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16 Aug 2019
24 years ago, 9.6kbps leased-line costed Rs. 2.4 lakh/year
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This year's Independence Day marked the 24th anniversary of the internet in India.
Now, at first, this doesn't seem much of a deal, but the fact is, these 24 years have completely changed how millions of people connect, communicate.
The internet we use so easily today was a rare luxury back in the day, one that truly costed a fortune.
Here's how.
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In this articleVSNL launched internet for Indians in 1995 Leased line broadband plans were priced over Rs. 2 lakh/year Plans went up to Rs. 30 lakh/year for other users Dial-up connections were available at 9.6kbps Here's the complete rate chart Today, we can have up to 1Gbps of speeds And, what does it mean?
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Launch
VSNL launched internet for Indians in 1995
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On 15 August 1995, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited, aka present-day Tata Communications, launched internet for the public for the first time.
It was available in select regions as part of dial-up and leased line broadband services and offered incredibly slow speeds by today's standards.
However, eventually, the service expanded, the speeds improved, and we got 2G, 3G, and finally 4G-based wireless web connectivity.
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Prices
Leased line broadband plans were priced over Rs. 2 lakh/year
![Leased line broadband plans were priced over Rs. 2 lakh/year]( "Leased line broadband plans were priced over Rs. 2 lakh/year")
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Notably, it isn't just the speed/coverage of the internet that has improved; the prices have also fallen.
Back in the day, VSNL's base leased-line plan promising 9.6kbps of speed for non-commercial users was priced at Rs. 2.4 lakh/year, while the top-end plan with 128kbps came at Rs. 10 lakh/year.
This didn't even include the cost of physical link, which had to be paid separately.
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Information
Plans went up to Rs. 30 lakh/year for other users
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While the plans for non-commercial users went up to Rs. 10 lakh, other parties - commercial users, exporters, service providers - had to pay even more. According to The Indian Techonomist, their plans went up to Rs. 30 lakh/year.
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Dial-up plans
Dial-up connections were available at 9.6kbps
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Along with leased line connections, customers also had the option to go for a dial-up broadband connection.
However, it only came as part of a single plan that promised 9.6kbps of speeds for 250 hours and required non-commercial users to pay Rs. 15,000/year.
Commercial users were charged more for the same plan, according to reported annual charges.
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Twitter Post
Here's the complete rate chart
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Wow! pic.twitter.com/CmLisCZ3F1
— Shikha Chaudhry (@chaudhryshik) August 16, 2019 -
Upgrade
Today, we can have up to 1Gbps of speeds
![Today, we can have up to 1Gbps of speeds]( "Today, we can have up to 1Gbps of speeds")
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From those days, internet services have evolved in more ways than you could imagine.
Today, 4G connections from telcos like Jio and Airtel offer high-speed internet and plenty of data at tempting prices.
Plus, fiber-to-the-home networks - like Jio Fiber Services - have also started promising speeds ranging between 100Mbps to 1Gbps at affordable rates.
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Data
And, what does it mean?
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To put things into perspective, even if we assume that the users got consistent speed of 9.6kbps, they could only consume less than 10GB/year, as only 250 hours/year were allowed. In 2019 prices, it means 1 GB of data would have costed you Rs. 6,100.
