Too Good To Be True?

After MTNL's ridiculously overpriced 3G rates were announced, it looked like affordable broadband would continue to be a mirage in India.

But BSNL has (soft) launched its 3G service in Chennai today and the rates are up on the site. The big news is that there is an UNLIMITED data plan (unlike MTNL) and at 3000 bucks a month it's VERY competitively priced. Even the 1000 buck plan looks better than anything MTNL has on offer since the first 5 gigs are free after which its 2048 bucks per gig (Rs 2/MB).

The rollout is going to be state by state so I'm hoping Delhi/Haryana/UP are next after the pilot project in Ambala! BSNL service is a bit of an enigma though. I recently applied for a landline in Gurgaon and they took my form and 500 bucks registration without providing any receipt or tracking/service number. They said they'd come in a day or two but there was no sign of them till more than a week later. They also landed up without any warning/phone call which means I was just lucky that someone was at home to receive them. I have a feeling that GETTING the 3G connection will be a pain but once it's up, hopefully the service will be tolerable.