Top 10 Fastest Broadband Internet Service Providers in India

By Sanker Last Updated: December 4, 2018

Internet Service Providers (ISP) Background:

The total number of Internet subscribers in India stands over 432 million, according to estimates
of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and other sources.

Of these, some 17.85 million subscribers are connected to the Internet with broadband landline
wire-line connections while the remaining are through wireless, fixed wireless and mobile
Internet platforms.

US-based global Internet content delivery network, Akamai Technologies Ltd states, broadband
Internet speeds in India rank among the slowest in the Asia-Pacific Region, ranging between 3.5
Mbps and 4.1Mbps.

Countries of the region that lag in technology and economy are said to have higher broadband
speeds than India, the report states.

Current Scenario

India’s broadband Internet industry is bogged with various problems.

According to a TRAI report, the number of wireline broadband Internet subscribers in this
country dropped by 0.13 million in October 2017 to stand at around 17.85 million.

This decline is blamed on the poor wire-line infrastructure of the country, which mainly depends
on copper cables while the latest fibre-optic connectivity remains relatively low and confined to
large cities and towns only.

The second reason is cheaper and faster Fourth Generation (4G) Internet access offered by
mobile service providers and the easy availability of affordable smart-phones

Though this scenario appears gloomy, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in India are rapidly
taking steps to boost connectivity speeds and increase subscriber base by adopting newer
technologies.

These include laying new underground fibre optic networks and acquisitions of major players in
the fixed-line broadband Internet.

Based on TRAI findings and our research, we present a list of the fastest broadband Internet
service providers in India.

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 List of 10 Best Internet Service Providers (ISP)in India:

1. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL)

With about 9.43 million subscribers across India, state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd is the
most preferred wire-line ISP in this country.

BSNL offers broadband unlimited plans for subscribers of its landline telephone services.

These unlimited plans cost Rs.499 and upwards, depending upon data required and speeds.
BSNL offers nationwide coverage, including in remote parts of the country.

2. Bharti Airtel

Bharti Airtel is India’s topmost private sector telecom services provider and it provides one of
the best broadband plans and fastest mobile internet in India

It also ranks among the topmost in wire-line broadband ISPs, with an estimated 2.15 million
subscriber base.

Airtel offers its broadband wire-line Internet service under the brand Vfiber. It is available in
around 100 cities across India.

Airtel’s wire-line unlimited broadband plans start from Rs.Rs.699 per month and upwards,
depending upon your location, data usage and other services required.

Airtel broadband services can also be linked to Direct To Home services (d2h).

Read More: Top 7 d2h Companies in India

3. Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT)

According to TRAI statistics, ACT ranks among the most popular wire-line ISP in India. By end
of November 2017, ACT had 1.27 million subscribers.

The ACT currently provides high-speed wire-line broadband Internet in India specific region
New Delhi- National Capital Region as well as southern states, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,
Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

The ACT offers broadband Internet plans starting at Rs.675 per month. These plans also include
cable TV and entertainment packages.

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 4. Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL)

State-owned Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL) has closed to one million subscribers.
However, this number is very large considering MTNL operates only in Mumbai and New Delhi.

MTNL wire-line broadband is extremely popular in Mumbai, especially among the business
sector in the financial hub of this country.

MTNL offers unlimited broadband Internet plans in Mumbai and New Delhi starting from
Rs.299 per month onwards which is the best internet plans.

5. Hathway Cable & Datacom

TRAI estimates, Hathway Cable & Datacom has over 1.4 million subscribers connected to its
wireline broadband Internet services.

Hathway also operates a cable TV service and operates in some 140 cities and towns across
India.

Hathway’s unlimited broadband plans start from Rs.750 per month, depending on the city, data
usage, and type of services.

The company operates its high-speed wire-line broadband Internet service through the fiber-optic
cable network.

6. Hayai Broadband Pvt.Ltd

Hayai Broadband ISP provides services at select locations in India, including Mumbai.

