As usual, this is breaking news on Broadband blog.
After much wrangling, phone calls and abuses, BSNL has finally launched it’s unlimited access. The official notification is yet to come online- but it took enough grace on the behalf of Deputy Director General, Broadband, to give me a call and ask me to submit the application for the plan change.
For those who are following this blog for regular updates- I’d suggest that you submit your application before 1st May. Surprisingly, the Customer “Care” Centre is open on Sundays and before the billing plans change over, you’d be in a position to have the unlimited connection by 1st (hopefully). (The planned tariff is Rs 900 per month- decent I believe).
The “customer care” babu couldn’t think beyond the manual entry and was shunting me from one desk to another. I have seen the red tapism and excessive fascination for rules and regulations from very close quarters. This is the naked fangs of Government of India in real life. I had to complain to the General Manager of my area to accept my application! Something that’s the job of a low level clerk.
Arguably, the increased “competition” has made the things slightly better. BSNL has been forced to improve it’s service delivery; however, it remains a case of misguided enthusiasm. The average age of the customer care “executive” is 40+ which makes any enthusiasm on their behalf a BIG suspect. When you have pre menopausal women at the counters, irritatable moods are the norm. The men folk are pot bellied and sloppy; with reflexes so slow, that would shame a limping tortoise.
It would take some real genuine competition to shake up the things. Specially when the top heads are made responsible for the shrinking customer base; their balls would turn blue at the thought of being accountable and adverse entries in Annual Confidential Reports. Shape up or ship out ought to be the new mantra.
There are indeed a lot of blemishes; the customer care toll free remains a model of apathy (what associated with BSNL isn’t) and despite the intentions to keep it as a central nodal agency for the complaints, it keeps you on a perpetual hold. A sorry instance of tax payers money going down the shit hole.
Still, as the Broadband forums say, BSNL is government powered Broadband. We are happy to have something of substance, than be at the bottom of pyramid, like in Africa. Where argubaly, the only instance of being alive is that well, you are alive.
It would take a huge post to list out the chronology of events/ chain emails/ mass mailings to the “honchos” of BSNL. I’d desist and instead focus on the other events as they are happening.
Before I end, if anyone from the media is reading this, I give you guys a middle finger up your puckered holes. I requested one and all to have this highlighted and all my mails were ignored. Now that I don’t give a big F to your existence and this blog shall engage the voice of ordinary people to affect a policy change. Granted you have reach, but all you would highlight is the “wardrobe malfunctions” or the jholawalla idiots from JNU and their pet peeves. Boo.
I’d like to end on a happy note here. Freedom from rationing access; and perhaps Broadband would deliver what it was supposed to do. A decent access finally. And perhaps for the FIRST time EVER in my LIFE. Unlimited Internet. Even if it crawls at 256k (best case scenario), I am happy.
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[...] I had broken the news about the unlimited connections from BSNL. It took a long hard wait, a lot of exchange of the emails and huge efforts from the stake holders to push the sloth to make things happen. The news story was broken on 29th April; since then there has been nothing to cheer about really. I had given the media a BIG finger up theirs and still do. They dont deserve the attention that gets showered on them. It really frustrates me when they crow about the “emerging oppurtunities” when there are none really. I wish I could wring their necks in a real horrible manner. [...]