BSNL and MTNL -- the government owned companies are currently offering 3G data and voice services in India which is going to change soon. The auctions for 3G spectrum are going on and we will have players like Bharti Airtel and Reliance who have already setup 3G networks but yet to launch their services. We can expect a tough competition then. In this article, I have summarized my six months of experience as a BSNL 3G user both on my iPad as well as a “permanently On” USB modem connection.
Why I went for BSNL 3G instead of a wired connection or an alternate wireless connection from Reliance, Tata Indicom or Airtel?
As I live in a place where all nodes for an airtel broadband is full , I need to wait till someone disconnects. Infact, I applied for airtel and tata wired connections. But the response from both the sides after taking the application fee was to wait till some one cancels a connection as the nodes are full. But I wanted a broadband connection in 2 days. So I searched for alternatives.
Tata and Airtel USB sticks never impressed me. No wonder they work on CDMA 1X / GSM EDGE networks which are nowhere near the 3g HSDPA network provided by BSNL. I tried Reliance USB stick which offered 3 Mbps but it does not have a true unlimited plan. So, BSNL 3G became the ideal choice to get a broadband fast. I purchased a prepaid BSNL 3G SIM to test the network and activated unlimited internet. Initially it costed Rs.1499 per month. Infact, for the first two months, I was recharging for Rs.1499 every month to enjoy unlimited internet. But recently BSNL introduced an offer where I recharged for 6 months at Rs.4200. So effectively it comes to Rs.700 per month which is the cost you need to pay for a 512 Kbps wired connection from Airtel. Also the sweetest thing is BSNL 3G is totally unlimited. I mean real unlimited. Not like other networks which have a cap of 8GB / 25 GB and reduce the speeds after that.
Practical Speeds -- Check yourself
I am not going tp post you screen shots of dslreports.com and mobilespeedtest.com.These sites download and upload some data from/to your mobile and gives you the speed based on time taken. I do have screenshots of such tests but I think they are misleading as they don’t show you how sustainable are the speeds. They many times show you a peak burst which will settle after few minutes. The lowest speeds I had are 2 Mbps at peak hours and most of the time I get 4+ Mbps, but these speeds were achieved during off peak hours especially after 11 PM and till 10 AM morning. Instead I will show you a video of an actual file downloaded over BSNL 3G network using Huawei E122 USB modem. This article is continued at my website as I have hit the 7500 word limit here at mouthshut - So I cannot post more. The video showing the actual speeds I still have at my website here here - https://deepakjulien.com/bsnl-3g-speed-cost-detailed-review.html. Thanks for reading. If you need any help in configuring BSNL 3G, drop me a comment, I will help you.
Verdict
BSNL 3G really brings the excitement of broadband on the move, but it cannot be used as a replacement for your everyday browsing connection. it will surely delight you as a download connection for your heavy movie / music downloads. If you want to use your 3G in laptops this 3G paired wirth Huawei E122 is the most perfect way. The easiest way to get a USB modem is buying from Ebay and you get the 3G prepaid SIM from your nearest BSNL shopee, activate unlimited internet and start surfing.