Dinesh A. Joshi wrote:
scrapo wrote:
Actually, I find it funny that you guys are ok with a "fair use cap" which in effect makes it a 10gb data limit connection while being called an unlimited connection. What it amounts to is false advertising. MTNL is much better, it does not call it an unlimited plan but says its a limited data plan.
I'm absolutely not rooting here for the thugs of the telecom industry. All I'm saying is if you give me a "limit" which exceeds my download capability, then in effect I have an "unlimited" connection - atleast I wont feel any difference. For example, if I have a 1Mbps connection, theoretically I can download ~327GB / month. If an ISP offers me the same connection with a, say, 500GB cap thats as good as being unlimited because I *cant* exceed the cap.
If you cant exceed, then how is it a cap ? And what is the purpose of a cap ? To prevent accounting error ?
Secondly, as I mentioned, in the US or western countries the word "cap" is used very liberally. It is *rarely* enforced.
Nope. You are wrong. The american internet users are very frustrated with caps and specially since they are not communicated or even documented. Mostly done at their own whims and fancy. Also in each area in US, there is only 1 ISP so people do not have a choice which they at least have in India (in quiet a few places). While we may not have good competition, they have none. If you are not happy, you can not do anything about it. if you complain loudly, you are going to be the only one on the block without a connection.
I have friends and clients in USA who confirm this and there is plenty of articles on this online if you wish to check.
There are more horror stories there than here. Ofcourse, their level of expectation is much different. But that is like saying that American as 2 cars per person, we have 1 for 10 people ...... not a fair compare.
Unlike Indian ISPs which will shut you off if you exceed the limit. What MTNL and other ISPs have done is, they've conned the Indian consumer. 200MB / month is a freakin' joke.
yes, they are offering a plan for Rs. 200 (US$ 4 per month) which is a rate you will not find in USA. This is a plan that is meant for light home users, people who are only going to use it to check their emails once a day. the popularity of the scheme is because in India, people want small slice service. Its a very good move. And very practical. If you want more usage, take a better plan. Whats stopping you ?
In office we are on an MTNL plan that gives us close to guaranteed 2 mbps speed which we need for our ERP connectivity and we are paying for that good quality bandwidth. There is a 45gb cap, but i know we are not going to use more than 15gb in a month except when a new Fedora version is put up. We are business users, and we do not go and download movies so we dont need 500gb downloads.
But what have you lawyers done about it?
My lawyer have not been put to that task. I vote with my wallet. I chose a service I want, and pay for it. If i am not happy with it, I switch to what options I have. The market will get them in line soon enough. Provided ofcouse the market actually wants such a thing. If you are the only person wanting 500gb transfer and wanting to pay Rs. 1000 per month for it, the vendors are not going to bother.
The TRAI rarely has, if any, support from the white collared public. All that "geeks" of our nation can do is sit at their 1337 machines and sign online petitions.
So what stops you from going and supporting TRAI by filing a complaint or at least by responding to their request for public comment on documents, etc which they keep putting up.
They cant go into Airtel's office smash some heads and show them that we mean business. We're not to be taken for a ride.
Really ? Why not instead switch to someone who is going to give you better facility ? And be prepared to pay for what you are going to use.
I'm not an extremists but the horror stories I've come to know over the years, I for one believe that strong action is essential.
Also, I can understand that India has limited interconnect with the rest of the world. Indian ISPs are charged a lot but isn't it true that Indian ISPs ( TATA and Reliance ) now own some of the largest backbones out there? Last time I checked Reliance had some 10,000 terabits of unlit fiberoptic capacity ( Was it the Flag telecom deal? Dont remember exactly ).
Reliance owns flag, which has 10K TB of bandwidth. True, but how much of it terminates in India ? Airtel has put its own fiber on east coast to connect to the main pipes through singapore. Tata is a partner of one of the large fiber groups due to ownership of vsnl. they hold the rights to build landing stations and will be sole channel for selling that bandwidth in India for 10 years (must be coming to an end soon, this is old story).
Has anybody considered going and trashing some offices and punch the A** H***s whole make plans to milk the Indian consumer? Hmm...
Saswata, how many cases have you registered against any ISP for their unfair data limits? poor customer service? Horrible uptime?
Actually, I am pretty satisfied with my data limits and get pretty good uptimes. When I was not happy, eg, with hathway and with my cable guys at home, i switched. And as i said before, i am a business user. I am willing to pay for good quality and for my usage. Its unfair data limit to you, its fair to me. I had the option of other plans if i wanted to.
Oh and the best line of them all comes from an MTNL customer care rep:
Me: So do you have any "unlimited" plans?
Rep: Yes, all our plans are unlimited.
Me: ( rolls eyes ) No. All your plans are limited upto a certain amount of data transfer like 1GB, 200MB etc...
Rep: Yeah, so?
Me: ( Gets frustrated ) They're not *unlimited*. I want an *unlimited* plan.
Rep: Umm...your plan is already unlimited.
Me: Come on lady!! The plan restricts me to a set data transfer amount!
Rep: No! You can download as much as you want to. You just have to pay for the extra transfer!
Me: x_x
( This was at a time when MTNL had introduced unlimited plans in Delhi and not in Mumbai ).
I corrected my terminology - I call them Flat rate plans :P
MTNL site is very clear that they are talking unlimited in terms of connectivity time. If you remember, earlier they used to charge for time you are connected. But they have plans like NU, which so many people here use. If you call and ask the call center for a plan that does not exist and which their website makes clear does not exist, then what do you expect the lady to do ? Create one for you ?
- Dinesh