Ever since Broadband came into the picture, it has been one of the most important needs in a household. Just like electricity, water and food it’s become almost impossible to live without a good internet connection in our home. Given all these factors, an ISP that would provide a broadband service worth our money and with high speed is very essential. However, with coming of so many companies who claim to provide the best speed and best service, it becomes hard for people like you and me to choose a great ISP based on our internet needs and also keeping the price and services in mind. We have compiled a list of points to help you choose the right ISP for yourself in a matter of minutes!
Copper or Fiber?
Copper cable lines have been fairly widespread in India and have been known to us better through the way of the telephone. To establish an internet connection, Copper cables have been in extreme usage ever since broadband services have started. But a big drawback with copper in today’s time is the speed which these cables offer. On the other hand, fiber optic cables use the latest technology to provide internet connectivity. The speeds offered by the fiber optic cables are far more times than what provided by the copper cables. Therefore, it would be wise to choose an ISP which provides fiber option (FTTH- Fibre To The Home) connection rather the old copper cable connection. Almost all the companies are now providing fiber services across the country.
Usage limits
In India, most of the companies follow a Fair Usage Policy (FUP) meaning that data usage is capped at a certain limit to prohibit excessive misuse of data. However, some companies put a combined limit on data including both download and upload. This might result in early exhaustion of data limit, thus causing you to go through a bad broadband experience. Therefore, it is essential that we read and understand the so-called ‘unlimited’ plans which the ISPs provide before we finalise a provider.
What is Contention Ratio?
Contention Ratio means the number of users who share the bandwidth of one line simultaneously at one given time. A line with a high contention ratio means that the speed of the line will be shared by all the users who are sharing the bandwidth meaning that the speed of internet will go on decreasing with every user that is added on the line. Hence, it is crucial to select an operator which provides a low contention ratio.
Usually, these issues arise in apartments or large ventures. So in better case scenario, speak with your ISP before setting up the connection.
Upload speeds
Most people ignore the factor of considering upload speeds and only take a look at download speeds. However, in today’s time where users do heavy data-intensive work like uploading YouTube videos, video calling and file sharing it is must that we have a plan which provides us with good upload speeds.
Value Added Services
When a lot of providers come up with very similar plans, and it becomes hard to decide which one to choose, these additional services which an ISP provide can be a deciding factor. Sometimes, ISPs come up with attractive offers which provide services like calling, extra data and data carryover which during many times can be really beneficial to the user.
Mobile App
With the advent of mobile payment and so many mobile applications to do our jobs, it would really be a hassle if we couldn’t pay our internet bills using just a simple app and our cards. Some providers like ACT and Airtel take special care to come up with an app for their users which can report used data, remaining data and payment status of the bills etc. Major operators such as YOU Broadband, ACT Fibernet, Airtel and several others have introduced mobile application.
Services
While having good speed and a reliable connection is important, but since broadband is a line based connection it is bound to be down at times of distress. During this times, it’s essential that the ISP has a good support team which should act fast to resolve the complains and woes of users as fast as possible.
Pricing
Pricing is one of the most and if not, the most important factor for a lot of people while deciding on a broadband connection. Considering the above factors and judging the price of the broadband connection accordingly will help us make a righteous decision regarding our ISP. However, it is our strong recommendation that price should not remain as the only factor while deciding on an Internet Provider because the money that we pay is for all the services combined and not just for internet connectivity.
With the growing competition in the broadband sector, ISPs are flocking to reduce their prices and providing more and more services to their customers to keep them hooked. In such a scenario, it is best that we make an informed decision and get the best value for our money along with good speed, good support team and a reliable connection depending on our needs.
We hope you liked this short walk through the jargon of broadbands! Do let us know your thoughts about the best broadband connection according to you.
