Which ISP and Wireless Router

[GeorgeO]

I agree with BSNL service-while their service guys may or may not have the skills I find them responsive. Value for money packages, though Airtel is probably-I say probably marginally better.I considered shifting to them, met them and asked them to check if they could give me a new connection but found their follow up pathetic.

 

[Kittu]

Stay away from Airtel . Bad customer service. You will never get the speed you signed up for .. Each time you call they open a case and after 48 hours they ask you to check saying they fixed it... Result is zero .....

Same with DTH too, multi room connections you have to do topup on each box although they promised first your first package will cascade to second box with half price rental...

They are cheats.

Will give away two HD boxes free in (Here in HFV) FEB when my contract with these people gets over :yahoo: .

 

[deba]

I have been using the BSNL Broadband for last 4 years and pay Rs 750/- PM for unlimited usage at 512kbps and I am getting very good service expect few ocassional breakdown.

I think BSNL is the cheapest and the best in case of ADSL Broadband. Their 3G and GPRS do not work.

I have a Belkin Wireless G Router but its useless because I cannot use port forwarding with it.

 

[crewcut]

DSL, by definition, is a shared service. So if you are on a 4 MBPS plan, you are sharing that with 8 people. Don't ever expect to see the full speed. To get 1:1 throughput, you will need to get a leased line. Leased line rates are dropping everyday and a day may soon come when it will be affordable for the home too... reco that you don't salivate at my optimism.

After 5 years with a Wifi G network at home (Huawei SmartAX MT880 Modem + Netgear WGR614 router), I recently upgraded my to a Wifi N network with a Netgear DGN2000 (now superceded by the DGN2200). This also functions as an ADSL modem, so the Huawei modem is now retired.

Initially it was frustrating because I thought that finally I would finally get connectivity in my bedroom, which I earlier didn't get, but that didn't happen until I upgraded the wifi on the laptops by using a USB Wifi N Adapter. Now, I get the promised range of the N network.

I tried taking the DSL connection (post-splitter) through the line filter on the Belkin Gold Series power surge protector but it didn't work. I'm guessing it should work pre-splitter but testing this would require quite a bit of wiring effort perhaps another day.

My BSNL connection after 5 years of excellent service has become disappointingly inconsistent. We are surviving only thanks to the Photon+. Am seriously considering moving to Airtel, which in my experience with other has been pretty good.

 

[vardu]

DSL, by definition, is a shared service. So if you are on a 4 MBPS plan, you are sharing that with 8 people. Don't ever expect to see the full speed. To get 1:1 throughput, you will need to get a leased line. Leased line rates are dropping everyday and a day may soon come when it will be affordable for the home too... reco that you don't salivate at my optimism.

Actually that is a bit incorrect.
Cable is a shared service and speeds will vary if your neighbours also use the same service.
DSL is affected only by distance - if you live too far away from the exchange - expect a drop.

My BSNL connection after 5 years of excellent service has become disappointingly inconsistent. We are surviving only thanks to the Photon+. Am seriously considering moving to Airtel, which in my experience with other has been pretty good.

I have also been noticing a slight drop in quality in the last 3-4 months but the unfortunate thing is that the others that I have tried were even worse.

 

[anm]

I agree that dsl is shared, but this info should be shared with customer. The plan can not say 4Mbps speed in that case, without clearly mentioning that your speed is divided into 4 or 8, and only once in a blue moon, you may even get 4Mbps, when everyone else is not downloading BR rips.

talk to the airtel support or marketing staff. They promise 4Mbps, and feign ignorance to the shared part. In fact I told this to their engineer who came to my house to fix the current problem, and he didn't say what you said. He said it is showing 1600kbps due to low snr in your line.

DSL, by definition, is a shared service. So if you are on a 4 MBPS plan, you are sharing that with 8 people. Don't ever expect to see the full speed. To get 1:1 throughput, you will need to get a leased line. Leased line rates are dropping everyday and a day may soon come when it will be affordable for the home too... reco that you don't salivate at my optimism.

After 5 years with a Wifi G network at home (Huawei SmartAX MT880 Modem + Netgear WGR614 router), I recently upgraded my to a Wifi N network with a Netgear DGN2000 (now superceded by the DGN2200). This also functions as an ADSL modem, so the Huawei modem is now retired.

Initially it was frustrating because I thought that finally I would finally get connectivity in my bedroom, which I earlier didn't get, but that didn't happen until I upgraded the wifi on the laptops by using a USB Wifi N Adapter. Now, I get the promised range of the N network.

I tried taking the DSL connection (post-splitter) through the line filter on the Belkin Gold Series power surge protector but it didn't work. I'm guessing it should work pre-splitter but testing this would require quite a bit of wiring effort perhaps another day.

My BSNL connection after 5 years of excellent service has become disappointingly inconsistent. We are surviving only thanks to the Photon+. Am seriously considering moving to Airtel, which in my experience with other has been pretty good.

 

[vardu]

.

talk to the airtel support or marketing staff. They promise 4Mbps, and feign ignorance to the shared part. In fact I told this to their engineer who came to my house to fix the current problem, and he didn't say what you said. He said it is showing 1600kbps due to low snr in your line.

