Experiences with BSNL

BSNL’s perfidy is legendary. They have monopolized the services to an extent that they resort to anti-competitive policies. More on that later. Over the past few years, Internet has played a dominating role in the way people access resources or connects to others. It is a whole new way of communication. I remember much of it was made when people talked of getting on the information superhighway. Internet access was controlled by VSNL, which remained the sole service provider way back for a number of years. High access charges remained the order of the day. Being the only service provider meant that it had no intention to improve the access. This underwent a qualitative change when the VSNL was sold off to Tata and BSNL stepped in to provide the services.

Leopards do not change their spots at all. Internet access was taxed heavily and the access charges remained all time high. In fact one of the highest in the world. This was marked by frequent disconnections and abusive “Customer Support Staff”. In fact, these idiots have these fancy names, which do no justice to the purpose with which they are hired for. Early on BSNL found out a way to manage the whole charade and signed up the customers who often were hampered by lack of choice or high cost option of other ISPs. Much of the reason was that their bandwidth was provided for by BSNL who charged them high carriage access fees. This ultimately was passed on to the consumers. Why was it so? I believe it is the scheme of the things that these government officials need to comfort themselves for shoddy services. No one has questioned them on this count at all.

This underwent a rapid change when the telecom sector was opened up for private players. Overnight BSNL’s thrust was to hold on to customers. They introduced a line exclusive for Internet access for about Rs.500/- per month. This was done in the name of the public service. However, a closer analysis revealed that BSNL’s officers were jittery about falling revenues and shift towards the other private payers who needed to woo for their own sustenance. Each of the ISP was provided for with a digital number access starting off with 172XXX and the line for exclusive internet access was restricted to that number only.

My love hate relationship with BSNL started with that connection. It was during my frequent complaints to the Internet section that shed light in the innards of this organization. Repeated complaints had no effect on the same. I had to email to the top heads of BSNL’s headquarters; some of them surprisingly responded. Indeed, barring a few honest do gooders, it is staffed with unfortunate imbeciles who cannot even type in the URL in the address bar. This was perhaps the reason that repeatedly my mails bounced back. Once the complaint landed on the table of the node in charge (insider story), he scampered off to set my connection to the desired level. Such is the power of being heard after complaining.

In my city, VSNL had happily launched their services. However, I could not access through my line for exclusive internet access because it was barred. However, in the initial clause it was clearly mentioned that all numbers starting with 172XXX would be provided for. Complaints to the relevant staff had no effect. Things took an ugly turn when the General Manager was caught in a corruption scandal. Thereafter the policies went out for a toss. It did make headlines in the local newspapers but that was that.

Ultimately, I sent across a mail to the VSNL to try to follow up on their level. However, in the reply fit for an idiot, they repeatedly mentioned that BSNL has blocked the access. This was in fact the same issue that I had highlighted. Subsequent emails went unanswered. Now I hear that by month end the connectivity would be provided for.

VSNL is spending a huge amount of money in staffing those people who do not deserve to be there anyway. I fail to understand how do these people get hired in the first case. That’s a mystery wrapped in an enigma, which has clearly no answers.

The above account is first person one. Repeatedly I have had complaints with the phone line, which only got resolved by knocking the telephones of the higher ups. Why are these people not accessible when they are supposed to be at all times? BSNL has set up a mechanism wherein each lineman has to report back the action taken report at the end of the day for resolution of customer complaints. This invariably gets faulted with no action being taken against the defaulting linemen.

Why this happens is beyond my reasoning.

The biggest fault is in the attitude that reflects the Indian society that does not reward merit and encourages inefficiency. Many a times I have faced enough hassles against those people who do not match up to the work they are expected to do. BSNL is no different. Perhaps the major reason that it is a government organization, which demotivates the staff even more. I cannot name names but in my interaction with the various levels, I have come across brilliant officers who have their hands tied because of the mediocrity around them. In fact, for the broadband launch there have been extremely efficient people working behind the scenes who have toiled day in and day out to launch the services. However, what did them in was the lousy package of prices, which seems to be beyond their control. The end mechanism has to be effected by the junior level staff, which has no clue as to how to go about. This reflects on the entire machinery anyway. I had earlier mentioned that BSNL has indeed set up a world-class infrastructure for broadband access. I have come across real people who have sought to make the best of the available resources and provide a decent service. These examples remain far and few though.

