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This is an archive article published on March 15, 2009

NET WISE

Tired of Broadband bills that go far beyond your calculation and plans which are not truly “unlimited”?

Tired of Broadband bills that go far beyond your calculation and plans which are not truly “unlimited”? Abhineet Mishra helps choose Internet packages that fit your usage best

TATA INDICOM
Postpaid
Gold plus 5299: With a surfing speed of 384 Kbps,the plan offers “unlimited” access to the Internet. You pay a one-time activation fee of Rs 499 in addition to four months’ rental of Rs 4,800. After the four months,you have to pay a monthly fee of Rs 1,200. A colour printer,static IP,PC security shield,domain name and a business mail are provided free.

Infinity 384 plus: With a data transfer speed of 384 Kbps,the plan comes with a monthly commitment of Rs 1,200 and all incentives offered by the Gold Plus 5299.
Infinity 384: The package has everything similar to its “plus” version,except for the additional incentives,but saves you Rs 200 a month.
Infinity 512 plus: The plan offers a data-transfer speed of 512 Kbps at Rs 1,700 a month with incentives offered in the Gold Plus 5299.
Infinity 512: This version of Infinity 512 plus saves you Rs 200 a month for limiting the incentives to a colour printer.
Other high speed plans: These plans enable you to use the Internet at surfing speeds of 1 Mbps,2 Mbps and 4 Mbps with costs varying between Rs 2,500 and 8,000 a month. These “truly broadband” plans have no cap on downloads.

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Prepaid
Power on and on (384 Kbps): While you pay Rs 1,124 every month for the one month package,you are also required to pay installation charges of Rs 1,000. The three-month package reduces your installation fees by half. The installation charges are waived for the six-month and 12-month packages.

Power on and on (512 Kbps): You pay Rs 1,686 a month in addition to Rs 1,000 installation charges. The three -month package reduces your installation fee by half. The installation charges are waived for the six month and 12 month packages.

RELIANCE BROADBAND
Postpaid
Online speed select plans: You can choose between a Rs 500 plan and a Rs 300 plan with monthly free usages worth Rs 500 and Rs 225,respectively. The billing is done on a per minute basis with a 50 per cent discount for night users. While a data transfer speed of 300 Kbps costs Rs 30 per hour,the hourly charges rise to Rs 45 and Rs 70 for speeds of 600 Kbps and 1,000 Kbps,respectively.

Data transfer plans: These data transfer plans charge a user for data downloaded or uploaded. With data transfer speeds of 600 Kbps or more,the plan is designed for those with regulated use. While the monthly plans start from Rs 299 for a “bundled usage” of 1 GB,it offers slots of 2.5 GB,4 GB,4.5 GB and 7.5 GB in the price range of Rs 550 and Rs 1,499. However,for every extra MB of usage,you will be charged Rs 0.90.

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Flat fee plans: The best bet if you are a heavy user. With this plan you can stay connected for as long as you wish and download as much as you want at a fixed charge. The broadband plans offering speeds of 300 Kbps,600 Kbps and 1 Mbps are priced at Rs 999,1,799 and 2,999,respectively. The first should be ideal for regular home use.

Night unlimited plans: The plan gives you the liberty to stay connected for as long as you wish during night hours (10 pm to 8 am). It also offers flexibility to surf during the day at charges calculated on the per minute basis. The Rs 650,300 Kbps speed,plan gives you daytime access to the Internet at Rs 30 per hour. There are also plans for “bundled usage” in this category that offer you unlimited downloads at 300 Kbps during off-peak hours and a data transfer limit of 500 MB during peak hours. Within the stipulated limits,the plan costs Rs 699 a month with 0.90 charged for every extra MB of data transferred.

Prepaid
Online speed select plan: You are charged on the per minute usage basis. Offered in speed slots of 300,600 and 1000 Kbps,the plan charges you Rs 30,45 and 70 per hour for daytime usage. The night-time usage is correspondingly halved.

Data transfer plan: While the plan offers a data-transfer speed of 600 Kbps,you are charged only for the data transferred at the rate of Rs 1.25/MB.
Flat fee plan: You stay connected for as long as you wish and download as much as you want at a fixed charge. This truly broadband plan in this category offers a download speed of 300 kbps with charges of Rs 40 per day.

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AIRTEL
Postpaid
Super value 499: With a monthly commitment of Rs 499,the plans allows you a broadband data transfer limit of 25 hours at 256 kbps. Additional usage comes at Rs 25 per hour.

2mbps combo 777: The plan offers data transfer speeds of 2Mbps. With a monthly commitment of Rs 777,the plan has a data transfer cap of 4GB,beyond you will have to shell out 80 paise per MB.
2 mbps Combo 999: For Rs 999 the data-usage cap is raised to 6 GB,following which you pay 70 paise for every MB used.
Value combo 599: The plan comes with monthly charges of Rs 599,download speeds of 256 Kbps and a data transfer limit of 3 GB. Every extra MB used is charged at Rs 60 paise.

Value combo’s 899 and 749: Paying nearly Rs 300 more than the Value Combo 599,these plans allow you
unlimited access to the Internet at 256 Kbps speed.

Value combo 1599: Priced at Rs 1,599 per month,the plan offers “unlimited” access to the Internet at a speed of 512 Mbps.
8 Mbps combo 1299: Ideal if you need super fast download speeds of 8 Mbps. With a monthly commitment of Rs 1,299,the plan,however,caps the data-transfer limit at 4 GB.

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Prepaid
2 Mbps top-up 250: With a data transfer limit of 1 GB and data transfer speed of 2 Mbps,the plan comes at a monthly price of Rs 250. Additional data transfers will be charged at Rs 1 per MB.
DSL 299: With a monthly commitment of Rs 299,the plan restricts your broadband usage to 25 hours. At a download speed of 256 Kbps,the plan charges at Rs 25 per hour for usage exceeding the prescribed limit.

BB 499 top-up: With a monthly commitment of Rs 499,you are offered a data-transfer speed of 2Mbps. Priced at Rs 499 a month,the plan caps the data transfer limit at 2.5 GB and charges Rs 0.80 for every extra MB transferred.

Home 799 and 999: The plans with a data transfer speeds of 256 Kbps and 384 Kbps,respectively,offer you the truly “unlimited” broadband experience for Rs 799 and Rs 999 for a month.

MTNL
TriB 99: Offers a minimum download speed of 256 Kbps with a data transfer limit of 150 MB at a cost of Rs 99 per month. Every extra MB is charged at Re 1.
TriB 149: With a download speed of 256 Kbps,the plan limits data transfer at 400 MB for Rs 149 per month. Extra data charged at Rs 0.80 per MB.
TriB 199: With a speed of 256 Kbps,the plan is priced at Rs 199 per month. You pay 80 paise for every MB in case you overshoot the prescribed limit of 600 MB.

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TriB 399: The plan offers a speed of 256 Kbps but caps data transfers at 2 GB. While you are charged Rs 399 every month within the slotted limit,additional data transfers cost 70 paise per MB.
TriB 649: You are offered a broadband speed of 512 kbps with data transfer limited of 5 GB. Every extra MB costs 60 paise while the plan is charged at Rs 649 every month.
TriB 849,1199,1999: These plans are the upgraded versions of the TriB 649 and they offer everything similar,except that the data transfer cap is raised. At monthly charges of Rs 849,1,199 and 1,999,you are allowed downloads up to 7GB,10 GB and 25 GB respectively.

TriB UL data-256: With a data transfer speed of 256 Kbps,the plan allows “unlimited” access to the Internet at Rs 599 a month.
TriB UL data-512: Priced at Rs 1299 a month,the plan gives you unlimited access to the Internet at 512 Kbps speed.
(Prices based on market research)

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