Reliance Netconnect Vs Tata Photon Vs EVDO BSNL Review of 3G USB data Card

3G Data Cards (speed upto 2 MBps, expensive)
these data cards can be plugged into USB port of your desktop or Laptop. They are expensive as compared to land line broadband and a good option for people who travel a lot.

* Reliance netconnect plus (recommended)
Reliance is most reliable when it comes to usb broadband internet in India. The availability of network is good and speeds are fast.

This usb card works only in selected cities and area. Make sure that 3G network is available in your area before you buy one.

With Reliance you can get nationwide roaming facility (wherever broadband 3G network is not available the connection switches to normal 1x CDMA speeds upto 153 Kbps ) which is good for browsing


Pros:
- High speed EVDO internet with speeds upto 3.1 Mbps
- Service centers available in most cities in India.
- Better network and speed. Customer care is good.

Cons
- no unlimited data plans
- Expensive tariff
- You have to pay, even if you get slow 1x speed.

Tariff
- Upto 800 Rs per month for 3 GB
- 1100 Rs for 10 GB
- 1500 for 15 GB


* Tata Photon
The direct competitor of Reliance. Tata is bit cheap comparison to Reliance but again the speed and service is not as good as latter.

The problem with TATA is non availability of network in smaller towns (as compared to reliance)

pros
- Cheaper than Reliance
- Speeds are faster than 256 broadband line (upto 2 Mbps)

Cons
- Lack in availability of network.
- Service centers not located in smaller towns and cities.
- Slower in comparison to Reliance

Tariff
Upto 1500 for 15 GB
only 50 Paise per mb beyond fair use limit.


* BSNL EVDO
BSNL is known for low tariffs and poor customer service. Especially in the mobile segment BSNL the largest telecom company in India suffers badly.

The network is not as much good and in many cases not reliable company to go with. My friend who bought EVDO data card from them never got speed more than 10 KBps.

Although there are some positive reviews as well avaialble on the internet. All in all going with BSNL is risky. Yes it is cheapest but probably not the best.

Pros
- Speeds upto 2.1 Mbps (if you are lucky to get 3g network)
- Cost only 650 Rs for unlimited plan

Cons
Non availability of data cards most of the time
Unreliable speed and coverage location.
Downtimes occur often.

Tariff
650 Rs month for unlimited plan


Faqs

* What is 3G
3G is the third generation standard that can transmit faster speeds over Wireless networks. The tower has to be upgraded to offer such speeds by the provider. This is the reason why it is not available all over India. It is slowly installed on smaller cities in India by the companies.

It is estimated that by 2013 whole India and its major districts and towns would become 3G enabled!

* How to know coverage locations
It is very important to confirm availablity of 3G network in the area you want to access internet


* What is fair use policy
All unlimited data plans come with a limit. There is a cap on each plan and if you cross those you have to pay extra if you have postpaid connection.

The limit is approx 10 GB per month with most of the service providers.


* Benefit of using USB data card instead of mobile
Instead of using internet through mobile it is better to go for USB broadband if you want higher speeds and it does not require additional power charge as it runs on the USB.

There is no wire or cable to be used like in Mobile Internet.

Any updates to the above information?

very useful information. keep threading so that everyone could gain knowledge about networking

Great information bro.........

keep going........

Can u please tell us something prepaid plans and which is the best one to buy.

