Internet Recommendation for Karachi, April 2008
I get asked this question frequently - What is the best ISP in Karachi?
My recommendation to everyone these days is Maxcom. It’s a Karachi only ISP at the time being, but has great service and prices. I’ve switched to Maxcom, was happy with CyberDSL, but Maxcom is much cheaper now, and has good service too. Cybernet remains good, but at the present moment they’re priced themselves out of the consumer market.
The next question everyone asks is why not PTCL or Link.net, the two most aggressive ISP’s in Pakistan in respect to pricing and advertising.
I wouldn’t ever get a PTCL DSL connection regardless of price because their after sales technical support is slow. Uptime is far more important to me than speed, so I’d rather have a slower connection with better service. Link.net, while better than PTCL also suffers from the too much growth too fast problem.
Another common ISP in Karachi is Worldcall - I understand WorldCall has gotten a lot better now, but they’re still not close enough qualitatively to the likes of Maxcom & Cyber. I subscribed to a WorldCall cable internet connection recently at a relative’s house, but he switched over to DSL on his own accord because of frequent outages. Anecdotal evidence, but WorldCall’s cable internet network still runs like a smoker on it’s last legs, coughing and spluttering, and stopping to rest every so often.
These ISP’s are appealing as a backup, but not as a primary link. Unlink Maxcom or Cyber, they won’t compensate for service outages, which is a big negative. (In my experience, other people have managed to get compensation for outages).
I think PTCL is overselling, they’re not investing in their people or equipment to cope with the number of connections they will soon reach. I had hopes for Wateen Wimax, but they have horribly messed up their network implementation, I figure it’ll take them till 2009 to iron the kinks out and get it running properly.
After all these years of using various ISP’s in Pakistan, and considering the large customer base here - the Karachi consumer internet market is probably bigger than the rest of the country put together - it really suprised me that there is only one ISP I can recommend!
For up-to-date reports by people all over Pakistan on their ISP experiences, visit the wiredpakistan forums.
Disclaimer: This recommendation is only valid for consumer internet. For corporate links there are many companies with great service, albeit priced only for the corporate customer.
Thanks KO. Will reflect upon your views.
thanks for the help, will switch on maxcom soon.
I agree with your review about all DSL providers except Maxcom. I will not recommend Maxcom either because I had a very bad experience with them. I signed for one of their volume-based packages i.e. 8 GB volume with a speed of 512k, which according to their revised rates costs 2000 Rs. per month. I should have got a download rate of 64 kb/sec at a 512k line but it was averaging 30-40 kb per second which means the line is not dedicated at all. I have used Cybernet earlier and their dedicated line gives you 64 kb/sec. Secondly, billing is also a problem as they do not have any franchise in the city but only one office in Clifton. Thirdly, your call is often queued for a long time before answering whenever you dial their customer service. To me, speed does matter, however, good customer service also counts. So, I think for the time being, there is no such broadband service in Karachi which gets five stars in terms of cost, speed, and customer service.
I 100% agree with you KO. MAXCOM is the only top player in karachi for DSL with respect to its service and low price. I have used Wordcall cable net and was never satisfied due to continious and frequent service down problem and had a hard time dealing with it. But since I have shifted to MAXCOM 512 KB the life has never been better. its been 4 months now and only once I suffered the problem and that also was nationwide. And to add up more to their valued service the package I got was limited to 4 GB Per month but due to some new players and low cost PTCL DSL (low service quality as well) MAXCOM reviewd their packages a while ago and I am very happy to be granted 8GB permonth (which is enough for the time being for me).
Furthermore, I really would like to portray the PTCL poor service that when they launched their much hyped package of unlimited DSL, I was also caught into it and applied for 1MBPS connection on 25th of March, and after making 100 of calls (not exagerating really) and getting lame execuses like “your tests are done and your password is being generated from Islamabad” (like they have to solve a complex theoram to get my ID and password), I am still waiting for this connection (but not anymore, I dont want to literally cry)
maxcom is simply AMAZINGG nd i think everyone shud get it!
i use both Maxcom and PTCL.
