The little I know about Dataone Broadband Services offered by BSNL

Frequently Asked Questions (Commercial Matters)

1. Can I change my plan in the middle of a month?

You can apply for a change from your existing plan to any plan at any time in the month. However, the changes will be effective from the 1st day of the following month only. This is mainly due to avoid billing complications involved in the process.

2. If I apply for a broadband connection today, how many days will it take for BSNL to provide the connection at my premises?

The provision of connection is dependent on the following conditions:-

(a) Availability of the modem stocks at the time of booking.

(b) Technical Feasibility of extending the broadband connection. The distance between the exchange and the subscribers's premises plays an important role in broadband connectivity.

(d) Availability of ports in the Exchange of your local area. As the demand and supply are not in good terms with each other, this problem continues to exist.

However, all out efforts will be made to extend the broadband connection at the earliest. Incase of availability of modem and technical feasibility, the broadband connection can be established within a day after the date of application.

3. Is it possible to disconnect the broadband connection and retain the telephone connection?

Yes. Broadband is a facility extended on the telephone connection and hence can be disconnected any time as per the wish of the subscriber. Only condition in this regard is "Minimum Hire Period" as per your plan.

4. I have HOme 750 Plus unlimitted broadband connecton. Can I disconnect only broadband and retain the telephone connection?

Yes, and you need to approach Commercial Officer (Working Lines) of your area for the same with an application.

5. I have a telephone connection at my home which is under SULABH scheme. can I opt for HOme 750 Plus unlimited broadband connection on the existing telephone?

Yes. Existing customers can opt for Home 750 Plus plan.

6. Can I use Home 750 Plus connection for my business activity at home?

No. BSNL has formulated a set of conditions for differentiating a business connection from a home connection. They are as follows:-

Conditions for providing HOME or BUSINESS plan

Either Plan can be taken by the subscribers having telephones in individual names working at homes/residences used for personal use/purpose.
Subscribers having telephones in the name of Company, firms, shops, educational institutes or any other commercial entity can take only Business Plan. They are not eligible for Home Plan.
Telephones working in individual names at commercial/ business/ office premises are also not entitled for Home Plans.
Home plan can be taken on Bfones in name of Government/company but actually working at residences of their employees. An undertaking shall have to be given by the customer in this regard.

7. Do you accept the request for plan change over telephone?

No. However, it largely depends on the local administration of your area. Then, it depends on the Commercial Officer again. But I suggest you to put it on a paper as it is always wise to have a written proof in case of any financial transaction involved when dealing with any organisation, be it government or private.

7. I have BSNL broadband connection with unlimitted plan. I experience lower speed when I compare my connection with a normal H250 user?

The speed of the unlimitted plan is restricted to either 256 kbps or 512 kbps according to the unlimitted plan choosen. However, there is no guarantee that one would experience the full speed i.e 256 kbps or 512 kbps. The speed in unlimitted plans are not guaranteed. I personally feel H500 combo plans are much better as you have 6 hours of free time i.e. 0200 AM to 0800 AM with full speed. The amount of downloads (if you do lots of downloads) in these six hours is more than what you can get in 24 hours on an unlimitted connection. Just plan your downloads in the free time and use the net for some serious purposes during the day. It is my personal opinion. BSNL has nothing to do with it.

8. Why BSNL is so cruel with unlimitted users? What is the reason?

The main reason is to avoid the network congestion. The available bandwidth with BSNL should be effectively/efficiently used and hence some such measures are necessary. I think some day things are going to change. I do not have a correct answer for this question. I personally feel there should not be any limit on the band width and I hope to see such a day in the near future.

10. I have taken a broadband connecton from BSNL under unlimitted option in the third week of the month and I was surprised to see that entire rent for the month was charged. Why is it so and is it correct to charge like that?

Unlimitted option does not have any data cap and hence it is difficult to calculate based on the bandwidth consumed. It is difficult to say whether BSNL is corecct or not. However, Iexpect some development in this area which is acceptable to both the organisation and to the subscriber.

11. Can you explain the work flow involved in extending the broadband connection to the subscriber's premises?

The whole process is carried out in four places. The are :-

Commercial Officer (WL) iniates the order
Jumpering by the MDF and feeding of ADSL
Username and password creation and activation
Out door unit.

Firstly, after the subscriber submits an application (writter/web/call centre) and chooses to have a broadband connection on his/her telephone. A work order is generated by the Commercial Officer (Working Lines) and the generated order is routed to MDF (an internal division where all the land line connections and the feeds from the Switch are terminated) and the condition of the line is verified. Then a jumper (piece of wire) is extended from the DSLAM (ADSL equipment) and the ADSL is fed on to the line. The work order, after filling up the port details. from the MDF is then routed to NIB (National Internet Backbone) and a username is created and the details of the subscriber are fed in. Then the username and password are activated. Once the activation is completed, the work order is then routed to Outdoor unit. It is the place where the local office is situated. The JE of the outdoor unit then installs the equipment at customer's premises and the connection is put through. The JE of the outdoor unit then completes the order. The billing will resume from the date of the first login or completion of entry by the outdoor unit whichever is earlier.

12. What is P2 and what is P3? What is the difference between them?

The term P2 refers to the equipment that was initially purchased by BSNL for broadband communication. This equipment is capable of delivering only broadband to the customer and nothing more. The term P3 refers to the multiplay equipment. P3 equipment is advanced in comparision with P2. P3 equipment is also referred as multiplay equipment. Which means, that the P3 equipment can provide Broadband, IP TV, VoD, Audio Video talk back, Interactive services between TVs, many other value added services like MMS can be proviced.

For a normal broadband user, it really does not matter whether it is P2 or P3 as the bandwidth extended is only 2 Mbps and 8 Mbps in few plans. Some value added service and IP TV are possible with multiplay only and hence the name multiplay. For simple broadband usage, it is all the same on both the equipment.