While on the wireless broadband turf we have all accepted that the chances of finding a true unlimited 4G or 3G data plan without fair usage policy (FUP) is next to nil, leave alone being affordable, the wired broadband segment is a different ball game altogether, with numerable class 'A' and 'B' internet service providers (ISP's) in the market today. Wired broadband does not face the constraints of limited spectrum like wireless broadband faces, which is why one can readily find true unlimited plans not subject to FUP.
Most users today would choose a low speed 2 Mbps broadband plan with no FUP over a high speed 50 Mbps plan with FUP cap beyond which the speeds are dropped to 512 Kbps. 2 Mbps is enough speed to stream HD videos on YouTube and Netflix without buffering and being a low speed plan operators offer very attractive tariffs as well.
Since Quality coupled with affordability is my focus for this article, I have picked 6 leading wired broadband operators in Mumbai who offer true unlimited 2 Mbps broadband plans and have compared their annual tariff exclusive of tax and the effective monthly tariff (Since it works out cheaper than monthly subscription price). In the chart below you can see the ISPs arranged in an ascending order of effective monthly tariff for true unlimited 2 Mbps data.
| Name of ISP | Annual tariff (exclusive of tax) | Effective Monthly tariff (exclusive of tax) |
| Joister Connect | Rs. 4949 | Rs. 412 |
| Reliance Communications | Rs. 6999 | Rs. 583 |
| Hathway Broadband | Rs. 8799 | Rs. 733 |
| You Broadband | Rs. 15434 | Rs. 1286 |
| Tata Docomo | Rs. 17988 | Rs. 1499 |
| MTNL | Rs. 27489 | Rs. 2291 |
There are many more broadband service providers who operate in Mumbai and may even have better offerings at lower tariffs but I have only considered the ones who have a city wide footprint as opposed to others who are localised to select neighbourhoods. Other major operators who do not offer a true unlimited 2 Mbps plan have also been excluded. If you are looking for operators who provide affordable true unlimited data (No FUP) at higher speeds then I would suggest 'We internet' which offers 10 Mbps at an annual cost of Rs.6000 inclusive of tax which comes up to Rs.500 a month or 'Spectranet' which offers 20 Mbps at Rs.1249 a month exclusive of tax.
What plan do you currently use? share your reviews of your ISPs in the comments section below.