One cannot change the entire system overnight. This is not a log of my frustrations in here. However, an honest appraisal that people who are reading this ought to take initiative and question the same people who are supposed to act and make an effort. Falling customer levels and increased focus on efficiencies only would make these people wake up from their deep slumber. I shall try to rebut their claims with action on the ground. It is this way only that a change can be brought about in the same organization that has been funded by huge amounts of taxpayers money. We seek answers and soon.

Discuss on: Sify Broadband, Tata Indicom, Airtel Broadband, Reliance Broadband, MTNL – BSNL Broadband, Dial Up, Others

This post was submitted by Dr. Abhishek Puri on the Broadband Blog on Techwhack.

Tags: Airtel, Airtel Broadband, API, Broadband, Broadband access, BSNL, BSNL Broadband, Corruption, Customer Support, DTH, Idiots, India, Internet, MTNL, Reliance, Reliance Broadband, scam, Tata, Tata Indicom, Telecommunications India, VSNL

Telecom Muddle in India – Part 2

Over the past few years there has been supposed expansive growth of telecom in this country. For the same reason it was envisaged to have a regulator for this growing industry. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India was hence set up as an autonomous body in 1999.

TRAI has clearly failed its objectives with which it was set up for. It has perhaps become a paper pushing organization in a permanent intellectual rigor mortis. Occasionally it breathes life into itself and then we hear some active pronouncements, which are invariably turned down. I was happy when they had suggested the policy paper on the spread of broadband in India, whose coverage remains pathetic. However, it was comfortably turned down by our “dynamic and young” Minister of Telecommunications. In the scheme of the things, they quoted some obscure studies and thwarted an excellent opportunity to improve the infrastructure in “IT Superpower” of Asia.
What do these people get in protecting the monopoly that is harming us contrary to their pronouncements? I believe it is the patent insecurity complex that they are saddled with and refuse to see reason howsoever good it maybe. Perhaps it has become a part of the system to ignore the same electorate that voted them into power in the first case. None in the public eye ever wishes to be asked uncomfortable questions that they wish to avoid at all costs.

Department of Telecom and its two daughters BSNL and MTNL have legendary notoriety. Be it the customer care where there exists none or the idiotic telecom pricing which is inflationary and anti economic. The main reason is that they have refused to look beyond their cobwebs and officials used to the cushy life that only son in laws can envy. All at the taxpayers expense. It is for the same reason that media and self-styled experts refuse to ask them uncomfortable questions and thereby effect policy change. I was appalled when the media happily reported the launch of broadband and conveniently ignored the bastardization of the resources. Not even one single daily ever bothered to ask the way pricing had been done. Why is it so?

Another aspect of this great scheme of things is the constant tussle between the telecom operators and their respective unionization. One is the Cellular operators and the other is the fixed line operators. It is the same thing as we see on the streets but with a difference. These people ride in sedans that have astronomical price tags and regularly haunt the five star hotels. They own the media by giving them handouts or coercion so that their voice is heard the loudest in the corridors of power. To confuse the customer they have a surfeit of tariff plans and profess to do everything for the customer. Even though the whole thing maybe a charade, they seem to get away so easily that it is surprising why TRAI ever exists in the first place. Again being paid for indirectly by honest taxpayer.

The growth of telecom is a notional concept here in India. I had earlier mentioned that figures are routinely inflated and claimed and counter claimed to improve the valuation of the company. One needs to see their claims with trepidation. Why the customers in effect pay and subsidize the government behemoths in form of Access Deficit Charge? BSNL and MTNL remains overweight, over bloated and lethargic company, which needs money to sustain its uneconomic day-to-day expenses. Who cares if it is coming for free? All they have to do is to make noise. I wish that things change and they ought to be sold off and privatized. Or else they should stop whining and complaining about the rural telephony (for which the ADC is supposedly charged).

It is reasonably clear that ADC is unviable and hurting the interests of the consumers. In fact, Universal Service Obligation fund has been set up to subsidize the cost of the operations in economically unviable areas. I have read somewhere that BSNL’s utilization remains nil out of that fund. Why so?

