Queries Before Taking BSNL 3G?

[amlan_sarma]

I am from Guwahati,Assam, North East India. I want to take a BSNL 3G connection. There are some questions which are going on my mind before taking 3G connection. I am interested in taking up a 3G data card and want to access internet on on my laptop.1. I am not sure whether my residence is covered by 3G network or not.Can I take a BSNL 3G enabled SIM and test it on my mobile. If that works at my residence can I use the same SIM with the Data Card. Or 3G data cards have different kind of SIM?2. The BSNL provided Data Card costs Rs.2500. Can I use that data card with other 3G services. Here in our city BSNL and AIRCEL are only 3G providers. But within 1-2 months Reliance,Vodafone and Airtel may launch their services. If I cannot use the data card provided by the BSNL with other services , what is other options, so that I can switch to other services if BSNL 3G don't suits me?Can I buy datacards at open market or online?If so suggest me the brands and model Number and online site.3. Can I use the SIM provided with Data Card by BSNL in my mobile also?4. Will I be able to get Broadband (wired line) like speed with BSNL 3G?Please reply. Your replies will be great help for taking my decision.

 

[rajadeep]

I have been using BSNL 3g for the past 3 months & I will try & answer ur queries to the best of my knowledge...

1) The best way to chk is to buy a prepaid BSNL Sim card ( or get it free if u have a BSNL landline) & pop it into a 3G Mobile & chk if u get a 3G signal... If u get a 3G signal then u can recharge it with Rs 50-100 to chk the download speed... Alternately u could recharge with a FRC 121 or some other one(maybe someoe else could inform which FRC is best) to get 50-100MB of free data... & Yes u can use this very sim card in ur modem later on if u decide...

2) The BSNL Data card which costs Rs2500 is actually a 3G Modem... It is recommended to buy a good quality modem from ebay like the Huawei UMG1831(21Mbps for Rs3500) or a HUAWEI K3715(7.2Mbps for Rs 2400-2500) than buy the BSNL modem coz of the quality & price diff... If u buy from ebay u should be able to use it with any service provider while the one from BSNL with only work with BSNL

3) Both the Sims are the same

4) This is a difficult question to answer... The wireless medium is very unstable & varies a lot from location to location... You have to test the speed out urself at ur location to chk if it is better or worse than ur landline... Personally if u ask me the wired line is more stable & if u have BSNL landline u might be better off just taking the 512Kbps @ Rs750/mo plan... BSNL 3G does not have a unlimited plan right now & the only reason I bought BSNL 3g was coz of the tremendous VFM of the 4200 Plan & the fact that I was getting 2Mbps+ speeds ... My advice get the BSNL wired 512Kbps plan if u can coz the 3G plans right now are just not good enough to justify the investment(2500+ for the modem) & the tension(low speeds in some areas high pings & lots of disconnections) ...

PS If u have a 3G capable mobile(HSPDA+) a 3G modem is not necessary if u are only gonna use on ur laptop...

 

[amlan_sarma]

@rajadeep

So as per your advice I should buy a Prepaid BSNL SIM and test it. I have a Nokia X5-01 mobile. It has 3G facility.
1.Can I be able use that mobile set to use 3G on my laptop?
2.What will be the speed difference if I use My mobile instead of USB Datacard?

I like to inform that I have a BSNL dataone Home 500Combo plan at home. But I want to use 3G service(datacard) for accessing internet on move. You said that BSNL 3G dont have unlimited plan. But on Saturday I went to BSNl office here at Guwahati and they showed unlimited Plans of Rs.1,350/-(Post paid) and Rs.1,450/-(Prepaid) to me. Although I am not looking for unlimited plans on 3G. I am planning to take a plan of Rs.250-300 with 500MB limit. I download heavy files with my Dataone connection. Further on price I found a site Modemcare, where the price of the UMG 1831 is shown as 2,899/- .Is that site reliable?

 

[rajadeep]

@rajadeep

So as per your advice I should buy a Prepaid BSNL SIM and test it. I have a Nokia X5-01 mobile. It has 3G facility.
1.Can I be able use that mobile set to use 3G on my laptop?
2.What will be the speed difference if I use My mobile instead of USB Datacard?

