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Airtel Broadband Fair Usage Policy
- Thread starter igod
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mehrotra.akash
Regular
from which angle is it making sense?
profit!!!
profit!!!
you do realize that you cannot justify your internet usage through this?
I don't have to justify anything. Common sense says, if I am paying for 1MBPS, I must get 1MBPS exactly like I have been getting from many months in the past. Suddenly this 6 months bonus period since April 2010 gets over and now they even remove the facility from their own website! Now there is no such option as 1 MBPS without the f-u-policy!!! This ain't fair.
Why do I have to tell here how precisely I use my bandwidth? What is the need to justify? I could be using it for:
1. Video conferencing/telecommunication – Not only is video telecommunication important for families that are spread over the globe to keep in touch with each other, but for companies to conduct job interviews as well as conference calls between different branches spread across the word. It is also quintessential for students who are enrolled in e-learning courses to virtually ‘sit’ in a classroom.
2. Video streaming is increasingly being used as an educational tool enabling a person sitting in any remote corner of this country to get the latest cutting-edge education. In fact our very own IITs and IIMs offer such educational videos which require a very high speed unlimited internet connection. In addition, it also allows the common Indian student to enroll in online education courses from universities and institutions around the world. For example, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is undoubtedly one of the finest and most renowned educational institutions worldwide, offers such videos and programs through its “MIT Open Courseware” website. I hope you can appreciate the value in our country of a student sitting in a village being able to read lecture notes and watch videos of actual MIT courses.
3. Distribution of legitimate software – You would be well aware of the cost advantages of using the internet as a distribution medium by companies making software. Progressively, more and more companies will sell their software products at a cheaper rate (or even free!) but only so long as the end-users (i.e. your customers) have the ability to download large installation files without the apprehension of being penalized for doing so. You would, for example, be well aware of the emergence of Linux as a formidable Operating System, which would never have happened if it was not for the collaboration of tens of thousands of users, downloading huge distribution files every week, which was possible only because of an “unlimited Internet.”
4. Legal distribution of movies, music etc. – You would be well aware of the tremendous potential of the Internet as a marketplace for both independent artists offering their art for free, as well as for big studios who have realized that the internet has immense potential as a marketplace. The success of iTunes, Netflix, and other online media services, only serve as a reminder that online distribution is the future of the media business. Apparently, Bharti Airtel Ltd. feels that India should be denied this opportunity.
5. Work from home – The Internet today enables millions of people to work from home by connecting to and collaborating with associates and clients all around the globe. The work from home formula is so successful that not only are people capable of earning livelihoods working solely from home, but many multi-national companies are encouraging their employees to work from home as it not only makes them happier, more productive, well-rounded employees, but also saves the companies millions of dollars every year.
6. Connecting businesses – The Internet today enables businesses abroad to productively collaborate with businesses in India. In fact, without the Internet, the BPO, KPO, LPO etc. boom would never have reached our shores. Companies and firms abroad cannot have a meaningful commercial interaction with India in terms of back office work, without the presence of unfettered high-speed broadband internet.
7. VOIP – As you are well aware, VOIP is emerging as a technology in the mainstream with a tremendous potential to revolutionize the telephone industry. Curbing download/upload speeds virtually renders this technology useless.
In short, the Internet today stands as the single largest tool for commerce, education and entertainment. 15GB cap makes no sense if someone is going for 1MBPS speed connection. Someone doesn't take a 1MBPS connection simply to just sit and do emails or only running google searches.
This kind of FUP is Unfair. For FUP to be fair at high download speeds, either the cap should be higher or post cap speed should be reasonable (a minimum of 384.) Thats the message.
---------- Post added at 01:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:06 PM ----------
It ain't not no profit if word of mouth publicity goes negative and the existing users either downgrade (since for majority of the month 256 is all that we are gonna get anyway) or worse, out of frustration drop the services altogether.
I don't have to justify anything. Common sense says, if I am paying for 1MBPS, I must get 1MBPS exactly like I have been getting from many months in the past. Suddenly this 6 months bonus period since April 2010 gets over and now they even remove the facility from their own website! Now there is no such option as 1 MBPS without the f-u-policy!!! This ain't fair.