MAXCOM is superb, its always on, customer support is best and above all their technical support (if line gets down) is best as well, you just have to ring them and they would sort it out sameday even if it at exchange.
i m using it in my korangi office and before that nothing worked there due to line quality.
hatsoff to Maxcom…
PTCL: one thing i like in PTCL is their speed, their support, havent ran into major issue with them therefore cant say much.
Im using Maxcom since 2006 and so far have found them excellent in terms of service and customer support, I have and would recommend anyone to Maxcom anytime!
Salam,
I’ve been using MAXCOM since 2007 and as every day passes by their service gets better and better. Now they are the offering the same packages as PTCL and LINK.NET little cheaper than the competition.
Highly recommended.
Nice blog this … came here via the blogpost Webyantra wrote about your blog
http://www.webyantra.net/2008/07/12/whats-cooking-in-pakistans-internet-web20-industry/
Glad to see all this happening in Pakistan’s technology space
Have added this to my RSS reader
yaar hamare area main to cable net hi hai aur woh bhi mara hoa. i live at safoora therefore its my helplessnes that i have to use that bull shit service and i think my cable net provider also knows that that is the reason why he keeps his net limited most of the time.
I have used Maxcom - and i liked it a lot. Their customer service is really good and the speed they provide is consistent - no more no less - and I never had an outage once!
Then i shifted to a place where I did not have a PTCL landline
so now using Wateen (Yateem) until I get a PTCL number to get my MAX running on!
i have red about internet services in korangi and karachi but im still confused abt isps i need an internet service in korangi zaman town and korangi industrial area could any conerning person guide me abt this problem…….there several options like ptcl broad band and world call dsl wateem dsl but the main problem in dsl services is the land line connection quality whic depends on ptcl exchange and ptcl exchanges efficieny is a quistion mark every where in country …u,ll agree with me .. so im still in search for a beter option ……..
im thiking about a connection which is nt using ptclline at any cost ..it may be wireless connection like wateen wireless world call and any other some one guide me which wireless high speed net service is the best in quqlity service and price….
I recently shifted from Islamabad to Karachi and was disappointed at the internet services available here.
My brother was already using worldcall cable net as there was no phone initially (but its available now) , and worldcall connection is pathetic , customer service as well. Lot of down time , and even when device is up it take ages to renew ip and get the internet actually working.
I have wateen too as second connection as I need 24/7 connectivity, its ok not that bad , but they have small disconnection every hour or so , which a normal user may not see but my linux shells time out and its big problem for me, and their customer service also sucks, I am now looking to get a good dsl as my primary connection (as have phone line available now) , which from this thread i believe going to be Maxcom. I used them little bit as the building/office in my neighbors are using it and have a wireless router/modem without authentication, lol , so I can connect to it and test/use it , I have only tested it with out any abuse , though its open for it. Logging into their modem found that they are using Maxcom.
My Islamabad link.net connection was also not bad not sure how good or bad they are here in Karachi. My primary ISP there Nayatel which was fiberoptic based is not available here sadly , it was pretty good specially the customer service which is half the part for any service.
atcrsl akpvm tkig cohpwjnfx tiluqv cumjksge isehlpfrv
the basic thing that generally all broadband users require is phone line and that is only offered by ptcl(it true sense not withstanding those small fiber optic networks,
so first for you to use any dsl connection to work at advertised speeds is a clean phone line which is very difficult to get and if one has he is lucky.
