Stealing a march on its rivals, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited launched 20 Mbps broadband services with triple play in Mumbai in December 2009. The service offered download speeds of up to 20 Mbps, the fastest at the time, and 18 GB of free data download at a monthly rental of Rs 9,000. The service was targeted at corporate and enterprise users, who could use it as a back-up to their internet leased line connections. As expected, other operators were quick to catch on and in the past few months, attractive broadband packages have flooded the market.

Industry analysts feel that this initiative could infuse new energy into the sector, especially since it targets the high-revenue segment of users for whom staying connected is a necessity. A look at some of the broadband offers available today...

Bharti Airtel
Home plans
Under these plans, the user is charged Rs 1,000 for Wi-Fi connectivity, Rs 500 for the modem and Rs 500 as a one-time installation charge. These charges are fixed and non-refundable.

Impatience 1399
This plan offers subscribers unlimited data transfer at 4 Mbps for a monthly rental of Rs 1,399. Users can also opt for value-added services (VAS) such as PC Secure for Rs 125, games-on-demand for Rs 199 and Airtel Mail Service and Online Desktop for Rs 99.

Velocity 8999
Under this plan, the user is charged a monthly rental of Rs 8,999 and can download up to 200 GB of data at 50 Mbps. Beyond this limit, there is a charge of Re 0.20 per MB of data download. The package also offers value-added services such as PC Secure for Rs 125, games-ondemand for Rs 199, Online Desktop for Rs 99 and Website Builder for Rs 250.

Business plans
8 Mbps Combo 2222
For a monthly rental of Rs 2,222, the user can avail of 8 Mbps broadband connectivity, with 8 GB of free usage every month. Re 0.90 per MB is charged for data downloads beyond this limit. There is a refundable security deposit of Rs 1,000 for the business plans.

Tata Teleservices Limited
Tata Photon Pro plans
These plans include a security deposit of Rs 1,000, and installation and registration charges of Rs 199. The user can opt for either a single-port home router priced at Rs 500 or a four-port router with Wi-Fi priced at Rs 1,000.

Data Unlimited Combo Plan
The user is charged Rs 2,999 as monthly rental for a 3 Mbps broadband connection, with 75 GB of free data transfer. The speed goes down to 1.5 Mbps for data downloaded beyond this limit.

Volume-based Combo Plan: Pro Value 8999
This plan entails a monthly rental of Rs 8,999 and offers free data downloads of up to 100 GB at 18 Mbps. Beyond this, Re 0.40 is charged for every MB of data that is downloaded.

Broadband 2.0 plans
Unlimited Plan: Infinity 4 Mbps Plus
This plan offers download and upload speeds of 4 Mbps and 512 kbps respectively for a monthly rental of Rs 9,000.

Flash and Power Flash Plan: Power Flash 1.5 Mbps
Under this plan, users can avail of download and upload speeds of 1.5 Mbps and 512 kbps respectively for a monthly rental of Rs 2,950.

Volume Plan: Power 6000
The Power 6000 plan gives subscribers a free usage limit of 6000 MB at download and upload speeds of 512 kbps and 256 kbps respectively. There is a monthly charge of Rs 799.

Lightning plan: Lightning 100 Mbps
This plan entails a monthly rental of Rs 3,500, and offers customers 10 GB of free data usage at download and upload speeds of up to 100 Mbps and 512 kbps respectively.

Reliance Communications
Post-paid plans
Zoom 2 Mbps
The user is charged a monthly rental of Rs 2,599 for a 2 Mbps broadband connection with unlimited data usage.

Data transfer plan: Galaxy 20 Mbps
The consumer is charged Rs 2,999 as monthly rental and can download up to 20 GB of data at 20 Mbps. The additional usage charge is Re 0.50 per MB.

Prepaid plan
Online Speed Select 1000 Kbps
For a 1000 kbps connection, the user has to pay Rs 70 per hour during the day and Rs 35 per hour at night (10 p.m. to 8 a.m.).

Post-paid combo: Plan 1099
This plan provides a 600 kbps broadband connection at a monthly rental of Rs 1,099 and offers unlimited bundled data usage. There is an installation charge of Rs 500.

