I’m looking for suggestions on whether I should stick with my current Netplus connection or make the switch to Airtel. Here are the details of my setup, usage, and the issues I’m facing:
Usage Profile: Low to moderate. Parents watch live TV via the IPTV box. I use it primarily for online study (YouTube, Unacademy) and basic browsing. Very rare heavy downloads.
Bufferbloat / Occasional Hardware Glitches & High Latency : While idle ping is fine (10–11 ms), download ping spikes to 300+ ms during tests. Earlier, loaded ping used to stay in double digits and About once a month, I notice lag or No internet on both the connection and the IPTV box, requiring a router restart.
Frequent Plan/Pricing Changes: Netplus seems to alter its plans, pricing, and speed tiers quite frequently (noticed 2 changes in just 4 months).
Past Experience with Other ISPs:
JioFiber: Used for 1.5 years with minimal technical issues (idle ping 5–9 ms). The only reason I left was frequent physical fiber cuts in my local area and a distant FAT box.
Jio AirFiber: Ping was around 30 ms, so didn't stick with it.
The Alternative: Airtel Xstream FiberAirtel offers a ₹599 + GST pack in my area which includes:
30 Mbps speed
IPTV / DTH service + OTT bundle (though Amazon Prime is not included)
My Dilemma / Questions for the Forum:
Is 30 Mbps sufficient? Given our consumption (~350 GB/month for 1080p IPTV streams + Unacademy/YouTube study streaming), will dropping from 100 Mbps to 30 Mbps cause any bandwidth bottlenecks?
Airtel Stability vs. Netplus Speed: Is Airtel’s routing, latency stability, and hardware reliability worth giving up Netplus's 100 Mbps speed and included Amazon Prime subscription?
Hardware Fix: Should I consider buying a cheap router (e.g., Archer C6) and putting the Netplus ONT in bridge mode to solve the bufferbloat/routing issues instead of switching ISPs entirely?
Would love to hear thoughts from anyone using Airtel's 30 Mbps IPTV plan or those who have migrated from Netplus.
I would suggest you to get 2 ISPs. Airtel is not that reliable anymore(cant say sure for your area but a general advice).
30Mbps should be sufficient for your usecase and pings are generally stable with Airtel.
The only downside with Airtel is that if it goes down, stays down for a long time. This might not be true for your city but I have had the same experience in different locations with Airtel.
My advice would be to get Jio Airfiber which comes with TV box for your parents and a 40 Mbps Airtel connection for your internet needs.
Btw Netplus also has Airtel as it's upstream provider.
The good thing with 5G FWA is that you dont need to worry about cable cuts as the indoor and outdoor unit is installed at own premises. It also acts as a good backup in casw primary connection goes down.
Buy 3 or 6 months; usually they come with discounts.
Hardware Fix: Should I consider buying a cheap router (e.g., Archer C6) and putting the Netplus ONT in bridge mode to solve the bufferbloat/routing issues instead of switching ISPs entirely?
Considering your usage, are you really having problems with bufferbloat/routing? Or is it just what the testing metrics say?
Is once a month of "lag" or "no internet" really that problematic? I'd understand if it was a daily occurrence.
Netplus is directly peer with most CDNs (which is what you'd want for your use case.)
Its upstream provider is Airtel (checks the Airtel.)
And, no, buying a cheap router will not fix your problems, since the wireless capabilities of a cheap router like C6 and your GX router will be the same.
What you need is a router that can do QoS, especially "CAKE." You can read what it is here: Cake - Bufferbloat.net
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