Why do I have to tell here how precisely I use my bandwidth? What is the need to justify? I could be using it for:
1. Video conferencing/telecommunication – Not only is video telecommunication important for families that are spread over the globe to keep in touch with each other, but for companies to conduct job interviews as well as conference calls between different branches spread across the word. It is also quintessential for students who are enrolled in e-learning courses to virtually ‘sit’ in a classroom.
2. Video streaming is increasingly being used as an educational tool enabling a person sitting in any remote corner of this country to get the latest cutting-edge education. In fact our very own IITs and IIMs offer such educational videos which require a very high speed unlimited internet connection. In addition, it also allows the common Indian student to enroll in online education courses from universities and institutions around the world. For example, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which is undoubtedly one of the finest and most renowned educational institutions worldwide, offers such videos and programs through its “MIT Open Courseware” website. I hope you can appreciate the value in our country of a student sitting in a village being able to read lecture notes and watch videos of actual MIT courses.
3. Distribution of legitimate software – You would be well aware of the cost advantages of using the internet as a distribution medium by companies making software. Progressively, more and more companies will sell their software products at a cheaper rate (or even free!) but only so long as the end-users (i.e. your customers) have the ability to download large installation files without the apprehension of being penalized for doing so. You would, for example, be well aware of the emergence of Linux as a formidable Operating System, which would never have happened if it was not for the collaboration of tens of thousands of users, downloading huge distribution files every week, which was possible only because of an “unlimited Internet.”
4. Legal distribution of movies, music etc. – You would be well aware of the tremendous potential of the Internet as a marketplace for both independent artists offering their art for free, as well as for big studios who have realized that the internet has immense potential as a marketplace. The success of iTunes, Netflix, and other online media services, only serve as a reminder that online distribution is the future of the media business. Apparently, Bharti Airtel Ltd. feels that India should be denied this opportunity.
5. Work from home – The Internet today enables millions of people to work from home by connecting to and collaborating with associates and clients all around the globe. The work from home formula is so successful that not only are people capable of earning livelihoods working solely from home, but many multi-national companies are encouraging their employees to work from home as it not only makes them happier, more productive, well-rounded employees, but also saves the companies millions of dollars every year.
6. Connecting businesses – The Internet today enables businesses abroad to productively collaborate with businesses in India. In fact, without the Internet, the BPO, KPO, LPO etc. boom would never have reached our shores. Companies and firms abroad cannot have a meaningful commercial interaction with India in terms of back office work, without the presence of unfettered high-speed broadband internet.
7. VOIP – As you are well aware, VOIP is emerging as a technology in the mainstream with a tremendous potential to revolutionize the telephone industry. Curbing download/upload speeds virtually renders this technology useless.
In short, the Internet today stands as the single largest tool for commerce, education and entertainment. 15GB cap makes no sense if someone is going for 1MBPS speed connection. Someone doesn't take a 1MBPS connection simply to just sit and do emails or only running google searches.
This kind of FUP is Unfair. For FUP to be fair at high download speeds, either the cap should be higher or post cap speed should be reasonable (a minimum of 384.) Thats the message.
---------- Post added at 01:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:06 PM ----------
It ain't not no profit if word of mouth publicity goes negative and the existing users either downgrade (since for majority of the month 256 is all that we are gonna get anyway) or worse, out of frustration drop the services altogether.
mgcarley
Founder, Hayai Broadband
It's all about the peering. One thing India *could* look at doing is what NZ did a few years ago: no charges for domestic traffic - that is traffic to/from Indian IP addresses (or at least servers in data centres) should NOT be charged.
