Broadband in India is still in its infancy, with no service provider anywhere near the world-class mark. So you have no choice but to choose the best of the evils.
Here are some guidelines which I hope, will help you do so.
Forget Cable Internet. By subscribing to Cable internet you also subscribe to a life full of headaches.
Do not go by advertisements and websites. They all obviously want your money whether or not they give you something in return for it. Most of the times, the only good thing about the ISP will be their cute looking Website and all the nice things they say to attract you. E.g. Tata Indicom.
3. Read customer reviews. There’s no better site than Mouthshut! What you read here is the ground reality, which is more important to us. Who else will give so much advice for free?
Purchase your own hardware. Most service providers will give you a modem for some extra cost. But it is always better to have one of your own. First, you purchase based on your specific needs. For example some modems come with built in routers if you want to connect more than one computer. Next, they come with a warranty. Plus you get an ADSL filter, a telephone jack and an ethernet cable free with the modem, which will be yours for ever.
Take an unlimited plan. Though it is slightly more expensive, it is worth the extra cost. You’ll never have to worry about how much you download. Many people end up paying more than what they’d be paying for an unlimited plan, by overusing their limited plan. You’ll also be able to freely listen to streaming audio and make unlimited Computer to Computer VoIP calls using VoIP engines like Skype.
Know your rights. Downtime is very common in India. You should be compensated appropriately for the time your ISP could not provide you with the promised service. The same condition applies to speed as well. You should make sure that you get at least 90% of the promised speed at all times. They’ll try to bully you into paying the full amount. You should refuse to do so. They need to know that they can’t get away with poor service. You need to know your rights as a consumer. You should refuse to be a victim.
Have a backup. You should have some sort of an emergency backup if the broadband fails. Dialup Internet is the best backup. BSNL’s dialup is quite reliable. I am not an expert on this subject, so I won’t say anything further.
My personal ranking of ISPs is as follows:(if you don’t think so, please comment)
Airtel - Closest to world-class. Good connection. good customer care. No false promises. Meticulous wiring.
BSNL - Comes second only because of poor customer service. Otherwise on par with Airtel(except for the wiring part).
Tata Indicom - No misunderstandings please. Comes third only because there is no other ISP that can come third. Known to be good in some parts of the country, but generally has a bad reputation.
Sify Broadband - Best avoided.
Remaining providers including local cable operators.
There might be some good Cable Internet providers here and there which are known only in the region where they operate.
I wish you a Happy Broadband Experience!