It’s been almost a year since I have written an article on broadband but there has not been much to write about the broadband scene during the past year, yes we now have WiMax and EVDO services (mobile broadband) but still the broadband scene hasn’t changed a lot, fast connections are still very expensive with absurd data-caps and high speed unlimited connections if at all available are very expensive.

The last major update in the broadband scene in India was around 2 years ago, when BSNL upped

the ante and started to provide broadband speeds upto 2 Mbps latter on private ISP did the catch up and most provide 2 Mbps but things haven’t changed much after that I guess again BSNL needs to do something again, coz the data-caps on these plans haven’t changed in a while, but I don’t have any high hopes until we get a new  dynamic Telecom Minister. (To give you an idea broadband plans even in Pakistan are much more advance and cheaper than in India, for example an 1 Mbps unlimited cost around Rs 2,200 / month in India it’s just around Rs 800 in Pakistan (do the currency conversion) and even 2 – 4 Mbps unlimited is very affordable).

For consumers in India broadband plans can be broadly divided into these two types

1) Broadband with data caps connections (the amount of data you can transfer in a month is limited) usually this type of broadband have high speed connections 2 Mbps – 8 Mbps.

2) Unlimited Broadband connection. (Here you are not limited to the amount of data-transfer you do but the connection speed is limited normally from 256 kbps – 2 Mbps)

The latest twist in Unlimited broadband connections is limiting them by the clause FUP (Fair Usage Policy) Tata and Airtel broadband have started capping their unlimited broadband connections, though the limit they have imposed  is fairly high (50 – 100 GB/month based on your connection speed), with Airtel they reduce your speed to half when you hit the limit and Tata will warm you, but this trend is a dangerous one and it should be avoided if you are going to cap a connection please don’t term it as Un-limited, people take unlimited connections coz they don’t want to worry about the usage.

I think most people take unlimited connections coz of these reasons that I am mentioning below (apart from some consumers who download tons of illegal stuff like movies etc from P2P)

# 85% of the  people don’t know how much bandwidth they consume, they are not that much technically inclined.
# The average usage per user will only increase over time as they learn to use internet effectively.
# Most ISP’s don’t have a easy way to know how much bandwidth you have used or do they bother to call you when you are over limit coz they charge you insane price per MB for over-usage.
# The trend of data usage will only increase with time as new applications are being launched and  the internet is being used more and more for watching online Videos, Video Conferencing, Online Gaming, VOIP to name a few and thus by having FUP they are just trying to block the free flow of information and new innovations.

If you ISP has implemented FUP, these are some of the tools that you can use to check your internet usage.

Du-meter  (Windows, paid)
Net meter (Free windows)
Surplus meter  (Free, mac)

Personally I use an 1 Mbps unlimited broadband connection from Reliance broadband (as of now reliance broadband doesn’t have FUP) as I am technically inclined I have a  rough idea about how much bandwidth I use it’s about 6 – 20 Gb / month and as you can see it varies a lot coz my surfing habits are not the same some months I watch a lot of online videos and do a lot of online-gaming then the next month I might hardly consume any bandwidth.

The ISP say that 5% of the users consume 95% of the bandwidth hence they need the FUP clause to provide acceptable service for other users, thought I am against FUP, at-least Airtel’s implementation of FUP is okay what Airtel does is  they just don’t cut you off after you reach the FUP limit, they reduce your speed to half, the TATA FUP terms are a bit scary, they first warn you and then they might terminate your connections if you cross the limits.

Other Developments in the Broadband Scene

Airtel has launched 16 Mbps broadband plans @ Rs 2,999 month with 20 GB / month data cap and Tata has launched 100 Mbps connection at around Rs 10,000 / month with 30 GB data caps, It’s nice to see such high speed connections in India but I just don’t think so these connections are going to go any where with such crazy data-caps and insane pricing.

On the Mobile broadband front both TATA (Photon+) and Reliance (Netconnect +) have started EVDO based mobile broadband plans with speeds upto 3.1 Mbps with data caps of around 10 GB / month, expect speeds of around 600 kbps – 1 Mbps with these connections which is quite good as currently mobile internet connections are pathetic in India, I will be purchasing the Reliance Netconnect+ in the next few weeks so expect a full detailed review of the same.

In my opinion rather than providing insane speeds with stupid data-caps, It’s high time ISP’s in India start providing higher speeds unlimited connections 1, 2, 4 Mbps at affordable prices.