I got a new connection of Airtel Xstream Fiber with Nokia router

[Rushil]

Last year, Airtel Xstream Fiber also became available in my area, so I considered using it. However, I didn't face any issues with my Jio Fiber at that time, so I didn't try it. Recently, I wanted to upgrade to a higher plan, and for the same price of Rs 999 (Rs. 1178 with GST), Airtel was offering a higher speed of 200mbps (actual 240mbps+), compared to Jio, which provides 150mbps (actual 165-170mbps+). So, I installed it today, and upon my request, they provided me with a Nokia router, which is much better than the Jio Router in terms of range, and it's unlocked, allowing me to use bridge modes and other features.

I paid a total of Rs. 3536, which covers the three-month price of the 200mbps plan, and due to which, I received free installation and a router.

 

[Vicky]

Good setup & Congratulations @Rushil bro

 

[Bapun]

Congratulations @Rushil bro.

With Airtel Xstream Fiber you are getting amazing bufferbloat grade. I get maximum A with JioFiber.

Jio Router in terms of range

@quote:
I think your router model is old one. You will get better range with the latest model. Alternatively, you can use Deco units to extend the range and seamlessly connect with each other units as you move to other areas of the house.

 

[Rushil]

Congratulations @Rushil bro.

With Airtel Xstream Fiber you are getting amazing bufferbloat grade. I get maximum A with JioFiber.


@quote:
I think your router model is old one. You will get better range with the latest model. Alternatively, you can use Deco units to extend the range and seamlessly connect with each other units as you move to other areas of the house.

Yeah, bro, I just thought of trying a new ISP. I'm expecting the same 99% uptime with Airtel Fiber as I've been getting with Jio for the last 3 years. Yes, it's a very old router. for me I get a B+ on Jio for buffer bloat, which may be due to an old router.

 

[Sai Jai]

Congratulations for ur new fibre connection @Rushil

Actually jio Fibre 150mbpd plan cost is 799 + 200 for OTT benefits of you don't want OTT benefit you can opt out

 

[Rushil]

Congratulations for ur new fibre connection @Rushil

Actually jio Fibre 150mbpd plan cost is 799 + 200 for OTT benefits of you don't want OTT benefit you can opt out

The Jio Fiber 150 Mbps plan costs Rs. 1179 with GST, while the 100 Mbps plan (which I've been using for the last 3 years) is priced at Rs. 825.

 

[Bapun]

Actually jio Fibre 150mbpd plan cost is 799 + 200 for OTT benefits of you don't want OTT benefit you can opt out

No, the JioFiber 150 Mbps plan is not available without OTT benefits so one can not opt out and it costs Rs. 999 + GST. I am using this plan.

Actually there's no Rs. 799 plan on JioFiber. The 30 Mbps and 100 Mbps plans are only available without OTT bundled benefits and cost Rs. 399 and Rs. 699 respectively.

 

[sathishbabu4u]

Airtel black has a plan 1100rs for 200mbps fiber and DTH connection. If you spend 100rs extra(exclu. GST) , you will dth connection with 350 channels with few HD channels

 

[Sai Jai]

No, the JioFiber 150 Mbps plan is not available without OTT benefits so one can not opt out and it costs Rs. 999 + GST. I am using this plan.

Actually there's no Rs. 799 plan on JioFiber. The 30 Mbps and 100 Mbps plans are only available without OTT bundled benefits and cost Rs. 399 and Rs. 699 respectively.

Oops i thought all the plans can be separable thanks for the information

 

[Rushil]

Recently, I experienced a downtime of around 30 hours with my Airtel Xstream Fiber, prompting me to share my experience and compare it with Jio Fiber. So, I am going to split the experience into multiple parts.

Speed and Latency (Pings)

Airtel Xstream Fiber provides excellent speeds, almost 20-25% higher than the plan. These speeds are consistently higher, not just on Ookla speed tests. For my 200 Mbps plan, I consistently get 245-250 Mbps. For comparison, Jio Fiber provides 5-10% extra speed for the plan. The pings are also notably better than Jio. For some reason, Airtel Xstream Fiber feels smoother, perhaps due to better routing on Airtel's part. I experienced issues with Jio where some websites loaded extremely slowly, but that was not the case with Airtel. Whatever I opened on Airtel Xstream Fiber loaded instantly.

OTT

On my plan, I mainly get Amazon Prime Video (for 1 year), Disney Plus Hotstar Super, and Airtel Xstream Play (an OTT aggregator platform). I like Airtel Xstream Play because it loads videos super fast, almost as if you're playing them locally. So, I feel it is on par with Jio. However, it depends on what you want. For me, I bought the connection primarily for internet, and these are just add-ons.

Router and Freedom

Airtel provided me with a Nokia Router, which is superior to my existing Jio Router. It has better range and is fully unlocked, so I can easily bridge it with other routers too.

Service and Reliability

Here, I can confidently say Jio is better. I had Jio Fiber for more than 3 years, and even if I combine all the downtime over those 3 years, it would not have been more than 12 hours. It was reliable, whenever I needed internet, it was up. However, within 2 months of my Airtel connection, it went down for a straight 30 hours. The response I got from the Airtel team was horrible. I received messages after messages stating the connection would be resumed after a certain time, with each message providing a new deadline. Even on Twitter, I only received template replies, and there was almost no way to talk to customer care without going through their IVR. Since it was down in the whole area, they were not even registering my personal complaint. I have seen such incidents with Airtel Fiber where they can be out of service for days without proper resolution and response from the team, which I rarely experienced with Jio Fiber.

Conclusion

Overall, I am happy with Airtel Xstream Fiber for now, but if such downtimes occur again and again, I might switch back to Jio because reliability is of the utmost priority for me.