I have been waiting for one week after my last blog to continue my quest of acquiring a BSNL broadband connection. Below are the milestones which I covered during that.
19 Sept Wednesday
I tried many times to connect to the contact number given at the time of application. Finally I made it through. Some one at the other end answered. She said at least it will take 2 weeks, i.e. one more week from now. When I asked about the process and status of my connection, she tried to explain the process, my application has to undergo before finally [magically] turning in to the broadband connection. But, she preferred the language Kannada, which is alien to me. I only understood some words like, telephone exchange, connection point etc. Those too were heavily accented.
21 Sept Friday
My friend who went to another BSNL office got another form, though the contents are same ;) How many forms do they have? Now itself I have seen the one from Internet, the one I filled and the one my colleague got. I guess the BSNL people don’t even know what exactly to do. Also, they said to him ‘frankly’, “It will take one month for you to get the connection”.
29 Sept Saturday
I wanted to call them last Wednesday, but I was not well and also busy preparing to go to my home town. Today morning while I was on my way, I got a call from a guy. He started off with Kannada, but when I heard the terms ‘Internet, phone connection, BSNL, broadband’ etc, I understood what it is. I told him that I don’t know Kannada and we settled on Hindi, which neither of us knew perfectly. I told him I am in Kerala and gave my friend’s number to contact. But somehow he conveyed me the message that, phone connection is ready [couldn’t understand what he said about Internet] and he needed me personally [with my id proof] there to give the connection. He gave me his number and said to call him once I am back.
3 Oct Wednesday
I asked one of my friends, who knows Kannada to call him and ask what is the status. When she called he said he will come and ‘install’ this Saturday. I don’t know whether he will give only the land line or both broadband and land line.
5 Oct Friday
I wanted to confirm about him coming to my apartment tomorrow. So I told my friend to call him again. [Thanks to her] He said we will meet in front of a hotel near my apartment tomorrow at 11:30am and I should have the receipt and id proof then.
In the mean time, I talked to a colleague of mine who took BSNL connection. He actually applied for the Home UL900 plan, but he got the Home 500 plan with a download limit of 2GB per month. He applied for a plan change, but it took him one month. He told me that the Home 500 plan was having really good speeds as compared to UL900 plan. The 2GB download limit for the Home 500 plan is very tight to maintain, but that plan has got unlimited connectivity between 2am and 8am.
6 Oct Saturday
Again the magical moment got postponed. I guess the BSNL people made it their policy that you have to realize the value of the broadband before having it. I called the guy and gave the precise location of my apartment. He said he knows the place and he will be here with in 12noon. I waited till 11:30 and called him again. Then he said some problem about the telephone number and it will be finalized only by today evening and that he will draw the cable on Monday. [Last Saturday when he called, he said everything was ready] Also he gave me the number of another person to call on Monday. I will have to come back to my apartment from office when he comes.
8 Oct Monday
Finally!!! I didn’t get the Internet connection. It is not a typo, I didn’t get it. I contacted the new guy [from office] and found out that he doesn’t even know Hindi. He said something to me in Kannada and all I understood was a telephone number and a name with a suffix JTO. I managed to convey him that I applied for a new connection and didn’t get anything and asked him when he will come. He said he will come to my place at 12:30pm. Later I called again to confirm that I will get both the phone line and Internet connection. But communicating with this guy was completely impossible. All I understand was that guy saying “sub kuch milta hain aaj” [You will get everything today]. My mind jumped with joy. But I told my friend [who know Kannada] to talk to him by around 11:30pm. He said he will be there within 15 minutes. So my roommate and I rushed to the apartment. We waited and waited. Called him two times in between and he say “10 minutes sir, I will come in 10 minutes”. We waited for around 1 hour. Finally he came. Then only I realized the actual situation. He came to install the phone. After installing the phone and activation [which will take another 2 days] only, the broadband connection process will be initiated. The telephone connection is supposed to be installed & activated at least with in 10 days from the day of application. The line man said something about the entering data to computer, shortage of modem and all. But I called the JTO [Got his number from the line man] to confirm all these. He said to call him after the activation of the land line. It will then take around 10-15 days [so he told] to get the broadband. [I am expecting a delay of one more month]. So that’s the story till now. All I got till now is the land line. Once again I am in to a waiting state.
Above all of these, when I called a friend of mine, he said he bought the wireless gadget of BSNL directly from the customer care centre. It got activated within one day. But I am trying to convince myself, broadband is better, as it will give you 256Kbps of speed [exceptions are there] while the other will give a max speed of 146Kbps. The other details are it has unlimited wireless connectivity all over Bangalore and up to 5Kms outside the city limits and the equipment cost is Rs7000/- [either one time payment or Rs200/- per month] and a usage charge of ~450 per month.
There will be a final part of this. [Trilogy] But I can’t guarantee when. It depends on the BSNL people. I hope it will be soon.
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