Now for judging the isp i take one assumption generally that there is not much downtime probably in any isp, i use ptcl and at worst i got 4 days downtime in a month(not consecutive) and of that 2 days being for up gradation
Now remains the speed, cost and service
ptcl gives dedicated line maxcom 1:5 (see the difference) ptcl has student package (big discount 30%)
and for customer service it has improved 100%, you want fully personalized solution of your problem? contact straight to your dsl officer at you local exchange)
keep in mind ptcl phone line and dsl departments work separately
and one more good news ptcl is upgrading its phone networks to optical fiber
ALWAYS check your phone line for problem before blaming the dsl
worldcall wirless has launched a wireless usb modem it is small as a usb data traveler and connectivity is any where in karachi best suits to people on move
Maxcom is the best!
karachi.tk
lahore.tk
islamabad.tk
It seems like this is a very clear, well thought out plan of MAXCOM’s employees to leave their remarks here to make them look better at this forum. Though I agree that the after sales services is well planned, but still there’s a lot that they need to improve.
Secondly, it makes you people look bad (those of maxcom employee’s) when you talk negative about your competitors. Facts speaks for itself. As we all know that WC and Cyber are the two main giants in the market and still holds the larger percentage of share out there.
Anyhow need more facts to further comment on it.
Whatever Maxcom is doing, market share doesn’t mean companies like WC are any good - they remain as terrible as they ever were.
Cybernet has priced themselves out of the market - their service is still decent but too expensive for home use.
i went through this article and finds it to informing about the DSL services in Karachi
being the biggest city of Pakistan and bussiness capital of the country
i find it very expensive in terms of IT it may be equipment or may be DSL services
i belong to Isb but frequent visitor of karachi we want to have a decent DSL connection but i found that all the companies are very exoensive and even some of them dont provide services in the area where my org is located
atlast i found this article describing the DSLs in karachi
i hope MAXcom will solve my prob otherwise what i can do
plz also suggest any other DSL in the area of kala pull
ar6gygfxernsq5iw
yarr hamarey pas to vtcs ka hai per be mujhe mcom chaye price batoa
ASSALAM O ALAIKUM ALL!
YAR MUJHE “MAXCOM” KI PRICE BATAO AUR SPEED BATAO.
I HAVE CONNECT COMMUNICATION IT IS VERY GOOD BUT NOT THAT MUCH OF.IT IS DC ALL THE TIME WHEN IT IS NEEDED :@.SO PLEASE TEMME ABOUT THE MAXCOM AND THEIR CSUTOMER SERVICE CENTRE NUMBER.
I wish I could have the courage to trust the customer support of PTCL landline phone connections department again so that I could have a wired DSL internet connection of any good ISP (hearing so many good things about the customer services of Maxcom, I would go for it most likely) at home.
Free Hosting for Life from Pakistan…
For Domains for Lifetime
http://FreephpHosting.co.cc
250 MB disk space and Web mail
6 GB Monthly transfer/Bandwidth
PHP Flags manager
POP email accounts
3 MySQL databases
Automatic installer (29 scripts)
Password protected folders
5 Add-on domains
FTP account
Php MyAdmin
5 Sub domains
File manager (browser upload)
Clustered servers
Php Mod_Rewrite Enable
PHP Fopen Enable
Curl Enable
Enjoy…!
Dear Friends,
I have been using Max Com for past 1 year, I am someone who doesn’t come to conclusion very quickly until I have a very valid/concrete grounds.
So my point of view about Max Com at this point of time is that it’s just a normal DSL service provider, the commitment of speed is something which they never fulfill even on a volume based packages but the complaint resolution in terms of visiting clients and trying their best possible efforts to fix problem is something really worth mentioning, but ultimately its not what we pay for…
I agree with gentleman who quoted “That majority of the feedback on this forum is by the employees of Max Com, I also read one of the review that Max Com is fairly cheap and good at service, for this, I would only say that they really need to revise their package prices as the speed they are offering in this price is quite expensive…
I am switching to EVDO/WorldCall and hoping it would be good, so lets see…
Regards
Faisal, I don’t think any ISP in Pakistan comes close to internet nirvana, but Worldcall is the one ISP which wins my vote for “Satan’s preffered ISP.” I have the misfortune of using it at times, and it’s still the worst of the lot.
