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TRK Travelogues
Broadband in India
Making quick strides in the Tech field in the past decade, India has moved into the fast-paced lane of the Internet web world. Internet connectivity, though, has a far less reach among the 120 crore and growing population, but the educational system is gearing up to create awareness of this utility in the most rural areas also, with software developed specially in the local State languages.
According to a survey, there were roughly 2.4 million broadband subscribers in April 2007 and this figure is expected to double by next April. There are just about half a dozen private players in the ISP arena, besides the Govt. owned BSNL (Bharath Sanchar Nigam Limited). And BSNL, besides having a far greater reach, being the oldest and the main telecom provider, also has tariff plans which are cheaper than that of all the others, providing broadband speeds up to 2Mbps. This is likely to be increased to 8 Mbps with the introduction of IPTV, now experimentally introduced in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkatta, Bangalore and Chennai, and could be a competitor to the present-day cable tv, with excellent digital output, on-demand video, free from interferances. Telephone, high-speed internet, and IPTV - all delivered through the telephone line itself has immense potential in the business world.
Here are the Internet Broadband Providers, links to their tariff-structure, and importantly, to the forums through which one can have a better idea of the different services shorn of their hype, problems encountered in setting up an a connection, solutions to them, and a place to vent one's wrath at the ISP's that do not stand up to their promises.
BSNL DataOne Broadband - tariffs under different plans
BSNL DataOne broadband Forum
BSNL IPTV forum
Dataone Bandwidth speed test can be done at this site
Airtel Broadband
Airtel BB Forum
MTNL Triband Broadband
MTNL BB Forum
Tata Indicom Broadband
Tata BB Forum
Reliance Broadband
Reliance Tariffs
Forum