Hyderabad becomes India’s first city to get 1Gbps broadband service launched by ACT Fibernet
ACT Fibernet on Thursday became the first ever Indian broadband service provider to launch 1Gbps (gigabit per second) wired broadband internet service with a Fair Usage Policy (FUP) limit of 1TB (terabyte) in Hyderabad. With this launch, Hyderabad becomes the first Gigabit city of India. The service is being made available at a starting price of Rs. 5,999 per month (exclusive of taxes).
The speed is considered to be 400 times faster than the average internet speed of 2.5 Mbps in India. For now, ACT claims that with the new 1Gbps plan, it is majorly targeting start-ups, retail outlets and other internet companies, and claims that the new service will disrupt and lead technological growth in the country. With these speeds, users can download a full movie in a matter of seconds.
Bala Malladi, CEO, ACT Fibernet said, “With our citizens and the government moving towards the Digital India movement, high speed internet is the need of the hour. With the launch of our 1 Gbps broadband internet service, it gives me immense pride to turn this dream into reality. The city of Hyderabad is apt for our maiden launch as it has some of the best technology brands, educational institutions and a vibrant economy.”
“We are confident this product will transform the way internet is now being consumed at large and this will fast track the government’s newest target to connect all its 23 million Telangana residents through the Internet by 2018,” Malladi added.
ACT pointed out that high-speed gigabit connections will require a minimum PC specification consisting of an “Intel Core i7 processor 2.5Ghz, 8GB of RAM, with a 64-bit OS and 1Gbps LAN/Ethernet port.”
The company said that a few cities across the world can claim as being ‘Giga enabled’, certainly not at this scale. This launch places Hyderabad in league of select cities in the world that can claim of such futuristic technology. Giga speeds will allow downloads from the internet faster than transferring data from a USB drive.
“I am extremely pleased to be present here and witness the historic launch of 1Gbps broadband internet service for an entire city in the country. It is my vision to connect our residents through high speed internet and I am sure this product from ACT Fibernet will further help fulfil my vision of making Telangana a tech and digitally advanced hub,” said Shri. K. Taraka Rama Rao, Minister for IT, Municipal Administration and Urban development and Industries, in a statement.
IT Secretary, Jayesh Ranjan, said the State will soon launch 3,000 Wi-Fi spots in the city, of which 1,000 of them will be handled by ACT.
ACT Fibernet is also planning to launch its 1 Gbps wired internet service in 10 other cities soon, including Bengaluru, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Eluru, Guntur, Nellore, Tirupati, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam.
With over 65% market share, ACT Fibernet said that it is the largest broadband provider in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. Also, with a customer base of 1.12 million, ACT Fibernet is India’s 3rd largest wired broadband operator in the country. Headquartered in Bangalore, ACT currently provides fiber Internet in 11 cities across India. In the United States, the Google Fiber is providing the same speed as 1Gbps for selected cities.
