Review of Asianet broadband: my experience in last few months
I have been using Asianet broadband for last few months. This review is based on my experience with Asianet in past few months. Learn how good is their broadband services.
I have been using Asianet cable based broadband for last 4 months at my home and 2 months in my office. I think it is time to share my experience.
My initial experience with Asianet was pretty good. Connection was reliable and it delivered the promised speed. That's why I went ahead and signed up for the same for my office too.
However, the pieces started falling apart after a few months. My internet connection started giving problems frequently. Interestingly, both my home and office connections started giving problems about the same. Initially, I thought they are just temporary problems but after several weeks later, there are no solution and I am completely fed up with Asianet cable internet. I was told by some of the support executives that Asianet has more customers than the number of IP addresses they can issue and so some customers have to wait for others to get out to get a valid ip address.Asianet cable internet services in Kerala
Some of the major issues I experienced with Asianet cable broadband are mentioned below:
1. I can't use their high speed broadband as an ALWAYS ON connection. I need to login and keep the browser page active to stay connected to internet. If I close the the page or the browser, eventually my internet connection will time out. I was told that I will automatically get redirected to the login page when I try to browse but that doesn't happen most of the time. So, I have to bookmark the login page and go to that page first before I can start the internet session.
(I spoke to various authorities in the company regarding this login requirement. I was told they are working on some solution and this login requirement may be removed in future. As of now, the only way to disable the login requirement is by opting for an unmetered 512 Kbps plan, which doesn't fit my requirements.)
2. Due to the login requirements, it is very difficult to use WiFi on mobile and tablet devices. Logging in each time is a difficult talk through these small devices. Moreover, the automatic redirect to the login page doesn't work often in the mobile devices, making it practically very difficult to use Asianet through WiFi on mobile devices.
3. Connection is highly unreliable since last few weeks. My broadband connection goes offline every now and then, which is really frustrating for a person like me who uses internet for living. I am using BSNL WiMax and Tata Photon as backup options, out of which Tata Photon is the most reliable, even though it is expensive for heavy bandwidth use. I use Asianet broadband in home as well as office and I need to talk to Asianet customer support atleast once in a week with problems either at home connection or office connection.
Read my review of BSNL WiMax.
4. Frequent connectivity problems: I am experiencing connectivity issues very often. Many times the issue will resolve itself after a few hours but often I have to contact the customer support for the same. Due to the regular connectivity issues, I have decided to get rid of Asianet cable internet and just waiting to choose an alternative provider.
5. Customer support of Asianet is extremely poor. You have to wait for a long time in the tele-queue to get a support engineer on the call. Several times I had to simply hang up because I could never connect to a human. Many times, I get elevated blood pressure when I deal with Asianet internet issues :-)
6. If you are lucky to get to speak to a customer support engineer, many times their recommendations to resolve problems are ridiculous. It starts with clearing the browsing history, restarting computer and go on for ever. At the end, they will suggest that 'it is a common issue in the line and the technical team has been notified about it'. Most of the times, they won't register a complaint saying it is a common issue in the line, which will be resolved shortly.
All is not bad about them. I am very impressed with their speed. If it works, it gives the promised speed. I am using a 2Mbps connection at home and 10Mbps connection in the office. Both performs very well in terms of the connection speed.
My wireless router is supposed to show a blue light when the internet is ON, but with Asianet broadband, I see a lot of orange light on it...
Find some of the best wireless routers.Overall review of Asianet cable internet
I will NOT recommend Asianet broadband, for few reasons:
1. You need to login using a login id and password every time you need to connect to internet.
2. Connection has become highly unreliable in last few months (since September 2014), which is the case in my home, office and for few friends as well.
3. Customer support is very difficult to reach. The lines are always busy.
This only reason I didn't switch to other service providers till day is, I have invested some money in purchasing their modem and also as setup fees. I was expecting that the problems will be resolved soon but it is going beyond limits these days. I will be switching to some other broadband service provider in the next few weeks.Updates from the company
I have received a few updates from the company:
1. The login requirements will be removed in the near future. Asianet is working on some alternative approaches to meter the bandwidth usage and you won't be required to login to connect to internet in the future.
2. Company is actively working on resolving the connectivity issues. According to the official comment, most of the issues are related to the metro rail project going on in Ernakulam area. However, some of the customer support executives told me that Asianet has more customers than they could support. I guess this problem will be solved soon because many people like me would soon leave Asianet broadband and then the remaining people can enjoy the available lines!
UPDATE: 21-Nov-2014 - The internet connectivity issues from Asianet has gone beyond my tolerance limit. In last 2 weeks, I had to call Asianet support more than 15 times. Many times, they won't register a complaint saying this is a common problem and will be resolved shortly.
UPDATE on 26-Nov-2014: I have subscribed to Idea Wi-Fi internet at my office. I will share a review of their services in the next few weeks.
Follow 
If I use Asianet unlimited Rs 690 plan, do I need to login every time?