A video Review for Reliance Netconnect
Friday 22 April 2011
Thursday 21 April 2011
Photon Plus Review (Tata Photon Plus Network Coverage Quality and Internet Speed): I have taken a Tata Photon Plus EVDO card last month and here is my review on the network quality, actual speed and the customer service. Actually, I have been wanting to write a review but I thought I should wait for at least a month.
But first, before you read any further, I would suggest you to read an article about my experience with Tata Photon Plus customer service. Yes, their customer service s*cks and I really wish they prove me wrong.
Now let us talk about the network quality and actual internet speed. As per my experience in JP Nagar Bangalore, the quality of Tata IndicomNetwork coverage is good over here. The dialer that comes with the Photon Plus connects very quickly and the network is set up almost instantly every time. First time when I saw that, I thought “WOW” and I was really excited about surfing the internet with a 2Mbps connection. But of course that remained only a dream. The Photon plus gave me an average speed of about 25KB/sec download. That is roughly about 256Kbps internet speed I am getting and not the 2Mbps that the Tata Indicom is advertising on every single road-side banner space these days. So I called up their customer service and asked what was happening and I was told that the speed depends on the Tata EVDO network which they are currently optimizing. The next I did was took the Photon Plus to Jayanagar 4th Block and tried it there in a friend’s house. There also same thing. We got a speed of about about 20-25KB/Sec download.
So the best way to check the actual performance of a Tata Photon Plus is to call their customer service and ask them to send an executive with a photon plus demo kit. Let them come to your house and give you a SPEED DEMO. If the Tata EVDO coverage is good, the speed will be good and you can buy the device. Otherwise it’s your choice. I am saying this because I have heard some people saying that they are getting good speed with the Photon Plus and maybe that is true in some regions since the speed completely depends on the network coverage. So, better test it before buying, afterall it’s your Money. So For Tata Photon Plus I Give 5/10 points.
Reliance Net-connect Broadband +
| Mobile Wireless broadband is finally here in India and I am happy to say that it works, I had purchased the Reliance Netconnect Broadband plus data Card for mobile broadband, this connection provides a peak theoretical speed of 3.1 Mbps when you are connected to the the Reliance High speed (HSD) network available in 35 major cities across India and if the high speed network is not present it falls back to the slower CDMAx1 network which works in over 20,000 towns and 4.5 lakhs villages. Broadband + USB Modems Reliance is providing two USB models for this broadband + service, one is EC168C from Huawei and the other ZTE AC871 currently both the modems cost Rs 3,500, if you get an option opt for the Huawei as its sleek looking and can also be used as a USB data stick by adding Micro SD card. |  |
At the time of buying the USB modem you would need to select a data plan, (also enter a proper email address when you submit the application form coz you can get the bills in you email that way) make sure you choose a proper data-plan otherwise you will be billed for heavy overage usage, seriously speaking I did not like any of the tariff plans as all of them are a bit expensive in my opinion, before taking up the connection I would suggest that you opt for a demo coz, the device will not work at its best if the signal level is low near your area or if you are out of the HSD network coverage.
Do note that this High speed broadband network is available in 35 cities in India and before you plan to purchase make sure your city is present otherwise you will only get slow CDMAx1 speeds, you can seamlessly roam and get broadband speeds in the 35 cities where HSD network is present and its present in almost all the major cities, also there are no extra roaming charges throughout India (do note to subscribe to a proper data plan coz some plans do not allow roaming).
Technology
Basically this wireless connection uses the EVDO (Rev A) technology for the high speed broadband service, which is basically a type of broadband service for CDMA network which can provide speeds upto 3.1 Mbps and if the EVDO service is not present the modem will it will fall back and connect to the old slower CDMA 1x network.
The USB Modem and its package
The Huawei USB Reliance broadband + is provided in a sleek package it actually looks like and DVD box.
The package contains the USB modem, usb cable, Driver CD (not required for installation), product manual and warranty card, the build quality of the USB modem is very good it looks sturdy and also attractive.
