Operators like Bharti airtel, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Tata Teleservices Limited (TTSL), Reliance Communications (RCOM) and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) have continued with their initiatives to push broadband and have flooded the market with products that are available at affordable prices. Their efforts to add customers have paid off. As of December 2010, the country?s broadband subscriber base was 10.99 million, as compared to 7.82 million in December 2009, registering a year-on-year growth of 40.48 per cent.
tele.net takes a look at some of the broadband offerings of the country?s major service providers?
BSNL
BSNL has reduced tariffs under several broadband plans and introduced new plans. For example, download charges under the BBG 250, BBG Combo 299, BBG FN Combo 600 and BBG 700 tariff plans have been reduced to Re 0.20 per MB up to 5 GB and Re 0.10 per MB thereafter. Earlier, these charges were in the Re 0.50-Re 0.60 per MB range. Additional download charges for all limited broadband tariff plans with a monthly rental of more than Rs 999 have been reduced to Re 0.10 per MB. The operator has also launched the BBG Combo ULD 850 plan that provides unlimited downloads to business customers at 1 Mbps (up to 8 GB) and at 256 kbps thereafter. Moreover, the Home Combo ULD 1000, 1350 and 1700 broadband plans, which were restricted to home users, have been made available to all subscribers. Also, the free download limit has been increased for various tariff plans, including the Speed Combo 2799 (from 50 GB to 60 GB), Super Speed Combo 4999 (110 GB to 125 GB), Super Speed Combo 9999 (220 GB to 250 GB), Rural Combo 999 (12 GB to 20 GB) and CSC 1000 (8 GB to 10 GB) plans. The free call limit has been increased for the Combo 1111 ( 250 to 500 calls), Speed Combo 2799 (300 to 500) and Super Speed Combo 4999 (500 to 1,000) plans. In addition, the free call facility has been introduced for the Combo ULD 3300 (500 calls), Combo ULD 6000 (1,000 calls), Combo ULD 9000 (1,500 calls) and Combo ULD 15000 (2,000 calls) plans.
Post-paid broadband tariffs
Stand-alone plans
Business 700: The operator provides a 2 Mbps broadband connection with a 4 GB monthly download/upload limit for Rs 700 a month. Users are charged Re 0.50 for every additional MB of data download.
Broadband combo plans
BBG Speed Combo 2799: The subscriber is charged Rs 2,799 a month for an 8 Mbps broadband connection, with a monthly download/upload limit of 60 GB. Additional data download is charged at Re 0.10 per MB.
Broadband high speed plans
BBG Super Speed Combo 4999: Under this plan, a 16 Mbps broadband connection is available for Rs 4,999 per month. This entails a monthly download/upload limit of 125 GB and Re 0.10 per MB for additional data download.
MTNL
Triband broadband
Silver UL Data Combo: The plan offers a 2 Mbps broadband connection for Rs 3,999 with a minimum speed of 512 kbps. The plan entails unlimited data download.
Gold UL Data Combo: This plan is available for a monthly rental of Rs 8,999 and provides unlimited data download. It offers a 4 Mbps connection with a minimum speed of 512-768 kbps.
RCOM
Post-paid plans
Super Trump 2599: The user is charged Rs 2,599 as monthly rental for an 8 Mbps broadband connection with up to 60 GB of download. Thereafter, the speed reduces to 1 Mbps.
Galaxy 20 Mbps: The user is charged Rs 2,999 as monthly rental and can download up to 20 GB of data at 20 Mbps. The additional usage charge is Re 0.50 per MB.
Combo plans
Super Ace Pack 1199: The user can avail of a 2 Mbps broadband connection at a monthly rental of Rs 1,199. Data of up to 30 GB can be downloaded at 2 Mbps connectivity, after which the speed reduces to 600 kbps. Users can make local calls for Re 0.50 per minute and STD calls for Re 1 per minute.
Bharti airtel
Home plans
Under these plans, the subscriber is charged Rs 500 as a one-time installation fee, for the modem as well as Wi-Fi installation. These charges are fixed and non-refundable.