I bsnl evdo data card. the cost and billing is ok with bsnl but the speed is not as it was promised even a 5 mb file takes 8-10 mins to download...... if you wanna go for simpy browsing then it is ok but speed is not satisfactory

I use in chennai where i get almost good network of evdo

Finally the High Speed Data card technology which is also known as HSD rolls out under the flagship of Tata and Reliance. Tata launched Tata Indicom Photon Plus and Reliance unveiled Netconnect Plus both these of companies claims that the maximum speed for download is 3.1 Mbps, though neither of these enterprises provides this service across the whole country. Reliance provides it in 35 cities namely Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Bangalore, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Ernakulam, Erode, Guntur, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kakinda, Kolkata, Kota, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Mysore, Nagpur, Patiala, Pune, Rajahmundry, Salem, Surat, Thiruvananthapuram, Tirupur, Udaipur, Ujjain, Vadodara, Vapi, Vijayvada and Visakhapatnum on other hand TATA provides it in only eight cities and circles viz. Hyderabad, Assam and North East Circle, Delhi and NCR, Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai, Jaipur and Jammu and Kashmir Circle which is one of the major pitfalls. Whenever the user goes out of the range of the High speed network modem will it will fall back and then one must connect to old slower CDMA 1x network. The unlimited plans have a Fair Your browser may not support display of this image.Usage Policy's clause attached to them which means that there is a cap for maximum download. TATA have the plans with max cap of 15 GB where as Reliance have cap on just 10 GB, beyond this user have to be cautious as they can be charged between Re1 or Rs2 per Kbps depending upon their plans. The timing which will be considered as night period is also different for both TATA (11 pm to 7 am) and Reliance (10 pm to 6 am). Now as we are browsing through the plans Reliance does have cheap plans for the surfers with a cap of 1 GB and 2.5 GB. The plans of TATA are different for Mumbai from rest of the reasons and also the base for the plans differ from each other for example Photon+ Surf @ Nite is based on the timings only where as Photon+ Lite GBs as the parameter. The minimum rental plans for TATA is of Rs 500 which is quite expensive as compared to Reliance’s Rs 299 plan. There is also a drawback with both of these ISPs that the upload speed is pathetic.

Much can’t be expected from these corporations as both of these are actually introducing new technology with profit motive so there are certain pros and cons associated with both of the products launched.

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Thanks for the piece of information both Transformer and Vishal_the_prince(please activate your account)

Originally Posted by vishal_the_prince

The minimum rental plans for TATA is of Rs 500 which is quite expensive as compared to Reliance’s Rs 299 plan. There is also a drawback with both of these ISPs that the upload speed is pathetic.

what is there in this plan can you throw some light..

i did internet using Papas reliance and bill came around 750 bucks.. can you please tell me whats that..

i am on default 30 paisa /min plan..

The original poster (Transformer) and Vishal - thanks to you both for the great info. I am traveling to India in a few days, and am currently trying to decide which Network Connection I should get in order to access the internet. I shall be mostly in cities, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Delhi.

About a couple of years back I tried the Reliance Netconnect USB modem with my Vista 32-bit laptop, with very poor results and a terrible customer service. I don't know if they have improved. Recently a friend of mine, during his visit to Kolkata, used the Tata Photon connection and was terribly dissatisfied with the speed. Decisions, decisions! Which one to get?

Can I know Abount Present Unlimited Plans of Popular broadband services In Punjab.
Cost. Speed . Service . Device Cost. Which One is Best In speed without breakage of connection ? I wana buy one. i am a student

Staff plz move my post to right section if posted wrong.

Hi Guys,

I am using BSNL 3G data card for broadband from the past 1 month.
From yesterday, am observing the speeds are reducing drastically. Am just getting 800-1200 Kbps or 0.8-1.2 Mbps hardly.
Is anybody else too experiencing the same.........? If yes please reply.

Do you know why is this happening? Is there any usage or speed capping in this BSNL unlimited scheme for 3G.....?

Or is it a network problem with some network device down?
If anyone has any idea about this pls reply to mohammedbit@gmail.com

Thanks,
Mohammed P.

pls pls pls dont buy tata atleast in delhi

from my exp....don't go for tata in chennai,bangalore(almost zero signal most places and hyderabad too,works ok in secunderabad near ranigunj etc)

@ absn93
Change your signature to "SAY NO TO TATA"

Hey mates, i live in delhi and i want to gift a data card to a frnd who lives in chandigarh. So, plz suggest me with the best option available with unlimited and affordable data plan.

