Planning to switch to Airtel Xstream Fiber from Tata Play Fiber

[rajat_]

Tata Play Fiber has been running rock solid since last 9 months for me without any major downtime. Xstream Fiber seems to offer some great plans(Airtel Black) for both my family postpaid connection and a new broadband connection. Would like to know a few things and feedback from you guys before making the switch.

1. Is airtel black worth it? I don't want a DTH subscription so the sales guy said i can combine Fiber and Postpaid(already using the 999 family plan). He said i have to pay the installation charges for broadband and the combined service will be free for the first month.

2. I already know about the quality of service offered by airtel fiber. It's pretty decent here in pune. I'd like to know how is the customer support. I've heard their billing cycle is pretty messed up.

3. How's the OTT bundle package offered with fiber services? Is it any good? i know jio fiber offers the best TV+OTT bundle package. How does airtel compare to that?

4. How's the stock ONT router performance? The one with Tata Play Fiber(Nokia G245G-A) seems to work fine. Also what kind of ONT router should i demand for?

5. How does Airtel Xstream Fiber compare to Tata Play Fiber in terms of latency and routing?

 

[Iambic Potato]

Be wary of Airtel black. Unless and until you're absolutely sure that you want those bundled connections, try to stay away from their bundled plans. They make cancellation a pain if you combine services into one plan, as per my experience.

Their billing is horrible if you wish to take advance rental plans. Dunno about the monthly ones.

Routing and general connectivity is usually pretty good in Airtel, but I haven't really used Tata.

I remember using the bundled Amazon Prime subscription when I first took up Airtel broadband, and it was pretty much hassle free. I already had Hotstar and SonyLIV so never bothered with those offerings.

The ONT performance will really vary with what ONT they give you. My Huawei HG8145V5 has been good enough for about 4-5 years now. Bridge mode is seamless, but WiFi range is a bit wonky.

If I were in your position, I wouldn't switch over from Tata if it's working well. In my opinion, Airtel is a tad bit overrated and performance will really depend on how saturated their fiber network is in your locality, plus the competence of the local level engineers.

 

[vishalrao]

Which area of Pune are you located?

 

[rajat_]

@vishalrao i live in wakad

 

[rajat_]

@Iambic Potato i am aware of the hassle with airtel black. They make you clear current outstanding amount for existing service before adding it to the bundled plan and while removing/disconnecting services.
As far as billing is considered, i've been using their postpaid services for a few months and never faced any billing issue.
Even i am very sceptical from switching to airtel from tata play. I was just planning to do so because the overall monthly cost would come down if i combine their postpaid and fiber services.

 

[Chip]

Tata has relatively glitch free billing compared to Airtel. These guys have hassled me with extra charges for netflix for several months now and even after sending screenshot after screenshot of the Airtel thanks app and the Netflix site itself the billing system persists in continuing the error. And this has continued with my AB subscription too.

Unless you are really hungry for a slightly lower price/month I'd recommend staying away from Airtel Black and control your connections separately.

 

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[imdarkray]

@rajat_ Airtel Black plans OTT offers are different than Airtel Postpaid or Just Fiber plans. For eg., Airtel Black subs can give you only 6 months of Amazon prime. The plans are of limited duration, and won't renew even if you stay on Airtle Black. My take- Airtel Black is not good for OTT.

@Chip I also have a similar billing issue with my AB connections. They don't add Black discount on my DTH. Every month I connect with several people to make them understand the issue and get the discount offered as a waiver. Too much pain.

 

[rajat_]

@Chip agree with the advaned rental plans on Tata. Would like to know what plan are you currently using in AB and why do they charge you extra for netflix?

 

[rajat_]

@imdarkray yes i was offered a 6 month subscription for Amazon prime with the infinity 999 postpaid plan. didn't claim it though as i already had a seperate subscription to both Hotstar and prime.
I guess airtel just wants to increase their ARPU by bundling all their services together but they fail to do so because jio fiber is offering much better value proposition with OTT and TV channels. Even tata started doing this a few months ago bundling their OTT+TV binge box with fiber. I personally stayed away from it as it didn't seem worth.

 

[Chip]

I use the 1599 plan on AB and this netflix issue is due to an error in their backend systems.

 

[Lolita_Magnum]

stick with Tata. Live a better life. If I had the option I'd do it too.