On 13th March 2009, utilizing the BSNL-Bangalore “Ugadi mela” offer, I registered for an EVDO card (wireless Internet – unlimited) on a rental of Rs.200/-p.m and fixed monthly charges of Rs. 550/- p.m. by just paying the refundable security deposit of Rs 1000/-.(activation charge Rs.500/- waived + 20% discount on the first month’s fixed charges).
The lady at the CSC counter informed me that in case I find the service in our area unsatisfactory, I can return the card after three months and take back the security deposit.To a specific query whether the rental paid and the security deposit will be adjusted towards the outright purchase of the device - Rs. 3500, in case I decide to go for it, she replied in the affirmative. (I am skeptical of the rent-paid adjustment though).
The registration formality was over in five minutes (1130 hrs.) with my handing over the filled-in application form alongwith a photograph , a copy of my Photo-id and cash Rs.1000 . The registration card with my WLL telephone number and consumer No. alongwith the device package was handed over to me with instructions to use the WLL telephone number as my user id and password and that the service will be activated within 24 hours.
For a FAQ on BSNL EV-DO see here (our own Gigacore administered) -This is more than a year old and needs to be updated in places.
And so here goes the review.
The Package:
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/32966_vldc7/datacardpackage.jpg
The package contains the Host( Wireless USB modem),an USB Extension Y cable, the CD ROM, and a Quick installation Guide.
While the USB device can be directly plugged into the USB port, one can use the extension cable to place the device at any convenient location. The cable has two connectors at one end. Where the power from one single USB port is not sufficient to drive the device, both the terminals can be plugged into two USB ports on the computer to resolve the issue.Needless to say the single end is plugged into the device.
The installation CD has the drivers for Windows XP and Vista as also the detailed User Guide.
The device itself – Model AC 8700 – bearing the BSNL logo, is manufactured by ZTE Corporation, P.R.China.
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/32967_0h0lb/thedevice.jpg
Installation:
The CD autoruns. Just follow the wizard’s instructions. Halfway through, when prompted plug in the device into the computer’s USB port or into the extension cable. The new hardware is detected and the drivers installed.(In my case it is Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3)
The installation went on without any hassles and at the end of it I had the “ZTE Wireless Terminal” icon on the desktop, the gateway to my wireless experience. Had a quick glance at the detailed User Guide in the CD.
Clicking on the icon brings up the ZTE Window on the desktop.
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/32968_jcbzp/ZTE%20Window.jpg
Hitting on the “Settings” icon in the Main interface extends the settings window.Initially I only entered the eight digit WLL telephone number as the User ID and password and left everything else at default.( Phone: #777 ; Mode: Hybrid ; Auto Reconnect ticked. The default for both User and password were “card”)
With the set-up over by 0130hrs, I clicked on the “Connect/disconnect” icon only to be greeted with the message “No network detected” and the wait for activation begins.
By 1900hrs, the connection came alive and I was online – unlimited. (Surprisingly BSNL was very fast, for the best I expected was that it will be activated the next day –Saturday- failing which it was going to be Monday.)
On the staus bar the antenna symbol showed a 5 bar signal strength. That notifies maximum excellent signal strength. The mode “EVDO” appeared next to it.( With no network present earlier it was “X”)
Performance:
On theory, EVDO evolved to cater speeds upto 2.4 Mbps compared to the earlier “IX” mode upto 144Kbps.
Some quick checks over a period has revealed that even with maximum signal strength, the maximum speed that was attained in my setup was not more than 1200 Kbps.The download/upload speeds are never consistent and vary considerably from time to time, though the connection never drops.The upload speeds are much lower.
Test results from speedtest.net show download speeds from 130Kbps to 830Kbps and upload speeds from 43Kbps to 83Kbps.I shall post some screenshots later.
Web browsing experience has been quite satisfactory, though one can clearly make out the difference from the upto 2.4 Mbps Dataone connection.
Here is a picture of a large-file download.
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/32970_orfcg/Filedownload.jpg
The same file was downloaded four times and here are the results.
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/32969_kpm1e/Speeddwld.jpg
A 60MB file has taken 14,17,20 and 37 minutes at different times.
The Happiness Quotient:
The happiness Quotient with this type of connection depends on various factors and is quite likely to vary from person to person.
If you are always mobile and need to be online this may be the best option at this cost.
For a desktop-user like me, considering there is no cap on the data, again this could be the best service at this cost albeit the fact it takes almost double the time to download.Well 24 hours a day is quite a lot of time.The only factor is that one should be lucky enough to reside in a high signal strength area, preferably within 2 Kms from an EVDO enabled tower.
