New Concierge Smart Vanity Number 09494373888

 

TRIVIA:  Did you know that...  August 8 or 8.8 marks 140 days thru Christmas day?  So whene... ver  8.8 SALE comes around you more or less start Christmas shopping...

Now let us start Christmas early at The Eastwood Lafayette III (TEL3) with a little gift... a new Concierge mobile number powered by Smart Communications.  Why Smart? It's simply because of the Smart Pico Cells distributed all over our condominium building.  Hence, Smart mobile gets better reception here compared to Globe Telecoms.

The new Smart mobile number for the Concierge is a VANITY NUMBER that is much easier to remember... with 888 at the end which some say is for luck...

09494.373.888

This shall be the main mobile number for the Concierge for ALLNETwork Calls and Texts so please ease out of the old Globe mobile number as the Concierge shall be transitioning with this Smart number.  We'll still keep the old Globe mobile number as the transition is ongoing.

This number shall likewise be used for the @TEL3Concierge accounts for the planned Concierge PC version 2.0.  For the meantime  Concierge Viber communications shall be using this number.


Cheers Everyone !!!
Team TEL3

We figure you have questions...  so read up...  this is a bit long so you will be informed about the efforts you may not be aware of about Concierge communications ...

Why Switch to Smart for Concierge Mobile Number?

Wireless signals in buildings are most often a challenge hence mobile telco providers augment cellular towers with signal boosting devices.  For The Eastwood Lafayette III (TEL3) I have seen old proposals for both Smart and Globe Telecoms for the installation of pico cells.  I suppose the past administrations just settled for Smart pico cells since TEL3 already houses a PLDT room for several buildings.  Globe Telecoms doesn't have such.

As our condominium building has Smart Pico Cells distributed all over, Smart mobile gets better reception here compared to Globe Telecoms.

Board Resolution

Why Not Postpaid? 

This issue has been talked about even way back 2015(?) when Mr. Oliver Chua was still TEL3CAI President and even then for him he would not sacrifice using personal postpaid account in behalf of the association.   However in 2017 we went crazy and did two (2) postpaid accounts.  Globe Telecoms had an X-deal for us... to allow them to setup a booth in one corner to allow them to offer their services for possible new subscribers and in exchange TEL3 Admin will be given the following FREE of CHARGE:

• Admin Office.  Globe 50Mbps (2,499) broadband with landline plus unlimited landline to mobile calls to Globe & TM applied under my (Pres. Robert) personal postpaid account;
  
  
• Reception. Globe 20Mbps broadband with landline plus unlimited landline to mobile calls to Globe & TM applied under personal postpaid account for Corp.Sec. Alan;

The system was 2,499 was to be paid by the Admin Office and the Globe Representative is to re-imburse such amount later to the Admin Office.  The Reception account was just a bonus account.

You can read about the Globe X-deal in our 2018 GA Report (my Year One as President)

During the pandemic the reception account was misused by the receptionist at the time and used the landline to mobile feature which was free when calling Globe and TM (since they are both under Globe Telecoms) but charged when calling other networks.  In this case she used it to call a Smart number and racked up a bill up to 20,000 pesos.

For the Admin account under me, when it was time to terminate the MOA, the account was not properly terminated despite several communications with the Globe representative (pandemic times) and account had 19,397.49.   I have been threatened legal action due to the unpaid amount... called and texted by several collection agencies for SEVERAL MONTHS until it stopped October 2024. 

Me and Corp.Sec. Alan are probably BLACKLISTED already applying for a Globe account in Lafayette III..  and more importantly we are NEVER EVER going to sacrifice our personal accounts ever again... 

So, No Thanks...  Been there... Done that...

Lastly why go through all that hassle when the All Network Unli Calls and Texts which we actually need costs 299 to 291.50 pesos monthly on PREPAID service versus 599 pesos or TWICE on postpaid.  PREPAID is clearly the more COST-EFFECTIVE solution for our needs.




What Happened to the BETA Testing of the Concierge PC? 

Way back 2022.11.11 alongside the GYM LAUNCH we also launched a BETA Testing of the 2-in-1 Concierge PC concept that extends the use of the iFAE Kiosk (Touch) PC for Concierge functions as well. The idea is the iFAE computer is IDLE most of the time consuming electricity so why not give it other ACTIVE TASKS as well?

