Signing an internet service contract without asking the right questions is one of the most common and most avoidable mistakes businesses in the Philippines make. The consequences tend to show up three months in, when problems become consistent enough to complain about and the contract term makes switching difficult.
Keep this article open the next time you are in a conversation with an internet provider. The questions below are the ones most businesses do not think to ask until they are already locked in.
Questions About the Connection Itself
Ask before anything else
- Is this connection dedicated or shared? A dedicated connection means the bandwidth is exclusive to your business. If the provider hesitates or cannot answer clearly, assume it is shared.
- What is the contention ratio? If the connection is shared, this tells you how many businesses compete for the same bandwidth pool. A 20:1 ratio means up to 20 businesses share the line. Ask for this in writing.
- Are the upload and download speeds symmetrical? A plan with 100 Mbps download and 10 Mbps upload is not a balanced business connection.
- What is the guaranteed speed vs the maximum advertised speed? Many plans advertise a maximum achievable only under ideal conditions. Ask what is contractually guaranteed.
- What type of infrastructure delivers this connection to my location? Is it fiber to the building (FTTB) or fiber to a nearby node with copper running the last stretch (FTTN)?
Questions About the SLA
Read the actual document
- Can I see the SLA document before signing? Not a summary. The actual document. Read it before committing.
- What is the specific uptime percentage? It must be a number: 99.5%, 99.9%, 99.99%. Anything vague is not a guarantee.
- What exactly counts as downtime? Some SLAs define downtime in ways that exclude most situations where your business would be affected. Read this carefully.
- What is the remedy if the provider does not meet the uptime commitment? Is there a credit? How is it calculated and claimed? If the SLA has no remedy, the commitment has no consequences.
- Are scheduled maintenance windows excluded from the uptime calculation? Confirm advance notice requirements and whether maintenance can be scheduled during your business hours.
Questions About Support
Know before you need it
- Who do I call when the connection goes down? Get a direct contact name or number, not just a general support hotline. For businesses in Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, or Davao, knowing whether support is local or routed through a Manila call center matters for response time.
- What is the defined response time in the contract? Not what the salesperson says. What the contract says. Response time and resolution time are different. Confirm both.
- Who is the engineer responsible for my connection? For dedicated connections, there should be a specific team or individual. Knowing this before an incident is more useful than finding out during one.
- Is support available 24 hours a day, seven days a week? For BPO and night-shift operations across Mindanao and the Visayas, after-hours support is not optional.
Questions About the Contract Terms
Understand what you are committing to
- What is the contract duration and what are the early termination terms? Most business contracts in the Philippines run 1 to 3 years. Understand the cost of exiting before the term ends.
- What triggers a provider right to modify the service or terms? Some contracts allow providers to change specifications with minimal notice.
- What happens if the provider fails to deliver agreed service for an extended period? Is there a threshold of underperformance that allows you to exit without penalty?
- Are there bandwidth caps or throttling policies? Some plans slow connections after a certain amount of data is used in a billing period.
- What is the process for upgrading bandwidth if the business grows? Getting this in writing before signing avoids a difficult negotiation later.
Questions About Coverage and Reliability
Verify before signing
- Can you confirm this specific service is available at my exact address? Not a coverage zone. Your building, your floor, with the same plan and SLA being discussed right now.
- What is your network uptime history for this area over the past 12 months? A provider confident in their reliability will provide this. One who is not will avoid the question.
- What redundancy exists in your network infrastructure serving my location? If the primary line fails, what is the backup and how long does the failover take?
How to Use This List
Not every question needs to be asked in the same conversation. The most important ones, connection type, contention ratio, SLA document, uptime percentage, remedy clause, and support contact, should be answered before any agreement is discussed.
Put the remaining questions in an email and ask for written responses. A provider confident in their product will answer all of them without hesitation. One who hedges, deflects, or asks you to trust them on the details is showing you something worth paying attention to.
The contract is the relationship. What is not in writing does not exist.