part of the internet speed rankings, it
doesn’t help that our modems are prone to breaking and malfunctioning making our
already slow internet speeds become even slower or just lose connection. The amount of
cell towers and the slow and limited installation of them further worsens the problem
since any alternative to lined connection is most probably unstable or slower than lined
ones.

3. Facts

Internet interruptions can be unpredictable and the cause might be the modem you
own, the line is damaged or the provider is having trouble. We can always try to have
pre-paid load in our account but mobile data is unreliable.

In the Philippines, it is a fact that we have one of the slowest internet speeds in the
world and are in the middle when ranked in SEA. And that we are one of the top users of
social media internet usage worldwide. The Philippines tops the world again for time
spent using social media this year, making it the 6th straight year it has done so.
According to the report, Filipinos spend an average of 4 hours and 15 minutes each day
on social media, which is 22 minutes higher than last year’s average of 3 hours and 53
minutes, and 3 minutes higher than 2019’s average of 4 hours and 12 minutes. This aligns
with the rise of e-commerce seen across the world, which is attributed to how the
COVID-19 pandemic forced people to stay indoors. When it comes to what people are
buying online, food & personal care was reportedly the fastest-growing consumer
category last year. The report also adds that 57.2% of Filipinos say they’re concerned

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 about misinformation and “fake news” when searching for news online, which is just a
rank above the global average of 56.4%. 

As for the misuse of personal information, 38.2% of Filipinos say they’re worried
about how companies will use the data they put online, which is also above the global
average of 33.1%. 

It is also a known fact that the Philippines is always hit hard when it is typhoon
season causing a lot of damage to our lives and infrastructure and with our slow
rebuilding process it can take years before we can rebuild the infrastructure we lost. It is
also a fact that our country is very slow at installing and producing cell towers leaving
some parts of the country with no access to the internet because no radio tower is nearby
and no phone line can reach them. Meanwhile, it looks like the pandemic has added to the
challenge. The Philippines ranked the highest in terms of people saying they spent more
time on social media during the quarantine, according to the "Digital 2020: April Global
Stat shot" of Data Report, in partnership with We, Are Social and Hootsuite. That was
despite the Philippines recording a 15% dip in mobile Internet speeds.

A. Cause and effect

Because of these problems, the employee or the owner of a business/company

cannot work as fast as they should resulting in a decrease in productivity and because the
slow internet connectivity is irritating, it will also cause a drop in morale in the workers
using it. When you have a poor internet connection, everyday tasks and activities can be
disrupted. It causes delays with email communications or cloud-based telephone services,
software apps, conferencing, and collaboration tools. Employee video chats and
conferencing can be spotty and unreliable and they are left waiting around for files to
load, emails to send, and attachments to download.

An internet connection failure can also cause our grades to drop and hinder our
ability to participate academically. According to the survey result of the Social Weather
Stations, 31% of Filipino families are participating in online schooling but only 39
percent of those have strong internet connections, 31% have a weak connection and 21%

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 have a somewhat weak connection, and 9% are saying that they have a very weak
connection. The remaining 29% have a fair internet connection.

B. Repercussion of the problem

If we don’t solve the problem, our ability to compete in the world market requires
fast internet speed (trading, internet business, etc.). At present, the internet is very
important for the students as it allows them to acquire information quickly and allows
them to research topics on their own, but it could also slow down the academic progress
of students since we rely on our internet to participate in class these days. Businesses can
also receive a substantial amount of damage to their finance and reputation caused by
slow customer services and not being able to read e-mails from the higher-ups slowing
their services even further. Students cited poor internet connectivity as one of the major
challenges in their online distance learning. According to a study released by the
Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), a bad Internet connection is a more
pressing problem in the Philippines compared to poverty and corruption, (Ordinario,
2017).

C. Body Section Three Possible Solutions

What will work
1. To increase the number of cell towers
2. To improve or change the policy to allow competitors
3. Reduce the number of permits to build a cell tower to allow the
telecommunications company to improve their reach

The best solution that I can think of is to increase the number of cell towers we
have in our country and not focus all of it on Metro Manila, adding another competitor in
the industry will also force the existing company to improve their services. Mr.
Javellana. In his opinion, local technicians are poorly trained, with "troubleshooting
capabilities limited to issues your regular mom and pop would have." He adds that he
currently plays for an average plan but would be willing to pay more for a connection

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"that would improve pings and optimize routings to other countries," so he can finally
stop experiencing lags when playing games like Call of Duty. "Sadly, there is no such
option," he says. “Our customers are booking online. So when they book online, even if
they do have internet in their area [but we don’t], we cannot receive it. [If] we don’t
receive it, we cannot serve them,” Rillera told VICE World News. For Rillera, a patchy
internet connection means a loss of about $1,000 per week. He said that whenever he
calls their internet provider’s customer service hotline, they put him on hold for 30
minutes and ask him to wait until they file a report regarding his complaint. So why are
we not getting any new competitors in the telecom industry? It is because of the Public
Telecommunications policy act of the Philippines which requires operators to build
FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND TELEPHONE LINES as an investment. This policy
is intended to improve the telecommunication networks in our country but it only serves
as a barrier to entry preventing other companies to start that business.

