Airtel 3G Tariffs and Packages

[Sushubh]

in my own personal experience, quality of connectivity is better on 2G majority of the times.

 

[moindear]

in my own personal experience, quality of connectivity is better on 2G majority of the times.

Atleast in Bangalore, its better to be on 2G network. The network connectivity is not gud for 3G network...

 

[kreacher]

After confirmation from Airtel CC that there is no such thing as 3G data roaming charges I got the 500MB for Rs. 200 3G plan.So can anyone confirm if the following is true (all statements made by Airtel CC) -1. On moving out of 3G coverage area (within telecom circle) 2G data will keep working.2. On moving out of telecom circle only 2G will work even if roaming in a circle where Airtel 3G is available.3. There will be no extra data roaming charges in any condition.4. There is no way to check for current data usage for postpaid users other than calling 121 and talking to CC.

 

[Sushubh]

from what i have read and heard, roaming on 3g costs money. i am not sure if you can still roam on 2g without additional cost. i stick to 98 rupee plan and roaming is free. never had any issue with it. your experience is the reason i have avoided switching to 3g.

 

[Jonas]

What CC says doesn't really matter unless you have something in written. That can act as a valid proof.

 

[gopichandpai]

On moving out of 3G coverage area (within telecom circle) 2G data will keep working.
Yes

On moving out of telecom circle only 2G will work even if roaming in a circle where Airtel 3G is available.
If you are roaming in a circle where airtel 3G is available, you will get connected to 3G network wherever available else 2G.

There will be no extra data roaming charges in any condition.
Yes no extra charges even on roaming. I have got that in written plus I was not charged extra when I was on roaming.

There is no way to check for current data usage for postpaid users other than calling 121 and talking to CC.
Yes right. I don't think even customer care will know about it

 

[kreacher]

Thanks for the information guys. I asked CC to double check that there was no data roaming before making the switch but don't have anything in writing.Since Airtel asked me to manually select '3G only' network mode manually I am not getting any signal in parts of my flat. On talking to 3G technical support they mentioned that my area might not have 'proper' coverage.So is it a case of Airtel trying to cut costs on 3G equipment or is it a generic thing due to frequency / antenna.

 

[gopichandpai]

I think it is a case of airtel trying to cut costs. When I was using 3G, there were many call drops(even though I had selected dual mode). Sometimes speed was not good. Many people told me many times that, when they tried to call me, they were getting the message I am out of coverage area. Sometimes I was not able to make calls as well. I had to go back to 2G mode or restart my phone to make calls. Because of all these issues, I decided to deactivate 3G. Now no issues, no call drops or no out of coverage area error

 

[kreacher]

^ I'm thinking of deactivating as well, what will I do with 3G if I can't use the phone half the time.Also, it seems that even CC can't tell us the current data usage for the month. They say its only calculated at ill generation time for post paid users. So has anyone got scary 3G bills or is Airtel's billing accurate.

 

[kreacher]

Question asked, question answered - Just got a warning SMS from Airtel saying I had used 307MB out of my 500MB data limit for the month. :anger3:Really surprising since I use Wi-Fi at home (no 3G signal) and have used 3G for less than 2 days. According to the data usage monitoring app (Onavo) I've used only 47MB. Of course when I tried to disable 3G through the IVR menu it wouldn't work because of system upgrade.Finally had to call 121 (an pay to talk to CC) to disable 3G and go back to 2G plan. Then CC informed me that I was getting 2GB for 98/- earlier because I had subscribed a long time ago but now I would get only 1GB for the same amount. The final piece of good news was that Airtel defines 2G speeds now as 20-30kbps instead of 40-50kbps. :thumbdown:EDIT: Just to rub salt in the wounds, a colleague recharged their Airtel pre-paid with 98/- to activate 2G plan but is getting 3G speeds (balance is not reduced).