&&&
plz answer some of my following questions: -

Q1. Will a data card purchased in delhi work properly in Chandigarh ..??
like are there circles like they r in the mobile network .. delhi punjab rajisthan .... will roaming charges apply ?

Q2. I recently watched an advertisement on TV, it ws sum TaTa docomo card claiming to provide speeds upto a whopping 21.1 Mbps as compared to reliance's 3.1 Mbps .. is it right ?

Q3. plz tell me which one to buy & why ? ... & Costs involved

plzz reply in a jiffy !! as the B'Day is approaching

THANK YOU ALL(in advance )

The OP is confused & the whole first post is misleading & only about EVDO.There is NOTHING called 3G in the first post.Reliance NetConnect Plus , Tata Photon Plus & BSNL EVDO are EVDO cards , not 3G Data Cards.EVDO cards have a max speed upto 3.1 Mbps where as 3G Data Cards have speeds upto 21.6 Mbps.Don't confuse between EVDO & 3G.They are completely different technologies.

Technologies may be different, but he's giving/asking actual user experience with each of the Service providers no matter what their underlying technology

That is not what i meant.I meant he is confused between EVDO & 3G.The devices he mentioned are EVDO only & not 3G.Even the first line is wrong.3G data cards currently can provide a max of 21 Mbps & not 2 Mbps like EVDO cards.This thread is all about EVDO & nothing about 3G & even the title of the thread is wrong because all the datacards & services he mentioned are EVDO data cards & not 3G.

Even the title of the thread is wrong.His title is , Reliance Netconnect Vs Tata Photon Vs EVDO BSNL Review of 3G USB data Card where the title was supposed to be Reliance Netconnect Vs Tata Photon Vs EVDO BSNL Review of EVDO USB data Card

Dear Sushrukh and others, off the record, let me clarify that 21.mbps or 3.1 mps doesn't mean that you will get that speed. it's the highest transfer capacity of that particular device(Modem), whereas the speed will remain the same, even if it is BSNL, Reliance of any other ISP.
in LAN, it's always shown connected at 100MBPS, but does anyone get Copying speed of 100mbps on LAN, regardless its always around 21-28mbps.
so why to shout that TATA DoCoMo is giving 21mbps or Reliance is giving 3.1 mbps???

Jitesh Jalan

@jiteshjalan, Sushrukh is right. This is about EVDO cards. Not 3G. And you DO get over 20 mbps on 3G. I have Tata Docomo which is different from Netconnect+ and Photon+ and bsnl evdo. I get 20 mbps average on it. Apart from 3g stick, i get the same 3g speed of 20 mbps on my Galaxy SII phone. So yeh. 3G and EVDO are two different things. I thought forum is about clearing things up. Not mixing them.

Holy crap!

You guys stop dissecting the semantics.

- I've taken Masters level & PhD level telecom workshops in the Telecom Corridor in the USA.
- Worked with people who've led Largest telecoms in the US

Underlying technologies will always change & evolve.
1st Gen, 2nd Gen, 3rd Gen (aka 3G.. ), 3.5G, 4G etc.
- GSM > .... > WCDMA.. > ..
- CDMA > ... > CDMA 2000.. >

Tons of underlying technologies, similar & different paths.. LTE, WiMax, HSDPA. .etc..

Maybe the guy doesnt understand the technology differences. Frankly, it doesnt matter for a CONSUMER.

What he really wants.. and thats what I would be curious to know.. is...

Of all the Wide Area Network / Cellular Network ... Mobile / Data Options..
which are good.. in terms of

- Actual experienced Bandwidths | Speed | Latency | Data Pricing / Packages | Coverage | CONSISTENCY of the above parameters.. in various AREAS, CITIES & CONDITIONS |

Why are you guys so STUCK on the "he said EVDO no 3G.. " ..

