Why Aren’t There Any Good ISPs In Bangladesh?
Here is the average Bangladeshi web surfers’ experience. Webpages take forever to load, and even after it does finish, bam, the service is out so you can’t surf the internet anymore. Well, I might have exaggerated a bit, but the underlying problem is still the same.
Even if you had enough and decided to change your Internet Service Provider, the new one is just likely to offer terrible service, or even worse than the one you had before. So, what is the reason for this dismal state of ISPs in Bangladesh?
It’s not that there isn’t any competition – it’s rather the opposite, with new ISPs cropping up every now and then. Given the stiff competition, it is surprising to see the end user still getting poor service. We have been connected to the submarine cable network long ago, but we are yet to reap the benefits.
The answer is that there are ones that do offer commendable service – we just don’t know where to look. The reason for this is a lack of information or misinformation among us consumers. With very few customer testimonials and hands-on reviews, it is hard to choose one ISP to the other.
Chances are, the company providing you Internet access is just a small organization, with little capital and an inexperienced staff. The reason they exist is because you are unlikely to look elsewhere to get better service.
Another cause for this is the high set-up fee that most ISPs charge. Even if you do find better service elsewhere, you are unlikely to switch because that means forgoing the set-up charge you already paid. Plus, you have to pay another company that you don’t have any clue about.
Most of the ISPs in Bangladesh 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 you’re unlikely to find that company [Zipbd] better than ours”. Yeah right. I get twice to three times the speed that I previously got and I frequently play online, a rare privilege for many of us Bangladeshis.
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Jul 22nd, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Eastern Link BD offers great internet speeds as well!
smile.com.bd
Jul 22nd, 2008 at 4:00 pm
@ Mohammad
Can you give me your exact speeds? I’m also considering to review their service.
Jul 31st, 2008 at 7:49 am
damn! 👿 nationalphone people said to me yesterday i can only get 5-8 kilobytes(because users have increased suddenly) and here i am almost wasted 4000 taka thinking it provides 15-17 kilobytes constant speed that i read in some other blog site about them.atleast that support guy is honest and told me the truth.all the good wireless nets with affordable prices and(for me atleast) services are filled up by users.
i just want a wireless internet which is decent like 12-16 kilobytes constant speed and provides
Jul 31st, 2008 at 7:52 am
that speed under 100o taka.
@gaming wiz do you know any ISP that can provide me 16 kilobyte constant speed in wireless mode and charge me not more than 1000/sec taka permonth?
Jul 31st, 2008 at 3:17 pm
@ shamim
I’ve heard many people use the GrameenPhone EDGE service on their PC. I tried it myself, and it’s really good. You should check it out and you can get the unlimited package @ 1150 taka per month. Check out Touhid’s comment here http://www.gamersworldbd.com/2008/01/sirius-broadband-zipbd-isp-in-depth-review.html#comment-1437
Jul 31st, 2008 at 5:17 pm
@The Gaming Wiz i used gp/teletalk(now using) unlimited internet. both speed is too slow in dhanmondi like 2-8kilobytes but most times like3-5 kilobytes and they frequently disconnects and speed is so not stable some time i get 5-6 kilobytes but most times i get 2/3/4 kilobytes.for example i start some download in 11 Pm and went to sleep thinking my download would be finished by morning.so when i wake up in morning i see my download only finished 5% or 20%…. percent and my connection got disconected.but i get most angry when i download from rapidshare as you know then dont allow resume its very disapointing to see my download completes 70 or 60 percent and then my connection get disconnected.also some times my freaking mobile n70 restarts and my downloads get screwd!!!
if you have any friend or relative please ask and let me know i will be very grateful to you.
if you know anybody in dhanmondi who is using NationalPhone internet?if so can you ask him/her what speed he/she getting and is the speed constant or stable or it goes up and down?and what is the best and worst speed he/she gets and when?
you know i want to be sure whether nationalPhone users in dhanmondi area getting 10-16 kilobytes constant speed or not i just dont want my money to get wasted although i talked with their customer care people,still i hope.
and thanks m8 for your reply 😀
Aug 2nd, 2008 at 1:13 pm
Most of us dont have good speeds but some of us do. As as far as I know its not possible for us to buy original games unless we are rich or have relatives abroad. SO we cant play online with original servers.
But one thing, why dosent GWBD start a network for gamers so that they can play games free in multiplayer by some software that makes internet connection to LAN/VPN or something. I cant remember the instructions but I read somewhere in bengali website that this https://secure.logmein.com/products/hamachi/howitworks.asp software can enable us to play multiplayer. Its has limitations unless its paid. Requesting GWBD to find some better free ones that can do it for us.
Thank You. 😀
Aug 3rd, 2008 at 8:58 am
@gaming wiz sorry m8 asked too many Questions in my last post. 😳 probably i was too much excited.lol
Aug 4th, 2008 at 11:25 am
@shamim
You’re welcome, I’ve been coming down with a bad case of the flu and hence my late reply. 🙁
I too heard about National Phone internet but don’t know anyone who use it. But my friend uses Citycell Zoom internet on his PC and get good speeds around 15 KB per second.
Aug 4th, 2008 at 11:28 am
@ Hasan
That’s a really great idea. I used Hamachi a long time ago, but the problem is it doesn’t work properly on a Vista PC. We tried NFS Most Wanted and my friend was using XP. Although I could see him on the network, he couldn’t see me. Besides, there is a lot of connectivity problems and often, you can’t connect to each other’s PC at all. 😐
Aug 4th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
@ Gaming Wiz
Went to forums but ended up with OpenVPN, OpenSwan and TincVPN which dosent seem to be close to Hamachi but tried and installed only OpenVPN and it didnt give me the Yahoo Messenger type interface. Most of us usually use XP instead of vista. And for playing games with slow internet speed we need old games which can run on low config XP PCs.
