TPF v/s Airtel - Long term review and comparison (Pick your poison)

[Chip]

@_rajat No I dont see any sluggishness at all on the 500 Mbps connection. It's likely due to the speed or other network factors. BTW my ONT is still the same ie Nokia 2425 just as it was years ago. DItto with the airtel connection though the Airtel line is better at -21 dBm vs -27dBm for TPF. I had asked about the signal thing the tech said it was ok and it could support up to 1 Gbps which I may try out for a month just to see if things have improved over the last time in 2021/22.

I am not too comfortable with the local ISPs available here those guys are kind of thuggish if you know what I mean. Rather not deal with them

@jehunix try checking the plans via the TPF app on your phone. You get better pricing there. The one you shared seem to be pretty high! Not sure where your local installation guy is getting the pricing info.

Hope TPF hasnt gone via the LCO route like Airtel. Both my FTTH connections are direct with the Companies.

PS - I use an Asus 11000 Pro WiFi 6 router in a mesh setup with 3 more Asus routers acting as APs. Not going down the wifi upgrade rabbit hole just yet. The APs are connected via CAT6 cable not wireless.

 

[jehunix]

@_rajat i really disagree about airtel and tpf support being good with support tbvh! in general big players impose fup, are not friendly with custom routers / bridge (i've always used with my microtik or ubiquity). tpf maybe but airtel for sure not! my beef with tpf is it feels sluggish (i think heavy dpi) and their plans are ripoff. i've literally paid less in US or with AT&T fiber. I can't deal with their atrocious pricing and attitude. For so much prices they take - they can't even maintain their web dashboard portal lol.

In Pune I've had good experience with Vortex Infoway, Gazon, YOU BB and I"ll likely continue with any of them or provider like ACT when its available in Pune.

And @Chip i've tried app too. Prices are same. Seems like they increased. And its a lot. Why should I pay. INR 3186 per month when I'm getting 90 days with YOU BB FTTH for the same?! Makes no sense.

 

[jehunix]

@Chip see pricing is same on app / website and what was shared by local installation guy. In 9558 I can get 9 months of 500Mbps YOU BB compared to 3 months lol. Difference is clear...

I don't care about any OTT bs (I have my own streaming setups) but they still bundle forcefully...

 

[jehunix]

@Chip on signal mine's at -16.11 dBm so a fair bit stronger than both your lines. but more power isn't always better fwiw - GPON has a sweet spot (roughly -8 to -28 dBm) and creeping too close to 0 overloads the receiver, same as being too weak. -16 lands bang in the middle which is ideal. your -27 on tpf is right at the weak edge though, so least headroom for the 1Gbps jump - works fine now but it's the line i'd watch if you upgrade or if you ever get random drops in bad weather. easy to claw back a few dB with a clean/reseat before you trial 1Gbps.

also ngl the pricing is the real story here - you're paying 9558 for 3 months of 500Mbps with tpf, i pay 3186 for the same 500Mbps with YOU. 3x for the same speed on the weaker line lol. that's my whole beef with the big players.

 

[theOne235]

Hey @Chip ,
Does the airtel 100 mbps plan offer IPTV channels ?

 

[Chip]

@jehunix other ISPs are cheaper than Airtel and TPF. I used to be a You BB subscriber once upon a time gave it up as they refused to move to fibre and insisted on connectivity via an ethernet cable. Anyways, we all make our own choices. You BB still serves my apartment colony. Not sure if I will go with the 1 Gbps option. It's difficult to justify the cost. I hope ACT comes over to my side of the city some day.

@theOne235 yes it does come with IPTV/OTT channels. I remember JioHotstar and Zee5 the others I cannot remember.

 

[jehunix]

@Chip tbh YOU Broadband only offered me the FTTH option, no ethernet-based connectivity. All my friends on YOU got FTTH too.

1Gbps from ISPs like YOU and ACT isn't expensive at all honestly, it's around ₹2000 or so. TPF and Airtel on the other hand charge for bundled OTTs and other stuff rather than pure bandwidth, and they've got way too much margin just to justify their big brand name. Don't think it's worth it personally, especially when you're getting cheaper fiber in a first-world country like the USA on higher tier plans (300Mbps+).

ACT is available on the Keshav Nagar, Viman Nagar, Wadgaon Sheri side of Pune btw. Hoping they launch in central Pune and more areas soon. I asked them and they said it'd take around a year to reach my area, so fingers crossed. I'll move to ACT the moment it launches in central Pune.