Why not compare & outline REAL-LIFE experiences & comparatives on these SERVICES.

Chill out guys. Don't aim each other but aim their arguments and have a healthy discussion.

EvDO and 3G are different technologies, 21 Mbps is the maximum speed it can support and if the ISP is not capable of providing that speed, you won't get it.

Nothing wrong in discussing different options, but no cared to answer his queries

A data card brought in Delhi will work in Chandigarh ? If yes, any extra charges ?

Hi Tata photon+ is not worth to buy, bec'z i had tata photon and i ahve upgraded to photon+. As compare with photon+, photan wizz is giving better performance.

My experience is that even sending mails since more then one year now you will never get any satisfactory reply from any of them and all the mail ids are just for fooling and looting customers.
But still send the mails to all the ids so that they can see the number of mails sent escalated id

I am using netconnect since one year.
I had to take netconnect as no other ISP(other then Tata which inturn just another netconnect) is available in the area I reside.
Netconnect is one of the worst available ISP.

My experince is that once you but netconnect you are left on the systems mercy as the customer service is filled with all nonsense bastards who do not even understand the issue before replying.

Speed promised was 3 MBPS.
It never ever reached a speed of even 600 KBPS which fluctuates a lot from 0 to 600 kbps.
It remains at around 150 kbps and in between you get spikes of upto 600 kbps.
Download speed is approximately 36 kbps when broadband is enabled and when the broadband swithces to 1x speed then download speed drops to 8 kbps.


The most important thing is that their net cunsumption meter runs at a jet speed just like like Mumbai's faulty car taxi meters.
Whatever work I do on other ISP broadband on 1 GB the same will take 5 GB on netconnect.
Due to this the broadband of even 5 gb finishes in 10 to 15 days max.

Other ISP who have atleast 1 mpbs speed provide nearby ~900 kbps alomst constant speed.
Other ISPs Download speed is 150 to 250 kbps in case of broadband.

On complaining they say its dependent on the number of users in that area.
But it not so as I had been monitoring and seeing this speed since one year thought the day.
Their system itself is designed to give restritced speed and they give excuses of number of users.

So just stop netconnect as much as possible and do not get syawed away with their marketing executive flattering who do not even pick the calls after selling the device.

Netconnect is a theif company just like its scammer boss anil ambani.

I'm using Airtel 3g in E1750 seems good.

The information you provided is totally wrong. Tata Photon+ , Bsnl EVDO, RCom Netconnect are not based on 3g service. They are based on CDMA technology. Both technology is totally different..

Hi,

This is informative indeed and helps consumers/ subscribers. I'm adding my bit against Tata based on personal experience. Their website not only gives misleading information, but is aimed at harvesting personal information of potential Customers. One does not get any information about the tariffs till the time one fills in and submits the form on the page. If these were not bad enough, their own Customer Service and their associate merchant's Customer Service absolutely sucks. I needed a Data Card urgently and opted for purchasing Tata Photon+ online impressed with the info on their web pages where they claim to deliver the product in as little as 2 hours. After making the online payment (which was so very prompt) I was diverted to a Bangalore based merchant website displaying order confirmation information. Even as this left me stumped, I thought probably the merchant's Delhi subsidiary would arrange to deliver the product. This did not happen. When I tried to contact the numbers given in the contact pages of the Merchant web site, no one picked up the phones. The 'call us any time' 24x7 number of Tata 080-30412994 [Extn: 11], after numerous automated redirections ended with a message that one of their executive would be getting in touch with me with in 10 minutes. Till the time of writing this, which is about one hour now, no one has got in touch with me.

Tata's failure to deliver as per their promises speaks volumes of their negative integrity... this even before subscribing to their services... I feel cheated and let down and having paid the costs in advance, I am left with no options but to wait for the product to be delivered. Perhaps it would have been better if I had visited a local vendor for the data card... I would then probably have been writing a different note instead. Friends beware of Tata's Tall claims.