Broadband has arrived in India not so long ago. But it has already reached the desks of almost all the internet users. Sadly though, the broadband service has not improved considering its exponentially growing popularity. This time my eye is on the premium Broadband Internet Service Providers in India and how they fair or fail to impress us in individual segments. So without much ado let us go there directly.

1. Speed

Best things first. This is the ultimate strength for which every user runs after broadband service, the speed. But again, as a fallacy, it is the ultimate variant userwise. You can never say that you and your neighbours are getting the same speed though all have the same ISP. So, to be as much impartial as possible I did a little survey with my acquaintances, friends to know about different ISP in average.

If I am not wronged then the highest internet speed provider in India under unlimited Plans are Airtel and Tata Indicom with their 1mbps plan.

Make no mistake. No one actually gives you the speed what they demand in their flashing offers. But best of the lot is Airtel with TATA Indicom close by and BSNL dataone third. I didn't let BSNL into the topmost position only because, it is very inconsistent. I was very frustrated while using that.

2. Connectivity

What's the use of an unlimited plan if you can not connect at all. If you are an unfortunate BSNL customer then you know that BSNL broadband server is frequently down because of numerous unthinkable reasons like in the days when there is a heavy downpour, when they need to maintain the server! (God knows what they do in that time actually) and so on and so forth.

In this issue again, Airtel is much ahead. TATA indicom too has not made me complain that much.

3. Broadband Plans

If you literally want to use the cheapest unlimited plan in broadband then go for BSNL Dataone. You will get in 750 Rs/month. But if you want a value-for-money plan, I will suggest you to go for AIRTEL 799. It is affordable and dependable.

If you are a person who can not compromise with quality, then again, without going for BSNL dataone's Home UL-1350 Plan, go for Airtel's Home 1499 with the same 512 kbps speed.

if you are still not satisfied then you have Tata Indicom's Infinity 1mbps plan for Rs. 2500 or Airtel's Home 2222 plan with same speed. I have used them both and they are very satisfying.

4. Customer Support & Troubleshooting

Do I need to say who loses out here? I am talking about BSNL Broadband.

There is a number (1800-424-1600) but when there are problems in the line, nobody picks it up.

In the rare cases when somebody does pickup and answer, they can never solve any problem. They will just take the complaint and give you a number.

The complaints are never attended; they are silently closed. Period.

On the other hand I have really had some hot exchanges with Tata Indicom tele callers as well. I will say Tata Indicom customer service is also the same. I personally had a bitter experience with them and they were non-professional enough to wash their hands out of it without doing ANYTHING. Having said that, it varies with individuals. I have my opinion you have yours. Airtel has a relatively better customer service in my opinion. Whenever I have called 'em up, they are very prompt with their replies.

In a Nutshell…

By now, you may start to think that I have some issues against the BSNL dataone service. But believe me, I have been using BSNL dataone broadband right from the time it started. It was the best at its time and now its the worst thing one can ask for. The speed is miserable, the customer service is dreadful and they don't understand the concept of 24*7 connectivity. So what's the use of it for someone who wants to go for an Unlimited Plan?

Go for Airtel Broadband . I am not that comfortable with Tata Indicom too. But all in all, we are still expecting a really efficient and good broadband service, which sadly, isn't available yet. On that sad note, let me log out with this chart to share,

Comparative Chart on Different Broadband plans

Value for money plans

Plans Service Provider Monthly Charge(PM) Speed Pros Cons
Home UL 750 PLUS BSNL Dataone 750 256kbps its the cheapest,

best value for money,

same all over India

 poor connectivity,

poorest customer support
Home 799 Airtel 799 256kbps good service,

good customer support,

good connectivity

 not as such, varies regionwise though
Home 999 Airtel 999 384kbps good value for money, all the above as stated above
Infinity 384 Kbps Tata Indicom 1000 384 kbps good speed if it works, reliable connection poor customer support

Fly High with Speed Plan

Plans Service Provider Monthly Charge(PM) Speed Pros Cons
Home UL 1350 PLUS BSNL Dataone 1350 512kbps its the cheapest,

best value for money,

same all over India

 poor connectivity, poorest customer support
Home 1499 Airtel 1499 512 kbps good service,

good customer support,

good connecitivity

 not as such, varies regionwise though
Home 2222 Airtel 2222 1 mbps very good speed, all the above as stated above
Infinity 512 kbps Tata Indicom 1500 512 kbps reliable connection until you have a problem poor customer support
Infinity 1mbps Tata Indicom 2500 1 mbps moderate customer support,

reliable connection,

good connectivity

 as stated above