The internet has brought the world much closer. India has also been affected in more ways than one because of the surge in internet usage. And this cannot be better corroborated than our outstanding contribution in the outsourcing industry. Recent initiatives of the Indian government to bring last mile connectivity also indicate growing demand in the country.
Historically, when Indians moved houses or evaluated rental homes, things like electricity, water, accessibility to daily needs and transport were main considerations. Now internet connectivity has been added to the list.
Internet service providers in India have become more professional and offer more choices to the urban consumer now. Earlier, dial-up connections were the order of the day and in addition to state owned enterprises; you could find only a couple of private vendors who would charge a premium for their services.
This scenario has rapidly changed over the past decade with the emergence of other technologies like DSL, cable, wifi, 3G, fiber optics, etc. A few things outlined here will help you immensely while choosing an internet service provider that can best fulfill your requirements.
- Understand the type of connection best suited for you
- Dial-ups are quite literally passé, but still exist. You will need a dedicated telephone line which cannot be used while using the internet and yes, you will have to dial-up every time you need to connect.
- DSL connections also require a phone line, but don’t interfere with it. Speeds are much faster and it is usually provided by the state run telcos i.e. BSNL and MTNL. Be wary when choosing a DSL option as the distance of your service provider’s office to your home affects the speed.
- Satellite and fiber optic cables are virtually not present in India’s mainstream market and are much more expensive.
- Check what’s available in your area
- Your choice pool gets affected by the absence of some service providers in certain areas. Your location may rule out certain providers completely. Check what is available from the plausible options of DSL, Wireless or Cable. In areas which are not serviced by wired connections, considering wireless broadband service providers can be a viable option as they do not have the tedious task to laying cable and can seamlessly provide high speed internet in such areas.
- Check for Bandwidth
- Determine how much internet speed and usage is enough to accommodate the usage needs of your family. Will you be using the internet intermittently for basic emailing purpose, occasional downloads, or for streaming videos on a regular basis? Based on your answers, choose an internet speed option that fits your needs. It is always recommended to get trials and authentic user reviews from your neighborhood. With a high speed Internet connection, one can stream media without interruptions.
- Look at pricing and product bundles
- Pricing does matter, but is almost always traded-off by the bundling offered by most internet service providers. Special features, discounted rates, extended data limits, higher speeds during certain hours, etc. are often offered by vendors and can greatly influence the overall cost of the service.
- Check customer service quality
- Your efforts to choose the best service provider can be rendered ineffective if the customer service quality and response times are bad. Wired connections are increasingly facing problems of cable cuts which disrupt the service. A bad service quality may leave you high and dry for hours before they can reestablish the connection. You must look closely at availability of personnel to troubleshoot and the recovery times.
- With e-connectivity percolating right down to the common man and social media taking our lives by storm, the internet is a given. Choose wisely to stay connected and reap the most out of your internet connection.
Author Bio
Tikona Digital Networks (TDN) is a class A Internet Service Provider offering secured wireless broadband services to home and enterprise customers in 25 cities of India. TDN was founded in mid-2008 and has built the largest wireless network in India for retail and enterprise broadband.