Reliance Broadband- A Bad Bet

People have different sorts of experiences with different broadband operators or providers. In my extensive search of various online forums and social medias where people lodge complains I did find there there were complaints regarding almost every single company possible. So it is safe to say that if things have to get screwed up they will get screwed up for you.

When you look at the types of complaints for different service providers that is where you can see the difference between different service providers.

Where as maximum complaints against other broadband providers are regarding faulty or excessive billing one such service provider tops the list for non-availability of the services.

Once upon a time I did believe in the change brought about by the Reliance Communications limited in the country. Though people kept telling me that the cellular services be it gsm or cdma suffers from poor network coverage and auto-activation of VAS (value added services) for example activation of ringtones, bhajans, sms alerts. Thanks to TRAI that one could not block all such services in one single step plus the added advantage of DND (do not disturb) registry cuts down such misadventures significantly.

I briefly used reliance GSM services in view of the cheapest 3G services as compared to other services providers. A difference of 100Rs is too much for me or possibly for anyone.

When I moved to Delhi some time back I finally settled for a broadband connection because mobility was anymore not a problem. A dongle or wireless service would burn a big hole in my pocket given the fact that my data use is high in range of 20-40 GB per month a significant amount of is goes to youtube and many other tutorials.

While I searched for the services in my area Reliance Communications Limited (A Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Company) appeared as the biggest player. Their unlimited usage plan and no cap (FUP-Fair Usage Policy, i.e. a cap of max download speed) is a big bait and I fell for it.

A call to their field executive (sales man) was responded quickly. But sadly that was the only thing that had a quick response. The installation of the services took about 8 days and numerous calls (almost daily to the sales man, and also to the free service helpline the 1800-CRAP-CRAP which was never answered).

The reasons sighted for this delay was surprising. From the salesman being busy collecting applications in a different area, lack of service cable to being arrested by the police for stealing cable. How the hell in this world is it possible that a company which has one of the largest OCF network in the country, a company whose net-worth is much more that many other companies has deficiency of supply cable (CAT 7-CAT 8 type cables, probably).

But finally after several complaints it was installed.

It only worked for few days (about 5) and then stopped working.

After few complaints I obtained number of the local network engineer (not sure if that is the designation). He told me their local switch box was stolen and currently they are out of stock for the switch boxes gave assurance that it will be installed in a day or 2. Its now 20 days. No service.

Frankly I paid 1300 Rs for 5 days of internet service.

In the end it is not about the money I paid. It is about the ethics of service.

i might have made several calls both to the 1800-CRAP-CRAP and the sales executive, the network engineer. At a point who threatened me to stop calling and making complaints or else he would create trouble for me. The customer care kept calling asking if the problem has been fixed and they are escalating the problem. I never understand whats the level of escalation and how high it goes.

I finally understood that sometimes a company who over bills is better than company who does not provide you service at all. in simple words a restaurant which bills you extra is better than restaurant which refuses to serve you food after billing you.

It remains a mystery how a giant company like Reliance Communications can have shortage of cable or that of switch boxes. One has no idea.
Even severed under-water sea cables are repaired faster than the home internet cable connections.

It neither worth the time, nor worth the money.

Lotus Temple

Lotus temple in Delhi is a beautiful structure. Not just because of it architecture but also because of the principles  on which it is made. It is a prayer center of Baha'i religion. The teachings of Baha'i religion follow the principle that all humankind is one big family. So Lotus temple is a beautiful structure made of marble and concrete designed in shape of a Lotus from where the temple derives its name.
It can be easily reached by Bus, Auto, Cabs or Metro trains. The purple line from central secretariat you can catch a train towards badarpur and get down at kalkaji station. from there its at a walking distance. You could also visit Kalkaji temple which is almost just in front of Lotus Temple.

This temple was designed by Fariborz Sahba.
Anyways i don't want to go into other details. But i should say that it is one of the must visit places in delhi if you have time.
Baha'i religion welcomes all people from every religion without any discrimination. Please not to maintain complete silence after you enter the temple. And make sure not to disturb anyone sitting and meditating there. you can as well sit and meditate if you want to. You could also visit their literature shop an souvenir shop if you would like to buy anything. In the basement you will see water pools and these are part of the architecture. These are shallow pools. Please do not throw coins in them and they are not for playing of washing your feet. So kindly avoid putting your legs in the pool and if you are with kids instruct them not to do it.
Anyways I visited the temple in summer and it was hot. So I bought a bottle of water from a shop who was selling it. I was pretty shocked to know that he was selling a bottle of water for 20 Rs which had a MRP of 15. If there was only a way where i could complain about it. But sadly i didn't want to stand there and argue with him. Also there are two parks near by so you can take a walk in them if you like. The recent condition of the park did not look too well as there was lot of garbage thrown around and i was wondering when will Indian families learn not to throw garbage here and there and not every place is picnic place. Anyways rest taken care of, it is a beautiful place to visit and meditate.

Auto and Delhi

The experience with autorikshaw is kinda horrible with most of us living in any metro cities. In most of the cities the rates have been revised and the cost per kilometer comes to about 8 Rs now in Delhi. This includes a minimum fare of 19Rs which has to be paid by you anyway.

But that is a different story. The autos have their own rates for their convenience most of the times. They may at times demand as high as 30 Rs for going 2 Kilometers. There is no proper regulation, no helpline or complain center. If at times you complain then either they are let off with a warning, or a bribe as it may suite them. The other problem is finding an auto. Most of the times they will just deny going to a destination if it doesn't suite them. Plus they have their own regulations of night charges. I think as per the government rules night charges are 25 % of the fare applicable after 11 pm. But these fellows charge one and a half or twice the fare that to starting from 8.30 pm or 9 as they may like.

But its not the story of all Autowallas.  At times you may find a decent guy, who is humble, and honest.

My best experience with the Autowallas was in Mumbai. They never say no where ever you want to go. Always charge you according to the meter readings. The night charges start from 12am i.e. Midnight and never saw a rude guy.

The worst of my experience with Autowallas was in Bangalore. Because of two reasons, they are assholes, and two, they are bigger assholes. They are super rude, arrogant, demand exorbitant fares, plus they leave everything to argue.

Not just that if you do not know their native language which happens to be Kannada then that might cost you extra. Some times when you might board they will be talking to you in Hindi or English what ever possible but while dropping you off they loose their memory and can only talk in kannada. Weird.

Anyways so if you are new in bangalore and need to move around i will suggest you hire a cab instead.

Have not yet experienced Kolkata, but chennai seems to be moderately hostile.

If you have any experience , please share.

Bug Me Not

At times there are lot of websites that you might be visiting where you don't have much to do, but they require you to register with them. You are never sure if you'll ever return back to those websites. And at times you are even worried that this one registration can lead to your inbox being filled with spam mails.

So go and simply check in with Bug Me Not . It is a huge database of shared logins for a large number of websites. Don't forget to click on the buttons if they work or they don't work for you..

You can even share any logins if you want.

Be aware that some of the forums keep checking and banning the shared Login IDs. So do it in your own risk.