I am more than happy with this connection. Just to tell you the greatest advantage, Dataone was down in Bangalore from 14th March morning till 16th March morning but I went about as usual doing all the things online that I normally do - no more wire dependant.
The lady at the CSC counter informed me that in case I find the service in our area unsatisfactory, I can return the card after three months and take back the security deposit.To a specific query whether the rental paid and the security deposit will be adjusted towards the outright purchase of the device - Rs. 3500, in case I decide to go for it, she replied in the affirmative. (I am skeptical of the rent-paid adjustment though).
The registration formality was over in five minutes (1130 hrs.) with my handing over the filled-in application form alongwith a photograph , a copy of my Photo-id and cash Rs.1000 . The registration card with my WLL telephone number and consumer No. alongwith the device package was handed over to me with instructions to use the WLL telephone number as my user id and password and that the service will be activated within 24 hours.
For a FAQ on BSNL EV-DO see here (our own Gigacore administered) -This is more than a year old and needs to be updated in places.
And so here goes the review.
The Package:
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/32966_vldc7/datacardpackage.jpg
The package contains the Host( Wireless USB modem),an USB Extension Y cable, the CD ROM, and a Quick installation Guide.
While the USB device can be directly plugged into the USB port, one can use the extension cable to place the device at any convenient location. The cable has two connectors at one end. Where the power from one single USB port is not sufficient to drive the device, both the terminals can be plugged into two USB ports on the computer to resolve the issue.Needless to say the single end is plugged into the device.
The installation CD has the drivers for Windows XP and Vista as also the detailed User Guide.
The device itself – Model AC 8700 – bearing the BSNL logo, is manufactured by ZTE Corporation, P.R.China.
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/32967_0h0lb/thedevice.jpg
Installation:
The CD autoruns. Just follow the wizard’s instructions. Halfway through, when prompted plug in the device into the computer’s USB port or into the extension cable. The new hardware is detected and the drivers installed.(In my case it is Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3)
The installation went on without any hassles and at the end of it I had the “ZTE Wireless Terminal” icon on the desktop, the gateway to my wireless experience. Had a quick glance at the detailed User Guide in the CD.
Clicking on the icon brings up the ZTE Window on the desktop.
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/32968_jcbzp/ZTE%20Window.jpg
Hitting on the “Settings” icon in the Main interface extends the settings window.Initially I only entered the eight digit WLL telephone number as the User ID and password and left everything else at default.( Phone: #777 ; Mode: Hybrid ; Auto Reconnect ticked. The default for both User and password were “card”)
With the set-up over by 0130hrs, I clicked on the “Connect/disconnect” icon only to be greeted with the message “No network detected” and the wait for activation begins.
By 1900hrs, the connection came alive and I was online – unlimited. (Surprisingly BSNL was very fast, for the best I expected was that it will be activated the next day –Saturday- failing which it was going to be Monday.)
On the staus bar the antenna symbol showed a 5 bar signal strength. That notifies maximum excellent signal strength. The mode “EVDO” appeared next to it.( With no network present earlier it was “X”)
Performance:
On theory, EVDO evolved to cater speeds upto 2.4 Mbps compared to the earlier “IX” mode upto 144Kbps.
Some quick checks over a period has revealed that even with maximum signal strength, the maximum speed that was attained in my setup was not more than 1200 Kbps.The download/upload speeds are never consistent and vary considerably from time to time, though the connection never drops.The upload speeds are much lower.
Test results from speedtest.net show download speeds from 130Kbps to 830Kbps and upload speeds from 43Kbps to 83Kbps.I shall post some screenshots later.
Web browsing experience has been quite satisfactory, though one can clearly make out the difference from the upto 2.4 Mbps Dataone connection.
Here is a picture of a large-file download.
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/32970_orfcg/Filedownload.jpg
The same file was downloaded four times and here are the results.
*www.imgx.org/thumbs/small/32969_kpm1e/Speeddwld.jpg
A 60MB file has taken 14,17,20 and 37 minutes at different times.
The Happiness Quotient:
The happiness Quotient with this type of connection depends on various factors and is quite likely to vary from person to person.
If you are always mobile and need to be online this may be the best option at this cost.
For a desktop-user like me, considering there is no cap on the data, again this could be the best service at this cost albeit the fact it takes almost double the time to download.Well 24 hours a day is quite a lot of time.The only factor is that one should be lucky enough to reside in a high signal strength area, preferably within 2 Kms from an EVDO enabled tower.
I am more than happy with this connection. Just to tell you the greatest advantage, Dataone was down in Bangalore from 14th March morning till 16th March morning but I went about as usual doing all the things online that I normally do - no more wire dependant.
.
. But you can be rest assured that if there are any errors, they will rectify when brought to their notice.)