My internet journey so far since 1990's

[laksh211in]

been using at net cafe since 1999 40 rs a hour
started with sify dial up in 2001 56 kbps
moved to act then beam fiber 1 mbps plan for 2 years
too many disconnections moved to airtel dsl V fiber 40mbps for 2 years modem got fried closed the connection.
used act fiber 100 mbps for 1 year too many problems in my area closed it
finally moved to airtel ftth 200 mbps 4 years back so far going good

maybe other folks can share their journeys and horror stories as well

 

[zerosleeping]

Here is mine. Bear in mind that I am on old geezer

Got my first dial up modem in 1994 after dial up internet started in India under the auspices of VSNL (It was a government owned company back then.) I was based in Mumbai back then.

Got into BBS'ing with Suchit Nanda's Livewire and Way Out Wild BBS. Got access to a hacked shell account circa 1995 and was able to gain access to the internet over dial up. After a couple of years got my own TCP/IP account as well and continued with paying hefty telephone bills in the meanwhile. At one point in time I had 3 landlines at my Mumbai home for using dial up.

Shifted to internet over ethernet cable in 2001 from my local cable provider and gave up my D-Link 56kbps dial up modem. The first plan I was on gave 5 kbps (similar to 56kbps dialup). Then switched over to 16kbps line somewhere in 2003 till end 2005.

Moved to Mangalore in Feb 2006 temporarily to be close to my mother after my Dad passed away (perils of being an only child!) and got hold of a BSNL ADSL connection which had night unlimited from 2am to 8am. Had to put up an alarm to wake up at 2:30am and download as the daytime downloads were counted. April 2007 BSNL introduced a 256kbps full unlimited plan for 900/- and I was on that for quite a while.

November 2008 - Airtel started wiring up our Mangalore locality and got hold of an alternate connection as BSNL used to go down randomly during the day. I lost quite a bundle of money as I wasn't able to square off my F&O trade due to a BSNL net breakdown.

My Mumbai connection was upgraded to 15Mbps (ethernet based) in 2013. I used to keep shuttling between 2 cities.

Airtel 128Kbps line got upgraded to 2Mbps unlimited in 2015.

August 2016 - upgraded the BSNL ADSL connection from 512 Kbps (the speed got auto upgraded after govt raised broadband speeds as minimum of 512Kbps) to 8 Mbps - 1091 plan. Using this connection info sent a mail to airtel and got the 2Mbps line upgraded to 8 Mbps free of cost.

July 2020 - BSNL started having issues due to smart city works and I gave up the internet connection and converted it into a landline only plan. Got hold of a local cable connection - FTTH - 50 Mbps upto 200 Gb. Upgraded to FTTH connection to 75 Mbps - 200 GB after a few months. Once the connection got converted to unlimited usage - downgraded again to 50 Mbps in 2021.

Mumbai connection is upgraded to 30Mbps during covid in 2020. Since I visit infrequently have maintained the same connection on the lowest tier plan.

Got my airtel 8 Mbps ADSL connection converted to 24 Mbps VDSL in August 2020 - emailing my FTTH bill to airtel (the CC was responsive back then). The line couldn't sustain 40Mbps (my rated plan) and airtel locked in at 24Mbps - but I got speeds upto 34-36 Mbps on the downloads. Uploads were restricted to 4 Mbps in the day time and 6 Mbps after 12am or so.

July 2022 - My 50 Mbps FTTH plan got auto upgraded to 60Mbps and was stable for all my primary work. April 2023 - put up my airtel VDSL 24Mbps plan in safe custody and told them that I will resume the connection only when I am upgraded to a pure FTTH connection.

Surrendered BSNL landline in Oct 2022 - took over a year to get back my deposit after bugging BSNL officials over twitter.

August 2024 - airtel approaches our association to get the building wired up with fiber optic. I take the lead and get airtel folks to come ready to wire up the place, only to be shot down by a vindictive resident who had a fight with airtel and had surrendered his VDSL connection.

I had to pursue the issue again during our RWA AGM in November and get permission specifically for airtel. December 2024 - I get in touch with senior airtel folks to get mine and surrounding buildings wired up. First week of Jan 2025 - airtel wires up all 5 buildings - gets the FTTH cable over roof-tops and my 24Mbps line is finally live on FTTH in last week of Jan. Takes 3 days to get 24Mbps plan converted to 40 Mbps plan from the backend and get plan rated speeds.

