ISP Shootout:Hyderabad

We arrived in Hyderabad armed with a list of nine ISPs that

were operational. Our bureau updated the list, and we finally had 11 ISPs to

test out. Since we already had our homework done from the ISP Websites, we knew

which numbers to punch in to buy the accounts. However, the numbers of VSNL and

ETH turned out to be wrong. Thanks to directory services, we soon found out the

right numbers, but here’s the lesson–not all ISPs keep their Websites

updated about their latest dial-up and helpdesk numbers.

Help!

You could be surfing the Net any time of the day or night–which

means you could need help anytime. So we didn’t wait for anything–not even

breakfast–and started calling up helpdesk numbers with questions on tariffs,

where to buy the packs, and some trick questions too.

Who were the sleepyheads? Global Online–the security guard

answered the call; Southern Online who answered the call in five rings, was able

to give only half the information we were looking for, and asked us to call back

at 9:30 am (maybe we should have had our breakfast after all). Pioneer answered

promptly, but the answers were far from satisfactory.

So, who fared well? Sigma was prompt and their answers were

satisfactory. Satyam scored high for its prompt response and to-the-point

answers. But they let us down when we needed them later in the day for some

troubleshooting–they wouldn’t pick up the phone. Whoever was on duty at VSNL’s

helpdesk during our lunchtime call was in the middle of his lunch, and in a

hurry to get us off the phone. He did give us a satisfactory answer to one of

the queries. But for the second one–"We can’t connect", the answer

was a curt–"Please complain to DoT", and he promptly hung up, even

before we’d finished.

ETH was on par with Pioneer–prompt but unsatisfactory

answers. Nettlinx’s helpdesk was helpful, but some work was needed from our

side to arrive at the right answers. We were also given a gentle warning that

while we could get connected that day, browsing was likely to be slow because of

some problems at VSNL. City Online did a bit of transferring the call around and

discussing our "problem" with other support personnel, but finally

they found someone who seemed to know his job fairly well.

And finally, Intech Net–this was our most frustrating

experience in Hyderabad. Not that they were not helpful–they were. Only we

ended up calling up their accounts department to get the information we were

looking for. And finally, brush up on your Telugu before you try this helpdesk–English

may not work at all times, nor Hindi.

Mantra wasn’t yet operational in Hyderabad when we were

doing our tests. They were supposed to start off within a week.

Whatever happened to those smaller accounts?

Some of the local ISPs in Hyderabad have only hefty account

options–no smaller trial packs. The exceptions are NettLinx (25 hours for Rs

375), and Pioneer Online (one-month unlimited access for Rs 399). City Online’s

helpdesk categorically told us that there are no options below Rs 990, but we

were able to find out from someone else in the company that they do have a

25-hour account for Rs 495. Compare these to the other minimum packs from the

locals–Southern Online’s 100 hours for Rs 1,350; Intech Net’s three-month

account for Rs 3,000; and Global Online’s 50-hour pack for Rs 999. Hefty

indeed.

Some hidden costs

Some of the smaller cities show a trend–that of installation charges. This

isn’t so significant for those ISPs who themselves register you online, as the

registration happens through dial-up networking, over the phone. But when you

have a starter CD or floppy involved, be sure to ask about installation charges.

Especially if you have a "Channel Service Partner"–more commonly

known as a

dealer–coming in to give you the account. If he does the

installation, you may have to pay anything from Rs 100 to Rs 500. So, be sure to

ask about installation costs before you order your account. The best option in

such cases is to do the installation yourself–our article "Setting up

Your Net Connection", page 40 in this issue will tell you how, or the

helpdesk will walk you through it in case you get stuck. Do remember to ask the

helpdesk person’s name, so you can get back to her in case of recurring

trouble. Also, not all accounts get delivered at your doorstep–you’ll have

to pick up some of the low-end ones yourself.

Is registration easy?

Nettlinx force installs Netscape on your machine when you try

to register the account. We faced a bit of problem while registering too–we

were finally told that we had to add an @nettlinx to our user ID (notice that

there’s no .com after that). The helpdesk also asked us to enter an AT string

in the Modem settings, but that simply locked up the modem nice and proper. Some

bit of troubleshooting got us online.

VSNL gave a bit of trouble too. We managed to go online after

some tinkering around–we had to enable the "Bring up the terminal window

after dialing" option to get going. We didn’t need to do that in other

cities, barring Trivandrum. We couldn’t test Global Online–they were unable

to register us as they had no electricity (and we thought that ISPs had backup

power supply). We were also unable to check Southern Online out, because they

didn’t have a package below Rs 800.

With City Online, Intech Net, and Pioneer Online, we

configured Dial-up Networking manually, and registered over the phone, skipping

the wait-for-the-starter CD bit. These went off smoothly.

What about connects and downloads?

Once the registration was done, the connection bit was a

breeze with most ISPs. We were able to connect at first try, except with Intech

Net–its lines were busy throughout the testing period.

But unfortunately, our joy was short-lived. Most of the ISPs

failed to measure up when it came to our FTP tests. Saying that Internet

services in Hyderabad crawl would be being too optimistic. Many ISPs seemed to

have problems with their DNS also.

Sigma scored well, both in connecting and in transfer rates.

VSNL crawled in transfer rates, and so did City Online. The others just couldn’t

make the grade–miserable transfer rates resulted in the file being transferred

failing to come through completely.

And that brings us to our choice of ISP in Hyderabad–Sigma.

City Online and VSNL gave Sigma some competition, but better transfer rates and

a more helpful helpdesk gave Sigma the edge. A word of caution though. We had

problems registering the Sigma account in both Bangalore and Mumbai. At

Hyderabad, we didn’t try to register the account, opting instead to use the

one we registered after much trouble at Mumbai.

Suma E P@Hyderabad