To do this, naturally, the NIXI tariff scheme would have to change, but since the 15GB limit (or whatever) would apply only to International traffic, free domestic traffic would benefit pretty much everyone except torrent users, however it would provide the following additional benefits:
[*]Indian Content currently hosted in the US could come "home" to India
[*]Indian Content Hosting Industry could finally come in to it's own - so supporting services such as described in #3 and #4 could start and come alive
[*]ISPs would have a LOT of incentives to cache stuff - even more than they do now - because by working together or prioritizing peered traffic over international, they would reduce strain on their own resources, reduce costs and get less shit from consumers about FUPs
[*]Businesses would be able to send large files to each other (or between branches) much easier, or do more video conferencing
[*]E-governance might actually stand a chance at working
[*]Streaming TV services could emerge, not unlike "TVNZ - On Demand"
[*]Other video-based applications could be used properly (conferencing, education etc)
[*]Software distributors might be inclined to host a mirror in India. EVER WONDERED WHY THERE IS NO SOURCEFORGE MIRROR IN INDIA?
[*]Overall speeds advertised could be much higher than they are now. They could advertise 8, 12 or 16mbit/s and in many cases (where it counts), actually deliver it. For the same prices as they do now
[/list]
Of course, in some cases, also some pretty serious law changes surrounding TV, VOIP, censorship etc would be required, but the peering is a start.
To do this, naturally, the NIXI tariff scheme would have to change, but since the 15GB limit (or whatever) would apply only to International traffic, free domestic traffic would benefit pretty much everyone except torrent users, however it would provide the following additional benefits:
[*]Indian Content currently hosted in the US could come "home" to India
[*]Indian Content Hosting Industry could finally come in to it's own - so supporting services such as described in #3 and #4 could start and come alive
[*]ISPs would have a LOT of incentives to cache stuff - even more than they do now - because by working together or prioritizing peered traffic over international, they would reduce strain on their own resources, reduce costs and get less shit from consumers about FUPs
[*]Businesses would be able to send large files to each other (or between branches) much easier, or do more video conferencing
[*]E-governance might actually stand a chance at working
[*]Streaming TV services could emerge, not unlike "TVNZ - On Demand"
[*]Other video-based applications could be used properly (conferencing, education etc)
[*]Software distributors might be inclined to host a mirror in India. EVER WONDERED WHY THERE IS NO SOURCEFORGE MIRROR IN INDIA?
[*]Overall speeds advertised could be much higher than they are now. They could advertise 8, 12 or 16mbit/s and in many cases (where it counts), actually deliver it. For the same prices as they do now
[/list]
Of course, in some cases, also some pretty serious law changes surrounding TV, VOIP, censorship etc would be required, but the peering is a start.
That is a very good suggestion and might actually be put to use by the ISPs concerned. Thats exactly what ISPs in India do, they bring a slight change in plans to counter the growing resentment on current plans. BUT the question is 'How is the meager limits of 10, 15, 25 GB per month justified even for International bandwidth?' I personally think thats humbug
Unless the ISP does something about the current limits being made more reasonable (50GB to 100GB at least) any new schemes are going to cause further discontentment and confusion amongst the consumers.
But then don't the companies have a ball with the confusion and chaos in market.:confuse:. we have seen that with the cellular providers and just might start to see that happen amongst ISPs
Going to sit back and watch this unfold.
. this one may actually be some fun since we have seen that before. Somethings never change in reality just get sold as new after a bit of makeup. TRAI/DOT are you guys even there?
leasehelp:
Unless the ISP does something about the current limits being made more reasonable (50GB to 100GB at least) any new schemes are going to cause further discontentment and confusion amongst the consumers.
But then don't the companies have a ball with the confusion and chaos in market.:confuse:. we have seen that with the cellular providers and just might start to see that happen amongst ISPs
Going to sit back and watch this unfold.
. this one may actually be some fun since we have seen that before. Somethings never change in reality just get sold as new after a bit of makeup. TRAI/DOT are you guys even there?leasehelp:mgcarley
Founder, Hayai Broadband
That is a very good suggestion and might actually be put to use by the ISPs concerned. Thats exactly what ISPs in India do, they bring a slight change in plans to counter the growing resentment on current plans. BUT the question is 'How is the meager limits of 10, 15, 25 GB per month justified even for International bandwidth?' I personally think thats humbug
Unless the ISP does something about the current limits being made more reasonable (50GB to 100GB at least) any new schemes are going to cause further discontentment and confusion amongst the consumers.