EVDO is still lower down the scale, but thats because of the inherent nature of wireless coupled with Pakistani ISP’s - there are two things to go wrong now, and they often do.
Wired connections remain the best, with Wimax and Evdo a distant second.
my number is 03323604294
Unfortunately, still many companies are comming with intention to cover up whole pakistan or karachi city, but very limited bandwidth and limited support for number of users. They give good discounted rates and suddenly when they get heavy response, their bandwidth slow down and almost service become at a leave of end. At this moment their marketing stratagies start to give more cheap offers, and try to get more and more from hooked up customer.
I don’t understand why still companies are doing this practice, we must have one most reliable and cheap isp, which should work on all available mdias, cdma, wirless and dialup connection. It should be a connection with single phone call and 24 hours installation service, but that is all dream, we have companies who provide very expensive equipment, install and than on support just give good nice encouraging sentence to users.
When few year back I was in isp administration industry, I remember none of dialup isp has bandwidth mangement, all were running one line and putting all users on single bandwidth, without managing them. So just few users start good P2p application and suck all bandwidth.
Our all future is now on internet, but good quality internet is rare. Hopefully if this max service is good.
I am an employee of a small organization located in PECHS, and internet connection is a fractional part of my job. Currently we are using CYBER 128KBPS which costs 1500/month although i am very happy with their services (uptime/Speed) but cost is way to high in my opinion. Was thinking to switch to any other ISP so landed to this page. After reading all the post and comments, i feel terribly bad that I do not have any other option but to stick with CYBER as Internet connection is our backbone and i simply cant stand any risks.
It is clear from all above comments that virtually there is no ISP in Karachi that could stand out of the crowd. Not even Cyber as their rates are obviously unfair.
A few points for those who are willing to switch to CYBER:
- Their technical support people, will try their best to hide issues at their end by simply suggesting you the bogus solutions. Unless there is a major issue that they simply cannot overlook-like mail server down for everyone, SeaMeWe probs etc.
- When they are about to launch another product, their current one will start having major issues frequently, and when their team is contacted, they suggest you to move to their new product. I recall we were using NetComfort (hrs package) which started to have issues as soon as we heard about CyberHiSpeed (dialup but unlimited hrs i guess). Upon their recommendation we moved to Hispeed which worked perfectly well until their DSL was launched. Again we had to moved upon their recommendation.
Which DSL service is better PTCL OR MAXCOM?
i am saying every one ptcl is rocking on thier speed and pricing i am using all the isp service provider in kaachi but ptcl is the best at that time i am using 1MB service my download speed is 130KB/S to 150KB/S
actually wateen is pretty good.There is almost never any downtime and the customer support is excellent.If you have the problem of getting poor signals at your house,tell them to install an outdoor unit.I get 0 signals with my indoor unit but 100% signals with my outdoor unit.
I am salling wireless wifi service 100% full signal no extra charges no hidden charges 512kbps Rs 750/= and 1MB Rs1000/=
please contect 03452153186 i am not for jock
i am sale internet wireless broadband wifi device 100% signal garanty 512 speed only Rs 750 monthly bill 1mb 1000rs no extra charges no hidden charges please contect:03452153186 only for karachi
I am using maxcom for almost 6 months and i love it!I am using there 4mb connection for RS 4900 PER MONTH and get downloading speeds between 400KB and 500KB.
every1 is paid to promote their specific ISPs(VIRAL MARKETING: word of mouth in marketing terms) having fun guyz critisizing other ISPs, stop critisizing ISPs in Pakistan.
