‘Let them first resolve broadband speed issues before 5G’

With the pandemic pushing people to Work from Home (WFH) like never before, and education switching to the online mode, the need for reliable, fast broadband has become extremely critical for thousands of Bengalureans. DH speaks to a cross-section of people to understand the ground reality.

Vijayan P, who lives in the Hosa Road area, has this to say: “In my area, only Airtel network is accessible. I had tried another service provider before. But their network was not working properly, and had to switch. Besides, here, within a range of 600 metres, there are a lot of buildings and an army camp. This creates a lot of network issues.”

The speed of the connection varies from time to time. “After 6 pm, even the accessible network becomes slow and I am not able to complete my work targets. I can’t always give excuses to my higher authority about my network issues and expect them to excuse me.”

Wilson Garden resident Cauveri S notes, “The pandemic and the recurring lockdowns have forced a lot of us indoors. Homes becoming work places is one thing, but it comes with a lot of trouble. Slow broadband connection is one of the most important issues.”

Internet connectivity issues are not restricted to the big broadband players alone. The signal strength of local internet providers also weaken during rain, Cauveri points out. “The internet goes off when there is a power cut since the cable TV network also goes down.”

The customer care support of most companies is not good, she says. “We have to call them many times to raise a complaint. For some odd reason, the Wilson Garden area has a very poor mobile network. Even 4G gives only 3G speed. I don’t know how 5G will work here. Let the service provider first get the signals right before thinking of 5G.”

Roopena Agrahara resident Apoorva P has a different view. “It has been two months since I started working from home. My organisation has provided me a broadband connection with good internet speed. I don’t face much network issues. I work for more than seven hours daily and the connection stays very strong even when it rains.”

Muthuvelu A, who resides in S R Nagar, observes: “During these pandemic times, I see my grandkids sitting all day in front of the mobile phones and laptops to learn. I feel it is a horrible way to get an education. I am very worried about children who can’t afford a costly broadband connection.”

The government, he says, has failed to develop BSNL. “If BSNL had upgraded its network, I feel it could have either subsidised or offered broadband free to many underprivileged children. In many developed countries, they are offering it free. It pains to see that a highly populated country like ours has failed in this area,” Muthuvelu adds.

On WFH, he says it is getting hard for people in their 50s. “It is very tough sitting all day in front of the laptop. But I couldn’t come up with anything better. I wonder when will everything get back to normal and we can go back to our physical workplaces without bothering about poor internet connection and other issues.”