I live in Hyderabad and I get 100mbps unlimited for just 2000Rs per month (which is approximately 30$ per month). You can check the tariff page for proof: http://www.actcorp.in/personal/fibernet/plans
I think you were ripped off by a local ISP who cheated you with really high rates just because you are a foreigner.
I'm not a foreigner. I live in Lucknow, India and this is what my options are right now.
http://www.sikkanet.com/home-users/unshared-plans/
http://www.sikkanet.com/corporate-users/
http://www.techiit.com/airtel-broadband-tariff-plans-lucknow...
In the case of Airtel, "upto 16Mbps" means that maximum 4Mbps due to "technical restrictions."
You're lucky that you're getting that kind of a connection. Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata are probably the only cities in India where one can get that kind of a connection without trouble.
I don't understand why the lack of a good ISP in Lucknow means someone should not try provide high-speed Wi-Fi at the train station. Are you saying it's an inefficient allocation of resources?
Obviously.
Maybe also room for a startup that could keep your train station free of rats, monkeys and feces and trash.
In my opinion, an ISP startup over here is only possible if either the government wakes up (not gonna happen) or if someone with millions of dollars to spend on infrastructure and bribes is willing to do it.
Unfortunately in most cities, Airtel (India's biggest ISP) has a monopoly and the other local cable providers either cut the cables for other ISPs or either simply steal them (it was/is a major problem for BSNL, the state-owned ISP).
>Maybe also room for a startup that could keep your train station free of rats, monkeys and feces and trash.
The trouble here is that the railway contracts usually go to people who throw in a bribe to the station-master and the higher ups in the Railway Board. And of course, the contractors don't do their jobs properly because, well, people gotta earn some money.
A high-speed Wi-Fi service also seems a bit stupid given the fact that no ISP in Lucknow provides an unlimited 50+ Mbps broadband connection. What do they expect us to do? Take our laptops and sit at the station which is littered with rats, monkeys, their shit, and trash?
You can get an unlimited <50Mbps connection but that'll cost you approximately $500 - $1000 a month. For other "home users" there are shitty plans that give you 30GB-200GB of data with 2Mbps - 16Mbps for approximately $30 a month.