My suggestion is to keep a reliable provider as a backup when you choose ACT.
- With ACT you get better upload speeds almost similar to your download speed - Airtel caps upload at 0.8Mbps although most of it is a
ADSL restriction. When I asked Airtel they mentioned FTTH also caps at 0.8Mbps.
- ACT cabling is all over the streets crisscrossing every EB post much like your local cable
TV. So quite vulnerable to cable cuts. Where ACT competes with local cable (like in Bangalore), they go through frequent cable cuts.
- The box in your home or your neighbor's house has a 4-hour battery backup. But if your neighbor leaves home on a holiday, you have an outage starring at you in a day-long power cut. No such issues with Airtel.
- With ACT you dont need a modem. But you may need a wired or wireless
router for a multi-device connection. Airtel requires a modem to begin with.
- I get about 3ms Pings on ACT. Airtel gives about 50ms.
- I have had outages on both Airtel and ACT. In my case the issues were handled faster although I am with ACT for only about 2-weeks now. With Airtel for around 6 years.
- Connection and relocation was swift with Airtel. Turnaround time for your connection and speed depends on how crowded their DSLAM is. With ACT it depends on wiring to your area and a box nearby with a open port. In my case, the documentation was done in 1-hour from my website query. Connection was promised next day. But it took 2-days mainly because i had to arrange for an electrician to run my concealed cabling.
- Pricing. In India most of the broadband costs are driven by road cut charges. Airtel has a disadvantage here where as ACT is cheap since they dont have to cut roads. Not sure what happens when there is more restrictions on open cables in streets.