I like to inform that I have a BSNL dataone Home 500Combo plan at home. But I want to use 3G service(datacard) for accessing internet on move. You said that BSNL 3G dont have unlimited plan. But on Saturday I went to BSNl office here at Guwahati and they showed unlimited Plans of Rs.1,350/-(Post paid) and Rs.1,450/-(Prepaid) to me. Although I am not looking for unlimited plans on 3G. I am planning to take a plan of Rs.250-300 with 500MB limit. I download heavy files with my Dataone connection. Further on price I found a site Modemcare, where the price of the UMG 1831 is shown as 2,899/- .Is that site reliable?

As of 18th Feb there is no unlimited pack for BSNL 3G... Rs1359 now gives 15GB data instead of unlimited now... Anyway as u only want to use on the move as 3G was intended to be used u have nothing to worry about... My own postpaid is on the 1GB@Rs399/mo for my iPhone... I have used 3g on a 7.2Mbps router & my Iphone... I can tell u I did not find any noticeable diff in speed... I use a 3G router mainly coz if I use my phone 12Hrs a day for downloading it will melt from overheating lolz ... But for normal surfing/chatting & the occasional youtube video when I m not at home I use my Iphone to connect to my laptop & it works just fine... Also ur Nokia X5-01 is listed as supporting UTMS so I think u will have no probs with it & it should work just as well as a 3G modem... So y waste the extra Rs2.7-3k on a 3G modem u dont need...

About how to use ur mobile set as a modem for ur Laptop... Well I m not totally sure about this but there are many ways u can connect... USB cable/Bluetooth or maybe even wifi although I m not too sure about wifi... USB cable that came with ur Mobile will do just fine though...

 

[Sushubh]

Rs1359 now gives 15GB is much much better than any other offering available in the market right now.

 

[rajadeep]

Rs1359 now gives 15GB is much much better than any other offering available in the market right now.

Very true mate... Most of the other offerings in the market are pure crap ... Anyway he is just looking for 500MB data plan which I think is more than enough for surfing on the move(or maybe 1GB plan is better)... BTW my Bro keeps frowning about the posts made of no service provider giving unlimited 3G... He paid $30/mo for 1GB of 3G in Toronto & that too he felt was more than enough for him... He is like 3G is so damn cheap here y are u ppl crying about it ...

 

[amlan_sarma]

I have purchased a Prepaid 3G SIM of BSNL today. I think both prepaid and postpaid are equally priced. The 500 MB plan costs Rs.275/- in prepaid and Rs.249/- + service taxes in postpaid(SOURCE).

Now waiting for SIM to be get activated. What should I do after that? The franchisee of BSNL told me that I have to buy a FRC after activation. What is FRC? Can anyone tell me how long it will take SIM to get activated?

Actually I am little bit confused between these two pages:

3G Postpaid and Prepaid Data Service

FRCs offered under 3G Services

Lastly Will I get any special offer after I activate the 3G service as a new user?

The franchisee also told me that BSNL 3G card(Micromax) he has been selling can be used with any other 3G service provider. The card costs Rs.2,500/- and has 7.2 MBPS Download Speed.

 

[rajadeep]

There are many FRCs listed there chose the one that suits u the best(49p/min plan or the 1p/sec plan)... It seems like all the FRCs cm with 200MB free data which can be perfect for testing for u... I would still recommend u not buy the modem & just stick with ur phone... Many reasons for this... You save the investment of Rs.2500/-...U will be using only small amonths of data & wont be doing some long downloads so u dnt need a modem... Also if u are travelling & say u want to do a quick google search or just log onto FaceBook u could do that right from ur phone & not have to boot up ur laptop(which might not be always available) ... Anyway if u are still hellbent on throwing money at a 3g Modem it would be better if u got one from Ebay & not buy the Micromax one from BSNL... In all likelyhood the franchisee is lieing to u about being able to use on any provider... Remember there is no way in hell that the franchisee is gonna return ur money if ur modem does not work with another carrier...