The say they have a 24 hr. customer contact center, but that's just for the media promo. Proper service is not available even until 9AM.

So today I called the number 1504 here. The first person who picked up asked me to switch off the modem and put the power back on after 10 min.

Quite a logical answer I thought - for a company that provides broadband service to the country, the kind of suggestion itself was very helpful. I don't know what the companies of this country think their customers to me - Neanderthals like them??

So then I called up again. And a lady, who was in a little better state of mind maybe, picked up.

She asked me to call up after 15-30 min because their own servers were down.

That's when I thought - ah ha!! as I thought, there might be a bigger problem than just my PC, modem, cable etc.

(actually I was scanning the news channel also last night to know if there was any issue which could be shared on the news channels for people to know - that's an advantage and expectation from the media, coming to think of it in context with this problem).

So then I asked her, since when was this, and she confirmed what I believed was right, that since last evening, the servers were down. Relieved, I hung up.

It made me think then though, if the phone line was working and the servers were down, how come there was no alternate SLN option that MTNL had to keep the services up.

Would they have even an iota of understanding as to how many businesses might be relying on their services and how these acts of stupidity where not having adequate information before hand of the service quality, or not informing the customers of any network fault would actually be more detrimental to the businesses or for that matter any important communication that people might be wanting to make through their emails??

Another unfortunate problem in this whole scenario is the apartment complex society committee which is even more

idiotic in rejecting any ISP competition to come into the building premises because the cabling work of the private ISP would spoil the show of the building and premises. That though is another story.

So here I am wondering thus, would there not have been a very basic technology or a network of users who could know that the servers were down and that people would not be able to use the ISP for whatever time? Could MTNL not have been able to put in adequate technical forces to work to ensure communicating to customers was foremost?

for MTNL, this fault is BAU and they think it will all be ok since the customers are dumb and they won't have any problem at all of any kind.

This lackadaisical attitude is what will take country into reverse progress; Though we could get and work on all kinds of latest technology we want, but as long as it's real use in the time of need is being neglected, the whole exercise of investment in technology will be totally futile.

When will such companies wake up to tighten their belts on their employee attitudes, and help the country move forward?