MYSORE: The drudgery of accessing internet through a dial-up may well be a thing of the past in Mysore, which is fast emerging as an ideal destination of the information technology (IT) industry. The Mysore Telecom District has started providing broadband internet connectivity to its subscribers in all the 15 exchanges in the city.

The launch of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd.'s (BSNL) long-awaited broadband internet connectivity in Mysore has coincided with not only a festival season offer of deposit waiver, but also the announcement of new tariff plan enabling home users to experience the thrill of high-speed internet connectivity for Rs. 250 a month.

New plan

"In addition to the existing tariff plans, home users of broadband internet can now opt for the new tariff plan under which they will be charged Rs. 250 a month with a maximum download-upload limit of 0.4 gigabytes. In case the subscribers exceed the limit, they will have to pay Rs. 1.40 for every megabyte," the general manager of Mysore Telecom District T.K. Chandrashekar told The Hindu .

In case the subscribers wish to opt for a maximum download-upload limit of 1 gigabyte, they will have to pay Rs. 500 a month.

The festival season offer of deposit waiver came into force on August 16 and will be valid up to September 30, said Commercial Officer of BSNL, Central, Mysore, H.D. Janardhan Iyengar.

Though the introduction of broadband services in Mysore were delayed by a couple of months with the number of subscribers on the waiting list reaching 800, the Mysore Telecom District has provided 350 connections ever since the service was launched.

Option

The subscribers opting for broadband internet connections will have to install an ethernet modem, which is available for Rs. 2,000.

"Subscribers even have the option to rent an ethernet modem for Rs. 100 a month," Mr. Iyengar said.

BSNL started providing its broadband connection to subscribers earlier this month as and when the telephone exchanges became broadband enabled.

The Devaraj Urs Road exchange was enabled earlier this week.

"Subscribers in any of the 15 telephone exchanges can avail the broadband services," Mr. Chandrashekar said.

The introduction of DataOne in Mysore is expected to meet the growing demand for a higher bandwidth among domestic as well as commercial internet subscribers.

DataOne is 17.5 times faster than dial-up connections and is available at a minimum of 256 kbps (kilo bytes per second) for domestic and commercial users.

BSNL was not only hopeful of converting the existing dial-up internet subscribers into broadband users, but was also confident of poaching upon the estimated 2,000 broadband subscribers of private service providers in the city through its unique tariff package.

DataOne not only offers simultaneous use of the phone and internet, but also promises instant connectivity and freedom from frequent disconnections.

Against the dial-up internet service, subscribers of broadband do not need to dial.

"Just turn the computer on, open a browser and you can begin surfing at high speeds," Mr. Chandrashekar said.

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