Aug 5th, 2008 at 9:22 am
@The Gaming Wiz thanks.
wow! japanese home users getting bandwidth of 100 megabits/sec for 20 $ per month.
hey all ISPs in Bangladesh you should atleast provide a few megabits/sec for 12-50 $ we are giving you everymonth money suckers. 👿
Aug 5th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Try BDCom. im getting mah internet line from BDCom, n i get dl speed like around 15-18KB/s
Aug 5th, 2008 at 11:28 pm
n yes…i pay 1000 taka/month
Aug 6th, 2008 at 11:48 am
Havent tried it but BCL Internet can be good. Go to http://www.bclonlinebd.com/ for details.
(It may not have coverage in your Area)
Aug 6th, 2008 at 1:46 pm
About Multiplayer Gaming,
There’s a new gaming server in BD, its called HeLLCrafT and their website is http://www.hellcraft.net/
Currenty it supports Warcraft III, StarCraft, and Diablo II only. It will have CounterStrike 1.6, FiFa 08 and NFS games running in some weeks. This server will support games that people play for the Bangladesh’s World Cyber Games.
Since the Server is in Bangladesh I get very good gameplay even with my lousy ISP.. 😀
Aug 8th, 2008 at 1:26 pm
@Flame wow! many thanks. 😀
hopefully i will have tolerable ping to play 😐
Aug 10th, 2008 at 11:10 am
Have you guys read about 3G coming to Bangladesh this year or early 2009?
I wonder if that will allow us connect to the Playstation Network.
I can’ wait to play GtaIV online.
I really hope it works.
Aug 14th, 2008 at 8:46 am
Hi guys. I get 32-35KBps almost constantly from ZIP when downloading with IDM(with firefox its 27-28). I pay TK1500 per month. I was wondering if its possible to play any online games with this speed?
Aug 22nd, 2008 at 5:47 pm
hs anyone heard of link 3?if so please give me details about their speed and connectivity. 🙂
btw,let me know if it provides service in dhanmondi.Thx 😉
Oct 4th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
I do use national phone. Here in Khilgaon ..It succkzzz
18-25 kbps fixed speed..I realy liked it..& never disconnected.
Oct 14th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
How come i can play Halo multiplayer with my 9-14kbps Aftab IT connection !! its awesome man. I mean you guys shud try it too!!
Dec 8th, 2008 at 1:59 am
Don’t worry, Bangladesh will have increasing speed. With probashi Bangladeshis investing more and more in businesses in Bangladesh, soon there will be massive competition where regular Bangladeshi businesses will have no choice but to improve service.
Jan 9th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
InterSpeed Provide service only in Shantinagar and Kakrail. I get 10 KB download speed for Tk.600/- (12 hrs package). They also have offline server (games, software, movies, songs) but not updated timely – not even once a month. They provide home service if u call them but last month their service stoped for about 15 days 👿 . I may switch to zip if it happen again.
I heard Zip stop their IP TV service. Is it true? Do they provide Video on Demand as they claim? Can u tell me how much download speed I will get at Shantinagar? Also do they have file sharing facilities with fellow users and whether users share the files (games, movies, songs, software ……)?
Thank you.
Feb 2nd, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Hey Guys, just found this.
For Bangladeshi ISP Reviews, Rating, Forum visit http://www.ispBangladesh.com .
Sep 9th, 2009 at 9:10 pm
I GET 800 KB SPEED I LIVE IN THE U.K,england..
the reason of slow internets is that most house holds cant afford a computer and dont properly understnad wat it can do, only the lucky or rich get 1.
ISP’s dont see much business thier and thier trying to save all the bandwidth possible, ( i h8 those basterds )
Sep 30th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
Where to begin with hmmm…..i don’t know about you guys but i always wanted to play my games online, hardly i could do that with ease. Since our country does not provide us with decent net speed. I am tiered of balabing about this for the past 12 years. I guess its time for the younger generation to do that. Anywho i came across this site which is from our country’s BTCL or formally know as BTTB; i am not sure which one is right lol. Rather then extending my post over here just go and read this PDF about what kind of connection the are promising and to whom. And i suggest you read whatever information you can find about internet services by BTCL.
http://www.btcl.net.bd/ADSL%20Rate.pdf
you will also find the application and procedure forms as PDF.
I am just surprised to see what they are offering, are they even going to keep their promise? We won’t know unless we use it. Well; for sure i know i want to use one of their services ^_^.
Note: I personally believe BTCL can and should do better then what they offer.
Oct 26th, 2009 at 10:18 pm
is there any ISP in BD which I can use to play Xbox Live?
Oct 27th, 2009 at 9:45 am
Guys Days are over try playing at ZX online bd. Visit http://game.zxonlinbd.com/cs/ for counter dtrike hack protected server… and download movies and etc for free at http://www.zxonlinebd.com
Oct 27th, 2009 at 10:44 am
@TheRiddler
I play regularly on Xbox Live using Zipbd. There is some lag and voice chat doesn’t work. But it’s playable, however, don’t even dream of playing FPS like Gears 2. You’ll just get owned due to the high ping.
Mar 29th, 2010 at 11:38 pm
As very big 20 ISP is closed down in Dhaka by Government. I think it’s a big crisis situation here. Because the customer will shift to small ISP now, and these small ISP now share their low speed with more number of customer!