But then don't the companies have a ball with the confusion and chaos in market.:confuse:. we have seen that with the cellular providers and just might start to see that happen amongst ISPs
Going to sit back and watch this unfold.. this one may actually be some fun since we have seen that before. Somethings never change in reality just get sold as new after a bit of makeup. TRAI/DOT are you guys even there?leasehelp:
It's a start - even in many western countries there are FUP limits (or even hard data caps) of these values and we pay much more. Mine is a prime example. The excuse used in my country is that we are geographically isolated. Whoopdi-doo - that may be true, but it also so happens that unlike India we have a single cable landing in the country, with that cable (as well as ALL the last mile) owned by the same company. A good situation in some aspects (leasing cables gives instant ability to provide service anywhere in the country), but it's bad for pricing, since the whole situation is more or less monopolized.
While India is similarly isolated, it has at least 9. However, bandwidth costs roughly the same at a wholesale level. 25GB costs around Rs250 (for me... much less for them). Last mile can easily chew up the same or more in some cities. So there goes Rs500. Of course, since the plan is "unlimited", we can safely assume that many users will use an additional 25GB @ 256k which brings the total to Rs750. Factor in 30% for corporate taxes (NOT VAT), the license fee (6%), subsidies for variations in usage and a profit margin (a tidy 30% on top of that) and somehow I think I just justified Airtel's prices, unreasonable as they might be.
I do agree that there is A LOT of confusion in the market. It's very difficult to tell up from down even between plans at the same ISP, sometimes even for me. So hopefully some player (who shall remain nameless) will succeed in... rocking the boat.
I'd love to have access to someone elses infrastructure - to provide a full-speed service on their cables just to prove my point: none of this bollocks unlimited with stupid FUPs, just pay as you go at some reasonable rate. That way Rs1700 would buy you 100GB @16mbit/s instead of 25+25 as illustrated, and then potentially a 1-2mbit/s "unlimited" plan could be offered for Rs1k with an FUP of say 50GB or Rs2k with a much better FUP of say 150GB (It's a start, and more in-line with offerings you'd find overseas).
Although it would be nice, the TRAI/DoT can not really help you unless you citizens force some legislative changes. Get Broadband speeds redefined to at least 1 or 2 mbit/s. You're a freaking democracy, damnit - use your given powers for crying out loud instead of crying about it. Learn from other democracies.
The French, Spanish and Italians go on strike when they don't like something. MTNL workers threaten to go on strike when there is the threat of "restructuring" in the organization. You all need to change who represents you in these legislative organizations. Protest your asses off and VOTE WITH YOUR WALLETS. If they can organize 3-million to march in Mumbai after a bunch of terror attacks, you can surely organize that many to march against FUPs.
Unless the ISP does something about the current limits being made more reasonable (50GB to 100GB at least) any new schemes are going to cause further discontentment and confusion amongst the consumers.
But then don't the companies have a ball with the confusion and chaos in market.:confuse:. we have seen that with the cellular providers and just might start to see that happen amongst ISPs
Going to sit back and watch this unfold.
. this one may actually be some fun since we have seen that before. Somethings never change in reality just get sold as new after a bit of makeup. TRAI/DOT are you guys even there?leasehelp:It's a start - even in many western countries there are FUP limits (or even hard data caps) of these values and we pay much more. Mine is a prime example. The excuse used in my country is that we are geographically isolated. Whoopdi-doo - that may be true, but it also so happens that unlike India we have a single cable landing in the country, with that cable (as well as ALL the last mile) owned by the same company. A good situation in some aspects (leasing cables gives instant ability to provide service anywhere in the country), but it's bad for pricing, since the whole situation is more or less monopolized.
While India is similarly isolated, it has at least 9. However, bandwidth costs roughly the same at a wholesale level. 25GB costs around Rs250 (for me... much less for them). Last mile can easily chew up the same or more in some cities. So there goes Rs500. Of course, since the plan is "unlimited", we can safely assume that many users will use an additional 25GB @ 256k which brings the total to Rs750. Factor in 30% for corporate taxes (NOT VAT), the license fee (6%), subsidies for variations in usage and a profit margin (a tidy 30% on top of that) and somehow I think I just justified Airtel's prices, unreasonable as they might be.
