Broadband Internet & Public Wi-Fi

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By Rajkamal Rao 


Go back to Comparing Life US v. India

Broadband Internet

In the last few years, competition amongst cable, DSL, satellite and fiber optic providers has driven down prices and improved the quality of broadband internet for the typical US home.  It is not uncommon to see bundled packages of just $24.99 a month for up to 4 Mbps speeds and unlimited downloads - which are adequate even for avid gamers.

The situation in India is actually better.  With private providers such as Airtel, Reliance and Youbroadband challenging the venerable BSNL, the quality, reliability and service levels of broadband in an Indian home is now world class.  Reliance offers a DSL plan with a 25 GB cap each month on downloads but at speeds up to 10 Mbps for just INR 999 a month.  Service quality is outstanding. 

Less appealing is India’s 3G infrastructure.  While most major carriers offer broadband cards (for your laptop) at sub-INR 1,000 prices, speeds are suspect and coverage is even more so.  Forget any plans to download that big 10 MB file while outside your home or office.  The situation in Tier 2 cities is worse.

Public Wi-Fi

The US has a wide network of paid WiFi options (Boingo hotspots) and free WiFi (Starbucks, many public places such as airports and libraries) enabling users to be online even when away from home or the office.  3G and 4G broadband wireless cards are another option to be always online, although this service is generally expensive compared to home plans for similar speeds and download limits.

Indian families can definitely get spoiled by the myriad choices available to be always connected.

In India, very few places offer public WiFi.  4G is still a dream for most Indian consumers. Further, 3G broadband speeds are pathetic unless you happen to be in the big metros.  Move away from the big cities and your speeds will drop to 2G and worse, even GPRS.   The lack of WiFi comes as a stark reminder of the enormous investments the country has yet to make to bring it into the modern world.


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