My apartment is only 3 floors with 3 families living in it, so I have no issues getting any broadband provider I want. Don't need to take permissions or anything too fortunately!

 

[_rajat]

Airtel line is better at -21 dBm vs -27dBm for TPF

Yes even in my case it's -17dBm for Airtel and -24 for TPF but ig it doesn't really matter. Mostly depends on the distance from the OLT, afaik it has nothing to do with the connection being more "powerful" or "clean" as long as it is in the safe limits of less than -28dBm. This was the response I received from TPF technician. -27dBm is slightly on the lower side but there is nothing you can do if the OLT is located far away from your residence.

No I dont see any sluggishness at all

That's strange. I have been on TPF's 200 Mbps plan and it still felt sluggish. Router is also pretty high end, Asus RT-AX82U with the Nokia router on bridge. Considering we both are in Pune, things should not be that different. Anyway I have done all sorts of investigation and there is nothing I can do other than wait for TPF to fix it. I hope they do it soon so that I can ditch Airtel completely.

i really disagree about airtel and tpf support being good with support tbvh! in general big players impose fup, are not friendly with custom routers / bridge

I don't think this counts as poor support. The reason why these ISPs are not friendly with custom routers and bridge mode is simple, it would add more variables to the connection and hence would require more on ground support in case things go wrong. An average customer for Airtel and Tata doesn't care about the router, they just want their connection up and running. With the routers in ISP's control they can configure it remotely if things go south.
Keep in mind that any kind of service is designed to cater average consumers and NOT enthusiasts or power users. For a mere 50-100 Mbps plan where most of their subscriber base is, nobody cares about routing, ping or the hardware(router). They just want the internet to work, pages load quick and stream without buffering. Surprisingly even I expect only the above mentioned parameters to work flawlessly. I don't have any fancy demands like better routing or ping, after all it's a residential broadband connection and not a leased line. Also the reason why they are bundling so much OTT now, because it attracts an average customer.

paying 9558 for 3 months of 500Mbps with tpf, i pay 3186 for the same 500Mbps with YOU

Most likely an introductory price for YOU to fetch customers, will increase in a few years. TPF also offered huge discounts on their 1Gbps plan back in 2021-2022. There is a very popular thread on this forum about the user getting 1 year of 1Gbps for around 20k ish. You can search.
Now TPF doesn't give a lot of crazy discounts since they have acquired a lot of users. I still find TPF a little expensive but as @Chip said with cashback, it works out cheaper.

ACT is available on the Keshav Nagar, Viman Nagar, Wadgaon Sheri side of Pune btw.

ACT is also present in Wakad, Tathawade and Punawale areas now. They are expanding quickly and will reach my area(Baner-Balewadi) in a few months as per their customer care. ACT also uses Tata upstream btw.

 

[Chip]

I live near KP/Bund Garden and unfortunately ACT is nowhere close to my residential area. The day they launch here I will seriously consider taking a connection for a 1-2 month test drive and if I like it will be dropping either Airtel or TPF.

I honestly feel it is time TPF and Airtel both reduce bandwidth pricing but what they do is bundle OTTs and keep the prices stable in order to entice customers. I am not so much of a TV show or movie freak and I have a separate subs to Netflix and others via Jio mobile.

YBB still provides connectivity in the society albeit via an ethernet cable. I must recheck with them about the fibre offer. At this time my housing col. folks have a choice of 4 providers Airtel, TPF, YBB and BSNL. Tried all and I'd rank the 1st two as tops.

PS - Just contacted YBB. Let's see if they offer a fibre connection.

 

[jehunix]

@Chip Agreed bro!! I'm in Deccan Gymkhana and the day ACT comes here, I'm switching too! Lmk what YBB says btw
Airtel and TPF I've got no connectivity issues tbh, they're tier I ISPs after all, so both are generally solid unless some big fuckup happens. My gripe is with the OTT bundling, the lack of open support for networking hardware (locked routers, harder to do bridge mode, MAC binding, etc.), and the very high pricing. What saddens me is how steep their higher-tier plans get (300Mbps+). The 40/100 Mbps plans seem fairly priced though.

@_rajat Also, it's not introductory pricing at YOU, it's been this rate for a year or so with my friend. I even called customer care to confirm and they said it's standard: 2700 + 18% GST = 3186 for 3 months.