Hathway Internet! Works great for me!

[pawanrh]

Not Listed in the folders above, but one of the major operators of Cable internet, I have my experience with Hathway here, in an extensive review! I'd like to hear ur views on this! (Pros n Cons at Bottom)

I Live In Vijayanagar, Bangalore..

This is wat my experience with Hathway has been..
Day 1: I call up Hathway for internet connection..
Day 2: A sales agent from Hathway turns up n gives all details, good enough.. But says its gonna take 3-4 days for connection to be in place coz the infrastructure is not present in ur area..
Day 11 (Yes, its eleven): Internet connection still not here..
Day 13: Internet is Up and running.. But after all its worth the wait.. hathway is Fast!!!!!!

I got a 256 kbps connection with Unlimited usage and Bandwidth.. Just 995 a month.. Plus modem rent 100/- per month (you can buy it for 3k, router is for 25k).. plus Installation (one time) charges 1000/-, plus security deposit for modem of 1000/- (Only if modem rented).. Plus taxes(10.2% then).. (I paid 3298 incl first month rent)
This Plan was supposed to be 128kbps but recently upgraded..
There is NO equivalent plan in the market..
1. The Speeds average above 225-230 KBits per second out of the rated 256kbps.. 2. Downloads touch 30 KBytes per second.. (Getting 34-35 max off lately from some good servers) Good Eh?
3. I download a Whooping 10 GB in 15 days after I get the connection..
4. Its always connected so no issues of login or anything..
5. Its perfectly worth the price you Pay.. There are downtimes.. but its generally 2-3 mins once in 3-4 days that you would probably notice..
6. Also the call centre ppl are hopeless... They just listen and forward the complaints.. They dont help you at all.. But the technical guys call up after 5 10 mins and are very good at helping you with settings, problems, etc.. Engineers who visit for installation are also good..

If you Dont trust me on all this, you can trust your own eyes.. i have a ’’Print Screened’’ picture (taken out of the blue with no prep..) which shows the speeds i get.. here>> http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pawanrh/album?.dir=/e37d
These are the stats shown By AnalogX’s Netstat Live..

If someone has better experiences pls tell me...

Now the short comings...
1. This wont apply to normal home users.. though hathway gives you a static IP address, its not public and direct connections to your computer is not possible.. (Since they Use ’6’ Firewalls (as told by a hathway engineer), thats what they say, though its a very good security feature for home Users)which means you wont be able to have a server of your own operating online from this connection..
This also means you cannot host an online multiplayer game.. though you can connect to one..
2. the Upload Speeds are not great! Its 64 kbps up (Though not mentioned anywhere, by experience).. Uploading is hence like goin back to dial-up. :-(
3. And sometimes there are minor connection problems like once in 15 20 days.. which can generally be cleared simply by resetting the modem or calling the help-line.. I recommend hathway, hoping its this way everywhere..
4. Also the usage details are not very clear but who cares when you are on a unlimited plan.. Thats what i recommend.. Also theres no smtp or popmail access.. but even thats not a problem I guess because of the many free email service providers.. Like gmail.com

For any clarifications or in doubt you can contact me..
thank you for reading patiently..
Cheers,
Pawan

Pros
: Good Speed, No connection problems, Inexpensive

Cons
: No direct connections to IP Address possible, poor upload Speed

Purchase Price (INR)
: 3298

Speed of ISP connection
: Wow - Thats god speed

Connection Reliability
: Excellent - Always connects first time

Service and Support
: Helpful


(My own review from Mouthshut.com)

 

[pawanrh]

And Please ignore the "no equivalent plan" statement! This review was written sometime back..p.s: Just download that image n zoom in for finer details

 

[blr_p]

Gmail offers free pop & smtp, that means you cant use your fav email client to work with it. You are forced to use the web for this. Also they have given you a private IP addr. This means no voice chat with yahoo or msn. If its not important then fine.Those 6 firewalls are all NATs, or used in internal network LANs. You might be safer from an external hack attack but dont forget if you click on anything on the net with IE, or open up email with viruses you will still be infected. And all those so called firewalls will unable to distinguish between you or the (trojan / virus) getting out. It's still early days but post back in a month or so and let us know how reliable they still are still in terms of uptime. Also ask thier tech people what precautions they have taken in case of lightning. How does the cable get to you rhome, is it cables dangling in the trees, overhead ?You mention 10GBs in 15 days, i can pull an equiv amount with 100k that i get from Airtel's 128k Unlimited. So if you were getting 256k, i would have expected you to pull close double that amount. What can you get pulling 24x7 with that Hathway connection for a month ? If you are getting 25-30Gbs then i might agree you have a good deal.