Prepaid combo
These plans can be activated through a start-up voucher and entail an activation charge of Rs 500. The vouchers are available in denominations of Rs 333, Rs 555, Rs 1,122 and Rs 1,666 with usage values of Rs 225, Rs 550, Rs 1,200 and Rs 2,000 respectively. They are valid for 30 days.

Longer validity vouchers are also available in denominations of Rs 1,020, Rs 2,040 and Rs 5,555, with usage values of Rs 1,050, Rs 2,200 and Rs 6,000, and validity periods of 60 days, 75 days and 180 days respectively.

Business plans
Data transfer plans
The company is offering three plans under this category, with download speeds of 2 Mbps and monthly rentals ranging from Rs 2,999 to Rs 8,999. These plans include free usage of 20 GB (under Plan 2999) to 75 GB (under Plan 8999) per month. The charge for additional usage is Re 0.50 per MB under each plan. All data transfer plans require an upfront payment of Rs 5,000 which is adjusted against future usage.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited
Stand-alone plans
Broadband 500
Users can avail of a broadband connection offering speeds of up to 2 Mbps, with a 2.5 GB monthly download/upload limit, for Rs 500 per month. Additional data download is charged at Re 0.60 per MB.

Business 700
Under this plan, the operator provides a 2 Mbps broadband connection with a 4 GB monthly download/upload limit for a monthly rental of Rs 700. Additional data download is charged at Re 0.50 per MB.

Broadband combo plans
BBG Speed Combo 2799@
The user is charged Rs 2,799 per month for an 8 Mbps broadband connection and can download/upload data up to 50 GB. Any data downloaded beyond this limit is charged at Re 0.30 per MB.

Broadband high speed plans
BBG Super Speed Combo 4999#
This plan offers a 16 Mbps broadband connection for Rs 4,999 per month with a monthly download/upload limit of 110 GB. For additional data downloads, there is a charge of Re 0.20 per MB.

BBG Super Speed Combo 9999@
Under this plan, users can avail of a 24 Mbps broadband connection with a monthly download/upload limit of 220 GB for Rs 9,999 per month. Additional data downloads are charged at Re 0.20 per MB.

For home users
BB Home Combo ULF 2999##
The plan entails a monthly rental of Rs 2,999 for a 2 Mbps broadband connection and unlimited data usage. Beyond 50 GB, the speed falls to 256 kbps.

Stand-alone and combo plans for home and business users
BBG ULF 15000
This plan offers a 4 Mbps (up to 500 GB download) connection for a monthly rental of Rs 15,000. The speed reduces to half after 500 GB of data download.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
Silver UL Data Combo
This plan includes a 2 Mbps broadband connection for Rs 3,999 per month, with a minimum speed of 512 kbps and unlimited data download.

Gold UL Data Combo
Under this, users can avail of a 4 Mbps broadband connection with a minimum speed of 512 kbps and download unlimited data for a monthly rental of Rs 8,999.

Sify Technologies
Night Unlimited Plans
These plans offer users speeds ranging from 256 kbps to 512 kbps, with different data transfer limits during the day and night. The 256 kbps plan entails 500 MB of data transfer during the day and unlimited data transfer at night. This pack is priced at Rs 489. The 512 kbps plan does not permit data transfer during the day and offers unlimited data transfer at night only. This pack is available for Rs 575. Both packs have a 30-day validity.

Data Transfer Packs
This category comprises two plans, both offering speeds of 256 kbps. The first plan, priced at Rs 410, has a data transfer limit of 600 MB and is valid for 30 days. The second is priced at Rs 570 and has a 1.2 GB data transfer limit. Both packs are valid for 30 days.

Double Data @ Night Packs
These plans offer 256 kbps connectivity and the same data transfer limit during the day and at night. The plan, priced at Rs 410, has a 600 MB data transfer limit, while the plan priced at Rs 570 offers users a 1.2 GB limit. Both packs are valid for 30 days.

To conclude, the broadband segment is emerging as a key focus area for operators. As they push to expand their broadband subscriber base, customers can look forward to many more interesting offerings. With technologies like Wi-Max and 3G likely to take off in a big way in 2010, more activity can be expected in this space.
Jyothika Oberoi