30 Mar
2009
30 Mar
'09
10:01 p.m.
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.
Secondly, as I mentioned, in the US or western countries the word "cap"
is used very liberally. It is *rarely* enforced. 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.
But what have you lawyers done about it? 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. 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. 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 ).
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?
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
- Dinesh