Regardless of the service provider, be prepared for a maximum of only 80% of the advertised speed.

SNR, RC loss, skin effect, packet loss - all of these contribute to the 20% - It would be good service is the ISP decided to take these into account and provide 2.4 Mbps so that we still get 2.0 at the end - but who are we kidding - these are Indian companies and customers- the former is used to treating the other as a doormat and the latter is used to lying down and taking it :sad:.

BTW I had the BSNL 900 plan installed for my nieces and they are getting an average decent throughput of at least 2.8-3 out of the promised 4.0. The only problem is that it has a limit of 8 GB and then cuts down to 256 kbps.

 

[anm]

problem was in wiring from db to my house. They changed it today and the problem seems resolved. My daughter was able to watch videos of her choice today after 10-11 days. What is worrying is that the engineer took so long to figure out the problem. And the test he finally did to find if the wiring is faulty took him just 5 mins!

Now the rate being shown currently is 6144 and max attainable is 9312. A speed test with Speedtest.net - The Global Broadband Speed Test from a "New Delhi" server is 4.6Mbps while upload is 0.47Mbps. This is obviously capped by an FUP!

 

[theironhorse]

beam 4M

had netgear wgr614-v9

now shifted to n150

and xtreamer sidewinder added to my list yesterday.

 

[mittal_v2002]

I second to that MTNL with supplied wi fi router. Cheap and relliable . WITH TRUE UNLIMITED PLAN!

Do you know what is the difference between type 2 and Type 4 modem that BSNL provides.. they don't seem to have type 4 in stock, so the are insisting on type 2... price quoted is 1650/- .

BTW, is that supposed to be just a wireless modem or it works as a router as well to connect other wireless devices at home ? The guy at BSNL did not have any inf about the device that they are gonna provide

 

[vardu]

Do you know what is the difference between type 2 and Type 4 modem that BSNL provides.. they don't seem to have type 4 in stock, so the are insisting on type 2... price quoted is 1650/- .

BTW, is that supposed to be just a wireless modem or it works as a router as well to connect other wireless devices at home ? The guy at BSNL did not have any inf about the device that they are gonna provide

AFAIK - it used to be
Modem Type Ports Ethernet Wi-Fi USB
Type-I 1 0 1
Type-II 1 1 0
Type-III 4 0 0
Type-IV 4 1 0

 

[vardu]

Hi
Iam planning a bsnl 512kbps unlimited without fup.will any one explain, if I need to download 720p rip of 4gb how long would it take to download

TIA

It might take you a day if you have constant and consistent speed.

BSNL speed = 512 kbps (kilo bits per second)
- (overhead+losses) gives=> 410 kbps

Data ->1GB = 1 Giga Byte 1024*1024 Kilo Bytes (* 8 Kilo Bits)
= 8388608 Kilo bits

Time = Data/Speed = 8388608/410 ~= 20,000 seconds/3600 seconds ~ 5.55 hours

so 4 GB = 4 * 5.55 ~=22 hours or so and since the speed might vary a bit - you might end up with the whole day for 4 GB

(Provided you don't browse or do anything else with the network)

 

[mittal_v2002]

AFAIK - it used to be
Modem Type Ports Ethernet Wi-Fi USB
Type-I 1 0 1
Type-II 1 1 0
Type-III 4 0 0
Type-IV 4 1 0

I just called them up again and he said he has one type 2 available with him. I asked him to open the box and tell me the details about the same and he told me the following specs about the modem

Make: BSNL
Type -2 ADSL 2+ CPE/IAD
Terracom T2B GAWV1.4U10Y-B1

And also confirmed that there are 4 Ethernet ports, 1 USB port on the same at the back side. and he told that it is a wireless Modem + Router and this will cost 2K and not 1650/-. ..

Can I connect my laptop, media player (yet to purchase), mobile phone etc using this device wirelessly ? The BSLN guy could not confirm the max bandwidth that it will provide on the wireless n/w i.e. is it G type or N150 or N300 ? any clues ? Should I order this one ?

Or they have a standard wired modem/router. the details are
Binatone ADSL 2+ Router (DT 815). This will cost 1295/-. However I will need a separate wireless router to connect to this to make the wireless work at home... The cheapest G type router in the market is ~2K, i guess.

Please suggest.

Cheers..

 

[mittal_v2002]

Make: BSNL
Type -2 ADSL 2+ CPE/IAD
Terracom T2B GAWV1.4U10Y-B1

Guys any confirmation if the above is a B/G/N type modem+router ?? i need to order one today as my line is already activated..and the BSNL guy has given me a standby wired modem for a day only..

 

[alokbharti]

Or they have a standard wired modem/router. the details are
Binatone ADSL 2+ Router (DT 815). This will cost 1295/-. However I will need a separate wireless router to connect to this to make the wireless work at home... The cheapest G type router in the market is ~2K, i guess.

Please suggest.

Cheers..

Is 1295 for modem refundable?
modem is generally not owned by subscribers.. ISPs provide it free of cost..

I prefer using own wireless router.. there are many brands available.. you can get Belkin N150 for ~1600.. G type were around 1000/- when I checked last time..

