Broadband options in Chennai

[harismahesh 55]

Hi...I was an user of Airtel broadband until I shifted my apartment. Right now I am saying in a very new apartment which doesnt have any ports or tags from Airtel or BSNL. Even after repeated requests they were not ready to give connection. They are claiming they cant lay new junction boxes.

So right now I am looking for other options. I dont want an USB dongle, because I am a heavy downloader. Previously I had 40gb 4Mbps connection of Airtel for Rs.1600 . So please suggest any good Wimax providers.

The list I know :

1. Tikona - From reviews I heard its bad ( something is better than nothing)

2. BSNL - not in my area - only outside chennai

3. Reliance - Not in my area

4. Tata - Not in my area.

5. sify - high cost - 1Mbps itself 3000Rs.

Is there any other providers ???

[rajanmehta 4,056]

You can checkout Spectranet, Wi5 Broadband and You Broadband .

[harismahesh 55]

Thanks Rajan ji. For any broadband providers i go through in web, i always see the term "worst provider', even its tikona or Wi5 or you or spectranet. Even that applies for Airtel and BSNL.

Now my choice was just limited with Tikona, now u provided with so many, can you suggest which one to go for from your reviews and experience ?

[rajanmehta 4,056]

I have used only YOU among the three. It was not good because it did not deliver promised speed consistently. But that was in Mumbai. Elsewhere i have heard, many are OK with YOU. You should checkout if either of the three can provide Fiber/Cable connectivity in your area as WiFi won't be good because you're heavy downloader. I have only seen very bad reviews for Tikona everywhere.

[sathishq 27]

Please dont go for Tikona.

With my personal experience i really fed up with their service, weekly twice or thrice i had been calling them for Issues. please check for some alternatives

[KapilAgrawal 340]

Tikona is the worst, you pay them for Installation, they issue receipt and when you ask for refund, they simply say "you never paid, their bank record dont show". While your bank record and Payment gateway have approved and authorised the payment.

[harismahesh 55]

even I am not planning to go for Tikona. I am looking for the option that Rajanji has provided. If any of you guys personally or by friends used this providers, please give an idea,

[volstagg 24]

I can't believe I'm saying this but I would wholeheartedly recommend reliance broadband. 2mbps unlimited for 785 a month. Its truly unlimited.no reduction of bandwidth after reaching a limit or anything. Wait for Reliance to start operations in your area.till then you don't have any options I guess.<br /><br />Sent from my MB855 using Tapatalk 2<br /><br />

[KumaarShah 143]

@hari s mahesh,

I am currently using Airtel 4mbps plan, speeds are constant and good throughout. Plus I get Rs 1000 talk time for local calls.

I was using BSNL for more than 5 years with the same 4mbps speeds but unfortunately for about 6 to 8 months, their speeds were very poor and there was no response at all to my several complaints. When I gave my termination letter, there was no call also from them regarding retention. Such is their attitude to customers. I am very happy currently with Airtel.

In between like you, I also asked RM about the various options available. I specifically asked him about YOU as this seemed to be very cost effective, provided the speeds were constant. I called the YOU sales person and he almost conned me into going for a connection. I asked him to provide me some references and he backed out. So, obviously, their services were not good and I opted out and then called Reliance BB sales person.

He came and took my application with the entire proofs, my advance cheque etc. For almost one month, there was no response at all. Finally I called up from a different number and the sales person told me that they have some cable problems in my area and are unable to provide the connection. After a week, they returned my application with all the proofs and the unbanked cheque also.

Finally I had to opt for Airtel. In case of any complaints, there is instant followup from their service engineers who come with Apple iPhone and check at my place and do any tinkering if necessary. They also call me up atleast 4 to 5 times just to check if I am satisfied with the resolution provided. All these 10-12 years I have been with RCOM, they have never ever exhibited such customer service. Airtel's complaints system is really professional. RCOM has a hell lot to learn from Airtel. And the customer service execs do not mislead us (like RCOM's nincompoops) when we complain. If we say the speeds are poor, they do not ask for which laptop or computer we are using, but they send their service engineers to check and do the needful immediately. They even come at 8PM or 9PM to check on our complaints. This is what has set Airtel apart from RCOM.

I always used to beleive Airtel was Airhell, but in the last 3 months, my entire viewpoint has changed. RCOM had only economical services but very, very, very poor customer service. This is where they have lost out. Probably they cannot afford to have such service engineers with the kind of tariffs they were charging all along. Now, they have also started charging as high as the GSM gangsters are doing. Hopefully, RCOM will improve.

