Something terrible has happened in the middle of our surf trip. The 4G signal has gone down! Boards are OK - no dings or damage, me and my surfing buddy are uninjured aside from a few reef scratches and a cut on my toe, swell is pumping and increasing tomorrow. But all these things are meaningless if we cant have connectivity. I know that must seem trivial to readers but the stark reality is we are at work while here. We surf every day but as much fun as that is it takes 2nd place to work. People and companies are relying on both of us. I have websites to build, zoom meetings to attend, emails to write, group chats to chip in to and Google Drive folders to download and edit. To be honest the list of work in front of me is endless and suddenly losing my 4G signal is simply not doable.
When we arrived here in this quiet and hard-to-reach seaside village of Sarwana in West Java we were in the middle of the Muslim observance of Ramadan. The streets were deserted and everywhere was shut except for our homestay. Waves were pumping and yep, 4G was solid. Well, the end of Ramadan arrived 3 days ago and what we didnt realize is that this sleepy seaside village is the go to holiday spot for millions on Indonesians from the surrounding countryside. The place has literally exploded with visitors and as a result the strain on the local 4G towers has meant that nobody bloody has 4G worth a dime. I never knew this was possible but it really is happening. I can barely load a web page, and amazingly Steemit is one of the few sites I can load.
Source: https://www.wti.com/pages/managing-network-devices-in-cell-tower-applications
Well anyway me and my bro don't dick around. We have explored all possible options including changing sim cards or buying some kind of dongle with internet service but seems all leads back to the same problem - network overload. If things have not improved by tomorrow morning we are making a run to Bali. That was anyway on our plan but now we are moving it forward a week. It kind of sux though because getting waves here is easy - we are alone. Getting waves in Bali means joining the masses and fighting for every wave. I'm going to be sad to leave here and am really hoping tomorrow is better!
Im Jobiker and I got no signal...:( Peace!