Broadband in India | Broadband Reviews & Ratings

BlackBerry Connect from Vodafone

admin — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 08:18:01 +0000

BlackBerry® Connect™ technology brings the advantage of BlackBerry® functionality to a wide range of handsets. You can send / receive your mails, view attachments, update your calendar and much more, in sync with your mail server from a device of your choice.

The blackberry mobiles which can use Vodafone India to connect to the Internet are -
BlackBerry® 8310
BlackBerry® 8820
BlackBerry® 8700v
BlackBerry® Pearl™
BlackBerry® 7130g

Access your corporate or personal email accounts including Hotmail, Yahoo, and POP3 / ISP with the BlackBerry® Internet Service. Maintain up to 10 email accounts without involving any server software or needing IT support.

The features, as given by Vodafone India website are -

10 email Accounts: You can add up to 10 business and/or personal email accounts easily and configure each one individually though the Internet or from your BlackBerry® smartphone.
Organiser: Stay updated with timely access to Contacts, Calendar, Tasks, Memo pads - even when you’re away from your desktop.
Instant Messaging: BlackBerry smartphones support Instant Messaging with Yahoo® Messenger and Google Talk™, so you can stay in touch with your contacts while on the move.
Browse the web: With the BlackBerry® Browser, you can access the Internet, wherever you are.
Unique BlackBerry email address: You have the option to choose a unique BlackBerry email address. Messages sent to this address are received and stored right on your BlackBerry smartphone.
View attachments: Check all the most widely used attachment formats including JPEG, BMP, TIFF, Microsoft® Word, Excel and PowerPoint® , Corel® WordPerfect® and Adobe® PDF.
Easy set up: Set up your email accounts in just a few clicks. You can do it online at your computer, or right from the smartphone itself. The set up does not need any server installation or IT resources.

BSNL Evdo Wireless broadband service

admin — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 03:26:18 +0000

After Tata and Reliance, it is now Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited which has introduced USB data cards for wireless internet service, and speeds of which can reach to 2.4 MBPS.

It is called as EVDO Card.
There are no registration charges, and activation cost is Rs. 250.

EV-DO Device cost = Rs. 7,500

Right now, the speed of broadband available is 144 kbps and after the CDMA EVDO card is introduced, the speed of 2.4 Mbps can be reached.
Rental cost is Rs. 250 per month.
Still it is not available everywhere, but only in selected cities.

And the download/upload is unlimited.
Here is how the EVDO card looks like -

Free bandwidth speed test meters to test Internet speed

admin — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 19:21:36 +0000

Do you think what your Internet provider claims as the speed is the actual speed of the internet you are able to download?
It is always lesser that what is stated.

You have 3rd party clients which can show you how speed you can upload or download data in your computer with your specific internet provider. Here are a few bandwidth speed test meters where you can check the upload and download stats and other stats too.

Speedtest.net
This tool automatically connects to your server and downloads/uploads a file and calculates the average speed of download and upload and connection speed. Here is what i get when i check my internet connection speed in this tool

CNET Bandwidth Meter
A file is downloaded from our servers that will calculate your bandwidth speed from the CNET Internet Services site. Your bandwidth speed may be affected by the following factors: being located outside of the United States, performing other downloads and this test simultaneously, or executing programs that use your bandwidth to monitor other resources. Here is the result i got -

Broadbandreports.com test
This tool also reports in the same way as the above by downloading and uploading a file to the server and calculating the average speeds of them. It actually takes the results from dslreports.com for the speed test. Here are the results i got -

Hathway launches broadband internet at Coimbatore

admin — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:47:29 +0000

Hathway Cable and Datacom Private Limited, a part of the Rajan Raheja group has finally announced the launch of its Hathway broadband internet services in Coimbatore. This is going to run with Docsis technology.

Hathway’s Broadband Internet is presently available in the cities Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mysore, Mumbai, Pune, Nashik, Baroda, Delhi, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Jaalundhar, Kanpur.
Through their marketing procedures, residential, small medium enterprises and corporates are being targeted to get more connections and networking with Hathway services.