Coming back to your problem, it would be better for you to wait it out and see if Airtel will provide you services. Till then, you can try out anyone from the available basket.

Edited April 20, 2013 by KumaarShah

[Divyarat 0]

I'm using Tikona broadband for past few months, I never really had any major issue with their services. Any problem that I face was resolved by the customer service very efficiently.. Reading your comments, I understand, you are not planning to get tikona. Just wanted to say, I'm not facing any problems with Tikona.

[drmadhu 87]

^^^^

Tikona service is very bad in Ahmedabad.

Sent from my HTC S710d using Tapatalk 2

[Deepak Shankar 79]

With regard to Airtel even I can vouch for their services.They are excellent when it comes to service and attending on customer complaints.I cant say the same about Airtel CC as I have had worst experiences with them when I was a customer.Had to fight with them every month with regard to Bill issues or something or other.Shifted to BSNL 6-7 years back as they had economical plans then now their speeds have dipped drastically suddenly my net goes off and comes back on its own in gap of 30 mins now and then.Complaints to no avail they put the onus on me saying it your modem which is at fault change it and check if problem reverts get back to us.As Kumar Shah says if Airtel is good wait for it and take it as no one can come close in terms of service like Airtel only issue could be they would charge you more than the rest of the pack

[Priyank G 0]

Hello All,

I have taken this connection from last 6 month and so far its good. I have availed One mbps unlimited download plan. I get a good download speed.

I would recommend Mumbai people to go for it.

[Tushar Gupta 13]

I had tikona 1mbps unlimited plan and had no problem in delhi circel insread i am using single connection at my home and my office and planning to use at another 3rd location with the same connection ie. 799 for 1mbps unlimited at 3 location never faced any problem till now. I will recommend you to give a try to tikona.

[sathishq 27]

Im getting the above speed once i got the static IP.. Tooo Good

[Deepak Shankar 79]

Satish How much are you paying Tikona and what plan are you in? Are there any caps or free usage policy things AFAIK Static IP does cost more than dynamic how extra for static IP

[sathishq 27]

I'm with plan 2mbps unlimited.

[KTD 60]

Hello friends,

Planning to move from BSNL to netexpress because of their amazing speed and value. Before i move would like to hear more from already subscribed users about the mentioned below concerns :

• Speed and its consistency?
• Downtime if any?
• Resolution time if it goes down?
• any hidden charges?
• FUP?

[Deepak Shankar 79]

Gurus and guys I want to move out of BSNL service is getting pathetic by the day worse speeds poor connectivity made a few complaints they turned it back on me saying change your modem and check.So need your help and advice on whether I should buy a new modem and try BSNL or move to another operator.I dont want to goto Airhell as I have had real bad experiences and nightmares with them.A friend of mine suggested Tikona reviews here and on the web are not so encouraging.With regard to Reliance I heard you need to reconnect it every 24 hours or so and stuff is it true.Since I have a voip installed to make calls to US I would prefer a 24/7 connection.So what is best and viable option please suggest.Thanks in advance for all the help and suggestions

Sreejith after reading your post just googled about Net Express as I want to quit BSNL but all I am finding is only bad reviews about it frequent downtime reduction in speed poor customer service etc are many complaints I came across.Guess in Chennai we are struck with BSNL or Airhell no better options.Guys please help us choose a good connection

[KumaarShah 143]

^^^

I quit BSNL this Jan'13 and moved to AirHell with full apprehensions.

I was forced to eat back all my apprehensions as I am now fully happy with AirHell plans, service, speeds, ping, you name it, everything is good. And the icing on the cake is Rs 1,000 worth free local calls, which means your effective rental goes down by Rs 1,000. Currently I am on a 4Mbps plan as they do not have feasability for 8 or 16Mbps in our area. Once they get the feasability, I will move to 8Mbps.

I am getting truly Unltd in my account, with no FUP. And to top it, I get calls from them asking me why my usage is so low, when I have almost used up 3 to 4 times the limit month every month. They also ask me if I am experiencing any problems with BB and whether I am happy with their services. Lolzzzzz. Compare this to RCOM or BSNL - they never ever call us up for any reasons at all. Surely they need to learn from AirHell on how to make and keep customers happy.