Telecommunication companies are considered public utility and in the

Philippines, public utilities must be owned, operated, and controlled by Filipino citizens
or corporations that are at least 60 percent Filipino-owned. This makes it difficult for
foreign players to enter the market. At the same time, the government also treats the
internet as a value-added service. This means suppliers are free to provide the service on
their terms. The internet would have to be identified as a basic service for the government
to regulate. 

Speeding up the process on how to get permission to build a cell tower would also
improve the speed and stability of our internet speed, we can also have other options if
we lost internet connection through our modem since the mobile data will also improve.
According to Globe’s statement, before 2020, it took 29 to 35 permits to build one cell
tower. Among these are a barangay (village) permit, neighbor’s consent, radiation
evaluation, mayor’s permit, occupancy permit, and more. This slow process leads to a
low amount of telecom towers in our country. Right now there are around 18,000 telecom
towers installed across the Philippines. The country would need 50,000 more for optimal
coverage. Since most Filipinos rely on their mobile phones to access online services,
these cell towers are crucial in providing connectivity to the masses. 

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What will not work

1. Gatekeeping foreign companies on setting up telecommunication business in our

country
2. Focusing the improvement on one city
3. Not fixing the old and obsolete policies about telecommunication.

As stated before, new operators are required to build 400,000 Telephone lines
before they can operate which according to Mirandilla-Santos “It eventually became a
barrier to entry, It requires a company to be big enough to not only have the resources but
the temerity to go through that process.”. Because of the slow process of getting a permit
to build a tower, resulted to some parts of our country did not have access to the internet,
this became even more obvious once Covid started. There are now posts circulating
of Filipino children in rural areas climbing mountains to get an internet signal, just so
they can attend classes or submit assignments. And because connectivity isn’t cheap,
many families are making sacrifices to accommodate the new normal. The policy also
intended to keep the internet price low yet internet services today are still expensive for
most Filipinos. Susana Liberia, a mother of seven, uses money meant for food for mobile
data her children can use for classes. Two dollars can buy the family one week of data or
two kilos of rice. Education wins over hunger in the Liberia household, and yet
connectivity remains an issue.

As most of us surely noticed by now. Most of the improvements made in this

country are always centered around Metro Manila. This also hampers the development of
our internet speeds since there are only so many spaces where you can build towers in a
megacity. Scattering the cell towers will allow other places without access to the internet

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 before to have access to the internet and it will also speed up the internet speed. And
allow more places to have another option (using mobile data).

IV. Flow chart

Basic home network diagram

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 This is the most basic home network diagram that you can have. We have a router
with a built-in modem and access point that we got from our ISP (Internet Service
Provider). These kinds of router typically allow you to connect up to four devices using a
network (UTP) cable.

This is what most filipino citizens have. We can connect up to four devices with a
cable and it also provides us with Wi-Fi but the Modem should be close to the device
connected to it since it is connected with a wire and the range of Wi-fi is small and can
only be used in small houses.

Internet service provider

Cell towers/phone lines

Connect the modem to your phone jack/cable

Connect your pc and other devices to the modem using a

cable

Wi-Fi

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 Use your PC to set up Buy a Router and
your Wi-Fi and connect connect it to the
your other devices to it. modem

You can now use

Wi-Fi Wireless Network Diagram

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 A full wireless network is also possible. In this wireless network
diagram all devices are connected wirelessly to the network. In this
example we are using a seperated access point instead of the built-in
access point of the router.

Access points can connect up to 20 or 30 devices at the same

time. So one access point could connect every device in your house, as
long as they are in range.

With this set-up you don’t need network cables in your house and
you can put the access point to the most optimal place in the house
where it can get stronger signal since it is not connected by a cable.
Although walls and other devices can negatively impact your signal
quality.

References:

(Ordinario, 2017) https://businessmirror.com.ph/2017/04/17/for-filipinos-poor-internet-

connection-a-more-bothersome-issue-than-poverty-corruption/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93-3zmVvCGU

https://interaksyon.philstar.com/politics-issues/2021/06/03/193126/new-poll-says-
unstable-internet-remain-top-challenge-in-distance-learning/

https://www.execulink.ca/blog/the-impact-of-poor-internet-connectivity-on-your-
customer-and-employee-experiences/#:~:text=When%20a%20company's%20network
%20slows,work%20tasks%20can%20be%20disrupted.

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 https://www.rappler.com/technology/internet-culture/hootsuite-we-are-social-
2021-philippines-top-social-media-internet-usage/

https://seasia.co/2019/07/12/rank-of-countries-with-fastest-and-slowest-internet-
in-the-world-2019

https://www.csmonitor.com/Technology/2015/0630/How-the-Philippines-plans-
to-improve-pathetic-Internet-speed

https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7vy3m/why-internet-speeds-philippines-slow-
laws

https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Home-gateway-flowchart-for-establishing-a-
Wi-Fi-connection-showing-the-process-flow-for_fig3_336951309

https://lazyadmin.nl/home-network/home-network-diagram/

https://interaksyon.philstar.com/politics-issues/2021/06/03/193126/new-poll-says-
unstable-internet-remain-top-challenge-in-distance-learning/

https://www.execulink.ca/blog/the-impact-of-poor-internet-connectivity-on-your-
customer-and-employee-experiences/#:~:text=When%20a%20company's%20network
%20slows,work%20tasks%20can%20be%20disrupted.

https://www.spot.ph/newsfeatures/the-latest-news-features/83631/internet-speed-
philippines-why-is-it-slow-a4362-20200916-lfrm

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