So you have decided to migrate from 2G mobile services to 3G,but before opting over advertised third generation technology you must undergo few technicalities so that you may not suffer in between and enjoy high speed 3G services without problem. Before quick analysis,lets discuss about pre-requisite from user End. Get one 3G Enabled Mobile Phone,choosing a 3g handset is already discussed in our former post,Set your Monthly Budget for 3G Service because 3G mobile service is all about budget , if you have strong monthly budget you need not to worry about any sort of limitations,but if you have already allotted maximum budget for it then you may have to comprise with tariff and bandwidth traps which we will discuss further.
Most Important Things to Look For Before Opting 3G Service:
3G Handset Support
Check out your handset compatibility,first of all it should support 3G,moreover 3G handsets comes under two category
1) WCDMA or R99 - One of the 3G mobile communication protocol which supports Data transfer Rate of 384 Kbps.
2) HSPA/HSDPA – Third Generation protocol which support data transfer rate upto 14.4 mbps.
Speed constraint can be a big issue if you dont have 3G compatible handset with 3G protocol support.
Choosing 3G Service Provider
Tata Docomo was the first telecom operator to rollout 3G services in India , Soon Aircel, Airtel, Idea, Reliance, Vodafone and BSNL/MTNL have also joined the league. It is a big misconception that the number 1 operator in chartbuster would be the best 3G service provider,unlike 2G , 3G has lot to offer so
Availability of 3G Services in your circle is most important factor. Moreover If it is available then its signal strength in your area. Telecom operator may claim they have 3G services rolling smoothly in circle but their is no guarantee that it is working perfectly in your area. In order to have insight knowledge of coverage you have to do the review by your own. Asking service provider for coverage map is not the perfect solution because even if your area is listed in map, you may get varying signal strength. The best way to identify the 3G network is to ask service provider for demo in your area.
Plenty of flexible tariff plans are available from almost every 3G service provider,Tariff plans are just one click away,but wait are they worth enough,not to forget the reality that 3G is relatively costlier then 2G. 3G plans have limited bandwidth and charging high amount if usage exceeded. Unlimited plans in 3G are just a trap from telecom service provider to attract low usage customers or the customers whose monthly budget is fixed. For an Eg. Suppose you have opted for a tariff plan of 999 rupees per month of unlimited internet, but this unlimited connection is limited to few GB download, when you cross the download limit the speed get reduced exponentially almost down to the dial up connection or a mobile GPRS Internet speed.
Lets understand the fact with MBs, suppose you have a download limit of 1 GB per month, if we calculate the rough daily usage then
1 Hrs youtube video streaming = 200 MB
1 Hrs Normal Internet Surfing = 30-40 MB approx
So your 1GB will exhaust if you are streaming in 5-10 days and in 20 days with Normal Internet surfing, moreover after crossing the limit the download speed will be 144kbps maximum and download rate would be 5-10 kbps.
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Can you tell me which is best? Aircel or Docomo 3G…i am in a confusion…please help
Seriously speaking speedwise Docomo is better than others but only problem with Docomo is “Network” so if you find good network for Docomo in your common places then definetly you can go for it.
Thanks for asking question, please write to us if you have any other queries.
Regards,
Vinay
iPhone holders do not take Vodafone network
They are charging more money for IPhone
Users. Go fir Airtel or Aircel
The above article is incorrect as BSNL and MTNL are the 1st operator to provide 3G Service in India. Since 2009 they are proving the service.
http://www.techshout.com/telecom/2009/02/bsnl-3g-services-launched-in-12-cities-in-india/
Please update the info.
3g is a sham, particularly one offered by reliance, if you are heavy user , u will become a broke in a month. The charges for 3g is not affordable for a common man. I made a mistake of taking a 3g service and i think i ended up getting cheated and lost money. If in Delhi , go for MTS, the service is good and is affordable and offers upto 1.5 mbps speed at any point of time. you don’t have a limit criteria in MTS prepaid , all u have to do is to pay Rs.999 for a month and u get consistent 1.5 mbps speed for the whole month.
Reliance is a big cheater so are airtel and vodafone.
pervez alam
go for MTS guys !
Recently i shifted to Raipur, in Chhattisgarh, i thought i will take a 2g service from Reliance, However after i shifted here i got a prepaid device from the office for my personal use , i was very happy and satisfied ! but once i started using it ! believe me i have never seen any place where reliance speed is so slow, it’s so frustrating ! i am unable to do my mailing and surfing.The speed is what you know 5-10 kbps. Horrific ! disgusting speed ! u will not be able to open any photo in facebook, in the speed. The service sucks , if in raipur, do not take reliance service at all !
pervez alam