Turbo 150 GB: This plan offers 150 GB of data download at 4 Mbps. Thereafter, the speed drops to 256 kbps. The plan entails a monthly rental of Rs 2,099 and offers free voice calls worth Rs 300 to any network.
Velocity 4999: Under this plan, the user is charged a monthly rental of Rs 4,999 for 100 GB of data download at 16 Mbps. Additional download is charged at Re 0.40 per MB. The plan also offers voice calls worth Rs 300 and value-added services such as PC Secure for Rs 100, games on demand for Rs 199 and an online desktop facility for Rs 99.
Business plans
Office 2999: Under this plan, the user can avail of 8 Mbps broadband connectivity for a monthly rental of Rs 2,999, with 50 GB of free download every month. Additional download is charged Re 0.40 per MB. The plan also entails free voice pulses worth Rs 100 every month, after which local calls within the network are charged Re 0.75 per minute; all calls to other networks and STD calls are charged Re 1 per minute.
Corporate 4999: This plan offers 100 GB of free data download at 16 Mbps for a monthly rental of Rs 4,999. It also offers free voice pulses worth Rs 100 every month, after which local calls within the network are charged Re 0.75 per minute, and all calls to other networks and STD calls are charged Re 1 per minute.
TTSL
Tata Photon Pro plans
These plans involve a security deposit of Rs 1,000, and installation and registration charges of Rs 199. Users can opt for either a single-port home router, priced at Rs 500, or a four-port router with Wi-Fi, priced at Rs 1,000.
Photon Pro Data Unlimited 1149: The user is charged Rs 1,149 as monthly rental for a 1 Mbps broadband connection. Subscribers can also avail of free voice calls worth Rs 75 under this plan.
Photon Pro Data Unlimited 2999: The plan entails a monthly rental of Rs 2,999 for a 3 Mbps connection. Users can avail of free voice calls worth Rs 300.
Photon Pro Data Unlimited 899: The user is charged Rs 899 as monthly rental for a 512 kbps broadband connection. The plan also offers free voice calls worth Rs 50.
Photon Pro Value 8999: The subscriber is charged Rs 8,999 as monthly rental for 100 GB of free download at 18 Mbps. Beyond this, Re 0.40 is charged for every MB. The plan also offers free voice calls worth Rs 300.
Hathway Datacom Limited
Users are charged Rs 500 as registration charges and Rs 1,000 as a deposit for the modem, which is refundable (except in the half-yearly and yearly plans).
Speedway New (prepaid): Users can avail of a 512 kbps connection for Rs 3,000 per month. The download limit under this plan is 9 GB and the plan is valid for a period of six months.
YOU Broadband and Cable India
YOU TURBO 144 GB plan: Users are charged Rs 5,063 as monthly rental for a 4,096 kbps broadband connection. The plan offers 147,456 MB of data download and is valid for 360 days.
Tikona Digital Networks
Fixed monthly charge plans
2499 plan: Users are charged a monthly rental of Rs 2,499 and installation charges of Rs 500 for a 2 Mbps connection, along with a bonus of 50,000 MB per month. Beyond this, the connection speed reduces to 1,024 kbps.
Tata Communications
Under this operator?s plans, users are charged Rs 1,000 as installation charges and a refundable security deposit.
Lightning 100 Mbps PLUS: The plan offers a download speed of 100 Mbps and 5 Mbps of upload speed. Users can download 50 GB of data for Rs 6,000 per month. Additional download is charged Re 0.40 per MB.
Sify Technologies
Enterprise services broadband plans
Plan 3: Users can avail of a 384 kbps broadband connection that offers unlimited data download and is valid for 30 days. The plan is available for Rs 999 per month.
Data Infosys Limited
Broadband 512 5GB3M plan: The plan offers a 512 kbps broadband connection with 5 GB of free data download for Rs 2,200 per month. Activation charges are Rs 500 and the plan is valid for a period of three months.
