Wisetechie Blog : Ctrl your Tech Life

I feel very guilty making this post while on a TATA Wimax (VSNL) connection. But the truth is that this service will eventually fail, I have almost half made up my mind to switch. Its not the the speed is bad or that connectivity is a problem. The biggest problem comes with the implementation of their network.

There is a serious issue with the login page, each user much go through a stupid login page to do anything. Moreover there is no port forwarding, therefore all torrent downloads are excruciatingly slow. For example, I was downloading a well seeded torrent at 6.5 kBps on my 256 kbps connection.

Another problem is no VPN, you cannot access your company’s VPN with the TATA Wimax account.

The point to be noted here is that none of these problems had existed with Tata Broadband’s original DSL.

I have been in touch with multiple engineers in TATA Communications over these issues, none were able to help me. All they would suggest was to purchase a static IP for 2000 rupees (am i nuts). MTNL gives one for free with its 256kbps plan. MTNL too has pathetic customer service though.

Lets hope some senior TATA Communications guy reads this and drills some sense into the stupid policy makers.

Ok, its been 4 days since i got this connection installed, and i have gotten the pros and cons ready for quick analysis. I got the connection installed this Sunday (much to the dislike of my neighbours), and it hasnt had significant downtime since then.

Pros :

• Good Speeds, they deliver what they promise and a little extra.
• No hassles of wires and wirecuts.

These are the only 2 pros I can think of over a normal DSL connection, the list of cons is much longer, but these cons are very specific. I am still using the connection inspite of all these cons since they dont affect me a lot (except for the 1st con). Really hope the antenna doesn’t ever need service.

Cons :

• You need to have access to your roof,  installing the antenna can be a sour experience if you have un co-operative neighbours.
• The connection goes down just like that for 1-2 minutes every now and then.
• There is a stupid login page which normal Tata DSL login did not have. Prepaid users are forced to have this login page since they cant get a static IP for free. Idiots have the audacity to ask me to spend Rs. 2000 extra for removing the login page. Also the connection just logs itself out for no reason.
• Pathetic customer support especially from billing department. The engineers who visit your place are usually good enough.
• No port forwarding without Static IP.

Turns out all that shouting I had done on the Tata Indicom broadband guys finally gave some result. The installation guys were here on a Sunday.  After asking the neighbours to let us use the roof for the antenna it was smooth sailing all along. Although they did try to play spoilsport by asking us to install the antenna below etc. Later on they asked us to try and install the Tata sky dish in front of our house also. Anyway, will handle that later. Need to get a copy of our house agreement.

The photos below show the sleek antenna in its full glory after the installation. Its a Telisma model Antenna. Will show the indoor photos of the antenna which I had taken later on. The last photo shows the clamp used to secure the antenna.

Sorry for the ugly watermarks, but these are sort of personal photos and hence marked.

A review on the installation, usage and performance plus pros and cons will follow. There is a slight problem with DNS settings and all as I have a dynamic IP address, it sometimes hangs and i need to change the DNS, dunno what that is about.

Its ironical that all this is happening to me. I was perhaps the only person on the Internet who used to praise the services of Tata Indicom VSNL Broadband. The truth was that it was reliable and my last level engineers were good pals with me so I could get faults corrected easily and fast. Infact I think I contributed to the promotion of one of the engineers in my area by giving good feedback about him ( TATA people must have been shocked, what is this guy doing in our company ?).

Anyway, continuing from my previous post. Tata Indicom broadband illegally disconnected my prepaid broadband connection on 21st May in the evening.They are discontinuing Wireline services in my area, so only wireless services via Wimax will be provided.

Checkout the letter below, I should mention I received the letter on 21st May, one day after the date mentioned on it. I wonder what the person drafting the letter was thinking, why the hell would I even think of using dial-up in this era. Maybe he is living 10 years in the past.

