I have been using internet service since a very very long time and have seen a lot changes and a lot of ISPs. From when VSNL used to operate, to when Caltiger provided free internet services, private operators such as Dishnet and Tata, to BSNL providing postpaid on demand dial up use. Then there was the advent of higher speeds through CDMA from Tata Indicom and Reliance and finally with the advent of broadband and much faster internet access.
My first broadband provider was BSNL Dataone. I had to first apply for a BSNL phone which tool a month and then apply for the broadband which took a few months more since they supposedly didn’t have modems in stock. However once we got the instruments and the broadband account set up, it was smooth sailing thereafter. Hardly did I have a problem with BSNL or Dataone. In fact many times it was so surprising that my phone line was dead, but the broadband continued to work flawlessly. I have used BSNL broadband for around 2 years and I have been extremely impressed by their services and by the broadband connection also.
Occasionally the dataone line used to go down but used to come back up the very next day. I don’t recall an occasion when I was without broadband for 2 days continuously due to a fault of BSNL. In fact there was just one time that I had called the technical helpdesk and I did that expecting the worst. The fear was compounded by the fact that the call was handled by an elderly lady. But I was pleasantly surprised with what happened next. After hearing my problem, she told me exactly what to do and what steps to follow on the modem menu to get my connection back up. She had reset the password and asked me to re-login into my account and voila, it worked. I was so surprised and so happy.
I even remember once incident when I had called the airtel call center for an issue related to data service on my mobile phone and I literally had to prompt the guy on the other side with the technical details that he intended to tell me. Of course as was obvious, I had already done all the steps that he would go on to say from his on-screen service manual and had to listen to 10mins of technical nonsense doled out by a guy who seemed like he was reading something from a computer for the first time, till I thanked him for wasting my time and got connected to a more senior technical support staff.
Getting back to the point, my respect for BSNL shot up threefold after that call. I have also had problems with the BSNL lines being cut due to digging activities and roadwork, but after placing a complaint call, the issue was rectified within 2 days maximum. Such was the service of what people deem to be a slow, inefficient and incompetent government controlled organization. Of course, people have this perception since they have not come across Bharti Airtel Limited. That is reserved for another post. I would say, among all services and organization that I have come across, BSNL has one of the best support organization ever. Many private companies are also no match for them. The only problem with BSNL is getting the line the first time, after that it is smooth sailing.
However, after 2 odd years of honeymoon with BSNL, it was time to meet the devil. I had shifted my house to a place where there were no BSNL lines and hence I had to get a connection from a private operator. Step in Airtel, and thanks to them for making my life miserable. How they managed to do that follows in the next post.
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Tagged: airtel, broadband, bsnl, caltiger, dataone, dialup, indicom, internet, isdn, reliance, tata