256kbps unlimited internet connection

Hi,

I want a 256kbps unlimited internet connection. Which one is the best, available in Kolkata? Please do not suggest me BSNL dataone. I want options other than BSNL dataone.

I was thinking of Airtel. According to the information available on www.airtelbroadband.in, the 256kbps unlimited connection is available for Rs.649 plus taxes and I also get a phone with Rs.100 local talktime per billing cycle. See the attached pdf file. And what is the fair usage policy? Will my data transfer limit be capped?

How is Tata Indicom photon or whatever they are advertising? I found it too expensive, as is Reliance Netconnect.

Please give your suggestions. Should I go for Airtel?

Thanks for your replies.

Edit: I am not being able to upload a file as attachment. Please excuse.

Go for Airtel without any doubt. TATA Indicom sify reliance are pure crap!!

AirTel is your best bet. You won't be disappointed.

What is this fair usage policy? Will my usage be capped?

^ FUP has not been implemented yet, methinks; otherwise I would have had a crippled Internet connection by now

It basically means that once you exceed the download limit for the month, your connection speed is halved for the rest of the month.

if you are going to have 256kbps, you will never be effected by Fair Use Policy as Airtel can't reduce speed below 256kbps (as per TRAI rule) for broadband connections.

Go for Airtel

^ Oh, I didn't realize that!

No FUP for 256kbps as TRAI states that all connections above and equal to 256 kbps is broadband, anything below that means that they could revoke Airtel's license

If you are not a download junkie, you can also consider 4GB @ 2 MBPS plan fro Airtel; its kicks some serious ass!!! I think its costs Rs. 1000/month.

I am into Tata and trust me, they dont deserve the negative publicity they get.Awesome speed, good prices and a happy customer.

^^dude. I used TATA internet and it was pathetic. bad speeds, bad support. They ask me to renew my connection every month still when I had it disconnected in Jaunary!!!

I was using Tata Indicom WiMax for about 5 months. In the first 3 months, it was very good, only 15-20 hours downtime max. However, during the last 2 months, connection disruptions became more and more frequent. During the first week of June, it didn't work from Thursday 10.30 pm. When I checked on Friday 9 pm, it was working. Then again, at 10.30 (same day) it stopped working. Me and my friend spend close to 150 minutes on phone with customer care. The connection became ok only by Sunday 6 pm. I expected a refund for this, but nothing.

Also, I got calls from CC asking me to upgrade to higher plan or face disruptions in connection twice during the last 2 months, since I have exceeded the fair usage limit of 45 GB. So, I have requested for termination of this connection.

Guess I will go with AirTel 256 kbps or BSNL EVDO.

@unni, better go for Airtel.

Though I hate to recommend and use Airtel services, however I think Airtel is the best choice here. Their service is good, consumer care less so.

amitabhishek said:
If you are not a download junkie, you can also consider 4GB @ 2 MBPS plan fro Airtel; its kicks some serious ass!!! I think its costs Rs. 1000/month.

I have this exact plan. Speeds are good, but the limited 4GB does hurt.

Then you guys have not experienced Sify service; its a total $hit. I have suffered for 2 long years as I didn't had options. Average downtime of 5-6 days/month, useless dialer for Linux, frequent disconnections while in Linux, 256 felt like 128, clueless agents, restrictions of not using more thn two machine on one connection, I used to get renewal calls even after renewing :-D

... etc...etc...

In short they are ISP from hell...

amitabhishek said:
Then you guys have not experienced Sify service; its a total $hit. I have suffered for 2 long years as I didn't had options. Average downtime of 5-6 days/month, useless dialer for Linux, frequent disconnections while in Linux, 256 felt like 128, clueless agents, restrictions of not using more thn two machine on one connection, I used to get calls for renewal even after renewing... etc...etc...

In short they are ISP from hell...

Satyam...

True. Local broadband providers used to be much better than Sify. I moved from Sity to TATA and finally to Airtel. Airtel is the only connection where there happened to be only 1 downtime in three months. It just never disconnects.

I am paying 650 for 128 kbps in airtel (ahmedabad) :!:

chesss said:
I am paying 650 for 128 kbps in airtel (ahmedabad)

How? The airtel site says the 256kbps unlimited connection is Rs.649 plus taxes. :!:

^^True

digitized said:
How? The airtel site says the 256kbps unlimited connection is Rs.649 plus taxes.

sry, my bad I am paying 550 + 50 for landline + 50 tax

W

I think that Airtel do false billing and also have some hidden costs

^^LOL.
ROFLMAO

who doesn't have hidden costs. Am ready to pay 100 bucks extra if i can get uninterrupted internet 24x7

R

Alliance Broabdnad - *www.alliancekolkata.com/packagedetails.php - BEST IN KOLKATA

384kbps for Rs.699.