Hayai’s wireline broadband Internet offers a maximum speed of 10Mbps, which is billed as the
fastest internet speed in India.

Hayai Broadband’s unlimited Internet plans are priced at Rs.1,899 per month and above,
depending upon location, speed and services required.

7. YOU Broadband India Ltd

YOU Broadband is a subsidiary of Multinational Company (MNC), Vodafone’s India

It is the first wire-line broadband operator in this country to offer Internet access speeds as high
as 100Mbps, specially geared for startups, Medium and Small Enterprises (MSMEs) and giant
corporate houses.

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YOU Broadband prices for high-speed wire-line Internet plans start from Rs.799 per month and
upwards, depending upon access and download speed, among others.

YOU Broadband operates in some 28 cities in India, including all metros.

8. Tikona Infinet Ltd

Tikona Infinet Ltd operates in over 25 cities in India and offers the cheapest wire-line broadband
Internet plans starting from as low as Rs.699 per month for 4Mbps speeds.

Tikona has the world’s largest outdoor Wi-Fi network. Tikona serves nearly 275,000 customers,
including about 10,000 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The company has won several awards for its broadband Internet service provided through the
fiber-optic network.

9. SmartLink Broadband

Currently, SmartLink Broadband is operating only within Mumbai and its peripheral areas.

The company offers wire-line broadband India Internet at 25Mbps and above speeds to
customers.

SmartLink’s broadband Internet packages start at Rs. 599 per month and upwards, depending
upon access speeds and services you avail.

10. Tata Docomo

For some reason, Tata Teleservices Ltd, which owns the Tata Docomo brand has lagged behind
in providing the Fourth Generation (4G) mobile services on its Global System for Mobile (GSM)
network.

Additionally, from March 2018, the company was also to discontinue its wireless landlines based
on Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network.

However, Tata Docomo continues to offer wireline broadband Internet access in select cities
located in 18 states of India.

Tata Docomo’s wireline broadband Internet plans are very reasonably priced at the beginning at
Rs. 699 per month with access speed of 5Mbps.

Special Mention: Jio Fiber

Reliance Jio Infocomm, fondly called Jio in India has expanded its mobile broadband Internet.

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According to various estimates, Jio’s 4G services including broadband Internet has between 170
million to 200 million subscribers.

Encouraged by these figures and acquisition of Reliance Communications Ltd (Rcom), the
company is planning to launch high-speed fiber-optic based wire-line broadband Internet
services under brand JioFiber.

According to various media reports, JioFiber is already being tested in some metros of India and
the service may be commercially available by March 2018.

Wire-line Broadband v/s Wireless Broadband

Statistics reveal individual Indians are more inclined towards wireless, fixed wireless and mobile
broadband Internet compared to traditional wire-line connections.

The wire-line broadband Internet is now the mainstay of businesses.

According to a report released in October 2017 by TRAI, state-run BSNL and MTNL are
actively engaged in boosting their underground fiber-optic network to prevent a further decline
in the number of fixed-line broadband connections.

To get a share of the market pie, major private telecom providers and ISPs are also investing
heavily in a fiber-optic network. Hence, we are likely to see a resurgence of wire-line ISPs in
coming years.

In Conclusion

Broadband Internet in India is also available through mobile providers including Airtel, Jio, and
Vodafone.

Nowadays, you can buy a Wi-Fi router that connects to 4G networks of these companies using a
Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card. The router and SIM are priced as low as Rs.999 and
subscriptions per month starting at Rs.149 for 28 days for 1GB data at 4G speeds.In various
markets, mobile majors like Idea and Telenor are also promoting 4G WiFi networks at very
economical rates.In coming years, India’s Internet users will benefit immensely from stiff
competition between ISPs in the country- both wire-line and wireless.Additionally, the launch of
Fifth Generation (5G) Internet and mobile services will also impact the way people use the
Internet in this country.Currently, telecom major Airtel is testing 5G technology in Bangalore.
The commercial launch of 5G services can be expected around end-2018, according to industry
sources.

Reference

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