I dont have recharge in my Airtel Xstream Fiber but my internet is working what should I do?

[prithu mahajan]

I recharged for 589 on 26 of jan for one month (40mbps plan). today is 16th of april and internet is still working what should i do? i am confused and it is bothering me so much. are they gonna send a bill? please give me a solution.
my connection is prepaid

 

[Chip]

@prithu mahajan be prepared for a bill with arrears 🙂 I'd suggest you pay up. When you know it's due every month why aren't you paying?

 

[prithu mahajan]

if the connection is prepaid is should be disconnect and even they dont send a single message regarding recharge. what is due date if the connection is prepaid?

 

[Chip]

Is your connection from Airtel or via a LCO?

I renewed my Airtel BB (non LCO) for 6 months after the 1st/initial 3 month subscription expired on 10th. The due date in my case was 2 days i.e. 12th Apr. in other words they gave me a grace period to renew.

If you continue to ignore they may terminate your connection and restore it only after dues are paid.

I mean, if you insist on testing their response in case of no payment go ahead. But keep in mind it could affect your credit rating with them. I fail to see the purpose in what you are doing. What are you trying to prove?

 

[prithu mahajan]

i am proving nothing just confused because there is option to recharge not for bill payment and on airtel site the due amount is 534 but my plan is 589 and how it is possible if it is a prepaid connection. my connection is from LCO (jammu). i contacted airtel regarding this they are also confused. they said in case of prepaid connection the services get barred on the same day of plan expiry also they said your connection is also a prepaid.

 

[Chip]

Well in that case there must be some issue at the LCO who hasn't set up your billing account in their system correctly.

 

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[prithu mahajan]

so what should i do or wait?

 

[Chip]

Well, it depends entirely on you.

I paid up coz my 'net connectivity is v important to me for both work and personal use. With most people now on a WFH schedule given the covid lockdown in Maharashtra, a functional internet connection is a must have. In fact that's why I have 2 connections to serve as a backup/fail over just in case and of course load balancing. Plus no internet connectivity would make my wife pretty upset too 😀

 

[nishantt6969]

@prithu mahajan this is very common, happens with me too, on the same plan, but after I reboot the router, the free thing stops to work. Currently I am testing for how long I can use free internet with airtel, mine one is through LCO. Its been 7 days, and everything is working fine. Previously, it worked, but I was surprised and rebooted the router. But now holding the urge to reboot. Let’s see what happens. #SCAM2021

 

[nishantt6969]

+ I get messages from airtel that my plan has expired, I need to recharge in order to use internet. On Airtel Thanks app it is showing that connection is barred. I guess these LCO do not know how to work with airtel.

 

[Chip]

@nishantt6969 & @prithu mahajan whether you guys pay or not, I truly hope your LCO is making regular payments to Airtel because Airtel will cut his connectivity and no prizes for guessing who suffers 😀

 

[nishantt6969]

@Chip Well, I had rebooted my router today and paid for the plan, It was like I was carrying load on my chest for using it free for 3-4 days.

 

[nishantt6969]

In our city, the fiber connectivity is different, we are getting fibre cables through different Towers of Airtel. I think that might be one of the reasons why this is actually happening.

 

[nishantt6969]

@Chip I informed my LCO, he said he has nothing to do except providing the internet connection to users and resolving their problems, he has nothing to do with payments and all. BTW how much do these LCO get from airtel per month? Any guesses?

 

[Chip]

@nishantt6969 LCO stands for local commercial operator..I am not sure about the exact nature of their commercial agreement. While BSNL, in Pune and other cities, has mostly LCO method of operation because they simply do not have the staff or the $$ to install/maintain cables and wire up buildings. I had contacted a BSNL LCO for a BSNL FTTH connection some years back for my residential area and he mentioned they buy bandwidth from BSNL and sell connections to residents under the BSNL brand. They are also responsible for providing ONTs, installation, technical support etc to their customers. I wasn't sure about the QoS they (the LCO) would provide given BSNL's own hassles and gave it a pass.

I believe other ISPs would have a similar type of agreement. Maybe it varies from city to city.

In fact when I got my connection I had to get this LCO/non LCO bit clarified from some Airtel engineers and they confirmed it is direct with Airtel. It was a relief TBH 🙂