25 6 / 2011
ISP crapspeak
I’ve had to deal with a couple of ISPs lately. Here are a couple of pointers for cutting through the stuff ISPs try to sell you and a couple of words you need to be aware of.
Red words:
Upto: This usually means that the ISP can get away with providing vastly inferior service as long as they can show you that they can theoretically send you data from one of their in-house servers at the “upto” speed. Why does it suck, you want to know. Well, most connections start off good, but slowly deteriorate until you get the theoretical minimum under the plan which is 0Mbps.
Capital B vs Small b: 2 MBps is not the same as 2Mbps. Repeat that after me; 2 MBps is not the same as 2Mbps. Can’t say more. Most ISPs are careful about claims on their websites, but their marketing and field agents do not have a clue if it’s byte or bit and will sell you a MBps plan while the company will give you a Mbps plan. Strangely, they don’t like it when you pay the Bill/1024.
Bad billing: Ask for SLAs upfront and don’t be afraid to call up and ask for discounts once you put in a complaint for no service. An ISP I used sent me a bill for 6 more months after I stopped service and gave their equipment back. I even got a final all clear receipt. Despite that, I got collection calls 8 months later for the 6 months of service I didn’t use.
Coverage area:Do not buy a 3G dongle without asking the ISP to show that it works in your area at the advertised speeds. Showroom speeds don’t matter. A month of no service later, you will be stuck with the spectrum’s license fees.
I find most ISPs in India terrible, even the big names. They do seem to be trying to improve, but continue to fail on the field. Any other tips?
