A question to all BSNL Broadband Unlimited Plan users

[tsk1979]

adya also note that if your connection develops a problem you are at mercy of linemen and "bakshish".
Thats the reason I chose Airtel.

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by adya33

In your INTERNET bill are they charging you any extra amount other than monthly 900 rupee rent ? (Excluding modem charges)

The UL 900's total comes out to be Rs 1011 including service tax but this includes the monthly rent of the phone

[appuchan]

As I hear from my friends here who have Airtel, I think that BSNL is way better in terms of QoS. Airtel users has too many complaints about speeds and billing. And in my case, I never had a telephone breakdown(BSNL) in the last 7 years in Bangalore. And my broadband also have been working quite ok so far even though there were some hitches initially when I moved my residence last year. Now things are perfectly ok.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by adya33

1. I was inquiring about call pulses. Are they considered for the time INTERNET is used ?


2. Now I am confused. What are MCU charges ? I search BSNL website but there was no explanation. Does MCU has anything to do with data transfer ?



3. In your INTERNET bill are they charging you any extra amount other than monthly 900 rupee rent ? (Excluding modem charges)

1. There are NO call pulses for the time you use the Internet.
2. MCU means Metered Call Units & only the voice calls that you make on this line will move your meter.
3. The cost of the voice calls + applicable taxes are charged.

Originally Posted by dadu

If you want to have a dedicated line, you might as well explore others, like Airtel and TATA Indicom.

BSNL, IMO is a far more trustworthy operator & very very trouble free too.

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

BSNL, IMO is a far more trustworthy operator & very very trouble free too.

but it has no customer support or helpline here....

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by kpzen

but it has no customer support or helpline here....

Currently I have Airtel, whenever I have problem I call the local technician directly on his mobile. He usually shows up in 15-30 minutes, once he showed up in 5 minutes.

However, it is going to change now since my office is moving. At the new location only BSNL is available. My biggest problem is static IP address. Airtel gives any number of static IP at 2500 bucks/year. The BSNL business plan gives only one IP address, that too if you buy 5000 rupees plan.

[esteem_lover]

but it has no customer support or helpline here.

Yes, they are pretty medieval in that, but you can be assured of a response in 24-48 hrs.

[caliper]

Interesting responses.

I wanted to mention that the best tool for knowing your download rate is NetLimiter.

It can tell you the download speed broken down by different apps (Firefox, Outlook, Azureus), as well. It also keeps historical data.

NetLimiter - The Ultimate Bandwidth Shaper

Download the free "Netlimiter Moniter" edition.

[caliper]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Currently I have Airtel, whenever I have problem I call the local technician directly on his mobile. He usually shows up in 15-30 minutes, once he showed up in 5 minutes.

However, it is going to change now since my office is moving. At the new location only BSNL is available. My biggest problem is static IP address. Airtel gives any number of static IP at 2500 bucks/year. The BSNL business plan gives only one IP address, that too if you buy 5000 rupees plan.

Why do you need static IPs? Are you hosting a website for your business?

You're almost always better off hosting the site on a managed provider, whether in India or abroad. They will have much faster pipes to the Internet than you could possibly have.

Also, on the off chance that your ADSL is not working, your customers will not be able to reach your site. As you've probably noticed BSNL doesn't provide an SLA (service-level agreement) for their Internet service.

A managed provider has technicians on duty 24 hours to prevent DDS and other attacks on servers.

Finally, you'll usually spend much less with a third party provider. And you can deduct the expense straight off tax, instead of having to depreciate your web server computer over a number of years.

[caliper]

Originally Posted by kpzen

but it has no customer support or helpline here....

The national tech support line is 1800-425-???? (Oops, I forgot, I'll post it later).

Then, for local support you should be able to call one out of 1500, 1975, or 1957. Either they can help you, or give you another phone number of the DataOne group.

I usually also keep the numbers of local SDOs noted, as well.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

They have reduced the monthly rental from 900 to Rs. 750/- PM it seems. And there are two options - unlimited downloads @256 kbps, one plan includes your existing phone rental + call plan, (means phone rent extra); and the other plan means you pay same charges per call as on the OneIndia plan.

Look at pathetic me - one month into reliance broad band, (after switching from Tata Indicom) I am already looking for alternatives.

[trrk]

Hi,

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Look at pathetic me - one month into reliance broad band, (after switching from Tata Indicom) I am already looking for alternatives.

Why don't you try the BSNL EVDO option? 550 per month for unlimited use, when they bill. I still have not received a bill after "I don't know how many months"!

[Zappo]

I recently switched over to BSNL. My initial plan was to go for an unlimited plan. However later I plumped for the 600 rupees plan. And I am happy. To begin with they are giving me 20% rebate on the bill. I think they have some scheme going at the moment. The unlimited is currently available for 500 or 550.

Now for 480 rupees per month I get 2.5 gb of data per month and nights (2 to 8am) are free download. The speed is amazing. The connection is also extremely stable and reliable. Initially I was skeptical about whether the 2.5 gb will be sufficient for me. I as well as my wife often use VPN for office work. However as I found out it more than suffices for us. Only that I schedule all downloads after 2 pm. I find that I can schedule multiple downloads every night and yet they all finish within the free time. This when each of them may very well be of 1 gb or more at times. Speed at over 250 kbps (actual) is just too good by Indian standards.

I think one can look at BSNL plans. Oh! By the way, the telephone comes free in that 480 bucks and I even get 50 calls free. Beat that.

P.S. Stated speed for my plan is 2mbps. But I find I get upto 550 kbps depending on the server at the other end.

[trrk]

Hi,

Originally Posted by Zappo

Only that I schedule all downloads after 2 pm. I find that I can schedule multiple downloads every night and yet they all finish within the free time.

I am sure you meant 2 AM and not 2 PM.

If you are not already aware, could you just take a look at the forum thread below:

News: Ultimate Night free Usage Manager. - India Broadband Forum