Indian broadband is gearing up for a revolution: Airtel, the leading telecommunication company in the country has introduced 8 Mbps broadband Internet access for its customers. For the Indian customers, most of whom have never experienced true high speed internet, this will, indeed, be a revolutionary experience. Currently, Indian customers have the choice of exploring Internet speeds starting from 256 kbps to 4 Mbps if they are lucky.
To achieve these speeds, the company has invested in its back end infrastructure, deploying a Carrier Ethernet Network, which is, in fact, already operational in Delhi, Bangalore, and Chennai. The company will include Mumbai under CEN in the next phase. Having CEN allows Airtel to provide high speed plans to broadband customers and also deliver triple play services. This service will also help the company to introduce new services that only run on high speed broadband. The company has already agreed with several content providers, such as India Games and Soundbuzz, to provide unlimited gaming, music downloads, education, and communication services.
The company is also introducing NetXpert, India’s first automated broadband self-care technology and PC Secure, which offers features like anti-virus and parental control.
The speed will be higher and it will make considerable difference to the growing Indian broadband market. For example, a song can be downloaded in as little as 5 seconds, whereas it takes 2.5 minutes with a 256 kbps connection. The service will initially be made available in Bangalore, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Delhi and the NCR, with a subsequent rollout in Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Mr. Atul Bindal, president, Broadband & Telephone Services, Bharti Airtel Ltd, said in the company press release, “At Airtel, our endeavor is to enhance customer experience significantly and provide ‘More Value.’ With 8 Mbps, we now offer our customers a truly world-class broadband experience. With 8 Mbps speed, our network will also be IPTV ready.”
