The self-willed broadband

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Even as Chandrayan was orbiting the Moon transmitting telemetric data to the ISRO ground station at Bangalore we in Bhopal were being starved of data from the internet. The broadband of the local BSNL became self-willed and would make an appearance or disappearance at will. This has been the plight of the local netizens for the last two weeks, perhaps more. That is why one wonders if we have the capability to land on the surface of the moon a lander with a moon-rover inside why do we have such inability to provide stable broadband services to their subscribers on the ground here on our Planet Earth?

 The entire operation of Chandrayan 2 was carried out with the help of telemetry. That, unfortunately, somehow it could not be converted into a success as something went wrong just before it was to end is another matter. The country, however, is reported to have gained in knowledge and experience of the effort. The question, nonetheless, remains that when our scientists can aim for the moon why cannot they fix things at home on earth? All over Bhopal this year during the rains broadband has been a rare visitor. I keep my eyes fixed on the four points on the Wifi modem where a like number of tiny LEDs indicate the presence or absence of the internet. Mostly only two light up and what I get on the monitor is “This site cannot be reached”. Occasionally all the four tiny LEDs light up but the signals they receive are so weak that no site appears on the monitor.

Since early last month I have lodged complaints on Nos.1500 and 1504. Only once the complaint was acknowledged but on the remaining occasions no acknowledgment was received and nothing was done about it. Even two complaints lodged by e-mail to CGM (Bhopal)’s notified ID of agmitmp@bsnl.co.in did not bring forth any response. The broadband continues to function in its own lackadaisical way.

Another strange thing is when one dials the two telephone numbers mentioned earlier it is not the complaint registry in MP that is connected. The response comes from Rajasthan and, no wonder, when one tries to lodge a complaint the operator wants to know which state is Bhopal located in or what is the STD code of the town. The MP Telecom Circle has no complaints registry of its own or has moved it to somewhere in Rajasthan. The name of the place it is located in seems to be state secret as the operator, when asked, refused to divulge the information.

Such is the state of affairs of the technological services that Indians are reported to be masters of. With progressive computerization many services just cannot do without the broadband facilities. The government is promoting digital transactions but these cannot be carried out in the absence of internet connectivity. I am sure shopkeepers and business houses, including those of the government and its agencies, have suffered losses.

 If the broadband services continue in this fashion one wonders how the government would achieve its goal of a Rs. 5 trillion economy. Only last Sunday it was reported that the United Nations Conference on Trade & development (UNCTAD) estimated that India’s domestic market for computer services fuelled by Centre’s Digital India programme was likely to grow faster than exports. But the kind of services its PSUs like MTNL and BSNL render the whole projection seems unlikely.