I have been using Reliance connection since two months now and am definitely not pleased with its service. Let me first make it clear that I live in Dhanbad and study in Ranchi, both of which are in Jharkhand. I have also been visiting other places and no matter wherever I go, Reliance fails to charm. Even though these cities aren’t Metros, they are pretty well developed and have active 3G connection associated with Airtel, Aircel and Vodafone. These networks provide pretty good service here but Reliance somehow fails to deliver the same.
This review of mine is solely based on my experience as a resident of Jharkhand, I don’t know about the other states of India.
There are unending issues I have been habing with Reliance ever since I bought it.
Network Problem - Sometimes I wonder how can a company this big and someone who has been in the telecommunication sector for so long now be such resistant to a proper network. Forget 3G, the 2G network in my area sucks the life out of me. Its only when I am in the topmost level of my house, which is actually the 1st floor, the network somehow looks promising, otherwise accessing the internet through Reliance is a big "NO! NO!" from my side. Not just that, in our area, Reliance has an anti to this tower thing. Even if the network shows full, internet speed of Reliance is horrible when it comes to 2G. I mean its unbearable when even Google takes five minutes to open.
Frequently Vanishing Network - Now, this is another problem. Every now and then, the network completely vanishes all of a sudden. This vanishing tower stays for as long as a day after which everything is back to normal. This issue is a very common problem here and happens 4-5 times a month, that is once a week. Sometimes, besides vanishing, the’R’ sign denoting Roaming occurs in the network even though I am in my house itself. To add to this, calls are charged at a roaming rate when done during this period. I mean WTH! How can one deal with this?
4G Being Launched, When There is No 3G - Recetly I have come across a lot of boardings and campaign in my town regarding the launch of 4G by Reliance. The company is in talks to launch 4G in our area where, unfortunately even 3G is a pain in the neck. Reliance 3G in our town is only accessible at specific places and that too at a coNFined speed. I remember, one of my friend had bought this new Reliance connection and recharged with the FRC 350 plan, that gave him 6GB 3G data for 3 months. Quite surprisingly, it worked well for the first month but after that, the remaining amount of data(which is 3GB) took forever to get over, such down had the speed dropped. It was equivalent to any 2G network and from no angle resembled a 3G connection whatsoever.
Good Data Plans, Poor Connection - Undoubtedly, Reliance is one of the oldest companies in telecommunication and I wont deny that some of their data plans are far cheaper than any other networks, but that ends there itself. What’s the point in suscribing to a data plan when you know you wont be ble to Finish938844 it by the validity date, such is the speed. If Reliance works fine for one day, the other three days, it makes me weep. There is a plan in Reliance which gives 1GB to its users for a day @Rs 9 only. I have subscribed to this plan for five times almost but never been able to replenish more than 300Mb of data ever.
Facebook Fridays - Generously, Reliance has announced a new feature to free the usage of Facebook on Fridays. But when I tried using it, it took forever to open. The traffic is huge and speed terribly low. There is no point using a free plan in that way where simply reaching the home page takes you around ten minutes and tons of refreshing.
Long Awaiting Customer Care - Ever tried customer care of Reliance? Its like waiting for a train at an airport. No matter when you call, they are always busy and take minimum 15 minutes to answer your call and once I had been waiting for half an hour after which I slept. Like literally.
Few Things to be Fixed: Though I would really like to continue using their service, its not possible until they fix a certain minor problems.
1.) The network is the first and foremost thing that needs to get fixed. A little proper network wont hurt.
2.) 3G is fun when the speed is above 500 kbps, not when it is not more than 50-60 kbps.
3.) Installation of a few more "WORKING" towers would be a cherry on the cake.
These few things, when fixed would surely boost Reliance company in our town. It is definitely a good company and has been delivering service since a long time now, but as of now, people of Jharkhand, Reliance is not recommended.