Beware of reliance products..
As far as broadband is considered, reliance home plans allow only one user at a time to access internet.. Although on rcom web-page, they say internet connection sharing is possible, they don’t support this no matter what... They say it is possible but they’ll not help you with that and it doesn’t work with a wi-fi.
No internet connection sharing is possible at lan level using wi-fi. This is really an unscruplous practice.. I don’t think any other operator does like that for wired broadband. At least not airtel or bsnl.
My job took me to Hyderabad and I needed a connection in Kundanbagh, Begumpet area. Sadly, my tried and tested and ISP of choice, Airtel Broadband was not available in my area, so I had to look for other options. BSNL folks mentioned it would take at least 1 month to get Internet connection.
I came to know about Reliance Wired Broadband being available in my area and so thought of going for that.
First of all, Reliance folks are un scruplous from the bottom to top. It is a company I’ll never trust in terms of ethics and for end-products. They are really good for investors, but I don’t think there is a place for any consumer product from Reliance for a thoughtful and choosy customer, who cares about details.
In spite of knowing this, I had no other option but to take this, and yes, my assessment turned out to be very true again.
I’ve not seen such unprofessional people as I saw in Reliance Broadband even in a Govt organization like BSNL. The marketting executive who came to my house didn’t speak Hindi as well as English even to a beginner’s level. We had to get our watchman as a translator. He knew only Telgu. He had got forms but not even a pen.. was completely unfamiliar with the locality (although this place is one of the most VIP places in Hyderabad, at the centre of the city, a stone’s throw from bunglows of top-bureaucrats of Andhra Pradesh). He came walking by public transport.. so much that he had to be picked up from a place almost 1 km away.. He was unguidable on phone even by my house’s watchman who spoke Telgu.
Considering that we were 2 bachelors in the house, he unscruplously charged 2 month’s rent in advance plus installation charges (though Reliance officially asks for only 1 month rent+installation charges). We paid him here because he promised connection within 3 days. After he took the money and signed form, he didn’t answer our calls for almost 3-4 days. Once we got hold of him, he said the work is pending at verification department and he gave the contact no. of the concerned person. We went ahead and contacted him and he gave a verification call only after another 2-3 days after 3-4 follow-ups.
During verification also, we were not asked anything related to the product we had chosen or the plan chosen, but we were asked about all marketing related things: whether we own a car, or bike or AC or credit card and from which bank and things like that. Even then we cooperated. Even when we asked the tele-verifier to ask us about bill plan, address, charges etc, we were not asked about all that. The last line from the verification guy was that it will take 7 days to get the connection! We got so pissed off! we were promised in 3 days and 5-6 days were already over and we were asked for another 7 days! Oh my god! And the marketing guy who came to collect the money never appeared again in future, and never answered our calls.
After again 2-3 more follow ups, on a saturday evening, a lineman came and installed a direct cable line in our house. Yes! It was the broadband line! and yes! it came after almost 2 weeks and that too after painful follow-ups. But that was not the end of story. We were supposed to get a Phone connection as well as a modem. It took another 3-4 days to get that in spite of 2 complaints. And to our shock, RELIANCE BROADBAND HOME PLANS ALLOW ONLY ONE USER TO CONNECT TO INTERNET AT A TIME! SO IF YOU’RE 2 USERS SHARING THE INTERNET CONNECTION THROUGH A Wi-Fi, THAT’S NOT POSSIBLE TECHNICALLY. IT ALLOWS ONLY THE FIRST USER TO CONNECT. THE SECOND USER IS DENIED THE CONNECTION! THIS IS A CLEAR MALPRACTICE IN MY OPINION, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE’RE NOT INFORMED APRIORI ABOUT ANY SUCH THING. Such practices are never applicable in broadband connections from Airtel/BSNL. Indeed, the marketing guy who informed us about the plans never mentioned anything related to Home/Commercial plans as well as Single user/multi-user plans. He just wanted his commission and that’s it.
On top of that, out of 3 days that Internet worked, I tested my speed on 3 occasions. My plan connection speed is 300 Kbps, unlimited, 650 Rs/- per month. On 2 occasions that I checked my connection speed on 2wire.com, I got 28 kbps and 25 kbps! Now this is not even the speed of a dialup! Yes! BSNL Netone dialup is surely faster than this!
But on one day, I actually got 307 Kbps!
Overall, the biggest limitation of Reliance broadband home plans is that it is single-user based. 2 people at home need 2 different connections (2 monthly rentals) if both want to connect at the same time. Secondly, their field staff members are extremely unprofessional. They don’t know anything about what they’re selling or fixing and they don’t care about customers at all. Thirdly, they clrearly lack work-ethics. Such kind of policies are clear violation of ethics. And no where on their website or pamphlates do they mention about this single-user limitation, nor any marketing representative talks about this.
The landline which they installed for us looks quite feature-rich, but doesn’t even have a caller id. Calls to Reliance landline are very difficult to make from non-reliance networks. The success rate is less than 5% if the call is made from BSNL/Airtel mobile/landline to Reliance Landline. Though vice-versa it is reasonably ok.
Please think twice before you buy any consumer roduct of Reliance. Their consumer treatment and care is really bad. and they really don’t have ethics in their conduct. Overall, they’re far worse than even Govt companies like BSNL (at least in Hyd, they don’t make false promises, and they’re really prompt and set the right expectations.. And being a Govt company, it can never go wrong on ethics). I’ve been a BSNL Dataone customer for years and now using their Postpaid mobile service.
I must say this final line to anyone from Reliance: JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE LOTS OF MONEY AND BUSINESS DOESN’T MEAN YOU’RE SERVING THE END CUSTOMERS WELL. PLEASE TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES APPROPRIATELY AND GIVE SOME REGARDS TO VALUES AND FAIR PRACTICES. DO VALUE YOUR CUSTOMERS AS YOU VALUE YOUR SHAREHOLDERS. REMEMBER THAT REVENUE COMES FROM SUSTAINED REPAT BUSINESS, NOT SHORT-TERM GAINS BY HOOK & CROOK.
AT LEAST AN INFORMED AND CONSCENTIOUS NETIZEN SHOULD THINK TWICE BEFORE BUYING ANY END-CONSUMER PRODUCT FROM RELIANCE.