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ISP Shootout: Bangalore

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PCQ Bureau
New Update

Among the 11 ISPs we tested, Pacific Internet and Wipro-Net emerge as the best bet

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We started the ISP shootout from Bangalore, though we’d

picked up some of the national accounts in Delhi. And the pace at which the

shootout started did discourage us a bit–registering 11 accounts was no mean

task. A new installation of the operating system for each, reboots, the quirky

behavior of installation CDs, and some hilarious and some really helpful

helpdesks–we saw it all. So, what did we find out?

It’s easy to buy an account

Buying Internet accounts in Bangalore is not an ordeal. Most

helpdesks directed us to their dealers nearest to us. A couple of them–Manipal

Data Control and SwiftMail–even delivered the accounts to our place.

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Registration blues

We couldn’t register the Sigma Online account at Bangalore–finally,

we had to do that at Mumbai. The starter pack we purchased had no manual, and

gave the wrong helpdesk numbers. The helpdesk numbers given at the Website were

also found to be wrong. Using the pack, we couldn’t get registered on our own.

Sad, since Sigma turned out to have the best transfer rates.

Of the rest, we faced the maximum trouble with bplnet. It

works only with IE 4.01 and up. If you don’t have that, you can choose to

install IE 5 from the CD. Even if you choose to continue without the IE 5

install, the CD customizes your existing IE with a bplnet logo–something we

didn’t find amusing. What’s more, once the install was through, our machine

went into a freeze. But the helpdesk came to rescue. They were on the phone for

almost an hour guiding us through the entire process (we were lucky to have two

telephone lines, but you may not be that lucky). Apparently, there’s a way

around even with older versions of IE. You have to delete some files, change the

default home page, create a Dial-up Networking connection named "Connect to

bplnet" (written in exactly that manner, and no other)…Was there no end

to the quirks? And did this happen with all users, we wondered? God help the

helpdesk. We, for one, wouldn’t want to trade places with them.

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To check whether the experience was one-off, we bought

another account. The bplnet dealer informed us that their bandwidth was being

upgraded. This time we crossed the installation safely, and were on to the

dial-in-and-wait method of registration–go to the bplnet homepage, click and

wait for what seemed like 10 minutes, enter some information and wait some more,

click and wait a bit more. And it worked–only we lost connect at the last

point. Things may have changed since then, but check before you decide on bplnet.

Next on our trouble list was Mantra. We kept losing connect

through our innumerable attempts to register. And we didn’t get much help from

the helpdesk either. However, once we managed to hold connect, the rest was

easy.

Dishnet has a weird way of registering–you have to register

at their Website, but after connecting using another ISP or from a cyber café!

And a Dishnet account registered in Delhi doesn’t work in Mumbai or any of the

southern cities. You have to pick up a new account in each of these zones.

Dishnet doesn’t come with a manual either–so the helpdesk is your only way

out.

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ZeeNext, NetKracker and Manipal too gave some problems, but

nothing to hold us back. A bit of tinkering around and we were through.

Registration was easy with Satyam, Pacific Internet, and VSNL.

With Pacific, we lost connect while registering, but the help did the rest of it

for us. However, the breeziest registration of all was Swift Mail–really swift

indeed. No starter CDs–the helpdesk does the registration for you and guides

you through configuring dial-up networking.

Help!

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Some hilarious and some helpful–that’s what we said in

the beginning, right? Hilarious, that was ZeeNext. "Madam, add a zero to

the dial-up number." "But it’s already there, by default."

"Oh, please remove it then, madam." They have a toll-free number–so

help doesn’t cost you the local call. The helpful one was bplnet. This is the

most patient and unassuming helpdesk we came across in Bangalore–but then,

with the problems we faced, they better be patient.

Wipro-Net’s NetKracker (again a toll-free number) and

Manipal Data Control were prompt, but didn’t have satisfactory answers for all

our questions. Dishnet was prompt, but there’s no direct helpline–you go

through the EPABX. So, you may not get through quickly. Getting through to

Mantra’s helpdesk isn’t easy at all times. Satyam, Pacific Internet and VSNL

were at par–prompt and helpful. But the person at the VSNL helpdesk could do

without sounding so rude. SwiftMail scores again with its prompt and helpful

helpdesk. The only thing that goes against them is that they have no direct help

number. But since we got our answers quickly, we don’t take it as a huge

negative.

Connects and transfer rates

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Who gave us the best connects? SwiftMail, Dishnet, and

NetKracker connected at the first go in one or two rings. Most of the others got

us connected in two tries, Manipal Data Control and Mantra took an average of

three.

Where transfer rates were concerned, almost all ISPs gave

better ones during the day time, as opposed to the evening and the night. We got

the best transfer rates with Sigma Online (by then our team in Mumbai had

managed to register the account) followed closely by Pacific Internet and

NetKracker. Satyam, which put up a good performance and even topped the charts

in many other cities, wasn’t able to repeat that in Bangalore. VSNL was

average. The rest scored low on transfer rates. BPLNet seems to have choked FTP

in favour of HTTP. We were able to get reasonable browsing speeds, but

absolutely no file transfers. Similar was the case with Manipal Data Control.

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So who’s the winner?

Sigma Online would have been the winner, but for the fact

that we couldn’t register the account at Bangalore. We found Pacific Internet

and Wipro-Net’s NetKracker to be the best all-round choices in Bangalore. One

point to be remembered is that both are new services and probably don’t have

as many subscribers as older ISPs like VSNL, Satyam, and Mantra.

The days to come will show whether they can scale up user

numbers and continue to provide the same levels of service. It would indeed be

nice if they could.

Vini Goel, Suma E P, and Krishna Kumar@Bangalore

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