The functions for the Concierge PC are (but not limited to) the following:

• Communications Hub
• (1)  the use of messaging apps Facebook Messenger and Viber ; and 
• (2) making ALL NETwork mobile calls and texts via the touch screen Concierge computer.
  
  
• Gym Booking (as we are just opening up after COVID)
• Info Hub for Events and Activities (TEL3, Barangay, Eastwood, etc.)  

Beta testing in software development can be considered "pre-release testing" in order to find out issues and fix them prior to release.  Beta testing is also sometimes referred to as user acceptance testing (UAT) or end-user testing. The Smart number used for that BETA Testing was 0960-3731608... so if you still have this number in your Contacts please delete it.

Read: Concierge PC & iFAE (Beta Testing) Launches Today 11/11 @ 11am

Eventually all functionalities of the Concierge will unfold here at :

http://concierge.mytel3home.org

Problems Encountered During the BETA Test

On January 24, 2023 I had my second year "Begin with the End in Mind" meeting with the staff discussing issues and projects and one of them was the Concierge PC Project which started BETA Testing on 11/11/2022. The following are the slides for that project which pretty much sums up the developments for the Concierge PC and issues like sluggishness or hanging issues from the iFAE system itself (as experienced by the guards).   Eventually in 2024 a new FOPM President was installed after retirement of the previous president.  Along with the installation of a new president for FOPM the old iFAE PC (Intel i5) was replaced and upgraded into an Intel i7 model and password-secured by their IT so...  no more "experimenting" from us...

Anyway in 2024 the Elevator Replacement Project was underway and we had to focus on that major CAPEX project and the Concierge PC had to wait (BUDGET for TEL3 owned Concierge PC and TIME) for a later iteration as Concierge PC version 2.0.  It will be forthcoming since another functionality came up after installation of the new elevator 5mp CCTV... CCTV monitoring.

Note: I personally had to go to PLDT Megamall more than once just to convert this PLDT landline SIM.

The above features (Phase 2 & 3) are for study... though the following functionality for CCTV monitoring arose after the installation of a higher resolution (5mp) elevator CCTV which was no longer compatible with the old (2017) DVR.  Louie bought a new DVR which I found out to be hybrid (can handle Analog and IP CCTV cameras) hence I took the opportune time to test two (2) IP CCTVs at the roof deck using a network switch and just one LAN cable going down to the Admin DVR.

Earlier when our maintenance guys were pulling 2 coax cables to the elevator machine room to tap into the coax lines of the elevator travelling cables for the elevator CCTV cameras I instructed them to likewise pull a LAN cable along to test top to bottom network transmission (max length for a standard LAN cable 100 meters).  The test LAN cable proved useful as we have added two (2) IP CCTV cameras into the system... and we're are still looking at expanding with more IP CCTV cameras...  we're still "learning the ropes"... so to speak... in a way to upskill our staff... para hindi "same old... same old..."

So what's your timeline for the Concierge PC version 2.0?

As much as I would want to push for a brand new PC in order to make this "pet project" to improve Concierge communications however any budget realignment (from savings) shall be prioritized towards the INSTALLATION of SUB-METERS for the two brand new elevators.  I have insisted on Louie that such be installed so that reporting for the DOE Energy Audits (which started 2024 for TEL3) will no longer be guess-timates as what we did before.  Of course installation of such shall be made by licensed contractors (not our maintenance). 

BTW tons of thanks to former President Oliver Chua for serving as  CEM (Certified Energy Manager) for TEL3CAI for FREE which saved tons of money for the association...  TEL3CAI can't thank you enough...  

The existing PC in the Concierge is just a hand-me-down Dell mini PC from our guards which they got from corporate upgrades from IBM.  The first one was donated by former guard Urtiz blew up during the recent Eastwood-wide blackout.  The current one was donated by our new guard Eric Cuizon.


Concierge PC version 2.0 will happen... just waiting for budget availability...  Anyway I will just be repeating the process as before... hooking the new smartphone and new Smart SIM to the Windows link of the future new Concierge PC.



Cheers Everyone
Team TEL3