Current situation - 2 FFTH connections - one 60 Mbps local FTTH - second 40 Mbps airtel FTTH (with a landline) - I need a backup due to my line of work.

I am the only user for both the connections My mother now only uses the landline.

 

[markiv]

Mine journey is below
In 2007 dialup connection 128kbps from tata tele
2008 hathway 256kbps, 2012 512kbps
2015 microscan 10mbps with cache upto 100mbps on YouTube and torrent
2019 ion 50mbps, 2020 100mbps, 2021 200mbps.
Feb 2024 airtel 200mbps
Aug 2024 mach1 500mbps
Now thinking to settle for airtel 200mbps with iptv but need slight increase in FUP

 

[Kyle Crane]

Started using the Internet when i was about 9 years old (April 2013)

April 2013 : Dad got my elder sister a laptop for studies, and we bought an Airtel dongle with 2G (2GB unlimited at 40kbps plan) ,i remember playing flash games on browser back then since i didn't know steam existed but that laptop wouldn't be able to play games anyway

Dec 2015 : Dad bought me a smartphone which was a budget phone under 10k phone ,I had continued to use 2G (2GB unlimited at 40kbps plan) for some light Instagram usage or reading news articles ,watching YouTube was just not possible until my sister goes to her friends house and downloads YouTube offline viewing (youtube had rolled out offline viewing in 2015 ,since internet speed and FUP was potato back then)

Nov 2016 : first Jio sim in the house ,which enabled literally everything, from watching YouTube to Jio cinema to downloading YouTube videos off vidmate or something ,playing Clash of Clans. Basically, using the internet without limits was actually possible

June 2017 : first broadband connection in house ,Local ISP 4 Mbps unlimited plan at 500rs a month, by now Jio had introduced the 399Rs 84 days 1 GB per day plan which was very useful back then

July 2018 : I get my own gaming laptop (i5 7th gen and a GTX 1050), discovers about steam, finally watching YouTube and browsing the way it was supposed to be instead of using my phone for everything

Dec 2018 : shifted houses and for the first time we got internet from a big player which was hathway broadband, 3000rs 50mbps unlimited for 3 months plan, this was the time when i started playing csgo and it was so fun lol

July 2019 : 3000rs was kinda too expensive for us, so I contacted cc and told we want to discontinue to get some retention plan, and it worked (i heard about this trick somewhere from IBF or Quora back then LMAO) I was given a 602Rs 50mbps 1.2TB limit, and I was happy with it, that plan continued till Dec 2021

Dec 2021 : hathway starts offering 100mbps over their old coaxial internet which I was using for the past 3 years then, 1800rs for 3 months of 100/10 Mbps unlimited coaxial, this was the time I had to buy a new router and use 5ghz for the first time . Also screw TP-Link for lying about Wi-Fi routers since the WAN port was limited to 100mbps only ,while they advertised the router to be a cable of 700mbps or something (as later i find the router to be useless for 100mbps + connections)

May 2023 : Jio fiber rolls out in my society ,I instantly take up their 100mbps plan as hathway couldn't give more than 10mbps in uploads. To my surprise the 100mbps plan felt slow in day to day usage such as Instagram ,YouTube, news articles .that's when I searched up and ended up reading someone's post on IBF again lol (i wasn't a member back then, only a visitor) that Jio uses DPI to see everything I do and that slows down the loading speeds ,this was further confirmed when i asked a YouTuber on live steam why Jio 100mbps feels slower than hathway 50mbps coaxial, he said it's the damn DPI

Aug 2023 : we change homes again and now i live in a apartment where 2 local ISP operate (they have divided there work in two sections of the building lol ,upto 7 floors LCO 1 ,after 10 floors LCO 2) ,I go with the LCO 2 and pay for the expensive wiring and installation charges 3600rs for the first month, 100mbps at 800rs a month unlimited fiber

