How the Plateau Connects with the Plains

We subscribe to Cignal, the most commonly used satellite TV provider here in the plateau. The brand irks me because it is often confused with the word signal. I have no major issues with its service, though. If memory serves me right, the package (a satellite dish, a box that looks like a CD player, cables, and a remote control) cost P3,999 and came with a four-month subscription. After that, we had to pay for the monthly subscription, the price of which depends on the number of channels you want. We subscribe to the cheapest package; for 300, we get to let all local channels kill our brain cells. It also has Al Jazeera and Korea’s Channel M.

A cellphone antenna, which works only for the phased-out Nokia 3310. We no longer use this because there’s always a problem with the phone, the wirings, or the signal. There’s also a normal (but not regular) cellphone signal in certain parts of the village, so as far as I know antennas such as this serve as mere decorations now. If you want a textmate from our boondocks, find someone from the town center, where the signal for major cellphone networks are more reliable. By the way, can you spot the moon in the photo?

Forget about climbing a coconut tree to find a cellphone signal. Here we do it atop cropped bamboo trunks. Locals call such a spot “signalan” or “texter’s zone.”