Broadband options - India

Hi friends,

I introduce myself as one Sumit Simlai presently living in Singapore. By the end of this year we are relocating to Hyderabad.

To make several informed decisions I will need some information about the current wireless broadband and landline facilities available in India, especially Hyderabad. My expectations are that in India I should be able to obtain a similar setup as in my Singapore home as described below.

Currently in my SIngapore home I have one service provider providing me the following facilities, all through one cable:

1. Cable TV through a set-top box. I have two TVs and so two set-top box connections.

2. Landline telephone (called digital voice in Singapore) through a Motorola SBV5120 cable modem.

3. Wireless broadband at 100 MBPS dowload speed and at 2 MBPS upload speed, through the same Motorola SBV5120 cable modem, in turn connected to a Linksys WRT54G wireless/wired router. This router in turn is connected wirelessly to a few networked PCs, laptops and game devices at home, besides my home music recording setup and hardwired to a NAS Drive.

My questions below are pertinent from the viewpoint of having got used to a high quality internet and landline setup:

1. Is there a similar system in India where one cable provides all the three services?

2. What are the upload and download speeds for home setups? Similar or better?

3. Will I be able to utilise my existing equipment i.e. the Linksys wireless router, the cable modem, the Linksys WUSB54G wireless receivers and a wireless-ethernet bridge to connect two networks if I buy a full set of such services in India?

4. Dont know the diff between cable and DSL but I guess mine should be cable because everything comes through one cable. Mind if someone educates me there as well?

My container packing starts in 2 weeks and I have to finalise my list of equipment that I am leaving behind.

Appreciate a quick response...

BSNL do provide all three things, but will depend on the city. I have seen it in Pune.

Not sure that BSNL is a good choice though. What about other providers like tata, reliance, airtel, etc

BSNL is better than all private players. BSNL provides more value for money plans.

Airtel is good but their billing and customer care is totally unconnected and if you get into billing woes, you will be running forever.

The less said about Reliance, Tata, etc., the better.

The above is about Broadband in general.

Now about your other questions.

Q1. Is there a similar system in India where one cable provides all the three services?
A1. No. There is a cable+BB provider called Hathway. It can provide you cable TV and BB. But I will not recommend it. For telephone and Broadband, I will strongly recommend BSNL. Most toll-free numbers in India operate on BSNL/MTNL lines only. For TV, I will recommend TataSky DTH.

Q2. What are the upload and download speeds for home setups? Similar or better?
A2. Typically the upload rates are 1/4th the download rates for most plans except the unlimited usage plans.

Q3. Will I be able to utilise my existing equipment i.e. the Linksys wireless router, the cable modem, the Linksys WUSB54G wireless receivers and a wireless-ethernet bridge to connect two networks if I buy a full set of such services in India?
A3. Linksys Wireless router will be useful. Cable router will be of no use. But I recommend that you bring all the CPE with you. I have written many articles on SOHO in the Broadband How to section.

Q4. Dont know the diff between cable and DSL but I guess mine should be cable because everything comes through one cable. Mind if someone educates me there as well?
A4. Cable and DSL are totally different technologies that provide broadband. Cable BB is not very popular or reliable in India. This is mainly because the market is unregulated and the companies in that area are not very trustworthy. Cable BB is provided by Sify, Hathway and others. Browse this forum for more info.