I read sidin’s review and all I can do is feel sorry for his bad luck. He got in touch with a bad batch of people thats all. Let me tell my story about Touchtel.
Caution: I got a piggyback connection when my mom got 3 phone connections for her office. This makes my Touchtel conn a corporate connection. Maybe the good experience I had reflects the type of customers that TT is concentrating upon.
Heres the timeline:
22nd August 2003
Me and my mom decide that its time for a broadband conn and Touchtel is the only option. I decide to buy the USB modem outright. It costs 2500 bucks. My plan is Speed64. Thats 64 KBPS with a download limit of 350 MB per month for Rs. 995 only. Every MB above that is charged at Rs. 1.4 per MB.
1st September 2003
Morning
The cables have been laid! The wiring is scheduled on the weekend. I supervise it and make sure I have it set right where I want it. (one conn for the computer and 1 parallel for the living room). The cabling guys finish the work and walk away! No demands for chaipani like the BSNL a**holes!
Evening
Touchtel enggr is already here! The phone line is activated. A splitter is installed and the DSL modem drives are installed. I am connected to 64 kbps ’’broadband’’!
NOTE: I thought a 1 week installation was awesome!!
I am happily surfing, trying not to go past my limit. In the end, I do. 250 MB extra! I pay through the nose for it.
Happy surfing for the next 2 months.......
Mid November
One day I have trouble connecting. I call up DSL support. They tell me an upgrade is in progress and I will have connectivity in 30 minutes. Sure enough, its back to normal. But wait....something’s changed....my browsing is faster, my downloads are faster, my internet radio is clearer....Ohmigosh my connection has been upgraded to 128 Kbps!!!
This is obviously a ploy to undercut DishnetDSL (Dishnet upgraded their 64K users to 512!). I am happy for the moment.
Last week of November
We have decided to move house to a locality 12 kilometers away. The first factor while looking for a house was Touchtel cabling. One week before moving, we apply for shifting.
December first week
We have moved into the new house and settled down. 3 days after we move, our connection is shifted over! Again its the same story. These guys dont even ask for drinking water u know? Again the connection is installed as per my requirements.
Mid January, 11 AM on a saturday
I have been screwing around with my PC for some time now and I cant connect to the DSL anymore. I also get lots of noise while talking on the phone. My guts tell me these issues are connected. I call tech support. The girl (lady?) on the phone doesnt know anything but the barest details. She promises to send a techie to my house by the end of the day and gives me a complaint number. I kick myself for believing the rep and decide to doze off, assuming that techies dont come on Saturdays.
12.30 PM
I am jarred awake by the door bell. I am coming from Touchtel saar, says the voice. I am flabbergasted! He comes in, sets right the issue (i made a connection error in the splitter) and leaves after calling his superior and making me verify that the issue is resolved. From complaint registration to issue resolution in 90 minutes!!!! Its got to be some kinda world record.
Havent had any problems since.....
But again, thats just my story. I feel I got preferential treatment because I was on a corporate connection. I recommended a friend to get TT. They came in and installed all the wiring in his house. And then, they left him in the lurch because they couldnt get permission from the Corporation! (he still hasnt got his conn)
I also tried to get a 1 MBPS connection for my office in another area. Sales reps flatly refused saying that the area didnt have any future business potential! (My office then bought a wireless dedicated connection for 4.5 lacs. hows that for business potential?)
So the verdict is - If you are a business setup in a business neighborhood, TT is a safe bet. The conn is reliable and the bandwidth is good enough. If you are a residential customer make sure ur area has the requisites like cabling done etc etc.)
A note to TT: Start concentrating on the middle class! We are bigger than all the corporates put together.