Installation
Reliance has made these modem plug ‘n’ play so you do not need to load the CD to install the drivers, just plug it in an empty USB 2.0 slot an it installs the required drivers and dialer software, It worked without any problems on my Mac (iMac), Windows 7 (HP laptop) and Windows Vista, do note that when you first get the connection you need to activate it on one computer and I suggest you use and windows machine to do the same (forget the activation thing if the Reliance Webworld guys have done it, you just need to do it once by dialing *228 in the activation tab)
Connectivity and Experience
My best friend Amar and I have taken the EC168C Huawei modem and we can tell you that the
To give you an idea of the connection speed we were able to browse youtube videos (HD) mode without any buffering issues, I even tried Video Chat which was acceptable, for file downloads I was able to download around 5-6 Mb of data in a minute to say the truth, I was not expecting the connectivity to be so good but I am happy that I am wrong, on the downside the upload speeds were pathetic I was just getting around 12 -18 Kb/sec for file uploads via ftp, no where near the advertised speeds of 1.8 Mbps (180 kb/sec).
BTW Amar did try to do Video Conferencing while traveling in a car at it was bad, I guess the upload speed gets affected while you are on the move.
You can also check the online usage via the reliance portal, do note that the stats are updated with the delay of 24 hrs.
Some speed test
To give you a rough idea I am pasting the results of some speedtest that I had done, the first one is done from India (Hyderabad) to New york (USA) and the second one from India to Singapore.
 |  |
Here if you compare ping times from a wired broadband connection it was 50-80 ms more than the wired broadband connection, for example if I ping to tech2buzz.com I get a ping of around 280ms on my wired broadband, with this wireless modem I get a ping of around 360ms, I also noticed that you get better ping times during nights.
Alternatives to Reliance Broadband plus
The two other alternatives companies which provide broadband based on EVDO are TATA Photon and BSNL EVDO, the problem with TATA is that the service is limited to a couple of cities only and there is no clarity on Roaming charges, also it does not work with a Mac OS, on the other hand BSNL EVDO is the cheapest of all for just Rs 550/ month you get unlimited data-transfer but the speeds are not that great and the network is very patchy even in the city the service will work only in some areas, mostly falling to the slower CDMAx1 speeds and again the BSNL EVDO does not allow you to use it in another state no roaming.
Negative points
No Unlimited plan a max of 10GB/month
Over-usage charges are exorbitant @ Rs 2 / MB
Upload speeds are pathetic
No upgrade path or discount for old netconnect subscribers, we need to buy a the new data card.
Over-usage charges are exorbitant @ Rs 2 / MB
Upload speeds are pathetic
No upgrade path or discount for old netconnect subscribers, we need to buy a the new data card.
Conclusion
Reliance Netconnect broadband plus provides great broadband speed on the move and I highly recommend it to you if you need a mobile broadband connection, It works great in most of the major cities (35 in total) on the other hand I hope their tariffs come down. Points- 8/10
BSNL EVDO
Introduction
Indian government is yet to give 3G band licenses for mobile access. Yet months before that BSNL has introduced 3G in the form of wireless EVDO broadband service (the advantages of being a public sector company!). It is only available in select cities in India and offers download speeds up to 2mbps! But if there is no EVDO coverage is your area, the EVDO card switches to CDMA 1.0 based Internet access which gives speeds up to 128kbps. This article will give you a complete picture of BSNL’s EVDO service, its features and a list of frequently asked questions(FAQ) on it.
What is EVDO?
EVDO (also spelled EV-DO) stands for Evolution-Data Optimized. It is a telecommunications standard for transmitting digital data through radio signals and hence is used for wireless Internet access. It used CDMA and TDMA techniques for data transfer.
EV-DO is considered as a part of 3G standard of mobile access. The maximum speed supported by an EVDO device/network is about 2.4mbps. EVDO devices offer backward compatibility and hence can access CDMA 1x network.
How to get BSNL EVDO Broadband Connection?
You need to visit the main BSNL office in your area to get EVDO connection. If you already have a BSNL service (land line or a post paid mobile connection), you just need to fill out a form. If you don’t have an existing service, you will need to give an address proof document also (photo copy of your passport, election id card, driving license, nationalized bank passbook etc.). Once they verify your application form (you will probably have to meet the engineer in charge at the office), you are asked to pay the fee (see tariff below). Once you pay the fee, the EVDO card is immediately issued. This comes in an elegant package along with instructions for use.
What is the cost of getting BSNL EVDO (tariff structure)?
