I made enquiries about the VSNL broadband service that's being
advertised by various agents, and here is some of the info I've
obtained:
1. There are several plans, related to the monthly download size:
a) 250 MB for Rs.500, Rs.1.75/MB above this.
b) 500 MB for Rs.875 (<- note: this is competitive with BSNL DIAS)
c) 1000 MB for Rs.1500
In all cases, there's a one-time installation charge of Rs.3500, of
which Rs.1000 is refundable.
2. It uses a dry pair (cable) that's run from their remote server site
(something like a DSLAM) to the client. Not sure if it actually
uses standards-based DSL signalling, but it's probable. It is an
always-on, 512 kbps service.
3. You have a choice of using a USB DSL modem, or a DSL-to-Ethernet
gateway device (the latter is more useful for Linux). There's also
a router device that they're peddling for Rs.9000.
4. I asked if the line protocol was PPPoE - he didn't understand the
question, but claimed that there's both Windows and Linux support.
It seems to suggest a PPPoE connection, but it might just be NAT'ed IP
from their server.
5. It's available in some areas, including Guindy/Ekkatuthangal - it depends
on where they have their DSLAMs.
-Siva