I do agree that there is A LOT of confusion in the market. It's very difficult to tell up from down even between plans at the same ISP, sometimes even for me. So hopefully some player (who shall remain nameless) will succeed in... rocking the boat.
I'd love to have access to someone elses infrastructure - to provide a full-speed service on their cables just to prove my point: none of this bollocks unlimited with stupid FUPs, just pay as you go at some reasonable rate. That way Rs1700 would buy you 100GB @16mbit/s instead of 25+25 as illustrated, and then potentially a 1-2mbit/s "unlimited" plan could be offered for Rs1k with an FUP of say 50GB or Rs2k with a much better FUP of say 150GB (It's a start, and more in-line with offerings you'd find overseas).
Although it would be nice, the TRAI/DoT can not really help you unless you citizens force some legislative changes. Get Broadband speeds redefined to at least 1 or 2 mbit/s. You're a freaking democracy, damnit - use your given powers for crying out loud instead of crying about it. Learn from other democracies.
The French, Spanish and Italians go on strike when they don't like something. MTNL workers threaten to go on strike when there is the threat of "restructuring" in the organization. You all need to change who represents you in these legislative organizations. Protest your asses off and VOTE WITH YOUR WALLETS. If they can organize 3-million to march in Mumbai after a bunch of terror attacks, you can surely organize that many to march against FUPs.
mgcarley
Founder, Hayai Broadband
@mgcarley
completely agree with you sir.
Now I feel like forming a new party called the Broadband Freedom Force ( or chora giroh mukti morcha to give it the good old desi touch ) any one interested? sigh!
I'll join - unfortunately I don't have voting rights, so I can only yell and scream about these things at the top of my lungs. More unfortunately, I don't really want an Indian passport either (too much of a pain to travel)... then again, Hitler was Austrian and became the chancellor of Germany, and we have Indian MPs in New Zealand (and mayoral candidates, ftr, but I suspect they're all NZ citizens)... so strange things do happen.
completely agree with you sir.
Now I feel like forming a new party called the Broadband Freedom Force ( or chora giroh mukti morcha to give it the good old desi touch ) any one interested? sigh!
I'll join - unfortunately I don't have voting rights, so I can only yell and scream about these things at the top of my lungs. More unfortunately, I don't really want an Indian passport either (too much of a pain to travel)... then again, Hitler was Austrian and became the chancellor of Germany, and we have Indian MPs in New Zealand (and mayoral candidates, ftr, but I suspect they're all NZ citizens)... so strange things do happen.
I'll join - unfortunately I don't have voting rights, so I can only yell and scream about these things at the top of my lungs. More unfortunately, I don't really want an Indian passport either (too much of a pain to travel)... then again, Hitler was Austrian and became the chancellor of Germany, and we have Indian MPs in New Zealand (and mayoral candidates, ftr, but I suspect they're all NZ citizens)... so strange things do happen.
So mgcarley, I am sure you get this a million times. When Is Hayai broadband launching in Bangalore?
So mgcarley, I am sure you get this a million times. When Is Hayai broadband launching in Bangalore?
I'll join - unfortunately I don't have voting rights, so I can only yell and scream about these things at the top of my lungs. More unfortunately, I don't really want an Indian passport either (too much of a pain to travel)... then again, Hitler was Austrian and became the chancellor of Germany, and we have Indian MPs in New Zealand (and mayoral candidates, ftr, but I suspect they're all NZ citizens)... so strange things do happen.
oh no screaming wont do no good in India... we need you to have a strong arm and a good aim..... Our politicians are born def but a good smack with some tomatoes and eggs can do wonders! :cool2:
oh no screaming wont do no good in India... we need you to have a strong arm and a good aim..... Our politicians are born def but a good smack with some tomatoes and eggs can do wonders! :cool2: