Pariprashnena — Q&A Archive

ive never really experienced internet connections in the west. im living in mayapur, and as far as internet goes, its next to the end of the world. at home im having two connecitons: dialup-modem at 3-4 kB/s, and via a mobile phone, 4-5 kB/s. mostly one of the two works ...

at the ISKCON temple theyve got so-called broadband now, which isnt that broad, unfortunately. most offices in the long building are connected, at 8-12 kB/s - hardly enough for sype voice chat. theres an internet-place run by ex-gurukulis, though. they receive their supply from the same broadband connection, but, paying something more than the offices, they get 20-40 kB/s (ive heard, not seen yet). depending on how many users are online, thats pretty fast for mayapur conditions.

in larger towns and cities its better, though. even in kolkata you can get real broadband in internet shops, and if you have a mobile phone with GPRS & edge protocol, you can get up to 20 kB/s, ive heard.

it gets really good im told once you leave west bengal, going to bombay or bangalore, with real fast internet everywhere. but i dont know any details about that.

reliance used to be better than its rivals, but recently their performance diminished. most people using it are complaining that its hardly ever available, and if, then slower than the other providers. all these mobile phone (or USB modem card) connections depend a lot on how close you are to the next tower, of course.

ys phani.

thanks for the info.

Is reliance reliable in mayapur or is there something better?

as i wrote in my prevous message, reliance doesnt seem very good or reliable at present. i havent used them in years, but others who do are complaining.

best connection would be BSNL mobile (edge protocol with up to 20+kB/s available even in mayapur), but you get intenet only with postpaid connections - which arent easily available for foreigners. if you can get a local to register one for you, that might be an option.

if you dont require your own connection at all times of day & night, you could go to the internet place run by ex-gurukulis. they charge rs. 30 / h and have the fastest connection in town.

ys phain.

I was also thinking about this because I have seen people connected while travelling by train.
20k/s doesnt seem so bad for a mobile connection.

Thanks!

perhaps looking through travellers web sites will help. my knowledge is limited to whats available locally in mayapur. if i find something else ill let you know ...

ys phani.