Airtel, one of the biggest Indian ISPs, is intercepting HTTP requests to display ads

Interesting that you mention phone companies. Because that's one area where I feel India is far superior to what you get in America. American phone companies are always trying to shaft the customer with lock-in on phones and monopolistic pricing. In India, the competition is much more healthy. I've generally been satisfied\impressed with Airtel's customer service. I can only remember one instance in the last 4 years when my internet access went down - it was for half a day and was out all over south India. Maybe I'm just an edge case.

But with retail and restaurants in general, yes, consumers get better treatment in America than probably anywhere else.

I was the one who submitted the original story (that's my own blog), so I have reasons to be very angry right now, but I don't quite agree with what you said there.

I have lived in New Delhi all my life, and I've seen this city grow. I remember the regular power outages, but that was some 5 or 6 years ago. The power still goes out, but it's a very rare incident. In fact, people of my age are rather surprised when that happens. My parents are, of course, unfazed because they've lived in times when it was considered disturbing when the power didn't go out after every few hours.

I've been with Airtel for about two years now, and so far I've experienced just two problems with my connection, both of which were fixed within hours. I remember the roads being flooded with water and school being cancelled when I was a kid, but that doesn't happen anymore (no matter how hard I wish ;)). MTNLs landlines are the only constant many Indians know in life. Come whatever may, your trusty old MTNL will always work. (MTNL's customer service, OTOH, treats you like shit.)

I wonder how my experiences will compare with those of other Indians. I live in a great neighbourhood in one of the better areas of New Delhi.