# Rate your ISP



## Desmond (Feb 29, 2016)

Hi,

I am creating this thread so that people can rate their experiences with their ISPs. I encouraged posters to be as verbose as possible when writing a summary of their experiences. Also, I recommend that posters post their own experiences with the ISP they are *currently* using and not for those they were using in the past or those that they are planning on using in the future.

Key criteria for rating:

- Connection quality: Consistency of speed, consistency of connection, packet drops, etc.
- Pings: The amount of time spent between sending a request to a server and receiving a response from the same server. 
- Speed (Bandwidth).
- Quality of hardware: Leased modems, routers, etc.
- Features as advertised: Does the company provide features as they have advertised.
- Customer support: Accessibility of customer support, promptness in resolving issues, promptness in dispatching workers, etc.
- Overall: An average of all of the above scores. Can be calculated by summing all of the above ratings and dividing by number of previous points.

The following is my own rating, I recommend all posters to use this as a template:

*ISP Name:* Tata Docomo Broadband
*City:* Pune, Maharashtra
*Location:* Bavdhan
*Plan:* "Unlimited" 8Mbps @ 1500 per month upto 160 GB. 2 Mbps after.
*Connection type:* ADSL

Ratings (out of 5):

*Connection quality: 4*
The connection is pretty consistent and I have not experienced any packet drops at any time. However, the speed tends to fluctuate. This fluctuation is evident during peak hours on weekends but barely noticeable otherwise. The connection does go down for a few minutes at least once per day but it comes back after a few minutes at a minimum.

*Pings: 2*
The pings to Singapore is close to 120ms. My previous Hathway connection used to give me 60-70ms for the same. Also, pings tend to fluctuate unpredictably which can become a major handicap when playing online games. In short, this should definitely not be a gamers ISP of choice until they fix their routing.

*Speed: 3*
The speeds are consistent with my plan. The download speed is not a round 8Mbps though and the effective speed you get is 6.8Mbps. The upload speed is a stark contrast to the download speed: a measly 512Kbps. That means that if you need to upload youtube videos, stream content from a media server running on your machine or any other such tasks requiring high upload bandwidth, then this connection will not help you at all. This is a proper casual users connection.

*Quality of hardware: 4*
The provided modem from Zyxel, which like every other modems these days is of Taiwanese origin. It is fairly sturdy and works adequately. The firmware however has a very shoddy UI.

*Features as advertised: 4*
As stated previously, the download speed is not 8Mbps as advertised, but a maximum of 6.8Mbps. Otherwise every other characteristic is as they have stated in their brochure.

*Customer support: 4*
Despite various shortcomings with the connection itself, the customer support is surprisingly prompt. Customer support can be reached by phone at any time before 10 PM. After issuing a complaint, the workers can come as soon as the next day. Despite the workers preferring to come in the morning, they will make an exception in case no one is available and come much later. I have seen them put as long as it took to get your problems solved. Therefore, I give them 4. I have reduced 1 because I had asked the customer support multiple times to send me bills by email and they still send it to me by post.

*Overall: 3.5*

*Final thoughts:* I don't have any major complaints against this so far. Though I wish I could have more upload speed, Tata Docomo does not have any feasible connection plans that provide it as such. Also from past experience, getting a disconnection is a lengthy process and requires a lot of correspondence. Sometimes because of some snag in the workflow, you might still receive bills after disconnection. In such a case its important to maintain proof of all correspondence regarding your disconnection process to show.


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## nats10 (Mar 24, 2016)

Hi Folks,
I have shared my connection experience with all of you.
I do expect you all to share your own broadband experiences in this thread.It may not be specific but atleast generic or general experiences which you can remember.
I have made the following statements based on my memory.I will keep it updated as soon as I get any special facts.

ISP Name: Airtel Broadband
City: Chennai
Location:T.N
Plan: "Unlimited" 8Mbps @ 1300 per month upto 70 GB. 512 kbps after.
Connection type: ADSL2+

Connection quality: 4
 The connection is pretty consistent and very reliable.The connection is robust otherwise but is affected by lightening during rains when the modem gets affected due to lightening.

Pings: 4
 The pings to international long distant cities in America show 200ms but the speed is consistant 8mbps.National pings stand at around 20-30ms 

Speed:5
 The speeds are consistent with my plan.The download speed is 8Mbps.The upload speed is 512Kbps.

Quality of hardware: 5
 Airtel allows customers to use their own modem and router hardware as per TRAI rules.The modem is my own from Zyxel, which I purchased from local shop. It is fairly sturdy and works adequately. Wifi router is from netgear which is also my own purchase from local shop and is also is robust.

Features as advertised: 5
 The download speed 8Mbps as advertised. Otherwise every other characteristic is as they have stated in their brochure.

Customer support: 4
 The customer support is good.After issuing a complaint, the field engineers come as soon as the next day and fix it right away. 
Overall: 4.5


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