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26/02: Stay Away from BrainNET's DSL Service!

Maverick on WCCK Forums reports that BrainNET is using false advertising to lure potential customers to its unlimited home DSL packages when in fact, these packages are capped at 3GB per month. If you require more bandwidth you are charged more or else, your account is locked.

Maverick's post is quoted below as a matter of record and so that the reader's understand this matter better:

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Sadly I have come to know after a bitter experience lasting 10 days that Brain Net gives you only 3GB of downloads even though they advertise unlimited downloads....That's correct folks regardless of what anyone else says Brain Net reserves only 3GB for their 'unlimited' advertised accounts.

So I am in day 12th today and early in the morning I receive an sms message that my account was due for Rs. 2300. Confused I called up the local office only to be advised that the message is erroneous and that I should ignore it. Around 1pm my internet got disconnected and wouldn't connect again, Modem error message was "Authentication Failure"!

Called up the office again only to be told that they will fix it, 3 hours later I called them again and I was quite upset this time, demanded their address and told them I will pay them a visit to which they provided me the number of their toll free number and told me that they too contact the same number as the troubleshooting is only done in Lahore.

Called up the toll free number and the CSR told me that my account was blocked because of non payment, I told him it was impossible as I had already paid in advance for the whole month which started only 12 days ago, He checked again and then told me that my downloads had exceeded the set limit consistently hence the account was locked. The guy told me that he will restore the connection within 10 minutes.

Pretty upset with all the nuisance I called up the regional head of sales department, Mr. Ayaz told me that I was downloading too much and that they cannot keep my account any more. I told him that they had advertised unlimited downloads to which he gave me stupid excuses:

Ayaz: You are not downloading like a home user rather like a corporate user
Me: It does not matter how I download as you have advertised unlimited downloads.

Ayaz: But we have a 3GB Limit for home users (30GB for 1:10 shared connection)
Me: Then why haven't you mentioned the same and why do you advertise unlimited downloads?

Ayaz: 3GB Downloads are enough for any household that is why we advertise unlimited downloads. What do you download anyway?
Me: I download HD Movies off torrents, why do you not advertise a 3GB download limit? Why do you misguide customers like me, why do you think I pay almost Rs. 2400/month for a 2MB connection?

Ayaz: All ISP's do the same, your downloads will be restricted regardless of which ISP you use.
Me: That still does not justify your false advertisement which attracted me to you in the first place. Be also advised that I am an active member of quite a few Forums and I will post about your LIE. Please refund me for the days remaining.
Ayaz: Let me arrange that when I get back to office.

Brain Net advertisement about unlimited downloads is a fucking lie, Beware!


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What makes it all the more alarming is that BrainNET seems to be doing this deliberately. Proof of this is found when one looks at its website describing the packages available. You can go to the package details page by clicking here. There is no mention of any volume limit for the packages. On another page, they advertise these packages as being "24 hours unlimited". I would call this a clever use of words to state that the connections remain connected 24/7 which is sort of an implied meaning of a broadband connection. However, the potential customer (most not understanding a lot of English) takes this to mean that the packages don't have any volume limitation. Even on the above linked page, there is no mention of any bandwidth/volume limitations for the end user. The customer is thus deliberately misled into believing that the packages have no volume limitations.

In the quoted conversation with the regional head of sales department, Mr. Ayaz lies blatantly and unashamedly to Maverick. First, home users these days download huge amounts of data. This is evident with the increasing popularity of video sites like YouTube and MetaCafe which consume a major portion of internet traffic these days. In fact, I would venture very confidently to say that in Pakistan's scenario a corporate connection generates less traffic than one installed at homes of any avid internet user. 3 GB download is not enough for any household. With increasing size of web pages, and increasing multimedia content in websites, most often one finds that the [non-advertised] volume limit is crossed quite easily. Calling a 3GB limit package unlimited is lying to the customers and false advertisement.

Amongst all ISPs in Pakistan providing broadband connections, it is well assumed that they will be unlimited in both connectivity and volume. Out of all the Pakistani ISPs I have read about (and I read about them quite a lot), Nayatel is the only one providing FTTH which has volume limited home packages which makes their packages unappealing and utterly crappy. Other Wimax packages from Wateen are also volume limited for the most part. Take any of PTCL, LINKdotNET, Micronet, Maxcom or other popular ISPs providing DSL service. All offer home DSL packages which have no volume restrictions. This proves that the contention of Mr. Ayaz regarding other ISPs "doing the same" is another lie.

