Hi
Reading this I thought I would also put my little experience with BSNL here.
I have Broadband(BB) connection with BSNL Max Speed 2Mbps.
For last two years or so it is working without problem. Earlier I was with TATA Indicom and for accessing their service I was paying through my nose. Service was good but terribly costly. Prior to that it was Dial up with VSNL,ok but slow.
recently, on saturday , BSNL telephone line and BB went blank. I could not understand the reason. Bills have been paid in time. No dues. No Rain, nothing.
So I called up 197 and took number of BB customer service and also that of my area exchange. It was 11 PM. Obviously, I wasn't expecting anybody to lift the phone. And so it was. Next I tried exchange number. After one or two ring, someone lifted. He said , he is watchman and nobody is available to take care of my problem. Fortunately he informed me that Batteries have developed some faults and all lines are down in the area and one has to wait till it gets replaced. Next day being Sunday, I wasn't expecting connection. Around 11 AM telephone line came to life. Hoping that BB is also back I tried. No such luck. So I rang up the exchange and they politely informed that Computer Engineer has not come and I have to watch only TV. So it was on Monday that BB was restored by 10 AM.
Now it is working fine as usual.
Being PSU, I had also expected them to repair it by Monday
.
Only if they improve on this front, I would rate their service as one of the best and cheapest.
I also checked if it give 2 mbps connectivity or not. Download was 1953 kbps and upload was 1623 kbps consistently across various test servers in India and abroad. Remember that it is only burst transmission speed. On an average actual through put will be very less. But websites do load faster.If you get Rs 900 monthly Home plan (unlimited) and your own ADSL Modem then you will have very liitle to worry about except for occasional blips like I described above.
May be in Mumbai MTNL would charge little more.But quite reliable.
You can use Right to Information Act on them if they don't behave or complain to Higher ups. In case of Private service providers, I have seen them being very apathetic to consumer concerns. And no RTI Act for them. Only consumer courts.
Pankaj