Aug 2024 : we change floors this time ,same building but under 7 floors now, now I had contacted LCO 2 about shitting the connection to the new place he said nope we don't operate there, here take the number of the other LCO ,to my surprise he demanded wiring and installation charges and said roughly 3500rs total for first month 800rs 100mbps plan ,frustrated with the extra expenses i contact Airtel Airfiber and get Airfiber 40mbps 1tb 3300rs for 6 months plan ,I shift all my heavy downloads to jio 5G hotspot from my mom/dads phone or sometimes my Vi 4g unlimited 12-6am to download heavy stuff ,since airfiber had 1TB a month limit with no way to buy booster data packs

Dec 2024 : Airtel Airfiber gives a 5 day blackout ,that too on my birthday week ,hence i decide to get rid of Airtel and go for the LCO 1 (i was actually referring him, as local Gunda fiber for a very long if you read my older posts or just search up local gunda fiber on IBF ,spoilers he wasn't that bad after all) .had to bear the expensive wiring and installation costs and finally back to 100mbps 800rs a month unlimited fiber which was essential since my sister relied on iCloud backups now

Jan 2025 : I upgrade the LCO connection to 200mbps plan ,and i discover he actually bills every 30 days instead of 28 ,so 200mbps 30 days for 1000rs a month

that was it ,first time in my life I'm sharing my journey of using internet from slow 2G unlimited at 40kbps days to 200mbps unlimited Fiber

If I earn enough in the upcoming years, I so want to get a 1gbps connection to make my inner child happy since I couldn't access YouTube till Jio was a thing lol

Bonus : In Nov 2015 Airtel had introduced 4G speed on the same plan of 3G data pack ,i had recharged with some 199rs 2G ,2GB a month unlimited at 40kbps plan and switched the network mode to 3G ,and for some reason 3G speeds were actually coming on 2G plan ,this continued for about 5 days and i had literally used 1gb per day ,back then I didn't even know about the word glitch but still I kept using it, until Airtel finally found this glitch and deducted data from the 2GB plan resulting in me getting 40kbps for the rest of the month

those 5 days were amazing lmao ,I remember watching YouTube and setting quality to 480p (since the phone's display was 720p so 480p was the maximum)

 

[pachabhut]

Here's my internet journey, not necessarily broadband only. (PS : as someone already passed half a century, my idea of internet speeds may be ancient).
1997 - Started using at Sify cafes near my home at Kolkata
2000 - moved to Delhi, kept using at different cafes
2005 - Got my BSNL ADSL connection 256 kbps
2010 - Got MTS EVDO dongle, avr speed 1 mbps
2013 - moved back to Kolkata, continued with MTS
2015 - Airtel 4G started working on my work SIM
2017 - MTS stopped working
2017 - got Airtel VDSL 40 mbps
2017 - Moved to Guwahati, Got a Jio SIM, kept shuttling between Kolkata & Guwahati
2019 - Moved back to Kolkata
2020 - got TP-Link MR600 with Jio SIM, 35~60 mbps on 2CA
2024 - Jio 5G & Airtel 5G started working
2024 - Moved to Guwahati, got a usb to ethernet +a router and linked to Jio 5G

 

[Protector]

My internet journey is not that long as you guys have but will still try to share it with you guys

(at age 9) 2008 : Our family got PC with Internet Service. BSNL ADSL connection with 10MBPS (50 or 30 GB FUP).
I don't remember too much about the plan but that plan cost around Rs. 1,300 including 5 or 3 SIMs provided with it. (Postpaid Plan)

2012 : Got Airtel ADSL connection with 8MBPS (dont remember FUP). I got this connection for the backup because cable usually get cut-out at time to time by BSNL and Airtel. so either one of them run

2018 : Moved into Hostel Life with JIO / BSNL SIMs. Still remember the struggle have to face at that time but At that time, JIO usually provide 30 - 50 MBPS Constant speed with Rs. 399 plan or something. Good old days at college life. BSNL was there because all the banks and other things are linked on it and i'm too lazy to get my Number ported.

2020 : Moved back to Home Town, Thanks to the Lockdown. Lived at my home for around 2 years, At that time, Both BSNL & Airtel released there Fiber connections.
Upgraded the connection from ADSL to Fiber. (both at 60MBPS Plan)
Although at that time, I've faced many issues with Airtel but it was just backup so doesn't bother the main workframe that much.

2022 : Moved to Work Place, Got Jio Fiber Connection (30MBPS Plan at starting) and Shifted to 100MBPS Plan after trial-period.
For the first 3 months, Jio Fiber runs at top-notch tier but after that, It started to become nightmares. Got my connection at pause.