Important Note: BSNL EVDO Tariff structure change from time to time. Please see BSNL homepage for latest tariffs.For BSNL EVDO, the fixed monthly charges for unlimited access is Rs. 750. Additional payment required for buying the EVDO card. If you buy it, it will cost you Rs. 2500. But if you don’t have that much money to spare, you can take the EVDO card on rent. This rent per month is 200+Tax and hence your monthly payment will increase to Rs. 950+. There is also a refundable security deposit of Rs. 1000 for rental. So you need to pay the following on the day of taking a new EVDO card (under post paid plans),
On purchase of EVDO card= 2500 + 500 (activation fee) = Rs. 3000On rental of EVDO card = 1000 (security) + 500 (activation fee) + 200 (first month rental) = Rs. 1700
As of August 2010, BSNL is also giving various EVDO tariff options under both prepaid and postpaid plans. For example, if you need only 500MB bandwidth per month you can take the Rs. 199 per month postpaid plan. See EVDO Tariff page for detailed tariff information.
What do you get when you buy a new EVDO connection?When you get BSNL EVDO, you will be given a box which contains EVDO card, user manual and a CD for installing drivers in Windows systems. You will also be given a receipt for your payment along with details of your EVDO connection.
Typically the user id associated with your EVDO card is written on the card itself. In Kerala, the password is set to the last 4 digits of the EVDO card’s user number. The user number with the STD prefix (without 0) becomes your user id. Here is an example,The card has 1234567 (sample number) written on it. The STD code where I am staying is 0471. Hence my user id/passwords are,
USER ID (STD+EVDO card number) : 4711234567PASSWORD (last 4 digits of EVDO card number): 4567
When you configure EVDO connectivity, the phone number used is always #777.
How to use EVDO card for Broadband access in Windows?
There is a Windows software CD that comes with BSNL EVDO package. You can use it to install ZTE’s EV-DO software for Windows.
Do not connect USB EVDO card before installing the software. During installation, the program will ask you to insert the card. At this point, the EVDO card will be successfully installed. The installation also has a user manual in CHM format.
After you start the EVDO software, you need to configure phone number, user id and password (see the above section). Click on the settings icon on the right side of ZTE EV-DO App. It will open settings window and enter your details there (don’t forget to replace 11111111 with your number). Click on apply.
LED on the EVDO card indicates the status as shown below,
| LED | Insert Data Terminal | (Network | Registered) | (There is service or | Searching the Network) |
| EV-DO | 1X | EV-DO | 1X | ||
| Yellow | ON | OFF | Slow Flash | OFF | Quick Flash |
| Green | ON | Slow Flash | OFF | Quick Flash | OFF |
The top bar on ZTE EV-DO application provides a lot of information on the EV-DO connection as shown below,
What is the monthly bandwidth limit for BSNL EVDO access?
Get ready for the biggest surprise. As of now there is no monthly bandwidth limit on BSNL EVDO service. That means you can continuously use it without fearing additional bills. BSNL EVDO broadband service is still in experimental stages and not many people are currently using it (people know it from friends and relatives). Once it is officially rolled out, we may see some limit on the monthly bandwidth. But right now it is time to enjoy unlimited Internet at 2mbps!
Update in August 2010 – Now unlimited EVDO is costlier and there are many limited bandwidth plans available at lower cost.
Why is my EVDO Internet access speed so slow?
There could be many reasons for slow EVDO access. You may have weak signal at your area or there may not be any EVDO coverage in your BSNL network antenna. Also if there are too many customers connecting to a specific BSNL network antenna, you will see slow access speed.
Is there a way to boost EVDO speed?
If the signal strength at your area is weak, experiment positioning the card at different places. You might be getting good signal near room corners. Also turn the antenna and see whether signal strength improves.
How to use EVDO data card in Linux?
Most of the latest distributions (Ubuntu 8.04, Fedora 9 etc.) supports BSNL EVDO card out of the box. You just need to plug the EVDO card and then configure the dial up connection using phone number #777, your user name and password.
You can use the "kppp" to set up a dial up connection. Use the following settings,
Modem: /dev/ttyUSB0
Baud rate : Up to 921600
Dail to : #777
Baud rate : Up to 921600
Dail to : #777
If the data card is not detected, use the following command.
modprobe usbserial vendor=0×05c6 product=0×6000
What is the hardware used for BSNL EVDO?
BSNL uses AC8700 EV-DO card manufactured by ZTE Mobile Tech. This is a sexy black USB card with adjustable antenna. It weighs about 40g and in my 4 months of use I found it quite sturdy. ZTE also provides software drivers for Windows XP, 2000 and Windows Vista.
There is a service indicator on the card. A blinking yellow indicates CDMA 1.0 access and a blinking green indicates EVDO access. So just by looking at the card you can know whether your area has EVDO access.
Are there any technical limitations for BSNL EVDO service?
