BSNL DATAONE DSL

a Broad band connection was installed in my house few days ago; to my surprise, during installation no software was used. On the first go I had no clue about this process, a person walks in and connects a modem to your computer [windows 98], and it starts to work. I asked him about it but failed to get an answer, I let it go.

However it was matter of time for me to explore the logistics behind this plug and play modem [HUAWEI] miracle. This has a firmware that can be updated directly. A qualified person will preprogram the firmware on the modem at the BSNL office. The installer plugs it in and wishes good luck. The DSL connection by BSNL was peculiar. In US, a direct phone line can be plugged into the modem while the every phone in the house gets a DSL filter. The order in which the modem is connected is not important. Here things are different. The DSL modem connection has to be the first connection before connecting to a phone or a fax. Meaning the modem has the filter installed which split the phone calls and Internet data. The positive side, No filters needed for every phone however the negative side wiring changes have to be done to make the DSL modem the first connection. But you are rescued by the BSNL lines-men. They will do this for a small fee. It is worth the money.

Support documents/software: BSNL did not provide any software, technical support or a one-page document. In fact there was no documentation to find the email account. We might have to call them to get the account id, and password. Once this was obtained, I was able to configure [POP] via outlook in few minutes. Thanks to little help that I found in DataOne.in web site. Help found there clearly gives you easy steps to configure the email. A simple 1-page document is all that takes to explain this, Why can’t they bundle this in the installation kit?

Next step was to explore the modem miracle. Frankly it was not that hard to explore. This modem has a web based client that can be reached by typing http://192.168.1.1/ on your browser. The browser will then ask for a login and password. [Admin and admin respectively]. From here you can have access to various modem functions, that includes a firewall. You can enable the firewall to protect your computer from attackers. This control page also has a rest set function that comes handy during abrupt power failures. Also here is where the expert at the BSNL office uploads the pre-programmed firmware with your account details engraved.

Service Speed: Technically it is called broad band, but speed during office hours is pathetic. From morning 6.00am to 8.00am, the bandwidth is good [sagikkable] [150kbs-200kbs]. As heat increases outside, the bandwidth falls down to 40, at times slower than a dial up. Frankly browsing during these hours is annoying. When asked about this to BSNL, I was asked to clean the IE browser Cache to improve speeds. Duh!.

Bottom line, being a computer nerd it was not that bad for me to get things going, however people who have no clue about the modem, networks etc would have a hard time. The general DSL speed is about 500. Though Broadband here is only 256 and today the speed never seem to go any where near 250, I am sure it will get streamlined. It is definitely a welcome start from Dialup users, however only a good customer service along with promised bandwidth makes it count. I have no documentation for DSL being installed in my place. I never signed a document to accepting the service. BSNL needs to get some kind of process in place to streamline broad band. I wish, soon they will have an installation kit on a CD-ROM that contains help and FAQ to make the Broad band experience a pleasure rather than a pressure.