Mar 17, 2009 06:06 PM
1842 Views
(Updated May 03, 2012 10:19 PM)
*March 2009
Technology used:** Fixed(land) line phone connection with DSL modem. Allows to use the phone while connected to internet.
I have been using the Airtel broadband connection for nearly 3 years. Based on my experience, I highly recommend this product.
3 years back, I contacted Airtel to get a broadband connection for my home in Chennai. They said that their service was not available in my locality. They gave the option of registering with them so that they would contact me in future once the service was available in my locality. I accepted and registered with them(registration free of cost).
After 3 months, they promptly contacted me for a new connection offer and the sales executive came to my place and collected installation fee and said that the connection/installation would be made within a week. And, they gave the connection in 4 days time. It has been a good experience since then.
The Speed is as good as they advertise. For the 256 kbps plan(unlimited), I get around 30 KBPS download speed. That too from a standard web site. And, when I download from a reliable high bandwidth site like microsoft.com, I get the maximum threshold of 31.25 KBPS or even more some times.
Billing: is clean and I haven't seen any issue at all. Since I don't use the phone line, the monthly bill amount remains the same.
General issues and customer support:At times the net connection is lost since the modem/network gets jammed. I think it is general network issue. Once the modem is switched off and on, it gets going again.
If it doesn't get through, a call to the customer care is required and they set it right by resetting the IP address of the modem. It doesn't take much time. I have faced this type of issue about 10 times in the 3 years. Since the customer care people resolve this immediately, it is not a big problem. The phone line works without a problem in the above cases.
The other issue is that the line itself is fault. I have faced this 3 times and they corrected the line either on the same day or the next day(generally they do it within 12 hours). Once they changed the phone set too.
Comparing with others: I think that Airtel as a brand is good. Their service is pretty good and their customer support system is better than TATA Indicom, SIFY and Reliance.
I have had SIFY connections previously on two occasions(different premises) and their customer care was not good. One big problem is their technology. They use the regular network cables and routers/switches(similar to the cable TV operators). The big problem with this is that the switches get network jammed within a short span of time(say 3-5 days) on continuous usage and someone has to switch off/on that thing periodically. The problem is they don't do it or they don't instruct the home owners(on whose premises the switch is fixed when establishing the connection). I have had the worst of these when one of the home owners simply switched off this switch/router and went for a vacation for a couple of weeks. I had horrible time with the SIFY people and they were simply helpless and only thing I got back was that they extended monthly plan duration by another 15 days. I got this after a prolonged fight.
I also had a very bad experience with TATA Indicom. They had a very poor service then.I applied for a connection and gave them a cheque for Rs. 2700. They promptly encashed in 3 days time and after 10 days they didn't provide the connection as promised. Days went by and after a month, it looked like they would never install the connection. After a number of calls to the customer care, I had to go to the VSNL office in Chennai personally and got the money back in the form of a cheque(without any deduction). That was just awful.
Updated the following on 03/May/2012
Nowadays, the customer care has really gone down in service. Also, they have become arrogant. Looks like, Airtel has gained a larger customer base and they have started to just play with the market share like any other monopoly company. Think twice before getting Airtel connection.