Typically BSNL EVDO service doesn’t give you a public IP (As of August 2010, public IP is available for a monthly fee of Rs. 150). Your Internet access is routed through a static shared IP. This typically doesn’t cause any issues, except in cases where the public IP is important. For example, services such as Rapidshare has a download limit per IP. Since you are sharing the same IP with a lot of other EVDO users, you may not be able to download from Rapidshare (free service) at all!There are rumors that you can sometimes get a unique public IP when you connect to EVDO. According to some reports, each area is given about 60 public IPs and the first 60 to connect are given those. The remaining connections are given shared public IP! IP4 addresses are fast depleting and I don’t think we will see unique public IPs for all EVDO users until IP6 is rolled out.
Currently EVDO coverage is still very low and you may not get high speed at many places. In such cases the bandwidth will be limited by CDMA speed of 128kbps. Even when EVDO is available, the Internet speed depends on the signal strength. Another interesting aspect I noticed is that the Internet speed is not uniform, it varies a lot (see image – this shows downloading a large file).
How can I share EVDO Internet connection with two or more computers?
The easiest way to share EVDO Internet connection between two machines is to use a proxy server. You can connect to Internet from Machine 1 through EVDO card. You also need to run a proxy server software on Machine 1. Then to access Internet from Machine 2, configure the Machine 1 as the proxy in Internet explorer. This way you can configure any number of machines to use the same EVDO Internet connection.
AnalogX is a very small proxy server available free of cost. You can download it from here.
Can I pay EVDO bills online?
Yes. If you have online banking account of SBI (State Bank of India), you can register your EVDO number in bill pay options. After this registration you will receive EVDO bills in your SBI online banking account (internet banking account) and you can pay the bill by just a mouse click!
Troubleshooting EVDO connection problems
If you are having troubling connecting to EVDO network or accessing Internet, try the following steps.
- Double check user id and password entered.
- Check that you do have EVDO or CDMA coverage at the area (antenna indication).
- Disable all other network connections in your Windows machine. Sometime software such as Vmware can create network bridges which can cause problems.
- Check that no proxy is configured in the browser.
BSNL EVDO In Kerala
Almost all major cities of Kerala are covered under EVDO service. Click here for the complete list of cities and areas in Kerala where EVDO is available. Currently EVDO roaming is available only inside the state.
Summary
BSNL’s EVDO broadband is a good choice if you cannot get wired broadband service (for example if you are staying in a rented house). It can also be a good choice if you access Internet a lot on the move. I mainly use it as a standby broadband connection! points- 7/10
Mts Mblaze
MTS MBlaze is EVDO based high-speed wireless internet service from the house of Sistema Shyam Teleservices.
Currently MTS has installed CDMA2000 1x EVDO Rev A – offering downlink of maximum 3.1Mbps and uplink of maximum 1.8Mbps, similar to BSNL EVDO, Reliance Netconnect Broadband+ and Tata Photon+/Virgin vFlash.
Offering services on 800 Mhz band helps them to cover greater area and as they upgraded their network with ‘1x Advanced’ network is quite good for high speed data services.This is an exclusive MTS MBlaze/MBrowse review based on my personal experience over Kolkata.
Device, Driver & Dialer
MTS MBlaze premium modem comes at Rs. 2299, which is made by ZTE (model no. AC2766) It is a plug-n- play slick USB modem, though it automatically install dialer which does not impress me. You can use Windows Dialer that is easy on memory.
There is a slot for 2GB MicroSD – so you can use it as your mobile’s MicroSD card reader.
MTS also offers another EVDO modem, ZTE AC2746 at Rs. 1999. I find some MTS stores selling it @1900 which includes FRC 999, i.e. pay Rs. 1900 and get the device with unlimited internet for 1st 30 days.If you like to connect to internet (MTS MBlaze) via batch file – helpful for scheduled connection here it goes – make a new text file and copy this thing without ‘< >’
< rasdial “MBlaze USB Modem” “internet@internet.mtsindia.in” “MTS” “/phone:#777″>
Change the extension to .bat from .txt. Now you can connect by double clicking the .bat file.
< rasdial “MBlaze USB Modem” “internet@internet.mtsindia.in” “MTS” “/phone:#777″>
Change the extension to .bat from .txt. Now you can connect by double clicking the .bat file.
Services
EVDO Speed is awesome – on torrents 200kBps, direct download via IDM 250kBps. On average most of the time I got over 150kBps download speed. In evening hours speed becomes slower, average speed during this time was 80kbps. I used Reliance Netconnect Broadband+, MTS is a clear winner even at night.
