Hello mgcarley,
Firstly thanks for taking out the time to help me at such great length. Before I leave Bombay for Calcutta, may I offer you a beer?!
Appreciate the offer, but I don't drink.
Having said that, here's what I have understood so far:
1) BSNL EVDO, Reliance Netconnect+ and
Tata Photon + are CDMA which don't come with a sim card. This would mean that they are operator specific. Correct me if I am wrong but I don't think it would be possible to use any one of the dongles offered by these companies, and then do something to it to use the other. For instance, Tata Photon + dongle can't be used for Netconnect +. Is that correct?
I'm personally not sure - I'm it *can* be done but it probably involves "hacking" the device, which, frankly, is a pain in the bum because a GSM-based device wouldn't need that and probably costs about the same.
You don't consider these as 3G, but if you look at the speeds, they are not so far behind the so called 3G services! My point is that even GSM 3G doesn't actually give the mentioned speed (all UP TO). So, if a 3.1 mbps Photon gives 2 Mbps that's still as good or better than BSNL 3G!
To me, anything that gives mobile broadband speeds is 3G.
Only as a technicality I'm not calling it "3G" in an attempt to differentiate the products.
If you were to purchase a dongle that's capable of 7.2mbit/s, you would likely receive better throughput (3-4mbit/s on one of the private operators if the coverage is good) than if you purchased the CDMA version of the dongle, and as mentioned, if you do go abroad, you have that extra possibility (if the device is unlocked) to use it there using a local SIM card in that country. In short, I just think GSM-based services will just be easier to deal with in the long run.
2) To me, BSNL 3G looks like the best option. Why? Firstly BSNL actually has 3G network all over India. This means that I will get close to 3G speeds almost everywhere.
Probably, yes - at least in any city of significant size. Maybe not in "the middle of nowhere" and very small towns, but I may be wrong.
Now, if I take Docomo, Reliance 3G or Idea 3G or any other private 3G, firstly they don't have licenses everywhere. Even the tie-
ups I am guessing are not consistent. This I guess is a GOI strategy to ensure that govt run BSNL has a monopoly on coverage.
Probably only they can answer that
It's my understanding that Airtel, Vodafone and Idea are the ones who have tied up in various circles - I can't say for anyone else because I've not seen mention of it anywhere that other operators are sharing spectrum. I have a feeling these particular operators combined *probably* service all 22 telecom circles, thus solving the coverage problem.
So, basically if I take Idea 3G, I will get mostly 2G speeds in other areas. I may get higher speeds in Calcutta but I can never be sure what I will get whenever I travel.
I think Wikipedia (and likely many other sources) has a list or table detailing who got what and where - it may aid your decision to look and decide accordingly who might be best.
Now, I don't know what's the scene with private CDMA players as to how they compare with BSNL EVDO in terms of fast connectivity everywhere. What I do know is that with both Reliance Netconnect+ and Tata Photon+, the speed drops down considerably whenever you are not in Netconnect+ and Photon+regions. And correct me if I am wrong, I seriously doubt if the actual 3.1 Mbps speed as promised by both is available outside a few areas in India. I am curious to know what is the reach of BSNL EVDO like. Is it as extensive as BSNL 3G? Do you actually get close to the 2.4 Mbps promised or do they also drop like Netconnect+ and Photon+?
I would say the situation is probably similar: if you're not in an area with newer base stations, you won't get good speeds. Nobody really publishes this information, BUT Reliance has got a fairly comprehensive coverage map (including the locations of it's towers) at
Untitled Page - I've not seen any other operators give out this information so freely.
(I just checked, and it does seem to be malfunctioning at the moment - it's not showing me what I was expecting)
Finally, this is my plan. Go GSM. Buy an open-market dongle and start off with the 3G guy who is number 1 in Calcutta. Then if I am travelling I could just get a BSNL sim and use that! Essentially this change the sim on the go feature that you talk about seems really interesting and seems to separate the GSM variety from the CDMA variety. I will always have an option and won't be locked into any one particular provider.
Good plan.
What about roaming charges? Do these companies levy them?
Different operators have different policies. Some allow 3G usage all over the country, others not. I don't seem to recall being charged extra on either Airtel or Vodafone the last few times I've been out of state, but maybe I just didn't notice.
Now, someone told me that often there are compatibility issues between open market dongles and the sims that the different companies provide. I have been told that one needs to verify with the company if the particular dongle is compatible with their sim. Is there any one dongle that takes every 3G sim out there? If so, where can I get it? Any store in Bombay since I am a little short on time or will I have to go the e-bay way?
I can't say I've heard of this - a SIM is a SIM - it should work in any GSM phone, so in theory it should also work in any dongle. Just remember, it's almost always the case that there is a separate charge to activate 3G on the SIM (otherwise you'll be stuck with slow speeds) and some operators may require you to send an SMS to activate (or renew) data packs should you run out. Others may have the same features in the software (if you buy one from an operator).
I personally have opted for simply connecting my trusty old
Nokia N8 to my
laptop for up to 10.2mbit/s of 3G goodness, then I can autoconfigure my connection within the Nokia Suite according to what country/operator I'm in/using (admittedly, Nokia suite software could use some work and could be a bit faster, but that's not the point), but any other
smartphone should be equally good, especially since you're probably carrying one already anyway - and many of them charge via USB now too, so win-win.