The benefits of robust telecom infrastructure remain untold. We would gradually move towards a knowledge-based economy. South Korea demonstrated this by being the most wired nation of the world. At present 30% of the GDP is transacted online. It works to almost $148 million dollars! Its interesting to see that the broadband penetration in Japan was almost nil till a few years back. In fact same as India. However, keeping the larger interests of the nation in mind, Japan explored all the avenues and opened up its sector for rapid spread of the same. It is in fact now lagging only behind US in the reach of the broadband services. US passed the bill to ensure that broadband access is universal by the year 2007-08. This is the kind of commitment that is needed to speed up the reforms. Yet all that we hear is the fictional number of people who would supposedly sign up for broadband. This is in the range of millions! Oh my God! How is it possible with such expensive and pathetic tariffs?

I find it strange that majority of the broadband access thrust is in the major cities of the country and ignoring the smaller towns. It clearly flies in the face of the logic. Corporate customers tend to pay the most but they also manage to extract the best deals from the service providers so that it works out to be cheap in the long run. No one wants high operating costs that reflect in their yearly statements anyway. . Businesses suffer losses on the downtime and penalty clauses are inked in the deals for any downtime. However, it is the individual customers who would be willing to pay for a cheap and reliable service and the real potential exists here. It is strange the MBA s from leading institutes of the country is in effect chasing the same set of customers who would otherwise sign up anyway. The real skills of their marketing would be tested in the small cities and towns where they have to create a robust demand. This business of telecom, as everyone knows, remains of long gestation and profits on investments accrue only after a few years. How can they be so mentally challenged to this fact? I am further more surprised that these mental retards are paid huge salaries without producing any effect on the ground. Here is this concept of First Mover Advantage. Move in first, capture the market and have loyal customers. Simple isn’t it?

I suggest that tax holidays be given to promote the same on the lines of IT industry. The fact that ISP license is available for a token fee of just Re 1/- in this country has not had many people lining up to set the services. This reflects the high costs of the bandwidth and monopolistic attitude of the operators (VSNL, Reliance, and Bharti) who operate the Internet gateways. The hardware to access the same needs to be made cheaper. The corporations do tend to donate used computers but their impact remains minimal. In fact, I came across a news report that in a village in Kerela, a silent revolution is going on to educate the people in use of computers. One learns and teaches five others. It is here in these ideas that the prospects remain bright. The spread of the Internet would foster the demand for educated people operating the systems. It seems to be a perfect avenue for self-employment by setting up access points just the way STD revolution spread across the country in the 1980s.

The benefits are unlimited but it takes a person with a vision of come to conclusion about that. Sadly, the levers of power are wrongly engaged. I hope that situation on ground improves soon for the betterment of the nation as a whole.

Discuss on: Sify Broadband, Tata Indicom, Airtel Broadband, Reliance Broadband, MTNL – BSNL Broadband, Dial Up, Others

Tags: Access Deficit Charge, Airtel, Airtel Broadband, API, author, Broadband, Broadband access, Broadband in India, BSNL, BSNL Broadband, Department of Telecom, DTH, EDGE, India, Internet, Media, MTNL, Opera, Reliance, Reliance Broadband, Tata, Tata Indicom, Telecommunications India, TRAI, VSNL

BSNL Broadband Buying Decision

Much has been talked of the BSNL’s broadband, which clearly sucks. I wish I had clear indicators to help me decide about the buying decision. However, that was not to be and hence I decided to write for the same. In one sentence about the buying decision. Do not buy it.

The main reason is that BSNL has decided to abuse its monopoly for the spread of Internet. It is clearly indicated in the previous posts. Broadband should ideally be minus the restrictions that are imposed on, for effective use. After the announcement, TouchTel in New Delhi is planning to introduce newer tariffs. This would indeed be cheaper and hence reinforces the fact that these telecom companies want to milk the customer and leave with no real option. Even if we assume that the services are guaranteed to be good, this Blog on Sify broadband would not have come up in the first place. It merely exposes the double crap talk of these companies in offering broadband when they are offering something marginally better than dial up. Competition would force them to improve or else face the loss of customers.

