The Search For A Good ISP
Fed up with the worst service that I came across, I decided to switch my ISP. When all hope was lost, an unbelievable offer came up – which I couldn’t resist.
Yesterday, I just reached the end of my patience with my current ISP, Dtech Ltd. from whom I took a broadband connection. The speed was unbearably slow. Everything seemed to take ages to load. Trust me, it took forever. Worse still the connection would drop suddenly and I would not be able to go online for days.
After not receiving the connection for three consecutive days, I got fed up. I decided to call in tech support. There didn’t seem to be any good reason for the connection to keep dropping continually. The tech support wasn’t of great help either.
“We’re doing the very best we can, Mr. Rahman. I will at once increase the bandwidth of your connection.”
After receiving a temporary boost of about two hours or so, my connection resumed its previous state. Again. Agh. That was the last straw, I thought. I need to switch my ISP.
A search on Goolge revealed several ISPs near my home. Most of them offered more or less the same packages to home users. a 28.8 kbps shared bandwidth at 1,500 taka (the same service as I had from Dtech Ltd.). Once or twice, I even considered getting a corporate package in my home!
I feared that the end was nigh. There didn’t seem to be any good ISP available in all of Dhaka city. So it was a chance of luck that I landed on www.zipbd.com Now, what they were offering to home users was unbelievable. A 128 kbps (average) shared fibre optic connection at 1,500 taka per month! Moreover, they offered other ancillary services, such as Video over IP, a gaming server (yummy) and 30 or so free videos on demand. It seemed too good to be true. I even contacted customer support to make sure that all the details were accurate!
So fast forward to today, and I have a delicious fibre optic connection pumping at more than 128 kbps. Now everything loads faster and downloads don’t take forever. I do not have to wait overnight for a 1GB game demo to near completion and suffer from little or no lag while I play Battlefield 2 online. Well see you slow-pokes later, I’ve got a date with my Battlefield 2 clan, online.
Feb 10th, 2008 at 7:36 am
[…] had lousy experiences with most of the ISPs in Dhaka. The service is unreliable, the speed is at a turtle’s pace and […]
Mar 13th, 2008 at 8:24 am
hey,
fellow net user from dhaka. I also changed a lot of ISP and they all pretty much sucks. Can you tell me what speed you get in avg? both in KB and Kb?
By the way, have you ever used agni?
Jun 4th, 2008 at 11:04 am
[…] are exploiting the lack of information that exists among us consumers. I recall switching from DTech to Zipbd, and before doing so, one of the customer reps from DTech said to me, “You might change. But […]
Jun 15th, 2008 at 11:59 am
[…] different speeds at the same price (see my post “The Search for a better ISP” at http://www.gamersworldbd.com/2006/08/search-for-good-isp-fed-up-with-worst.html). So you could get an increase in your net speed by just switching your ISP and you will still be […]
Jun 26th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
[…] Even I feel a new sense of speed after switching to Firefox 3. Pages load much faster on my turtle-speed net connection than IE 7. Kudos to Mozilla for building a great and free […]
Jul 2nd, 2008 at 8:53 pm
I thinking of getting Flix. The set up charge is the same as Zip. its Flix network+. its 512Kbps shared for 9000 a month. give your thoughts plz.
http://www.f-lix.net/price.htm
Jul 3rd, 2008 at 5:26 am
@ Imtiaz
I heard about Flix. You mean 900 taka/month? Yep, I think it’s a good buy, considering I pay 1,500 taka to Sirius Broadband and get around 200kbps. You can check out my review of Sirius Broadband (if you already didn’t have) at http://www.gamersworldbd.com/2008/01/sirius-broadband-zipbd-isp-in-depth-review.html and there are lots of helpful info on the comments section.
Aug 8th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
http://www.speedtest.net/result/306556766.png
bd is getting really fast you know
Oct 31st, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Well i had similar experiences of course… but i guess i am a bit tight when it comes to spending upon broadband above 1000/mo.
For that value i suppose BDCOM gives superb service. I recommend bdcom highly.
Speed is a constant of 18-19KB/s and no less. I heard in gulshan, the ISP provides even better speeds.
Moreover, it almost stays operational at 99.5% of the times. I suppose you guys should check this out.
Jan 4th, 2009 at 9:29 pm
Hey there fella’s, just want to share some results on my ISP which is Optimax Communications Ltd. and im currently running the 128kbps conn speed package which is costing me..about 2500tk/Month. So do you guys think I am getting ripped off big time??
My Download speed ranges from 14-21 (with DAP)
and results from Speedtest.net were..
DL speed~ 145 kbps (18 KB)
UL Speed~ 109 kbps (13.6 KB)
So watcha guys think? Is this BD Isp serving me for what actually Iam paying for??..I think its outrageously a hack. ;_;
Jul 29th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
@Rafi
I get the same speed for 800tk/month
Dec 9th, 2009 at 10:05 pm
@Rafi
me too also get same speed in 800tk/month !
Jan 16th, 2010 at 11:21 am
I use Qubee Wimax internet.I use their 512kbps unlimited package for around 2600tk/month.The internet speed is almost dedicated and there is no off peak hour for me and the download speed is always 60KB+ so its a better online experience than before.
Jan 16th, 2010 at 3:34 pm
@Rabbi
Cool, I’m planning to get Wimax and good to know your experience with Qubee. Bro, can you pls go to http://www.speedtest.net and do quick test? That will help me a lot.
Jan 23rd, 2010 at 9:24 pm
@Mushfiq, how many ISPs are providin dedicated Internet connection to Home Users, do ya know that?
