Broadband providers line up Gujarat plans

After a long wait, high speed broadband Internet is set to debut in Gujarat, with Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL), Tata Teleservices, Reliance Infocomm and other Internet service providers preparing plans to serve netizens in the state.

Tata Indicom, a major player in broadband field, is already offering broadband services through Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL). A Tata group firm, VSNL is spreading its retail and corporate presence under the Tata Indicom brand through Internet products such as high speed broadband, dial-up Internet and Net telephony.

Jagrut Vyas, chief operating officer of Tata Indicom, said, "The unlimited plan offered by us provides an unlimited access to the Internet. It is especially useful if the time spent on Internet is very high and have huge downloads and uploads."

Tata broadband offers a speed up to 512 kbps, over eight times faster than the normal Internet connection.

Tata Indicom broadband offers three types of tariff plans - time based plan, volume based plan, and unlimited plan.

In the time based plan, subscribers are charged on the basis of time spent on the Net. In a volume based plan, subscribers are charged only for the data bytes transfer on the line. The volume based plan does not bill for the time spent on the Internet. Volume based plans are useful if someone is connected to the Internet for long periods.

Sufficient storage space of 50 mb per e-mail ID ensures that there is no need to delete those precious mails. This ID is free. A subscriber can get high quality Net telephony on the same ID and also get roaming dial-up Internet access.

Tata provides connections with different types of equipment which allows a subscriber to connect more than one computer onto the broadband connection.

Another major player, Reliance Infocomm is set to roll out its broadband services to general customers in the state in March though, at present, it is providing lines to a few selected corporates on a trial basis.

The company plans to extend the facility to other 30 major cities across the country in a few months and 200 more cities by the end of this year. The monthly rate for a Reliance broadband connection at 128 kbps is Rs 750.

For 256 kbps, the rate is Rs 1,200 and for a 512 kbps connection, it is Rs 3,000. Users would also be charged Rs 1,000 as installation charge and additional taxes would be applicable.

It would roll out its broadband plans over the 18,000 km long fibre optic network in India, which connects over 11,000 towns and cities in India. Being provided at data speeds of 64 kbps to 100 mbps, the broadband products include voice and date transfer solutions, lease lines, Internet connectivity, video conferencing and video telephony.

According to company sources, Reliance broadband will offer a convergent voice-data-video framework which will be delivered through the fibre-to-building and wireless mode.

State-owned BSNL will also be launching high-speed Internet services better across Gujarat under the brand name 'Data One' in March.

Speaking to Business Standard, B K Karecha, ITS, general manager of Gujarat Telecom Circle, said that the response from the subscribers in Ahmedabad was so overwhelming that the booking had crossed the capacity even before the formal launch of the service.

"There are four monthly slabs under the home plan with charges ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 3,300 and the bandwidth available ranged from 256 kbps to 1 mbps. The download/ upload limit under home plan is from 1 GB to 10 GB and free e-mail ID would be available.

Under the business plan, the monthly charges would be in the range of Rs 1,200-Rs 9,000 and the bandwidth available would range from 256 kbps to 2 mbps.