Limitless possibilities.... Review on Tata Indicom

Personal History

Though there are so many reviews talking negative about the Tata Indicom Broadband, this one doesnt. I have been a user of Tata broadband since almost 3 years way back when it was under VSNL before the Tata takeover. I was under a LCO plan called Plan 915, which to most peoples amazement gave me 512Kbps unlimited for Rs 915 + taxes(well I had applied for a 64Kbps unlimited connection, but as no one else in my area was having the connection I ended up with a 512Kbps for 1000 Rs. per month) I enjoyed the limitless possibilities of the internet for 2 and a half years.

Almost Present

Then came the cancellation of the LCO connections in early 2006, and I was asked to convert to an pre paid or post paid connection of my choice, there was no unlimited 512Kbps connection at all, all they had was download caps at 512Kbps and the 256Kbps unlimited was 1600 + taxes. So I went ahead and cancelled my connection as I found out there were cheaper alternatives. I applied for a Reliance broadband connection. The connection came within 4 days as promised by the executive. The network guys came and installed it and configured the system, there was a problem - as the computer has to reterive the IP automatically from a Reliance DHCP server, if the DHCP server is busy then you have no configuration, so that was a pain, then came the process of logging in to their website services reliancebroadband.co.in, even that was bearable, but the major problem with the connection was that it automatically logged you off the net every 3 hours or so, what it meant is that when I left the laptop on the net to download some music in the night, it autologged off in middle of the download. I called customer care and sent mails regarding the same, and they dint have a solution, so I cancelled the Reliance and went for Pioneer Online. The nice people at Pioneer installed the connection the next day, even before my cheque was realised, nice way to start off I thought...but that was the only nice surprise...i was promised 256Kbps I was able to get barely 120-130 Kbps and the connection had all sorts of NAT and firewall issues that my Torrent Software was not able to overcome, and the support staff as usual was totally ignorant regarding the same. Then came the call from Tata Indicom again...saying that to old customers they are offering 256Kbps unlimited at Rs 1000 + taxes. I jumped at the offer.

Present

Though inspite of knowing a few people at the Tata office, the connection took more than a month to install. I think this is the problem almost all people have faced if you have booked your connection in the last 2 months...this is because of the changes in the processes in the Tata back end operations and thier software was also under major upgradation - I know the customers should not face the problems because of internal workings but thats the fact.

After I got the connection I was back exploring the limitless possibilities of the internet....and below are the features of the connection and how I rate them..

Speed/Bandwidth

The most important aspect of any ISP is the speed and the consistency of it. Tata delivers what it promises. I get a speed of almost 220 Kbps continiously- no higher no lower. Well its starts of higher at 1 Mbps but settles down to around 220 Kbps after 25 seconds. So satisfaction with the speed was permanent.

Rating: 10/10

Connectivity

No DHCP or logging in here, the connection was self contained with a router provided to you, and you had the option of going for a static or dynamic IP( I went for a static IP as the Torrent software works better on Static IPs) also the option of local IPs(if you have more than 1 system to connect using the same connection(without sharing the connection). Also came with a dialer option if you want to restrict access to the net to certain members using the system. I went for the auto connect option. Overall connectivity was a piece of cake.

Rating : 9/10

Stability/Downtime

I have been using the new connection since a month and I have not faced a single second of downtime, that speaks for the stability of the connection. I have downloaded more than 30 GB and not one second of breakage of the connection(also speaks volumes for my Sony Laptop-review coming soon). Even the old LCO connection I had was very stable, the entire three years I had the connection the downtime was less than a week(due to cable problems due to rains and wind).

Rating : 9/10

Firewall/NAT/Port issues

A very important and often ignored aspect while choosing an ISP are the the Firewall, NAT and the closed Ports. If you are a P2P user( most of us are using it in one form or another) then the FNP is a very important. The firewall the main ISP has should allow P2P applications to run on the clients, the NAT problem which limits your P2P download speeds should be absent or to a certain extent repairable, and it should allow port forwading or opening up certain ports for better usage of bandwidth. And most ISPs of the world are aware of the P2P networks and the bandwidth they consume and its so called effect on the music industry and are very unfriendly to P2P applications- Indian ISPs are not an exception, but Tata as usual stands out even here.

It is not aggressive when it comes to P2P and it allows the user all the rights to the Ports and firewall is also not resistant to P2P users. So making it the number one choice for P2P networks like Bit Torrents, UseNext and Gnutella among others.

Rating: 10/10

Though the getting the connection was a pain, we cant blame Customer Support for back end issues, I appreciate the Customer Support,as earlier in my LCO days when there was no connectivity and when I called the call center, the people were patient, helpful and more importantly got the problem rectified within 2-3 hours of my complaint.The only problem I faced earlier was the billing. The bills used to arrive eariler by post, now since 2006 they are mailing it to the email id they provide on taking the connection which I dont use, I guess I could divert the mails to my email I use. Other than that the support is excellent.

Rating: 8/10

Though other reviews I have seen on MS about Tata Indicom Broadband seems to rather portray it in the negative sense, me on a personal level have never faced any problems with it, maybe in Hyderabad there are no issues, maybe in Mumbai and other cities the services may not be upto the mark, or maybe the negative reviews are because of the delay in getting the connection, but getting a real bad connection from and real bad ISP within 3-4 days is far worse then geting a real good connection from a real good ISP a little late. Moreover its after you connect that matters, not the installation of the connection.

Overall Rating:(8+10+9+9+10)/50 = 9.2/10

Final Word:

Though there are so many ISPs to choose from, if you want promised bandwidths, non existent downtimes, reliable speeds, P2P friendliness then this is the ISP to go for....but if you cant wait for a month to get online, but can tolerate bad connectivity issues, download caps, firewall issues, ignorant support services...look elsewhere.