Last month I applied for the BSNL Broadband connection. I was already frustrated with the lack of service in other local ISPs. From other people I had heard about the speed of BSNL’s broadband internet. And I had also heard about the long wait involved in acquiring the connection. I had applied a month ago for the connection, and still there is no sign of anyone showing up to install the modem. Repeated phone calls gave the same answer - it is under process, it will be done within two days. Two days multiplied by 15 times - a month. Whatever may be the speed of the connection, I’m yet to test that out. But I wrote this review out of frustration. Does a customer have to wait for so long to get an Internet connection. Contrast this with their dial-up facility. To register for that, I had to just dial a number thru my modem, fill out a simple form on the bsnl website, and voila my internet was ready. Moreover the Internet usage was charged to the phone bill. Then why did BSNL forget this ease of use in their broadband plan? It seems that they cannot keep up with the demand. Jaago BSNL jaago.
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Well now for the second part of my review. After a seemingly never-ending wait, I finally got the connection. And I’m really amazed at the speed it is providing. This connection lives up to all the raves it is getting on MouthShut. Agreed the service was crappy till the point they installed it. But since there is no human intervention once you get it done, the service is pretty smooth. I’ve configured my modem and computer to automatically dial the connection during the unlimited night time so that I can sleep properly. The speeds I get are in the range of 25-30KBps and sometimes a burst speed of upto 40KBps. This, I must say, is more than enough for me (at least for now :-D)
All in all, I recommend this connection if you are prepared for the initial wait which may take up to two months (depending on your area and the queue). BSNL has the infrastructure in place. It just needs to match up its services.