Jan 24th, 2010 at 12:57 pm
@Reza
Most ISPs say they provide dedicated speeds but in reality this is far from the truth. I got full speed from Zip’s previous 256 kbps package but not Zip is really bad. Banglalion and Qubee provides dedicated speeds. IS Pros is also good but don’t have first hand experience.
Mar 12th, 2010 at 12:37 am
@The Gaming Wiz/Mushfiqur Rahman
(Speedtest result).Checking back your earlier post made me remember of the problems i used to face with isp’s.Couple of years from now we wont talk about internet speed and this Qubee and Banglalion will be history just as Sirius was for u.We will all have speed which is overpriced now @15000tk without vat 👿 .Anyway BTCL internet BCUBE is also providing the same kind of service in adsl standard with lower ping times in fact.
Sorry,bro i didnt see ur comment so was unable to reply to ur comment at that time.I think its not needed now
Oct 22nd, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Hey guyz im moved to bangladesh 3 days ago. I am a hardcore online gamer, and i was looking to get smile platinum (4mb/ps) connection for six thousand a month. Can anyone advise on ping times for this. What is the best network for gaming in dhaka? I am willing to pay up to 7000 taka.
Oct 22nd, 2010 at 10:21 pm
@jdking79
Hey, welcome to BD and welcome to the site. You’ll face high pings even if you get a 4 Mb/s package, due to the fact that there aren’t any gaming servers close to BD. Never used Smile, but heard really good stuff about it. One advice – don’t get Qubee. Speeds are good. But due to NAT issues, you can hardly connect to other gamers over PSN and Xbox Live.
Oct 23rd, 2010 at 6:54 am
@TheGamingWiz
” But due to NAT issues, you can hardly connect to other gamers over PSN and Xbox Live.”
Yeah this has blighted online gaming for me still its not that bad.I heard pings in smile are awesome.Still i am getting around 54-96ms in bd call of duty modern warfare servers though
i play with a friend in uk there i get pings around 300-400ms.So far its good enough but due to those issues i am confined though even gameranger client told me i have NAT issues automatically 👿
Oct 23rd, 2010 at 3:21 pm
@Rabbi
Wait, do you use Qubee or Smile? How did you get past the NAT issues?
Oct 23rd, 2010 at 11:10 pm
@TheGamingWiz
i use qubee never used smile before though.I read online and heard from some smile users that the ping times is awesome.I didnt get past them and i am having some issues for that but its playable at least and qubee pings are kindaa improved
Oct 24th, 2010 at 8:08 pm
THx guyz for the feedback. I will most prabably get smile anyway due to good speeds and good ping times ( i hope ) . I also want a DSL modem to which i can connect a ps3, and at least three other computers. I only want to use wired connection becuase wired has better ping times.
Oct 24th, 2010 at 10:10 pm
@jdkin79
I’m not exactly sure whether Smile lets you share your internet connection with multiple PCs. Qubee/Banglalion allows you to do that.
Nov 23rd, 2010 at 9:34 pm
Hey sry to ask again but. I went to Smile’s office to confirm the information i had, and it turns out they no longer offer 4mbps, 2mbps or 1 mbps to home users. the fastest speed they offer to home users is 512 kb/ps for 1850 taka per month. I was deeply disapointed and i am no longer considering them. BUT i would like to ask for any ones opinions on BTCL 1mb/ps broadband connection in terms of ping and latency and reialbility. BTW BTCL charges 2200 a month for this connection. please reply i am really desperate now. Thank you.
Nov 23rd, 2010 at 9:50 pm
Looks like 2 years is waiting for us,then we’ll get a good internet connection.some out of millions play online games/multiplayers games in bd so i think we will have to wait.. 😯 😐 😐
Nov 23rd, 2010 at 11:07 pm
@jdking79,
I’ve heard good words about BTCL connection , most of them say that btcl is dedicated and it’s also good for online gaming..So i reckon btcl…I’m hopefully also getting btcl or sky net cause qubee has online issues and banglalion does not have coverage in the dhaka cantonment area..
Nov 30th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Can anyone tell me what ping times i should get to UK using BTCL 1mb/ps unlimited fibre optic broadband connection, 200-300ms or 300-400ms? Sry for repetitive questions, this website has really helped me out ALOT though =)
Dec 1st, 2010 at 12:52 am
BTCL is not fttx(or h, for that matter). It’s a decade old ADSL2+ technology. You can expect around 300ms to anywhere EU(Seabone route out of the country).
— reise
Feb 17th, 2011 at 2:30 pm
okay guys i read all your comments on better connection for good pings and stuffs but i heard from many friends that BTCl is awsum for online gaming is it really true and i m a qb user but i use 256 so i get really high pings even with the Asian players like Indians and Malaysians i heard that i would get lower pings in 512 is it also true?
Please guys ans me if all this is true then i will convince my BIG Bro to get the line u suggest.
Please guys tell me what connection should i get?
Feb 27th, 2011 at 10:38 am
@someone917 Yes i use BTCL 1mbps uncapped . I experience no lag when playing and i hace really good pings toward the EU and UK. I strongly recommend this option for onlne gaming. the rate is 2200 taka a month.
Feb 27th, 2011 at 8:12 pm
@jdking79 Thnx 😉
May 17th, 2013 at 11:27 pm
U know i am using link3 at day it gives me 140kbps and at noght around 250 kbps as i night doubler and i pay 1900 taka. They also have a fttp server where down speed is 500 kbps nd also u can stream movies there nd also down games from there and also post it yourself
May 18th, 2013 at 7:27 pm
@mishaal
That sounds like a good speed on a budget, but for me, Qubee’s 2 Mbps is unbeatable even though the price is a bit too high