Remember speed varies due to some factors like network congestion, distance from EVDO BTS etc.
My tests from SpeedTest.net were far away from real experience as I sometimes experienced more than 300kBps download speed during early morning hours.FUP & 1x connection is established at a maximum speed of 153.6kbps; with IDM download speed is max 22kBps, average speed 10kBps. On torrents speed is too slow avg speed 5-8kBps. Disconnection is another problem on 1X.
In evening i.e. peak hours 1x is too slow, no page is opening! From personal experience BSNL 1x which comes unlimited at Rs. 250 p.m. is better than MTS 1x. So my advice is NEVER to buy MTS MBrowse (1x data cards).Customer Support
CC executives are novice, no idea how to help! No regional language helpline.
MTS TV (powered by Apalya)Too slow to start buffering, but when buffering is over, it was somehow ok. But there is no option for full screen. There is no subscription fee, but you have to pay for each MB this application consumes and that’s not a good idea with these sick plans!
Free Websites
MTS is offering free browsing on Yahoo India, Wikipedia, MakeMyTrip, Cricinfo, Indiatimes Shopping. Best part is even if you have zero balance; you can surf on these sites, probably on 1x speed. Wikipedia and Yahoo India is stripped down with some blocked scripts- http://in.yahoo.com/ looks terrible with this blocking!www.mtsindia.in is accessable anytime for online recharge, but online recharge was NOT successful for my case.
Recently MTS started notifying by email and SMS to your alternate contact no when you recharge your HSIA account.
Pros – very fast wireless internet within the city
Cons- costly, no true unlimited plan, 1X service is too bad after FUP.
Recommended for those are low to moderate users, do not require all India roaming.
Cons- costly, no true unlimited plan, 1X service is too bad after FUP.
Recommended for those are low to moderate users, do not require all India roaming.
Comments and feedback are appreciated.
Points- 9/10
Virgin Mobile Data Card
The Bottom Line
Fast, easy and cost-effective mobile Internet access for the occasional user. Great for travelers who don’t need mobile Internet access every month or who want the flexibility to turn their service on and off.
Pros
- No commitment mobile Internet access
- Relatively low initial price for access hardware
- Inexpensive (starting at $10) top-up amounts.
- Good speed
- Easy to use
Cons
- May cost more than monthly plans for heavy users
- Virgin doesn’t own its own network. It uses the Sprint Nextel one instead.
Description
- Small USB device plugs into your computer to provide Internet access.
- Also requires a plan. Plans start at $10 for 100 MB for 10 days.
- Plans go up to $60 for 1 GB for 30 days.
- Built-in usage meter lets users know how much they have left.
- Can also be used as a “flash” drive when used with a separate microSD™ card.
- Plug and play support provides automatic installation.
- Currently works only for Windows PCs (XP, Vista, Windows 7). Macs are not supported.
- Cost: $99.99
Guide Review - Virgin Mobile Broadband2Go Mobile Internet Access
These days, it’s hard to live without Internet access while traveling. And while Starbucks, hotels, and other WiFi hotspots are helpful, there have been plenty of times what I really wanted was the ability to connect my netbook to the Internet, anywhere I wanted.
However, I never needed it enough to warrant a $60 or $40 per month additional data fee from my cell phone provider.
But now I can. Virgin Mobile’s Broadband2Go is one of the first services to make no commitment, no contract mobile Internet access easy, fast, and affordable. It’s perfect for light or moderate travelers who want the freedom of occasional Internet access without the requirement of having to commit to a one- or two-year data plan.
Broadband2Go is available from Virgin Mobile’s website, or from Bestbuy. Users simply need to purchase the Broadband2Go Wireless USB Card ($99.99) and then select a plan. Plans start at $10 and range up to $60. The $10 plan is good for 10 days, while the rest are good for 30 days. Slip the card into the USB port on your Windows (sorry, no Macs!) computer, install the included software, enter the code for your plan, and you’ll be surfing the net instantly.
I recently gave Broadband2Go a thorough trial on a trip to Orlando, accessing the Internet from my netbook from a variety of locations—airports, hotels, parking lots and more. Overall it worked really well and was worth the money. In a few locations, the service was slow, but still useable. In other locations it was very speedy.
I expect we’ll see more mobile providers offering mobile data plans for occasional users. Let’s hope they’re all as good and cost effective as Virgin Mobile’s.
points- 4/10
well Thats, stay updated and be surfing
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