FROM DELHI: The people of Bangladesh are getting better internet service in comparison to neighboring India. Staying connected to the virtual world may be a hobby to some people but it is most essential for some people too.
And, if it comes to an employee of banglanews24.com, the fastest growing online news portal of Bangladesh, this will be the most obvious thing for him/her. For the first time in last four years, I stayed disconnected to internet for an incessant period of 24 hours while visiting India.
Internet connectivity is also available on the far remote hilly peak of Nilrgiri in Bangladesh. Well done by the mobile phone operators in Bangladesh!
I can say that Indian mobile operators – Airtel, Vodafone – will obviously fail in the race of providing internet service delivered by Bangladeshi mobile operator Grameenphone, Robi or Banglalink. And, it can be well said for the bitter experience of internet browsing for last two days in India.
A high official of Bangladesh high commission in Delhi shared the same experience saying “It is obviously true, cell phone usages and internet connectivity is better in Bangladesh than that of in India.”
Besides, the Indians themselves are foreigners inside Indian! Bangladeshis are familiar with ‘roaming charge’ during their stay at outside Bangladesh whereas Indians are to pay roaming and different extra charges during their stay at the other provinces or states.
When an Indian leave the own provinces, he/she goes out of internet connectivity.
If the logic is “India is a big country”, so why is it possible in the United States of America? One can talk and have internet access across USA with the same connection, even there is a time zone difference among the states.
The story began after setting foot in Kolkata. I told the local correspondent, I would have to visit many states; so your first task was (you have) to ensure me the internet connectivity remain available all the time.
‘No matter,’ he told me and took me to a shop, previously known to him, where usually many internet connections including that of Airtel and Vodadfone were available.
But, that night, as SIM shortage appeared, the shopkeeper made me understand, Airtel was better – you may take one. It would give (internet) access across entire India. You would get 50 megabytes free of charge, use these at night and the net connection would be made okay during the day.
‘That’s right,’ I said and got back to the hotel. I set my domestic brand cell phone Walton as the internet router and wrote the news story and sent it; checked email and Facebook. All took one and half-a-hour and then I went sleeping.
Having waked up on the morning, I found my phone balance finished, I could not make call anywhere. I understood the operator had taken all of my phone balance in exchange of 50 mbs!
They I hurriedly recharged Rs. 50 and began communication again. I decided to keep the Airtel for talking and a Vodafone for internet connection. A 1 Gigabyte package for Rs. 244 – more price than Bangladesh, but it’s not too bad. Then, I got in Rajdhani Express.
After crossing the border of Indian State of West Bengal, the operator was telling me, you are under roaming area now; pay extra charge, if you want to call. And the internet said I can’t connect you.
Thus I arrived at Delhi after 18-hour long train journey, went to the hotel. Taking my computer on my back, I went out searching for internet connection.
Everybody was telling the same, you would have to take a new connection, someone asked for the price Rs. 500, someone even hiked it upto Rs. 650.
One showed me the way to the customer care, I ran there. The father ran the customer care, and his youth son gave time in customer caring beside his study.
I elaborated details of my problem to the son. The boy, really, had a good hand on the matter. He looked into my SIM awhile and told me it was out of order here. This SIM was from Kolkata, it can’t be used in Delhi.
I told him ‘give me a new connection (sim)’. He took Rs 355 – Rs 100 for SIM and Rs. 255 for one GB data package.
Taking the money, I remained standing there, the shopkeeper gave me the SIM and told me “make a call to 117 after eight hours; activate the connection telling them your details.”
Shocked again, more eight hours again! I went back to the hotel, passed the time sleeping and watching television. Exactly eight hours after, I came to the customer care again and saw the boy working there till then.
I told him, you connect my internet. He did it within 15 minutes. But 30 more minutes needed to make everything okay. They told, “3G package, don’t think about the speed.”
Back to the hotel, internet began working really, but the speed was ‘incredibly slow’. Where 3G and 2G were! I was doing with net connection ‘yes-G’, ‘yes-G’, and losing money minute by minute.
BDST: 1230 HRS, AUG 23, 2014