Hello All,
A client of mine subscribed to Airtel Broadband. I told the client to insist on an ADSL modem with router. This is like the self contained MTNL modem. Its advantage over the regular Airtel modems is that it does not need a pc to dial pppoe. The router ensures that the pcs are not directly exposed to the net and no pc needs to be dedicated as a server.
The Airtel guy who came to install did not understand the idea first and after some beating about the bush, said that he will have to contact his tech. guys. Next day, they installed the wanted unit. So if you are using Airtel, you can insist on the independent modem cum dialer. If your net is down, at least they won't blame your pc or its interfaces.