 

[mittal_v2002]

Is 1295 for modem refundable?
modem is generally not owned by subscribers.. ISPs provide it free of cost..

I prefer using own wireless router.. there are many brands available.. you can get Belkin N150 for ~1600.. G type were around 1000/- when I checked last time..

Nopes.. 1295 is one time cost and I will own the modem after that..BSNL provides 2 options

1. Monthly rental - Modem is owned by BSNL
2. One Time buy - Modem is owned by subscriber.

however, in my area, BSNL does not provide the connection and services directly. It is through a franchise and the franchise is not giving me the option of rental and they have only certain plans available with them so not much choice..

BSNL does give the modem free if you pay for the whole year in advance..but I am not interested as this not my permanent address and if I move the connection can not be moved due to it being through franchise and not directly BSNL..

BTW, I can buy my own modem and router if reasonable priced from the market.. where did you find Belkin N150 for 1600 ? I could not find anywhere under 2K and another 1 K for basic ADSL modem..that makes it 3K minimum..

 

[vardu]

Nopes.. 1295 is one time cost and I will own the modem after that..BSNL provides 2 options

1. Monthly rental - Modem is owned by BSNL
2. One Time buy - Modem is owned by subscriber.

however, in my area, BSNL does not provide the connection and services directly. It is through a franchise and the franchise is not giving me the option of rental and they have only certain plans available with them so not much choice..

The franchisee is in charge of installation and gets a commission from BSNL - they have no control over anything else LEGALLY - the franchise doesn't have the right to say choice of rental or ownership. Your guy is trying to make money on the side.

Call BSNL support line and register a complaint- they take this seriously and will respond asap. call or go to your local exchange and inform them as well.

Heck if you are going to your local exchange - forget the franchise - just hand over the form and money to them directly.

Let me repeat - FRANCHISEES are PAID COMMISSION per sale - THEY CANNOT CHANGE ANY RULES.

 

[mittal_v2002]

The franchisee is in charge of installation and gets a commission from BSNL - they have no control over anything else LEGALLY - the franchise doesn't have the right to say choice of rental or ownership. Your guy is trying to make money on the side.

Yes, you may be right.. but I went to BSNL office only initially to submit the forms and I was redirected to franchise for the same.. Here the franchise has a small exchange setup for the area and he provides the service through that.. I can confirm that because I have seen the switch..it is kinda epabx and all the lines from that exchange are within a single n/w and these can be dialed from each other dialing hte 4 digit extns. (at no cost)..

so I think this is not just a franchise to help you get the connection, they manage the sub network and hence the limitations on the plans as well..

but I will check it in depth

Thanks for bringing this..

 

[sam9s]

Stay away from Airtel . Bad customer service. You will never get the speed you signed up for .. Each time you call they open a case and after 48 hours they ask you to check saying they fixed it... Result is zero .....

On the contrary I have been using Airtel broadband for 4 years now, and I never have faced any issue on the speed or customer care issue. If at all at anytime, things stopped working, for what ever reason they were rectified in the given time by the CC. The agents were always on time and very courtious. Infact the installation they did whenever I changed my house was throughly professional, which was always later confirmed by the head office.

DSL, by definition, is a shared service. So if you are on a 4 MBPS plan, you are sharing that with 8 people. Don't ever expect to see the full speed. To get 1:1 throughput, you will need to get a leased line. Leased line rates are dropping everyday and a day may soon come when it will be affordable for the home too... reco that you don't salivate at my optimism.

Well it isnt exactly work this way...... not going in to the technicalities, I have an Airtel 2mbps for the past 6 months and prior to that I had 1mbps for around 8 months and at no point of time in this tenure my speed ever dropped below what was claimed. In fact 7/10 times its almost over. If at all the speed did drop, (which was like once in months), there was always a definate reason behind it which was taken care of by Airtel under the promised time provided by the CC. Even while I am typing I can confidently say my speed would be over 2mbps and the below test taken just now confirms .......





Yes the FUP of 40GB is something I hate, but its almost at the verge of my monthly download of 50Gb so I am somewhat satisfied ...... however I woudl still like to have atleast 150GB of FUP on a 2 mbps and 200GB for 4mbps .......lets see I am hoping things would improve ......

To the OP, .... well if you ask me I would always suggest Airtel, I am not saying that they are perfect in all sense, I know we still have typical CC employees in the Helpdesk., but Airtel is still better of the worst ISPs we have in terms of connectivity, CC and over all quality.

AFA Router is concerned, I know Wireless N thing is the "IN" thing , however it all depends on the need as well. The trend for most of us is like........... to go for the best irrespective of...... even if, its needed ..... N router no doubt provides better bandwidth, but you would only need it if you want to transfer very heavy HD files or Stream full Blurays (ISO or Disc), contrary to people's notion of requiring a "N" router to stream HD content, I personally have used my typical B/G router to stream all HD content with as high as 10mbps bitrate. The only time I felt my B/G router bandwidth ran short was while streaming full 40GB Bluray ISO over wifi. So "think" if you actually need a N router ..

For the record I have a Linksys WRT54G router running almost 24x7 for the past 3 years ...