SHAMPA SAHA, deputy general manager (broadband), Calcutta Telephones, met readers of The Telegraph on Friday to answer their queries. Participants included Diptimoy Ghosh, Ranjan Das, S.M. Chakravarty, Samit Deb, Sandip Banerjee, Supriya Das, Lalit Singh Nahar, Subhodyuti Datta, Monidipa Karmakar, P.K. Chakraborty, P.K. Mukherjee, Sandip Sil, Biplab Das, R.N. Yadav, Habibur Rahman and P.K. Datta

Diptimoy Ghosh: There is a lot of confusion regarding the BSNL broadband service. We had found that the private Internet service providers were superior to BSNL. Now many people are saying that the cable operators are providing better broadband service than BSNL.

Your friends are misleading you. Broadband connection is quite different from a standard Internet connection. Cable television operators can offer Internet connections, but only Calcutta Telephones can provide broadband service.

A broadband connection is at least 17.5 times faster than a dial-up connection and eight times faster than an ISDN connection.

I would like to point out that broadband service can never be provided through wireless telephones. The maximum speed of data transfer through wireless telephones is 128 kbps. The minimum speed of a broadband connection is 256 kbps.

Habibur Rahman: How many broadband connections have you provided in Calcutta so far?

About 50,000 people have taken broadband connection in the city. The total number of broadband connections in the country at the moment is 500,000. The rate of growth of the broadband service is higher than that of mobile phones. Our target is to increase the number of broadband users from 50,000 to 75,000 by end of March.

Supriya Das: Is broadband connection really cheaper than a dial-up Internet connection?

Broadband is definitely cheaper if you surf up to 15 hours a month availing of the Rs 250 rental scheme.

Lalit Singh Nahar: I am a senior citizen and a broadband user. In January, I was assured that I would be given a senior citizen discount. I am yet to get any concession?

You will get the concession. Please call me if you are not contacted within a week.

Supriya Das: Is it possible to change my broadband rental plan?

Of course you can change your plan. Any rental plan can be upgraded or downgraded for free.

Supriya Das: The airport is hotspot-enabled. What does the term mean?

In a hotspot area, users of laptops with the wireless fidelity feature can access broadband, provided they have an account.

Ranjan Das: We seldom get our telephone bill on time due to postal delay. You do not accept cheques after the due date. To deposit the bill in cash, one has to stand in a long queue at your Hare Street office. Can?t you help customers by opening more counters at the office?

You can find out your bill amount by dialling 1501/2/3 and deposit your cheque before getting the bill.

Besides, we have started accepting cheques after the due date. We have also put up boxes where you can drop your cheques round the clock. Some PCO operators are also collecting cheques as our agents.

We have also introduced a Maha Sulabh scheme, under which you are granted a 15 per cent rebate by paying the rental amount a year in advance. You get a 20 per cent rebate if you pay two years in advance.

Monidipa Karmakar: The growth of broadband is largely dependent on the growth of computer users. Can BSNL alone boost the use of broadband?

About 18,000 families are buying personal computers in Calcutta every month. Students, teachers and even the elderly are becoming more and more dependent on the Internet. We have tied up with HCL and ICICI bank to offer computers in easy installments.

To be continued