I have been in touch with their nodal officer and countless employees. Despite requesting politely for priority reconnection, I haven’t been given any. Infact, in all their emails they will mention that my complaint is being handled on priority, but on the phone everyone is quick to point out that preferential treatment is out of question. “Sir, it takes 7 days on minimum to get the Wimax installed” is what i hear most often. Its been 3 days since I got my network disconnected. Tomorrow being a Sunday is a holiday, so the focus shifts to Monday. I am hellbent on ensuring that the person who got my connection disconnected faces the music for all my woes. Looking at legal options and precedents also. Apparently I have a good case due to the fact that the letter seems to be predated. Someone probably forgot to mail them on time or probably the letters were an afterthought. Also looking at MTNL Triband as an alternative to this connection.

Moreover to get my internet on again, I have to get this Wimax Antenna installed on my house’s roof which is owned by someone else but according to our sale agreement, we are allowed to place stuff on the roof including antennae and water tanks . More stuff to take care of then. Mr. Ratan Tata, had i not purchased shares and FDs in your company, I would be praying for their failures , I wonder which broadband you use for your home ? BSNL , best hai ! And thanks for starting TISCO, the rally in its shares was great for my budget.

Just a quick post to let you guys know that Tata Indicom Broadband VSNL has disconnected my broadband wireline service in an absurd way. I got a letter in the morning that the day before is last day of browsing as they are removing all wired connections in Delhi city (which is a BLATANT LIE) and sure enough on 21st May 2009 Tata Indicom broadband disconnected my connection without giving me any intimation. For a while I had thought it was a line failure but their engineer confirmed it.

Tata Indicom broadband is indeed the worst service to go for, dont go for it unless you are stuck with it like me. They have absolutely no regards for customers or any work they may have to do. Treat Tata Communications with contempt. Almost all Tata brands are filled to the brim with arrogance and a pathetic level of customer service and regard.

Please boycott Tata Indicom broadband/VSNL if you believe in consumer rights and can identify with how lowly this move by Tata was to cut my internet with 6 hours of notice.

ICICI bank might be one of the most complained about banks in India. Infact, according to their site’s statistics only, they had around 1,85,000 complaints last year, out of which around 1500 are still unresolved.

The fact is that many customers are frustrated by the attitude of ICICI bank and therefore have to resort to using rude language with the ICICI customer care team who are most of the time ill informed ,ignorant and powerless to help the customer in the bigger scheme of things. I have experienced this first hand as a customer. in various interactions.

I was surprised to read a note on their website :

Dear Customer,

ICICI Bank gives customer service paramount importance. Our personnel treat customers with politeness, courtesy and respect at every interaction. Sometimes, mitigating circumstances, like systems downtime, policy-related issues and compliance-related concerns, may compel us to convey decisions that may not be to your entire satisfaction. These are, however, only the exception and not the rule. The rule is to provide agreeable solutions, and that too at the first interaction itself; and the compliments we receive from satisfied customers – through our website, by phone, by e-mail and by letter – while indeed very heartening, serve to inch the bar higher.

However, customers resorting to provocative and unparliamentary language or rude and disruptive behaviour stretch tolerance, cause distress and impact on morale and efficiency. This can lead to a compromise in the level of service received by other customers and is therefore untenable. Therefore, despite the acknowledged primacy that a customer in the service industry commands, we must inform you with the greatest reluctance and deepest regret that henceforth, customers found to be offensive in their interaction with us will be required to close all their relationships with ICICI Bank.

Sincerely,

ICICI Bank Ltd.

What it essentially means is that if a customer loses his cool with the customer service team of the bank, he will have to close all his accounts with ICICI bank. I do not even know the legality of this as RBI must be having some rules about banks having to accept deposits without discrimination. But see how blatantly anti-consumer the whole statement is. I mean if you keep frustrating a customer by providing him stupid answers to his replies or not replying to him altogether, ofcourse he will lose his cool. And instead of better training your staff to handle customers, you have decided to blame it all on the poor customer. I am disappointed in this bank , hopefully they will make more customer friendly policies in the future and emerge as a good , honest and customer friendly bank.

I do not know to what extent they are enforcing the rule, but i guess they have pretty much taken away your right to protest against the bank. Just dont lose your cool.