Sep 17, 2014 02:44 PM
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(Updated Sep 17, 2014 05:23 PM)
Broadband internet. Who would have thought that we’d come so far in so few years. Just a few years ago, getting a 256kbps connection was a big deal, but these days we have fast 1Mbps and above connections in almost every part of the country.
Why I chose BSNL Broadband
BSNL Dataone was selected as we already had a landline connection in the house and my parents were against selecting Airtel or any private service provider. In addition, BSNL’s plans were among the cheapest unlimited Broadband plans in the region at that time. Presently, we are on the 750 Unlimited Plan, whereby you get upto a 2Mbps download speed for the first 8GB of data, and the remaining unlimited data at a speed of 512 kbps.
The Good about BSNL Dataone
Consistent Speed
BSNL is not the fastest connection you can get, but at least the speed is consistent. I get a download speed of around 50 – 65 KBps(Kilo Bytes) on a regular basis(keep in mind 512 kbps(Kilo Bits) should in theory translate to 512/8= 64 KBps). The speed does not change much, whether morning or late night.
Priced Ok for Unlimited
BSNL Dataone still remains among the cheapest unlimited plans without something called the Fair Usage Cap, which vendors like Airtel use. Besides, to get a similar speed and usage plan on Airtel, the price would come to Rs. 999.
The Bad about BSNL Dataone
Unable to Resolve Problems
If you have any problems with your connection or modem, god forbid you try and contact BSNL customer care. First of all, the customer service representatives are pretty clueless and unhelpful. But at least they are still better than the technicians who visit the house, who are even more clueless and don’t seem to know anything about setting up a modem or compatibility with windows. Seriously, how do these people even have jobs. A couple of times, google was infinitely more useful in resolving some connectivity issues than BSNL ever could.
Blocks certain websites
BSNL for some reason blocks certain websites on my connection for no reason. And no, these are no dangerous or illegal websites. They are random ones which I try and use, like comicbookmovie, zovi or even Wikipedia at times. I swear I don’t know why they are doing it, but it is very frustrating. I have to use a proxy server to get past their hopeless firewall.
Connection sometimes unreliable
While the connectivity speed is consistent on BSNL, the connectivity itself is not. At least 3 times the BSNL server in my area will go down and I will not get connectivity for a few minutes to a few hours. This is not only irritating but costs me business when I am trying to video conference or email a client during that time.
Modem is average quality
You should buy a good brand modem like DLink if you are going in for a BSNL connection, and not select one of theirs. It is some Chinese generic make and feels flimsy. Not to mention the wifi signal is poor and I have had three of them break down and get replaced in just the past 2 years. I don’t know why they can’t provide a decent quality modem. At least the costs will be less even for them since it won’t break down as much.
Conclusion
BSNL Dataone is a reasonably priced unlimited broadband connection. Just do not expect things like consistency, blazing speed or customer service when you use it. Other than that, it does the job.