Hathway Broadband Helpline and New Call Center Numbers

admin — Sun, 04 May 2008 17:30:30 +0000

Hathway is known as one of the best broadband internet service providers which provide high speed internet, and if any downtime, they provide excellent customer care service. You can call hathway services for any of the problems such as “No connectivity”, “Slow browsing”, “Email problems”, “Shiffting of premises”, “Prepaid Plan renewals”, “Postpaid billing issues”, “Service usage”, “Disconnection” or any other queries.

Hathway has alloted contact points for customers where people can contact the hathway services locally. Here are the locations and phone numbers -

Delhi (Webtime) - 011-46085777
Delhi (Cable Modem) - 011-46085666
Faridabad - 011-46085777
Noida - 011-46085666
Chandigarh - 0172-4643506/4643507
Ludhiana - 0161-2406366/6547001/6547002
Kanpur - 0512-2532006/2532007
Mumbai - (022)-67134600-50
Pune - (020)-66030696
Nasik - (0253)-2520330
Aurangabad - (0240)-6610777
Baroda - (0265)-2356468
Bangalore - 080-40161616
Mysore - 0821-4253344
Hyderabad - 044-66989898
Chennai - 044-42261313
Coimbatore - 0422-4200300
Tirupur - 0421-4540040
Trichy - 0431-4024488

Hathway broadband services have lately changed the call center numbers, and here are the new call center numbers.

Product/Sales Inquiry - 67134545
Billing - 67134567
Renewals - 67134500

Customer Support -

email - helpdesk@hathway.net
SMS - By sending to SMS No. 575759
Fax - 67134737

Hathway Broadband Internet Review

admin — Sun, 04 May 2008 16:00:37 +0000

Hathway Broadband Internet, the first Cable ISP in India, is seeking to revolutionize the way people access the web. The high bandwidth advantage of the cable infrastructure of Hathway brings you the true broadband Internet experience through cable.
Hathway’s fiber-optic backbone and its state-of-the-art Internet Node and Data Center makes the network capable of reliable Internet service as well as digital TV transmission.

Heer are a few features of Hathway’s broadband service -

High-speed surfing - 256 kbps to 512 kbps speed of download, through cables. Any possible work can be done online in this speed internet.
Always Online - No dialing-up or switching things on, just switch on your computer and you connected to the internet automatically.
Phone Free Internet - Forget your dial up connection, Hathway Broadband Internet brings you high speed broadband many times faster than a dial up connection without engaging your telephone.
Secured Browsing - Due to DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Services Interface Specifications) protocol, the security levels are higher in Hathway broadband services.

So enjoy one of the best internet services with hathway broadband.

Monitor your BSNL & MTNL broadband bandwidth usage

admin — Sun, 04 May 2008 13:00:53 +0000

Its not necessary for subscribers who have unlimited plans being used, but for those who have limited download/upload data per month, they have to be conservative and try to save bandwidth usage.

If you are using these 2 services, there is a firefox plugin which helps in monitoring the bandwidth stuff.
- BSNL Dataone Broadband Services
- MTNL Triband Broadband Services

So, its a firefox extension which is useful for only mozilla firefox users, and internet explorer users can’t benefit from it. It is called DataFox extension. Version 1.4 restores Firefox 3 compatibility and supports BSNL’s new bbservice.bsnl.in portal.

You just have to go the plugin page and click on install if you are using the firefox browser. The extension will be installed within a minute. Then after installation you have to login and then monitor the stats.
There are various preferences which you can tweak with datafox -
Login on startup
Bandwidth limit
Statusbar / Tooltip string

These are the variables in which datafox tracks the isp and provide the results -

[BSNL]{tS}-Total Upload
[Both]{tR}-Total Download
[BSNL]{tX}-Total Transfer
[Both]{cX}-Chargeable Transfer
[Both]{sX}-Surplus Transfer
[Both]{uP}-Used Percent
[Both]{aP}-Allowed Percent
[BSNL]{tH}-Total Hours
[Both]{YM}-Year-Month
[Both]{tT}-Last Updated

What is Broadband Internet Access?

admin — Sun, 04 May 2008 11:00:03 +0000

A few years back in many places, accessing the web was something challenging due to lack of internet sources, and people had to settle with the very slow telephone line dial-up connections of the internet. The dial-up internet connection used to come with a modem which dials a network number and connects, providing a slow speed of 56 Kbps, but then the new form of Internet connection was introduced, called the Broadband internet service in which the minimum internet speed was recorded to be 256 Kbps.