This underhanded maneuver by BrainNET is a patent example of how to defraud a customer. I would recommend to potential DSL subscribers currently looking for a new connection to stay far away from BrainNET's service until this issue is satisfactorily resolved either way. You can trace progress of this issue on Wired Pakistan Forums, WCCK Forums or on PKFORUM.

Stay alert and protect your rights as a consumer.

Everyone who uses BrainNET or any other internet service provider is welcome to share his or her experience in the comments section below. Good luck to you all in finding the internet service provider which provides internet packages fitting your needs at a reasonable price and great after-sales customer service.

Edit [1/7/2009]: Maverick adds:

Hey Asad, do you know I wrote that post on wcck about BrainNET, the one your turned in to a blog and have in your signature They refunded me 2 weeks later as their GM was out of the country and no refunds could be made before his return (well actually the CS at the office paid me earlier but out of their own pockets which they told me will be refunded once the GM returns!).

All's well that ends well. Congrats to Maverick for getting his money back.

18/02: Realizations about Israel - Part 2

In continuation of my previous post regarding Realizations about Israel, I found something today that further points to positive changes taking place in Europe regarding Israel. People in Europe seem to be awakening to the fact that they don't need to oblige irrational demands from people of Jewish faith out of a feeling of pity and guilt over what Hitler did during the Holocaust.

What I found today is news from France saying enough is enough regarding the sense of guilt ailing Europe over the Holocaust. Times Online reports:

'Jewish war victims have had enough compensation' French court says

Some excerpts from the article are given below in italics with my commentary added in between in plain text.

The French State was responsible for deporting Jews during the Second World War, the top judicial authority ruled for the first time yesterday, but it dismayed families of victims by declaring that they had already been compensated.

It was advising on a case brought by Madeleine Hoffman-Glemane, 75, one of hundreds of victims who have sued recently for damages over their arrests and deportation during the Nazi occupation from 1940 to 1944.


Even though the admission comes forth because President Sarkozy's ties to people of Jewish faith, I find this encouraging in the sense that the French have stopped pussy-footing around the issue.

The Holocaust happened over 65 years ago and compensation is being asked now? What for? A majority of the people who tragically suffered and the ones who inflicted the suffering are dead by now. On a human level, one can sympathize with the victims who faced the horrors but to try to milk it for all its worth saps away any sympathy one feels for the sufferers of the Holocaust. In fact, asking for compensation here undermines the suffering of the people who suffered through the actual events. While there are lessons to be learned from history, what is the fault of the present generation which is one or two generations removed from those who indirectly caused the suffering?

Since taking office in 2007 President Sarkozy, whose mother is Jewish, has ordered acts of remembrance of the French role in the Holocaust but during his election campaign he said that France should stop apologising for itself because it had never been involved in a policy of genocide.

To the anger of campaigners the council advised the court dealing with Ms Hoffman-Glemane's case that deportees had already received enough compensation. “The different measures taken since the end of the Second World War have made reparation as much as possible,” it said.


While Obama promised change, not many changes have been forthcoming on policies relating to war in Afghanistan. However, true positive change can be seen from the French in the underlined portion of the excerpts. Obama should take heart from this and bid farewell to his 'appease AIPAC' policies and make the US a truly neutral party in the Middle East conflict by not supporting either party in the interests of fairness. I can guarantee that this would tremendously boost American reputation in many regions of the world where America can ill afford a further loss of its image. America needs to stand true to its values; to be indiscriminate and to freely allow all parties a chance at expressing their arguments on an unbiased platform. But I digress... Coming back to the topic at hand...

For more than a decade Holocaust survivors and their families have been waging legal battles in French and US courts. In 2007, however, an appeal court reversed a Bordeaux court conviction against the railways for holding and robbing two Jews. The court ruled that the SNCF was not an arm of the State.

The 'legal battles' as mentioned in the excerpt, represent a systematic abuse of the legal systems in France and the US to gain monetary compensation and sympathy through guilt, which as the news article notes, has been going on for decades. If I were a citizen of France amongst the working class, I would question the state on why my tax money is being spent to compensate someone's suffering in which I had no direct involvement.

Moving on to comments given on the article, I see this positive trend repeated again and again. Jonathan L. from Tel Aviv, Israel notes:

[...]

The French behaved better then most other nations in Europe and rescued many Jews: only 25% died. That they accept responsibility for those shows their decency.