2022 : Shifted from Jio Fiber to BSNL Fiber. (100MBPS Plan).
For the first 2 months, It gave me issues by back-end don't know the specific reasons but after that, It was running smooth enough for my work.

2023 : My parents got Jio Fiber installed at home. (150 MBPS Trial Plan run for 1 month) afterwards, 30 MBPS Plan.
I don't know why they got Jio Fiber but someone from JIO Marketing team got my family convinced to get Jio Fiber.

My family after using it for 4 months, Got it discontinued (just by not recharging it), Too many downtimes, speed low and website not opening issues faced by my family. Complaints are never took under proper consideration.
I think JIO Fiber still needs to upgrade there services at hilly areas.

2024 : Upgraded my Home BSNL FTTH Plan (From 60MBPS To 500MBPS Plan) & Airtel Plan : (60 MBPS to 100 MBPS)
Shifted my Work Load to Home.

Never faced any FTTH Issue at my HomeTown either it was Airtel or BSNL. Both work at top-notch speed. BSNL Latency and routing is bit better than Airtel but it is only 5 - 10ms difference. Doesn't bother that much.

2024 (October) : Got myself 5G Dongle to test out specific internet connection and thought about replacing it with my Fiber connection.
Although, Jio 5G/5G+ Give 60 - 120 MBPS Speed (Download) but Upload is like 10 - 5 MBPS at 5G/5G+ Bands. Very Unstable with Low range all over the house.
Whereas, Airtel 5G/5G+ Give 80 - 140 MBPS Speed (Download) and Upload 40 - 45 MBPS at 5G/5G+ Bands. Better coverage but still Unstable.

I know bad idea for thinking about it but i thought why not give a try . Still got myself Old Fancy 4G Phone since 2018, Never changed it idk why but it still works in perfect condition except hanging so 5G dongle was the best choice out of it to get.

 

[Rickysin]

Mine was:

1. bsnl dial up 256kbps connection
2. then airtel dsl connection of 256kbps
3. after that airtel plan upgraded to 512kbps -> 1 mbps -> 2mbps -> 8mbps
4. Then airtel upgraded me to vdsl plan to 16 mbps ( i think there was a vector technology which reduced line noise and gave boost to speed)
5. after that airtel moved me to fiber plan of 40mbps but i remember it was still on v-dsl line (pretty sollid connection with no drops in speed)
6. After that i moved to netplus broadband as they were offering double speed than airtel with less money (it was 100 mbps at 499 rs)
7. then moved to jio as they launched free test connection with 4500 rs security deposit with speed of 100 mbps (95 was what i was getting)
8. used jio fiber for like 3 years i guess when they officially launched the plans
9. so currently on jio fiber 300 mbps plan with backup plan of airtel 200 mbps (sometimes shift to 40 mbps)

 

[Skye]

For me it was like this:

2008: Used to surf internet on my mother's phone using Airtel 2G. For some reasons, it was giving unlimited data on phone, until one day I deleted the APN settings because internet was not working. Turned out, internet was not working because it had less than ₹1.

2011: Got a PC. Switched to Airtel's Micromax dongle. Still Airtel 2G. Average speed 8-16 KB/sec. (I downloaded Windows 7 Enterprise with it)

2011: I got Docomo SIM, tried its mobile data and it was amazingly fast 18-24 kB/sec on average. This worked fine on that Micromax dongle after I unlocked it.

2012 or 2013: BSNL 3G came to my area. I got its SIM. It worked fine mostly, but randomly stopped working sometimes. Speed 50kB/sec to 500 kB/sec.

2014: Docomo 3G released here. Speed was mostly good at 100 kB/sec. to 1 mB/sec. Plan was a bit expensive though, so I used BSNL mostly.

2016: Jio 4G started their services and I got the SIM. Finally I got freedom from limited data. Finally started watching videos on sites like YouTube and Dailymotion instead of downloading them at 360-480p. Average speed 50 kB/sec. to 500 kB/sec. (yes it was slower than Docomo 3G until 2022)

Nov-Dec 2020, I got RailWire broadband. The experience was mostly horrible that I was about to get rid of it. Plan 100 Mbps, average speed 0-100 Mbps.

June 2023- Got JioFiber. Finally a reliable broadband connection.