[Deepak Shankar 79]

Kumar Bhai you are tempting me to go to Airhell.One aspect I will agree with you about Airhell is customer service you report any issues they rectify within hours.Something you cannot associate with Reliance or BSNL.I was a victim of Airhell billing and torture from collections even after making payments via cards on their sites.Month after month I had to fight for some issue or other with them thats what is keeping me away.Incase they are real good and old apprehensions are resolved and no option but Airhell will surely move to them.Thanks for your input Kumar Bhai

[KumaarShah 143]

@deepak,

I have always paid all my mobile, telephones, BB, insurance premiums, taxes dues etc etc through my credit cards. I always make it a point to check my account online if it is debited properly or not. And simultaneously, I even check the respective service providers account to see if its credited properly. This way, you are at peace. Its not that there have been no problems at all. Immediately if there wasa ny discrepancy, I take up the matter by email to the respective credit card and to the service provider also. This way, it gets rectified on time. Even now, I have had some problems with my SC credit card - they have not apportioned my payment to the respective account. I fought with them last month and again this month, they wrongly charged me interest. I have once again fought with them to get it reversed.

Many people take it that online banking is very easy and a one click process. They forget that they have to take steps to check the veracity. And then the problems multiply manifold.

Finally I would like to reiterate that for Chennai, AirHell is best at the moment with very good speeds, pings, service and reasonably good plans - it is a bit costly at the lowest level compared to BSNL, RCOM etc but then it gets compensated by their superb services.

I had taken an 6 monthly ARP, which expired in July 13. Unfortunately, it was not renewed, I gave them a termination request and they immediately pacified me and told me that my forthcoming bill dt 5 Sept will have the ARP included. Lets see what happens on 5th Sept. If it gets missed again, I will give one more termination request. Lets see, I will post here what happens.

[::Hitesh:: 1,763]

I do agree, My office in Chennai egmore uses Airtel wire bb ,

they are the best in city area...

tried bsnl, they have too many nakharaz to get connection...so went to Airtel and happy with it.

[Deepak Shankar 79]

@Kumar even I make payments through my cards only.My problem was kind of different.Even after 15 days after making payments some odd collections guy would call me and say Sir your payment is due and I will patiently explain to him I have made payment via card on your website and there is no due and stuff.Just like you said I make the payment and get confirmation of Airhell side and an sms from the bank of the payment also.My problem collections people never bother to check and after telling one person two or three days later someother person would call.My parents used to ask me if there is any payment due as come calls come in when I am not around I have taken up this issue with Customer care and they will confirm that there is no due and I wont be getting such calls a month or two shall pass and again people call and irritating part was Airhell used to tell they had 2-3 servers so if it is not updated in people will call you dont need to worry just tell you made payment.Now if they multiple servers is that our headache.One major issue I faced was even after making payments they have blocked my line many times and had to wait more than half a day for it to be back.I made a plan change once from a unlimited to limited plan and as per their turnaround time it was supposed to take effect on a day I called to confirm and I was told it will be effected tomorrow and I need not worry and can continue using unlimited within hours it was changed and month end bill was huge had to fight for 2 months with frequent line disconnections.Once due to some error in Airhell server 4 payments were made and had to run pillar to post to get reversal and that they kept one additional month payment and refunded 2 payments and next month line was disconnected saying payment not made when it was taken in advance.These are the reasons which make me averse of Airhell.Mods sorry for such a big post

[KumaarShah 143]

I have moved last month from AirHell to ACT BB, with 25mbps d/l and u/l speeds and 75 GB d/l limit at Rs 1299 per month. Retained the AirHell fixed line for voice usage only. I had to buy the Cisco Wifi Router from ACT BB at Rs 2000 extra.

Speeds with ACT BB are really good, uploads are full free, not counted in the d/l limits.

Only problem is they do not have any addon packs once your d/l limit is over. You are back to 512kbps speeds which is very sad after using 25mbps.

My Speedtest results are: -

With AirHell, i was on 1599 plan at 8mbps speeds and 30GB d/l limits, no free u/ls and the u/l speed was horrible at 0.5 to 0.7 mbps speed only. The lowest voice plan for AirHell fixed line is Rs 399 (full usage value)

So now at almost the same cost (roughly Rs 99 extra), I get 3 times the d/l speed, 35 times the u/l speed, 2.5 times the d/l limit and the same voice usage as earlier.

Edited February 22, 2014 by KumaarShah