Netplus FTTH : User Experience

Ever since I kept seeing ISP experience of many FTTH users here, i was very eager to try out the same but living in a small town has its own perks! Before this FTTH connection I had BSNL broadband (which was not very stable but kept as a backup for my buisness) and a local isp who provided wireless internet via 5Ghz unlicensed spectrum using AS134042(Maha Mediacom LLP). So they had a ubiquiti air grid m5 installed and the plan provided was 32Mbps Up and Down with no FUP @Rs.2000/- per month. The speed and service were all great but it wasn't FTTH.

Installation:-
One day got a call from my cable tv provider that they have started Netplus FTTH (AS133661) in my area, so after discussing i selected 1299 Plan which provided 150Mbps Unlimited and was told installation will be done in 2 days. But it took them 3 weeks for the installation (already a bad sign) and the reason for the same was that the LCO is only allowed to do the wiring part of the installation and the rest i.e. modem configuration will be done by the netplus engineer himself who 3 weeks to visit my place. Installation charges were Rs.3000/- and they gave a zte f660 GPON ont but as i knew the LCO i told him i wont be paying the installation until i test the service for around 1 week or so which he agreed.

IP Addresses:-
Netplus doesn't provide public IP addresses and hence its CGNAT but the main IP address keeps changing every day or two. I was not used to this as in my previous wireless connection i had static ip address without any extra charges. Also no IPv6 here.

Speeds:-
This is where I didnt like this ISP much. Speeds on local servers is okay okay but as soon as I download or test speed on international servers there is a big dip in speeds and pings are also not that great,even my wireless isp gives better pings and consistent speeds all around according to the plan. I get 100-120Mbps on local servers which is not that great as i have a 150Mbps connection (or am I asking too much). The netplus engineer also told that de have removed their servers from speedtest.net hence low speeds and they recommend speedtest.net.in to test speeds.

On Speedtest.net

Servers- Netplus Ludhiana, Airtel Delhi, Tata Sky Broadband Mumbai, ACT Chennai.

Now some international Servers

Servers- Singtel Singapore, GTT London, New York AT&T

Fast.com


Netplus (AS133661) uses TATA, Airtel and Vodafone as their IP transit.

Service:-
The service is ought to be poor because the lco don't have the authority to change or alter ont or olt settings, all technical work is restricted to the netplus engineer (who didn't even knew how to change the LAN IP addresses of the ONT). Even while installation i was the only one on that main fiber but was still getting -29dBm optical signal and the engineer didn't cared about it and after few days the LOS light started blinking 10-15 times a day. After complaining the engineer came after 3 days(knowing that the connection is being used for my business) and changed my connection to some other line and the signal was around -6dBm, but today its back to -27dBm. Also the downtime is very frequent (optical LOS). While writing this user experience the connection went down again!

The thing is i need help to decide whether to keep this connection or switch to Bsnl Fiber (launched here yesterday and the lco is very knowledgeable), ill be keeping my wireless connection active which soon will be upgraded to fiber but i need another connection for backup so either it will be netplus or Bsnl fiber.

 

[Pankaj]

@anubhav11 Yea, No other options available here in my city.
BSNL still using copper wires with max speed of 3-4 Mbps.

 

[anubhav11]

Hope you have a good experience with it! Anyways what plan are you on? And how are the speeds?

 

[Pankaj]

@anubhav11 It's not that good, I can observe RTOs. But still far better than the BSNL.
Plan is 50Mbps unlimited, Speed fluctuate alot. My main purpose was to do WFH during this lockdown period, and it's so far fulfilling the need.

 

[anubhav11]

RTOs were occasional in netplus for me but it would still be better than what bsnl would be offering. The speed do fluctuate a lot especially for servers to south india and international. The plans are also quite cheap in comparison to bsnl adsl.

 

[Pankaj]

1-2% packet loss is i can deal with, but i must say their support sucks.
People sitting on CC are noobs, also no proper payment gateways. I had trouble recharging, and end up with money deduction with deactivation. Had to call million times to get it back, btw any settings suggestion under the router? I don't know if it will make any difference.

I am waiting for JIO/BSNL FTTH/AIRTEL. The day i have chance to move, i will without any second thought.

 

[vishalrao]

what is RTO ?

 

[Pankaj]

Request time out..

 

[anubhav11]

First thing NEVER EVER pay your netplus bill through their so called payment gateway. It doesnt work. Yep the customer support is pathetic but try to directly contact the lco for any complaint or paying bill, they are occasionally better than CC. Nothing much to be done on the router itself, just make sure to deactivate multiple SSID's. There are 4 SSID and 2 of them were active on my router (by default) with open security.

 

[Pankaj]

Yea, Will be contacting LCO for the future payments.
SSID's were the first thing i disabled after you helped with the password. I asked the LCO about the open SSID's, and he had no clue.

Thanks again.

 

[anubhav11]

Actually the open SSID are for technician to setup router without any varied passwords for different routers/customers and directly via phone web. A big security blunder practiced by netplus. I can still see many SSID1 and 2 from my neighbourhood.