 

[vishalrao]

What about any fine-print for the "unlimited" have you had your first BILL ???So they have hidden clauses that prevent you from downloading non-stop 24x7 ? Like "you have unlimited but you can download upto 300 MB per day" or something like that...Let me know what your bill says... I'll be interested in getting dual hathway connections (hehe multiplex them to get 512kbps unlimited) woohooToo bad about the firewall / no external / no server thing ... but worth the compromise if its really Rs 1000/- per month for 256k unlimited.

 

[pawanrh]

Originally posted by vishalrao@Aug 19 2005, 04:17 AM
What about any fine-print for the "unlimited" have you had your first BILL ???

So they have hidden clauses that prevent you from downloading non-stop 24x7 ? Like "you have unlimited but you can download upto 300 MB per day" or something like that...

Let me know what your bill says... I'll be interested in getting dual hathway connections (hehe multiplex them to get 512kbps unlimited) woohoo

Too bad about the firewall / no external / no server thing ... but worth the compromise if its really Rs 1000/- per month for 256k unlimited.
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NO! There are no caps! I have dopwnloaded 3-4 cds of data in a day! It really is unlimited.. I'm using for 5 months n i know it! Bill never goes more than the standard. 1196.49 Rs. figure!
Rental - 995
Modem rent - 100
service tax 10% - 99.5
Additional cess - 1.99
total - 1196.49

Never have i got a bill more than that

 

[pawanrh]

blr_p: this is for u!1. yes, You'll have to use web for "Hathway" mails! POP n SMTP works, with other Mail providers.. thats what i meant!2. Voice Chat works perfectly fine with the current versions of Yahoo Messenger! I have tried it myself! Its crisp with no lags.. (Or few)3. Your Problems on clicking on a virus/trojan file are neither mine nor your ISPs.. Its yours. If your so uneducated about them, nobody can help.. this is Common to all ISPs.. Remember this is a comparison. None of them blocks ur 'clicks' on such files.4. Uptime will probably be 98-99 percent in the the 5 months (yes, FIVE, if u still think its too early to talk) i've used this Connection, except when my modem Screwed Up (took 4 days)! But they Replaced it FREE for me! Cables could be hanging since its Cable Internet, not DSL, but so are other operators' wires! If u are so concerned, in India you'll need to stick to Dial up! 5. 10GBs in 15 days was just the stuff i wanted.. It wasn't 24/7 (coz of physical constraints), but was only duriong the day. When i download 24/7, i can download about 1.6 to 1.7 GBs a day(24 hours)! Effectively in 15 days i could download about 20 GBs in 15 days! yes i can get 40 GBs a month..6. Anything Else?

 

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[pawanrh]

And yes blr_p, If i'm correct you are paying 900 bucks for your airtel 128k!

 

[boygr8]

Wat technology does Hathway use??? I thinks it Cable....but not LAN i guessWell I will never be able to get HAthway bcoz mine is Siti Cable dominated area....no Hathway(WIN) here

 

[pawanrh]

Originally posted by boygr8@Aug 19 2005, 10:47 PM
Wat technology does Hathway use??? I thinks it Cable....but not LAN i guess

Well I will never be able to get HAthway bcoz mine is Siti Cable dominated area....no Hathway(WIN) here
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Yup its cable!

 

[Sushubh]

cable is definitely not good.

 

[abdulrahman004]

whats the difference between cable and LAN...Arent both cat5/e wires going into the LAN card ?

 

[Suraj]

well....its not a dedicated one like DSL.no difference, its the same as we have in sify. You can have a nice look at your neighbours drives if you want to.🙂

 

[pawanrh]

from hathway's website:
Hathway's Cable Internet brings you secure & stable Internet service. It is based on DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Services Interface Specifications) protocol, which provides a level of security equal to or better than that provided by dedicated-line network access services, like the telephone, ISDN or DSL.[/b]

It is NOT the same as LAN! There is a Cable Modem! A Co-Axial Cable (Similar to TV Cable, but thicker) is plugged into this Modem! The modem is connected to the computer thru either LAN card or USB Port! This is Safe! Atleast theres nothin like seeing your neighbours' drives since only your modem is on your computers LAN!

And though its not a dedicated line, We do get speeds as promised since its about distributing the Bandwidth Appropriately! If it doesn't give good speeds you have the right to ask for it! For that matter, speeds reduce drastically on DSL lines as distance from the exchange increases!

Cable Internet Services are the most popular around the world for igh speed connections! They are preffered over DSL for 1MBps+ Lines!

 

[pawanrh]

Originally posted by Sushubh@Aug 20 2005, 04:52 AM
cable is definitely not good.
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Why do you say its not good! I really find no fault with it as yet!

 

[Suraj]

good for ya....since they provide it thru a switch in my area. They have huge downtimes here.