Alliance Broabdnad - *www.alliancekolkata.com/packagedetails.php - BEST IN KOLKATA

384kbps for Rs.699

First learn the spelling of Broadband then say which is best...

R

Rural Terror said:
Alliance Broabdnad - *www.alliancekolkata.com/packagedetails.php - BEST IN KOLKATA

384kbps for Rs.699.

For the last 2 years I also had alliance 256kbps unlimited connection at Rs.499 per month. But it is down for the last 1 month, since cyclone Aila hit WB. They are making no efforts to rectify this. I call them every 2-3 days to remind and everytime I am told it will be done within the next day. This, combined with 5-7 days downtime every month has made me think of different internet connections. Otherwise, I was satisfied with Alliance for the 1st 1.5 years. Their pathetic attitude has made me take this decision. I too thought that was the best in Kolkata... :evil:

@OP - just curious why ur avoiding BSNL....

confused said:
@OP - just curious why ur avoiding BSNL....

If you are asking me, then let me tell you that I had major billing problems with BSNL dataone when I had the home 500 connection. After much trouble and harrassment and 2 1/2 years of fighting with BSNL officials (starting in July 2006 and ending in Feb 2009), I have managed to get that connection disconnected and the bills in the range of Rs.50k-60k waived off. My family and myself have vowed not to walk in the direction of any product of BSNL again... :evil:

^^okay. 50k overbilling is huge. but your case must have been one of the rare ones.....

^^^But thank God. The main point is that I got the bill waived off and the connection disconnected.

P

@digitized:
It will be enlightening to readers if you explained how you came to be billed 50-60k.

When BSNL started giving out BB connections in my town, they didn't send bills to their subscibers for the first 5 or 6 months, and then lumped it all in one large bill. Many customers had problems paying their bills. Some of my friends were billed more than 30k. After a lot of complaints from the public, BSNL made provision to pay the outstanding amounts in installments.

It was partly BSNL's fault for remaining silent for several months. But it was also the customers' fault. Many of them had been using their limited home plans as if they were unlimited ones without regard to their monthly limits.

Personally, I kept checking my usage and exceeded my limit only slightly for a couple of months. Even then, BSNL overcharged me by about 1.8k. I had kept records, called BSNL and asked them to compare it with their bill. They admitted their mistake and reduced the bill to the correct amount.

pimpom said:
@digitized:
It will be enlightening to readers if you explained how you came to be billed 50-60k.

When BSNL started giving out BB connections in my town, they didn't send bills to their subscibers for the first 5 or 6 months, and then lumped it all in one large bill. Many customers had problems paying their bills. Some of my friends were billed more than 30k. After a lot of complaints from the public, BSNL made provision to pay the outstanding amounts in installments.

It was partly BSNL's fault for remaining silent for several months. But it was also the customers' fault. Many of them had been using their limited home plans as if they were unlimited ones without regard to their monthly limits.

Personally, I kept checking my usage and exceeded my limit only slightly for a couple of months. Even then, BSNL overcharged me by about 1.8k. I had kept records, called BSNL and asked them to compare it with their bill. They admitted their mistake and reduced the bill to the correct amount.

This is indeed an intriguing experience that I had undergone.

Well, old-timers here will know this. I had a home 500 connection which had night unlimited from 2am-8am with a daytime monthly limit of 1GB at that time. I had taken the connection on June 2006 and never crossed my daytime limit of 1GB. But I used it as an unlimited connection during 2AM-8AM every night. To keep safe, I used to connect at 2:10AM and disconnect at 7:50AM. I had records from the BSNL portal for all of this to prove that. I used to do all this by windows scheduled tasks. BSNL never considered the night unlimited usage as free and billed our connection as extra usage charges over 1024MB (1GB).

Repeated visits to various officers at various levels at BSNL never yielded any positive results. I used to visit their local billing office, the local exchange, even the Kolkata head office at Telephone Bhaban, BBD Bag.

My dataone connection and incoming and outgoing calls were disconnected in Dec 2006 due to non-payment of bills. All this time we had repeatedly visited various offices of BSNL. They even sent me a legal notice. We replied with a legal threat of our own threatening to sue them and take them to consumer court. Situation was deadlocked at that time. During this time I got married and went off to US for professional reasons. Came back from US to see various bills from BSNL again. Then finally my father-in-law, who's a retired officer from the West Bengal legislative assembly, used his contacts to get this mess sorted out and permanently disconnect our BSNL number.

The sad thing is that BSNL never considered the night unlimited usage as unlimited...Now we have sorted everything out and have vowed never to use any BSNL product again.

We now have a landline phone from Tata Indicom, internet connection from Alliance broadband, 3 mobile phones from Vodafone and we are very happy and satisfied.