New MTNL Triband Connection

[dark_horizon]

Hello Friends, i am currently using Tata 128 Kbps unlimited. Tata's service is pathetic with frequent downtimes and idiotic customer care. I am planning to switch to MTNL triband 849 NU plan. My Tata connection expires in the 2nd week of April. I heard that, there is a long waiting period in MTNL connection. So when should i apply for it ? Also, if i don't want to pay router rent every month, and buy my own router instead, how much does the router cost ? What is a better option ? Paying rent every month or buying your own router ? 849 NU plan says speed from 256 Kbps to 2 Mbps. Do yo'll really get 2 mbps speeds ?Also, is 1.25 GB per month is enough for day surfing ? My daily internet use consist of a few hours of orkut, some mail checking, and my stock trading software. Overall, how is the MTNL experience ?

 

[kingpin]

I am planning to switch to MTNL triband 849 NU plan. My Tata connection expires in the 2nd week of April. I heard that, there is a long waiting period in MTNL connection. So when should i apply for it ?


it takes around 30-45 days.... However this depends....ur application could get processed faster if there is no real load on those people...but that seldom happens..


Also, if i don't want to pay router rent every month, and buy my own router instead, how much does the router cost ? What is a better option ? Paying rent every month or buying your own router ?


Router can cost you anything between 1.4k (wired) to 2.5 - 6k (wireless)....The better option depends upon how comfortable you are handling computers....if you think you can handle the router great...this allows you some flexibility.... but if you dont want to get your hands dirty go for a rented one for if any problem arises you can directly call MTNL...else you'll have to take care of it yourself

849 NU plan says speed from 256 Kbps to 2 Mbps. Do yo'll really get 2 mbps speeds ?

Also, is 1.25 GB per month is enough for day surfing ? My daily internet use consist of a few hours of orkut, some mail checking, and my stock trading software.

Overall, how is the MTNL experience ?

well i do get 2Mbps.... i mean you can get exact 2Mbps.... in the whereabouts somewhere

Also, is 1.25 GB per month is enough for day surfing ? My daily internet use consist of a few hours of orkut, some mail checking, and my stock trading software.


For your needs wat ou can do is use some S/w to check your usage like DU meter....Check what is your average b/w utilized for 3 - 4 days and then u'll have a better idea..... You can go for a lesser plan if ur utilization is not that much....


Overall, how is the MTNL experience ?


For me it allows me to d/l ~5G's a day so i am not complaining.... though the service is sometimes erratic....and the CC is full of shit.....but thats because i want full 2Mbps from 12 to 8.....else i get pissed off...
but its not that bad either.....Second to Airtel in the market according to me....

 

[rollcage248]

i second kingpin!but few things of my own, wait period is anyweher between 1 month to 3-4 months (depends upon which exchange you are in and how connected you are wid MTNL higher ups), so if you have got connections use them.and as MTNL says 256kbps upto 2mbps, they mean it, they can give you any speed between that, its upto you to extract higher bandwidth from them, so if you have been given 1mbps (check that from router page) you have to constantly bug their idiotic CC till they give you around 2mbps, lie if you have to, to get 2mbps (like explaining why you need 2mbps and nothing less, tell them you use a service that requires 2mbps connection)so as long as you dont require any kinda support from them, its good!-rollcage

 

[kingpin]

Well ususally the speeds wont be slower than 2Mbps.... however as they say there are exceptions.....but again you can get it rectified....

 

[dark_horizon]

thanx for the reply kingpin & rollcage.What are you people using ? self bought router or rented one ?

 

[Motorazor143]

Dunno why it takes so long in Mumbai...here its not more than 1 week for getting connection from MTNL..i got it in 3 days..my frnds in a weeks time..and speed is around 1.8Mbps.....downtime is less.....well stock market software does take a lot of MB's....1.25 GB might be enough....

 

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[kingpin]

thanx for the reply kingpin & rollcage.

What are you people using ? self bought router or rented one ?

currently i own my wired router....but somehow i feel i should have gone for the rented wireless one....



Dunno why it takes so long in Mumbai...here its not more than 1 week for getting connection from MTNL..i got it in 3 days..my frnds in a weeks time..and speed is around 1.8Mbps.....

downtime is less.....


.... not only that but the plans are cheaper in delhi too..... mtnl is being partial towards delhi it seems

 

[v1rg1l]

it takes around 30-45 days.... However this depends....ur application could get processed faster if there is no real load on those people...but that seldom happens..

For 30-45 days, Which month of installation r u talking abt kingpin? I applied 5th dec in thane. Got no response frm MTNL yet, and at time of applying, MTNL said it'll be within 2 months, not more.

So still waiting,
But to answer other Qs,
2) its better to own ur own modem+router, cos MTNL gives u the 502T with an inbuilt splitter, and that can cause problems. giving line noise to both the fone and the adsl. reason being that cordless fones also transpond on the 2.4 GHz spectrum, so a modem+router+splitter is susceptible to more noise than a modem+router and a seperate splitter, as the splitter installation can ground any transient noise it receives from the cordless network. Also it doesnt have to be your own cordless fone; ur neighbors' fones can also affect you. I used to log my neighbor's daughter's calls using my WiFi router and some patched software.

3) for the Stock xchange sw, it wont use more than 30 MB a day, so that translates to 30x22 working days = 660 max 900 MB, so even a 1 GB limit will suffice. I Use a corpor8 VPN and with emails, I average abt 40-50MB per diem, hence I do run up some bills.

Hope this helps.

- vx

 

[kingpin]

it takes around 30-45 days.... However this depends....ur application could get processed faster if there is no real load on those people...but that seldom happens..

For 30-45 days, Which month of installation r u talking abt kingpin? I applied 5th dec in thane. Got no response frm MTNL yet, and at time of applying, MTNL said it'll be within 2 months, not more.

So still waiting,

dude it shouldn't take so long..... i mean i never knew the problem was so bad....
I applied in the month of october and i got phone connection on 20th November and broadband by 1st Dec....and that too the delay was because there was no MTNL lines in my side of the road in my area (my building had just come up there) and also since there was a some more connection requests they took like 20 days just to get the connection from one side of the road to other....once that was done everything went like a breeze....

Not to mention I had to grease some hands since it was Diwali time.... But others too got the connection pretty soon....

 

[Motorazor143]

guys..!! r u talking about getting a Landline and BB after that??i was assuming that u guys already had their landline at your home and it takes a long time for BB connection??:huh:..hmm, i have no idea how much time it takes for landline in Delhi.....i was talking about BB if u already have Landline, it takes not more than 3 or 4 days..