Interesting. It's a mixture of information and... misinformation.
Excuse me while I try and be objective:
Speed: Clearly they've not used their own network lately... in addition, conveniently forgetting to mention the FUPs (you get 24/7/365)... reports I've seen from consumers indicate that you can get 1-2mbit/s on a 4mbit/s Airtel connection frequently enough.
The true part is that the bandwidth *is* dedicated... right up to the DSLAM, that is. Just the same as the bandwidth right up to the cable-operators switch is. In other words, the cable from your DSL modem to their DSLAM serving your neighbourhood offers you a dedicated line of "up to 24mbits" on ADSL (let's ignore the distance/speed degradations for now), just the same as the ethernet cable from your computer to the switch in your building offers a dedicated line of up to 100mbit/s on your average metro ethernet network.
Also, let's ignore the type of cable internet that uses RG-6 (CoAx) cable because that would complicate matters. Anyway, same exact issues.
Security & Technology: In some ways, ADSL *is* more secure. Assuming they set it up as a gateway and don't make you have the dialer on your PC. It certainly does *not* protect your PC from malware, though, otherwise the A/V industry would be dead (something like 80% of the world uses DSL technology for net access). It does protect from the old local-network attack vectors from having no protection between the 8 or 16 PCs connected to your average unmanaged switch though. It *is* possible for a managed switches to prevent computers talking to each other directly, however, most cable operators don't install managed switches.
Again, dedicated is dedicated only up to their DSLAM. In other words, all Airtel is saying is "you have a cable". Whoopdidoo.
Core Offering: This is a matter of Airtel's licenses. Airtel has licenses for NLD, ILD, IPTV and Internet. Most cable-based ISPs do not. For example, the routers *I* provide are preconfigured to deliver IPTV on the 4th ethernet port, but I'm not delivering IPTV services yet. I *could* also supply routers with FXS ports to connect an analogue phone to, but, again, license. Alternatively, it wouldn't be difficult to plug in an IP-phone to one of the ethernet ports... but again, license.
Always On: Exactly the same issues. DSLAMs are big and expensive and usually come with battery backup as part of the package. If cable operators weren't so cheap and secured their equipment properly, you'd find your average cable operators switch backed up by a small UPS too... but the reason most of them don't do that (so they tell me) is... they get stolen. This is also the same reason they give me for not putting in better switches. Sigh. Same issue, handled differently.
Reliability: ...debatable. The Aerial vs underground argument is, in my experience, bunk. To be completely forthcoming, my own experiences give me fewer problems with my aerial cables than my underground ones. Airtel's experience may differ of course. But a fault rate of <5% is... nothing to be proud of <0.05% would be what I would be aiming for.
Service: Woooooooooow. They provide software for fixing problems remotely. Anybody can do this - teamviewer, logmein, RDP, VNC... all that sort of stuff is widely available. If I'm to believe reports, usually the customer's PC or configuration gets blamed anyway. And forget Airtel's software if you don't run Windows!
Sheesh, excepting actual wiring issues, if my support team can see your router (that is, it's turned on and has an IP address), we can fix most issues remotely - and that's if we even have to. And you know what's better than TR-069? Non-interactive self-configuration of the router. The user shouldn't even see this: just plug it in and you have Internet. Unless the device itself is faulty, in which case, it gets replaced.
As for 4 hours... In what universe does Airtel solve things in 4 hours? I've not heard anyone getting service that fast - is this something new? Any customers care to update me?
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