Take it slow. Slow and steady wins the race, they say. In most cases, that might sound like a good advice. But not always. Certainly not when it's about internet! It may be stating the obvious but internet has truly become indispensable to modern life, so much that one simply cannot live without it. It is indeed internet that drives the present-day society. In fact, in today's age, fast and uninterrupted internet connectivity is like oxygen - very vital - and almost each one of us is dependent upon it. Internet enables us to access valuable resources, real-time information, opportunities and services. So no one in his right mind would ever want his/her internet connection to be slow. God forbid, if one has got a slow internet, then nothing compares to that exasperation one feels when he is forced to wait endlessly for a certain web page to load up or when he has to compromise on quality while choosing the resolution of an online video to stream, because a high quality video would continuously buffer in case of a poor internet connection. On the other hand, a high speed and steady broadband internet connection can make one's life much easier and better. People now require high-speed internet for almost every task -- be it for business or educational purposes or healthcare or for social interaction. No wonder, an uninterrupted, high-speed internet connection has become such a necessity.
 |
How To Choose The Right Broadband Plan And Service Provider
(Image Source: www.demos.subrion.org) |
Are you also being troubled by a sluggish internet connection? Are you looking to take a new broadband internet connection at your home or office? But with so many Broadband service providers in the market aggressively promoting their numerous
Broadband plans, finding a reliable ISP (Internet Service provider) and choosing the correct broadband plan, that too within one's budget, can be pretty confusing. But it doesn't have to be. I will suggest you to consider the following steps before taking a decision.
(a) First step is to choose a reliable Broadband Provider from those available in your locality:
The most crucial criteria while selecting any particular Broadband provider would of course be its service and customer support - whether their internet service remains up (active) more often than not. Any ISP (Internet Service provider) can have unplanned downtime due to unforeseen circumstances. But what matters the most is about how quickly the ISP resolves a customer's issue. And the best way to determine that is to speak to your friends and neighbours, asking them about all broadband providers that are available in your locality and which one would they recommend to you. Personally, I trust word-of-mouth recommendations more than the ISP's self promotions or print advertisements. Or better still, you can always cross-verify your friend's/neighbour's recommendation or an ISP's credentials by reading online reviews. Of course, do your own research as well before settling for any ISP.
(b) Next step is to determine your Internet Usage and needs:
Before opting for any broadband plan, it is wise to determine your internet usage (whether you are a low, moderate or a heavy internet user) and your requirements, so as to make the best out of the chosen plan because the usage varies from one individual to another. There is no point choosing a very high-speed internet plan and paying through the nose, for carrying out basic online activities! If it's just about moderate web-browsing - like checking emails or chatting with friends/video calling or school going kids needing internet for their assignments and project works, a mid-level ADSL broadband plan (offering speeds of 2 Mbps to 5 Mbps) is usually enough to meet these requirements.
However, if you are a heavy internet user, say for instance, if you love playing heavy online games or are a binge-viewer and love watching High Definition videos and movies online from Amazon Prime or Netflix or Hotstar or ZEE5, you will accordingly need a high-speed broadband connection for smooth video-streaming or for playing online games.
Similarly if you are looking to buy an internet connection to cater to your business needs - say for video conferencing, file sharing or cloud backups, it's better to go for a high-speed broadband connection (preferably a fibre broadband connection). That might come somewhat expensive but such internet plans, designed specifically for offices and business needs, will come with efficient security, unwavering bandwidth and more uptime. Thus it is essential to opt for a Broadband plan according to one's needs.
(c) Will your chosen plan give you Value for Money?
Once you have made up your mind on the best suitable Broadband plan for you, the next step is to make sure that you know exactly what you would be getting from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) under your subscribed Broadband plan. Because in India, most of the "unlimited" broadband plans actually have usage limits or bandwidth caps, called "Fair Usage Policy" (FUP), due to which once you exceed a certain amount of internet usage, your internet speed will get lowered down by the ISP. What you need to confirm from your chosen ISP is whether they are counting both upload and download usage in FUP or only for download usage. FUP calculations sometimes differ from one ISP to another; while some ISPs only take download usage into account, some others take upload usage as well in calculating FUP. Accordingly you can choose your plan or if not satisfied, you can opt for another ISP.
If I were to recommend an Internet Service Provider, I will suggest you to go for DEN Broadband. Since the last couple of years, I have been using their Broadband services and have had a wonderful experience. Besides offering several attractive broadband plans at very affordable prices, it's also very reliable with its excellent customer support and rarely remains down for too long (if at all). No wonder it is counted as one of the
best Broadband Service providers in India.
