PTCL Broadband

A few months ago, PTCL offered broadband connections at comparatively very low prices. I finally thought of giving it a try. Below is my experience as a consumer. In addition to this, you should also consider reading "Mohtashim's Verdict" on IT Tazee; he compares several broadband service providers.

Ok, regarding PTCL: I got a 512Kb connection at home. It costs Rs. 2000 per month and the download speed I get is around 25KB/s. Though it's less than what's advertised (64KB/s), at the least it's consistent. I am not very sure of my upload speed. Hint: If you wonder, how 512Kb/s is equivalent to 64KB/s, you really need to know the difference between bits and bytes.

What impressed me most about PTCL is the ease of applying. I just went to the website and opted to Order Online (it's a pity that the website doesn't work in Firefox). The guys called me within three days and a lineman was at my house in half an hour after that. The package comes with a modem and free installation; uptil now, I have paid nothing as the cost will be reflected in the monthly bill. It's extremely hassle free.

The modem installed by PTCL is a Huawei SmartAX MT880. Just for the sake of record, below is a screenshot showing how you can enable port forwarding for Shareaza through the web console of the ADSL modem:


A detailed step by step article can be found here, albeit with a different firmware version.

Roti, kapra aur bandwidth!