The speed of 256 Kbps is defined for the download rate, as the different networks provide lesser upload rates than the download speeds. The broadband technologies in most areas are DSL, ADSL and cable modems. However, there are some new technologies which are being used, and they are termed VDSL and optical fiber connections.
A few abbreviations -
VDSL - Very High Speed Digital Subscriber Line
DSL - Digital Subscriber Line
ADSL - Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line

Through VDSL, the internet data is transferred through single twisted pair of copper wires. And this enables very high speed Internet access.

India ranks #18 in the total number of Broadband subscribers, and China tops the list, followed by the United States.

Every non-possible thing of dial-up internet can be possible with broadband as broadband internet connections provide and carry heavy packets of internet. Activities like watching videos, downloading heavy files, downloading songs, voice chat, web-cam chatting are possible uninterruptedly with broadband services.

Offers from Tata Indicom Broadband Services

admin — Sun, 04 May 2008 08:00:47 +0000

Tata Indicom, apart from providing high speed internet broadband services, is also giving great and interesting offers to subscribers who prebook the services for a higher period of time. There are several offers for new subscribers of Tata Indicom broadband services.

But each offer is limited to a few particular places, most being major cities. Here are a few offers from Tata Indicom broadband services.

1 Month Free Broadband
On Infinity 256, Infinity 384, Infinity 512 & Infinity 1Mbps Plans with 4 months advance rentals. - This offer is valid only in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore.

1 Month Free Broadband
On Infinity 384, Infinity 512 & Infinity 1Mbps Plans with 4 months advance rentals. - This offer is valid only in Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune.

2 Months Free Boradband
Get upto 2 months of internet usage free with 6 & 12 months prepaid unlimted 128 Kbps plan. - Offer Valid only in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Kolkata & Pune.

Free Wi-Fi Router
Book a 12 month Unlimited 256 Kbps or 512 Kbps prepaid connection and get a Wi-Fi router worth Rs. 4000/- FREE of cost. - Offer valid only in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad.

Zero Installation Charges
Pay ZERO installation charges on applying for a prepaid plan valid for 6 months or more OR on payment of 4 months advance rental on a postpaid plan.

Unlimited Night Browsing
For just Rs. 299 per month, get unlimited night surfing upto 2 Mbps on the prepaid time based plans. Offer valid in all the cities.

75% Discount in Installation Charges
If you are an existing Tata Indicom Landline customer, you get a 75% discount on Tata Indicom Broadband installation charges, The broadband connection should be installed at the same address as your Tata Indicom Landline. - Offer valid only in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bangalore and Delhi.

Tata Indicom Broadband Review

admin — Sun, 04 May 2008 07:00:57 +0000

Tata Communications brings you high speed internet connectivity for longer periods with easy process. There are great offers on broadband installation charges and services. Any kind of internet activities possible through the broadband services of Tata Indicom.

There are various tariff plans for business and personal subscribers. Personal plans can provide internet speeds upto 2 Mbps.
Various plans are -
Volume based Plans -
Unlimited hours of Internet connectivity. Your maximum data download capability depends on your selected plan. Ideal if you want to be continuously be on the Internet and chat and email to your heart’s content.

Time based Plans -
Unlimited data transfer. Your maximum hours of connectivity depends on your selected plan. Ideal if you do heavy downloads or uploads.

Unlimited Plans –
Unlimited data transfer and hours of Internet connectivity, these plans are recommended for non-stop Internet usage

There are various tariff charges for different plans.