It seems Indian broadband scenario is finally headed for a rigid price war. MTNL has announced doubling of speeds for existing users in Mumbai circle at no extra cost. The slashed prices constitutes more than 40 percent reduction as now subscribers can get 512 kbps connection only for Rs.999 against earlier tariff of Rs.1599 a month.
Airtel just recently took a 40 percent reduction in broadband prices and currently offers 512 kbps unlimited connection at Rs 1,099 a month . It has approximately 1 million subscriber in telemedia segment with Average ARPU of Rs.1000 per subscriber.
MTNL would be upgrading current speeds of 256 kbps to 512 kbps and will also upgrade the speed of 512Kbps, 1Mbps and 2Mbps users to 1Mbps, 2Mbps, 4Mbps respectively without any extra cost.
MTNL move is clearly to negate the impact of price reduction taken in by other broadband players like You Tele, Sify and Airtel. The move is also precursor to TRAI’s recommendation to redefine broadband services thus making it mandatory for operators to offer at least 2Mbps. The current reduction of MTNL affects only its Mumbai circle but soon would be rolled out in Delhi. The increased speeds would be offered to both existing and new customers.
The price war has already begin and is seeing a shift in pyramid approach as users gets upgraded speeds at lower tariffs. Major competition is still lacking as many player like reliance communication are yet to adopt such price scenario. The price war is most importantly missing from wireless broadband services as currently it adds up higher installation charges.
I would like BSNL Broadband to do the same….
The plans have been implemented for Delhi as well. If I am not wrong, all existing customers shall be automatically upgraded from September 1st. If you wish to keep the same bandwidth, then you shall need to write a letter to them.
PS – MTNL service in Delhi sucks BIG time!!
any reviews on how good/bad MTNL is in mumbai ? do they have a customer service helpline…am considering shifting from TATA….but can i use MTNL with my wi-fi router
@Shayon
Thanks for pointing that out would update the post after verification
@abhishek
Sorry can’t help much as I don’t use MTNL Net , But have you tried ‘Photon’ from Tata Indicom.
@abhishek, Yes, you can use wifi router to use with your MTNL Triband connection. The instructions are available from the MTNl website itself (I think). If not just call them up and they will help you out! (Atleast in Mumbai they do!).
@Raghav. Doubling broadband speeds is much needed move. However, a minimum of INR 999 (plus taxes), an unlimited connection is still an expensive proposition! I am currently using the 2MBPS 849 Night Unlimited and as a downloader, I can safely say that the unlimited plans does not entice me to convert mainly due to the price point and the fact that to reach the same level of downloaded data (as i do on 849 NU) I will have to keep my computer switched on the whole day resulting in more expenses due to rising electricity bills! (Just thinking from a downloaders’ perspective).
So as an MTNL customer myself, I would not want to shift to an unlimited account. besides, MTNL’s image as a ‘bad’ customer service company may not get it the volumes it desires and more importantly may not get users to convert from other services to MTNL!
@ Nishant
Although the rs.999 proposition is still expensive but look at the price reduction taken place in last 6 months it derives hope for similar price cuts ….MaY BE 1 mbps at similar prices looks achievable in coming months .
This is just great but thanks to the mtnl customer care and their awesome service they don’t even know about this yet. My connection has not been, infact the connection of my area has not yet been upgraded and when I called mtnl customer care at 1504 their reply was that they know nothing about this kind of upgrade in speed at no extra cost and they told us to call at 1500; the mtnl call center number; and the staff at 1500 said us to call 1504 like always wow a great service was provided by the government’s MTNL customer care department. Thankyou MTNL for great speeds and great Broadband plans but please upgrade the staff next time instead of speed.
MTNL is a sister concern company of BSNL and comes under Central Govt… The customer base of MTNL is nearly 5.92 million. And from past few years the graph is going down even if the Indian Govt. is spending too much of huge amount to uplift the customer base, but still the graph is going down and the main reason is their “GREAT SERVICES”. The MTNL lineman don’t have enough idea to configure even a modem and to solve a single complaint they take nearly 1 month or more because the don’t have enough workforce and the coverage area is very big. And when you see the MTNL exchange you become shocked to see their exchange, made of HUWIA equipments, and when you see the AIRTEL exchange you will find Ericson equipments just because the cost of HUWAI equipments are nearly half then Ericson.
Basically they have two type of exchange one is for 256 Kbps and one for above 256Kbps, if you buy plan for above 256 then you may get good response because for that only they use Ericson exchange.
I don’t know why the Govt. change the plan to get more customer and spend a huge amount in ads, the salary of lineman is nearly 15000/-, I think this is a total waste. Customers are very much frustrated from MTNL. If you visit the MTNL exchange you will find many customers shouting on the Area Manager. MY personal experience with MTNL was pathetic and now I switched to another services provider and now I am very much satisfied.
@Bhanup. You are right but only partially. The thing about MTNL providing bad service is only an illusion and I think MTNL needs to do some branding exercise to get this off people’s minds. Their linemen may not speak english but they do their job well (atleast most of them). I have had a few problems recently and they were fixed the very next day and the problem didnt reoccur.
That is besides the point though. I still think a branding exercise by MTNL hsould help it increase its customer base.