This represents the change I mentioned in one of my previous articles on Realizations about Israel. This is very encouraging coming from someone in/from Israel.

Paul Gibbons from Milton Keynes, UK comments:

My Grandfather was locked up by the Germans for over 4 years in WW2. He never asked for or was offered any compensation. His son (my father )who along with the rest of his family never asked for compensation either. Like millions of other non-jews (the majority) they just got on with it.

This is the exact way to honor the suffering of Jews during the Holocaust! Do NOT beg for pity or compensation. Tell the world of the suffering and remember it but do it with honor and with respect to the ones who suffered instead of trying to cash in on the suffering. Cashing it in just cheapens the suffering and it is a disservice to those who truly suffered.

Tom from London, UK comments

..."The existence of laws that punish anyone who disagrees with the official account " when used in any context is truly terrifying and I think what got some European countries into this mess in the first place.

I couldn't agree more! Pete Cottrell from Memphis, USA states:

Reparations, seems the only qualifiers are jews. Many other ethnic groups went through tolls and death. What about them or do they not count. Lets discuss reparations for some other races!

Yasser Hanif from Manchester, UK adds:

Justice has to be equal and balanced. Did Israel pay any compensation to the destruction & cluster bombs in Lebanon? Did Israel pay a penny for the napalm they used in the sixties(not so long ago)? Did Israel pay a nickle to the families of the 400 children they killed in Gaza a month ago? Justice here?

I end the article with the following comment given by Eric from US:

I am an American Jew who has worked hard his whole life...served my nation in the military in Iraq and I agree the time for restitution is over. All who were interned deserved compensation but for descendents it is rediculous. Repayment is done....let the dead rest in peace.

And the comments go on stating argument both; for and against this decision by the French court. I would encourage readers to visit the linked page on Times Online and read the comments for yourself to get all arguments in more detail.

08/02: Realizations about Israel

Israel has been an arrogant little child crying wolf over the last few years. There was the attack on Lebanon some time back and now there has been an attack on Palestine. Both attacks were marked by an overt and disproportionate use of force and an over the top response vis-a-vis the killing of children and women by Israel, apart from the number of deaths involved on both sides.

I am not stating here that Israel is the only party to be blamed but the minimal response potential of both targets of Israel is not a winning argument in Israel's favor. The settlements in Palestinian lands annexed by Israel were a deliberate provocation and puts the residents of those settlements at risk. It's as if one knows that an area is prone to severe earthquakes and still makes sky scrapers on that land and then selling it off as being a safe place. This kind of provocation is designed to get a response and Israel is no stranger to crying wolf. Only a fool would be lured by this again and again.

Hamas' rockets definitely didn't kill as many Israelis compared to how many Palestinians were killed by Israel. Some would rightly call it a genocide; ironic considering that Jews themselves faced a genocide at the hands of Hitler. Is it a psychotic dysfunction that has Israel blaming the Palestinians and Arabs, by extension, for the Jewish genocide and consequently committing a counter genocide? Lest Israelis are forgetting, they were persecuted by Europeans. And Hitler certainly wasn't a Muslim!

It's no wonder that Israel is hated so much by the Muslim world. Take note of the use of the word "Israel" and not "Jews". Muslims don't really have that much of a beef with Jews. After all, according to Islamic scriptures, Jews, Christians and Muslims are folloowers of the the three religions of the Books. There are Jews in Iran; plenty of them but they aren't hated, unlike the Jews in Israel. The same is true for the most part, for Jewish communities in America and elsewhere. The oppression created by Israel is a major cause for the hate against it.

Unfortunately, America's unending support for Israeli oppression results in America being tarred with the same brush as Israelis. That is unfortunate and unfair but the reasoning for it is understandable. Supporting a wrong incriminates you with being a a part of the wrong itself. I don't expect a change to occur with regards to America's support for Israel considering how Barrack Obama had to appease AIPAC in the recent election campaign in America. AIPAC's political clout is undeniable and the "Change" Obama promised will certainly not be applicable in this instance unless the American public opts for looking after their own interests rather than those of Israel's which is earning them global dislike. That's a thing that has been long overdue.

Coming to Europe, the laws in certain countries about Holocaust denial are evidence of Europe's hypocrisy. Let the evidence about Holocaust stand up against the deniers instead of providing state sponsored legal support for an academic debate just to curtail the guilt Europe feels for the Jewish genocide.

On a positive note, changes and realizations seem to be coming forth from within the Jewish communities themselves about Israel. This is very encouraging.

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