High Speed Internet Connectivity in India might as well be called an Oxymoron.Despite the larger than life claims from the Service providers, the broadband speeds have been rather sub standard or even if they deliver on the speed , the uptime and the pricing negate the effect.
We keep pondering over why E-Commerce has not taken off in India , and one basic answer lies in the below par connectivity.The service providers are upbeat about their plans and they market their seemingly Fastest Broadband connections like there’s no tomorrow.Risking generalization, i think its safe to assume that most of us have complains from our Internet Service Provider.
So, when MTNL announces a whopping 20 Mbps broadband speed , one wonders if someone out there is actually doing something about it.Before we get into the details, here is the new plan as proposed by MTNL for its new broadband connection.
MTNL VDSL Broadband combo will be Mumbai’s first 20 mbps the fastest Broadband service connection which is specially tailored for corporate houses and it comes at monthly rental of Rs.9000 with Free Downloads of 18 Gb per month
Fastest alright but then isn’t it targeted specifically for the enterprise sector.Now, when you compare a 20 Mbs line with a company Internet Leased line, there is actually no comparison at all.Moreover , the plan does not actually make a lot of sense for the retail customer like you and me.The price is too high and the download limit of 18 Gb though pleasing at first sight again is no good. With a promised 20 Mbs speed , how soon will i consume my 18 GB download limit? Yes, you are right. In no time at all. To be specific , in around 16 minutes. This is funny and embarrassing at the same time much like all other broadband plans thrown at the consumer.
It make me wonder , if a reasonably priced high speed broadband is too much to ask for.I want to put this high in my list of must haves for the year 2010 :-)
What do you think are the barriers to providing a reasonably priced uninterrupted broadband connectivity in India? Is it due to lack of technology/ infrastructure or is it an operational issue on the part of service providers.Share your thoughts and let’s hope that the new year brings with it hopes of a REAL high speed broadband.
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Author: Ankit Agarwal
Ankit Agarwal is an ERP Consultant by profession, a wannabe entrepreneur and stock market stalker by passion. You can follow him on twitter @ankit_aRelated posts:
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- In India it is not called broadband yet. It’s narrow band.
- BSNL brings Mobile WIMAX to India – Capable of 37 mbps speeds !
- Internet Poll Verdict: Indian Broadband connections are expensive…but why ?
- TRAI gives broadband some meaning, finally!
- Google planning for 1GB Internet Bandwidth – We in India cannot get 1 mbps properly !
- India can have 500 million internet users by 2012 – Is that a pipe dream?
- Indian Telecom and Broadband numbers are picking up steam
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
its awesome, but the rate isn’t, maybe i’ll start using it when it comes to 3000 bucks, currently its almost double of my monthly earnings.
he he he.. The idea is that even at 3000 you will use up your download limit in less than hour an hour.After that, ur use will be charged.So, in the end it is going to turn out to be super expensive
may be its time we need physical infrastructure(affordable high speed intercity train connectivity) than high speed internet connectivity.
Dear Arun and Ankit
You are right, it is exploitative – 20 mbps at Rs 9,000 per month, i.e £116 a month. Here in UK 18 mbps is available for £25 or Rs 1900 per month with unlimited downloads.
That’s the problem of India, starting from McDonald burger to Nike shoes, India has got everything but most Indians cannot afford it. For example Mc’s meal deal at £2.99, even the poorest here can afford to have every day ( though I would never recomment it.) or Nike shoes for your young son starting from £20, everyone can have. Prosperity for a few is surely not a good thing to have, it creates social tension and national unhappyness that you can see from naxal infested India to Telangana.
Anyway, I love to read your articles that give me a fair snapshot at the ICT front.
A very happy new year
A very happy new year to u too Vijay.Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I am afraid i do not complete agree with the comparison.India is a relatively late entrant into the industrial revolution and it is not fair to compare it with U.K. .With the kind of infrastructure in place and a early industry growth, U.K. , U.S. will always be ahead of the game.
Pricing is going to remain a concern.Especially with the McDonalds,Nike example that u have given, they are foreign brands so there will be a relatively luxurious price tag when they come to India.
My grouse with the ISP’s is that they play with the sentiments with false marketing.With all the claims of high speed connectivity, they deliver the poorest service and support.Charging a premium is justified to a certain extent but not delivering on the promise is disgusting.That’s what the Indian ISP”s are good at doing.They need to keep the pricing simple without any exhorbiant claims and then provided the promised services.
Glad that you like the coverage of ICT at trak, though there are other sectors covered extensively too.it is always good to have participative readers.
Look forward to seeing more of you on trak
Hi Arun and ankit,
I really do agree the pricing is bit on the higher side. May be they are skimming the market. Its not just broadband.. its visible even in the EVDO, or 3G(MTNL/BSNL) as well. A normal user would never go for such plans. I wud never pay 500 bucks to get around 400Mb on the 3G network…
I feel the reason is the Operating costs and the infrastructure issues as well. For Eg the 3G fees for a service provider is too high, so they have to keep high prices to cover the costs and we lack proper technology and infrastructure to maintain upto the committments. Rather infrastructure can be skilled technicians and engineers as well.
Its still time when India clocks a high Internet density unlike its Telecom density (though its repeated customers).
Am a regular reader of trak.in.. Gr8 job guys !!
Nayan Dharamshi
http://www.nayan-dharamshi.tk
Hi Nayan,
I second ur thought! I agreee that the operating costs can be an issue.However, there are takers who will pay this premium to get access to the latest technology and high bandwidth.The biggest problem here is the post sales service.These companies never deliver on their promises and thts where the pricing goes for a toss.
Hence, when they know they cant deliver the goods, they should not make those claims and charge a preimium.They have no rights to take the customer for a ride.
Thanks for being a regular reader and offering kind words.It is readers like you who make it worth it:-)