Anyway, first the cost. The modem should have a buyback agreement. Incase one needs to switch over to another service provider, your investment in the modem would go waste. Would you sell that as scrap? What if the warranty is not honored by BSNL? I have not come across any statement that they are bound to replace a defective piece should you be unfortunate of landing up with one. More appropriately, there could be a nominal charge for the same. This charge could be refundable if you decide to terminate the services.
Unlimited Internet in BSNL’s parlance invariably means 24 hours connection. It has no relation to the data download or the limit for which you would be charged anyway.

The primary focus here is on the home user. For business users the packages are so exorbitant that it makes no commercial sense to invest money. Who is subsidizing whom?

I believe that even after the big launch in the metros, it is going to come at the end users by last week of January or the first week of February. Despite claims by BSNL to improve the customer service theirs remains, the worst ever experience. The Internet helpline is perennially busy or the engineer sitting at the other end is typical one of stunted development. I have encountered them from close quarters and at best, they remain good enough to draw their monthly salaries. They never seem to forget that! Perhaps this remains true for other service providers also. The next synonym for the word Idiot could be Customer Service Associate or Customer Care Executive. I am waiting for that day. BSNL is dumps down in any technical issue and resolving the downtime could take ages. If you are the kind of person who wakes up with computer on, is clearly in for disappointment.

I have already talked off the download limits. How do these people propose to affect this? If at all you feel aggrieved about being charged excessively, could you possibly haggle with the billing complaint? These people have their own “intelligent” system to deal with the billing queries and I am better off without the hassles of running around trying to get my bills rectified from an abusive sarkari babu.

It is best to wait for about 3 months. I believe according to media reports, that TRAI is going to affect drop in prices of international bandwidth and hopefully the prices should fall further. In addition, of course, the best kept secret of Reliance entering in the broadband. From insider sources, I have heard that the mobile telephony is using up major chunk of their resources and attention at present. This was supposed to have finished off by December last year but the final date has been pushed by two more months. However, there are pointers that broadband maybe affected sooner.

In 1999, the unified licensing was announced. It benefited Reliance who entered the mobile business by paying much less than others did. There was a huge hue and cry but everything settled down. At that point, of time, Reliance affected change in policy to suit itself. TRAI recently mandated that telecom companies could now offer Cable Television and currently only Reliance has made its intentions clear about the same. There was a recent report in Newsweek that Reliance has tied up with Microsoft to offer television over internet. Its plans to enter the cable TV market are huge with investments being made in creating content. Hence, the efforts being made to stream in digital television through set top boxes. Currently this is the case in areas where it is on a trial basis. Commercial launch of REAL broadband would take time for which no firm dates are known at present. It could even by the end of this month or by the end of this year.

By simple logic, if Reliance has to enter the cable TV market it has to compete with the local Cable TV Operator. This means that its offering should be less than what currently is being offered by means of prices. Realizing this early on as a threat to the established business, Hathway forayed in offering ISP services through cable. Reliance has to set up the entire infrastructure and they would not mind in doing so since the quality issues would be directly handled by them. The cost does not matter at all. Witness the revolution they got in dipping the tariffs really low. This means that they can sustain persistent losses because end result is the market share. Once that is realised, it could turn profitable. Cable TV business remains low margin business with long gestation period.
If TRAI does not play spoilsport, predatory prices by Reliance would spoil the party for everyone. Insider sources claim that they are watching the foray of other telecom companies with interest. Perhaps they could even offer set top boxes for free. BSNL would be the biggest looser on the broadband front. However, they too are planning to offer television trough ADSL. Is anyone interested in watching Door Darshan?

I would ideally wait for Reliance to announce its plans and have BSNL realize that they are basically a bunch of monopolists. In order to survive, they ought to fight back on the prices.

However, currently if BSNL offers unlimited downloads and uploads, as we all understand without volume based or time based billing, its a big YES. I would not mind the cost of the modem then. The main reason is that it has set up a world-class supporting infrastructure to carry the data. This is again the inside information that is leaking out on this website. The end support remains useless. That is the main hindrance.

I sincerely hope that the days of having LAN parties and real multi player online gaming are here with speeds in excess of 2Mbps. It would be a dream and wish come true.

Tags: Broadband, BSNL, BSNL Broadband, DTH, Internet, Media, Microsoft, Mobile, Opera, Reliance, Telecommunications India, TRAI