I am a home user tried everything worldcall, wit tribe, ptcl, maxcom too all are average…i wont say WOW AWESOME OR SOMETHING as i dont get paid for BLOGS WHICH THE MARKETING COMPANIES PAY U FOR …impressive but stop critisizing other ISPs
BLOG is basically for SALES PROMOTION n FOOL da PUBLIC my advice is to be a bit sharp to every1..i aint getting paid for writing MAXCOM nice degradation..u r lowering your standards yourself
hello people, i was using wi-tribe wireless internet 512 with 8 gb limit, i used it for 3 months, its the best internet experience i never had, speeds always being from 50kbs to 65kbs, no troubleshooting, i called 4 times in 3 months for my balance inquiry only, the problem was that it was limited, only 8 gb of usage, downloading plus browsing
so i got link dot nets 2 mb dsl connecting, it works works like anything (when it does), around 130kbs to 170kbs, but it has alot of connectivity problems, not a single day has passed without me complaining. I have to call 3 to 4 times a day for connection problem. so i am thinking to discontinue link dot net.
the problem the way i see it, are in the lines here in Pakistan, you cant get a decent internet experience with poor cables and old telephone wires.
i need help, i was thinking to back to wireless, but this time unlimited. i was seriously considering PTCL’s Evo or Worldcall’s evdo. I live in gulistan-e-johar, so if anyone near has used it, please share his\her true experience with the device. i know there are people of both companies which are spreading rumors and false information about the products, thus creating confusing among the users. I would like and very much appreciate if anyone would help me find a service provider which suites my needs. thank you!
WATEEN Wimax Offering
Wi-Fi Device & USB Internet
Offerig 60% Off Buy Any Connection
5GB Unlimited
256Kbps Rs. 599 Rs, 1300
512 Kbps Rs. 699 Rs, 1400
1 Mbps Rs. 799 Rs, 1500
Telephoney Line Rante Rs, 120
Device Cost Just Rs. 1500,
15 Days Money Back Gurantee.
Other Information
Call Now adnan babar
onliny lahore
03034285967
free home delivery
hi friends do you people know that in karachi karachi govrnment uses 39.0 Gb internet that is the world higest speed of internet in the world and 1 gb in the Saudi Arabia for home…….. and we people have just only maximum of 4 mb and bosster is 6 mb should we not protest for it……???????
The write-up was really insightful when I discovered it over yahoo on Friday by my search for ipad. I have your blog now in my book marks and I will check out your website again, before long. Take care.
I am using PTCL broad band for almost 2 years and i can say that they are providing the best speed but their customer service is pathetic.
I subscribed for their 500KB package which doubled to 1 MB. It was working like shit Initially as my line was on copper wire but i gave and application to change it on fiber optics one year ago. Their representative told me that the line is converted to fiber optics now. It worked fine after that and gave me download speed of 250 Kb until last month when they suddenly changed the phone lines and then my internet stops working. After several complaining and investigation i found that i am still on copper and their representative lied to me about fiber optics or they changed it back to cooper during line change. Also they can not convert my internet to fiber optics as they have no available slot.
After several complains my internet start working but the download speed has reduced to 100 KB. The line man is asking money to correct the line which i am not ready to give so i decided to convert to Maxcom. Lets see what they have to offer. I will not recommend PTCL to any one until you are ready to give bribe or to face their pathetic service.
WARNING!!!!
Never go for Link.net there service are useless,
if you complaint them they simply reply that there is congestion at your exchange,
I am suffering from last four months,
I am getting 50 kbps (not 50 kilo bytes) instead of 1024 kbps,
after every 15 - 30 minutes there service will got disconnected,
Viewing the steaming video on their service is dream,
even there support personnel suggest me to change the service from DSL because no progress at there side at all,
There support is the replica of PTCL,
It was my misfortune that I succumbed to QUBEE’s hounding sales tactics and took over their 1mb wireless line three months back with a refunable deposit. Their service never matched their claims. The Customer Care is a total hoax and technical personnel are real crooks.
It’s my humble advice to everyone not to get trapped and duped by this devious Company. If someone has already fallen a victim then beware not to return their device to them unless he gets his deposit back.
I switched to maxcom from wateen last year… Maxcom was working excellent but when PTCL tookover the company, the service started to drop and it gave me real hard time. Then I switched to Link.net and I think it sucks big time. Now I am looking for some better and reliable service. Any suggestions????
Join http://Funpakistan.tk/