Along with the excitement and joy of shifting to a new city comes the hassle and pain of finding everything again, right from mobile service provider to internet service provider. Recently I moved to Bangalore and had to go through the process. While picking the mobile service provider was easy, I learnt internet service provider would not be such an easy job.
Task of choosing an Internet Service Provider (ISP) in Bangalore
I had numerous options and decisions to make ahead of me. Wireless Dongle or Wired broadband? Hathway or Airtel or YOU broadband or ACT Broadband or Tikona? After little thought I decided to go for wired broadband connection with unlimited internet usage. One decision made. Now which ISP to choose amongst the lot? My first choice was YOU broadband. I had used it earlier in a different city (Pune) and I liked it good. A couple of calls later I learnt that You Broadband did not provide serve in my area. My next choice was Tikona Broadband which was suggested by one of my friends. Unfortunately Tikona did not provide serve in my block. Before you start thinking which part of Bangalore I live in, let me clarify, I stay in Kormangala. From my earlier experiences I wanted to avoid Hathway. They had very bad connectivity, pathetic customer service and termination of connection was a nightmare. Finally I decided to go for ACT Broadband.
Impressive Installation speeds
I checked with ACT Broadband and to my delight, they provided service in my area, block, street and home. I requested for a new connection and almost instantaneously ACT Broadband sales person came to collect my details and necessary documents. The next day, the ACT Installation team wanted to do installations at my house but since I was not at home they patiently waited for me until after my office hours to get the installation done. Sweet! The next day, the ACT Activation team came with the ACT WiFi modem to make the final set of activations and I was online again.
Note: 1) While filling the ACT forms, the sales person asked me for my PAN card number. I was very sceptical. I had not come across any other ISP who collected PAN card details. Upon further probing, the guy kept saying this is as per new TRAI regulation. I probed further and then learnt, ACT collects PAN details and uses it against defaulters. Beware!!
Note: 2) ACT WiFi modem is quiet expensive and costs much more than the modems of other ISPs available in market. It costs Rs. 2000/-. But the quality is much better. I would recommend going for it.
ACT Broadband speed Test Details
ACT has very nice assortment of plans to choose from and caters to all kinds of usage requirements. I picked an unlimited plan of 4Mbps speed throttled at 30GB, after which the speed reduces to 512Kbps. I pay Around Rs950/- inclusive of taxes per month. While I conducted the speed tests at various times, the speed is pretty constant at 4Mbps. So 10-on-10 there.
ACT Broadband Bangalore Plan Details
| Plan Name | Tariff | Speed | FUP | Speed Post-FUP |
| ACT Swift | 675 | 2 Mbps | 20 GB | 256 Kbps |
| ACT Flash | 849 | 4 Mbps | 30 GB | 512 Kbps |
| ACT Blaze | 1049 | 20 Mbps | 50 GB | 512 Kbps |
| ACT Storm | 1149 | 20 Mbps | 60 GB | 512 Kbps |
| ACT Lightning | 1399 | 40 Mbps | 75 GB | 512 Kbps |
| ACT Incredible | 1999 | 60 Mbps | 100 GB | 1 Mbps |
| ACT Force | 2849 | 60 Mbps | 200 GB | 2 Mbps |
| ACT BB SOHO Value | 3349 | 80 Mbps | 250 GB | 2 Mbps |
| ACT BB SOHO Extra | 4399 | 80 Mbps | 350 GB | 2 Mbps |
ACT Broadband Bangalore issues we faced
But one issue is with connectivity. Sometimes, unannounced and unceremoniously the connection blacks out for a couple of minutes. This amounts to some frustration. May be this is an isolated incident. Need to check this issue with the ACT customer care, apart from this things was good. ACT recently launched 80Mbps broadband plans for home users in Bangalore .
