Top 10 Fastest Broadband Internet Service Providers in India

Do you hate Your Internet Speed?

Do you have to wait forever to watch a Youtube Video?

Buffering… is what you see all the time.

In short, Is your internet TOO SLOW?

then… you need to change your internet service provider ASAP.

“Internet has become a basic necessity of one’s life”.

So it needs to be FAST!

Do you Work from home, studying online from home?

then…You will need high-speed broadband Internet at cheap rates.

There are many excellent broadband Internet service providers in India who provides high-speed internet at a reasonable price.

The below list will help you choose the best and cheapest Broadband ISP.

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.

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.

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 operations.

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.

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.

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.