Thread: Mobile broadband for bicycle trip across India?

Hello…

I am considering a bicycle trip throughout India. Because of some situations going on back home, I would need to be able to exchange email in the afternoon through my iPhone or other mobile device as well as get quick access to broadband connection such as WIFI or LAN in the afternoon and evenings Indian time. Having never been to India, I am wondering about the following questions:

1) How far along is mobile Internet adoption? How widespread is it? In the Indian countryside, in most places is it possible to get 3G and/or Edge access using a prepaid SIM card for my iPhone?

2) I have a Huaewei triband aircard as well for which I could buy Internet access. Is 3g pretty spread out so I could use that all over and with 3g access? Or is Edge the norm still in most places? Or worse still are there places with no Edge/GPRS coverage at all?

3) Are there Internet cafes with WIFI access in most smaller towns?

4) Do many guest houses and inexpensive hotels offer WIFI access, especially in smaller towns?

5) Is the Internet pretty stable and fast throughout India in general? Is 24 hour Internet expected like it is in many other countries these days?

6) Do you have any specific suggestions for me in terms of companies, if I'll need some sort of proprietary modem, coverage, etc.?

Thanks for any tips!
Mavec

Originally Posted by Mavec

Hello…

I am considering a bicycle trip throughout India. Because of some situations going on back home, I would need to be able to exchange email in the afternoon through my iPhone or other mobile device as well as get quick access to broadband connection such as WIFI or LAN in the afternoon and evenings Indian time. Having never been to India, I am wondering about the following questions:

1) How far along is mobile Internet adoption? How widespread is it? In the Indian countryside, in most places is it possible to get 3G and/or Edge access using a prepaid SIM card for my iPhone?

2) I have a Huaewei triband aircard as well for which I could buy Internet access. Is 3g pretty spread out so I could use that all over and with 3g access? Or is Edge the norm still in most places? Or worse still are there places with no Edge/GPRS coverage at all?

3) Are there Internet cafes with WIFI access in most smaller towns?

4) Do many guest houses and inexpensive hotels offer WIFI access, especially in smaller towns?

5) Is the Internet pretty stable and fast throughout India in general? Is 24 hour Internet expected like it is in many other countries these days?

6) Do you have any specific suggestions for me in terms of companies, if I'll need some sort of proprietary modem, coverage, etc.?

Thanks for any tips!
Mavec

First of all welcome to India,


I will answer you pointwise,

1. Yes 3G is available in all metros & most smaller towns, and EDGE is available everywhere else. (for iPhone please wait for the real users to leave a comment here)
2. Yes, in villages perhaps the situation could be even worse with only GPRS (GSM) access or no internet, but right now Indian telecommmunication has achieved covering around 80% of population areas.
3. Internet cafes are available in smaller cities, but not sure all of them know about WIFIs.
4. No, i guess you may have to go out to access internet or ask them if they have the arrangements within their compounds. (thats for smaller towns)
5. No, I am sorry 24x7 is not there for internet cafes in smaller towns, but in metros the situation is not only stable but excellent.
6. Take BSNL 3G sim card when you come to India, they are Govt. Enterprise and so their infrastructure is better. You should also add AIRTEL to this list because of its stablilty and coverage plus points.


I guess i had been honest in reciprocating.

welcome again!

Originally Posted by mickey

First of all welcome to India,


I will answer you pointwise,

1. Yes 3G is available in all metros & most smaller towns, and EDGE is available everywhere else. (for iPhone please wait for the real users to leave a comment here)
2. Yes, in villages perhaps the situation could be even worse with only GPRS (GSM) access or no internet, but right now Indian telecommmunication has achieved covering around 80% of population areas.
3. Internet cafes are available in smaller cities, but not sure all of them know about WIFIs.
4. No, i guess you may have to go out to access internet or ask them if they have the arrangements within their compounds. (thats for smaller towns)
5. No, I am sorry 24x7 is not there for internet cafes in smaller towns, but in metros the situation is not only stable but excellent.
6. Take BSNL 3G sim card when you come to India, they are Govt. Enterprise and so their infrastructure is better. You should also add AIRTEL to this list because of its stablilty and coverage plus points.


I guess i had been honest in reciprocating.

welcome again!

Thanks very much for your quick response. Extremely helpful!!

1) How far along is mobile Internet adoption? How widespread is it? In the Indian countryside, in most places is it possible to get 3G and/or Edge access using a prepaid SIM card for my iPhone?


You will find GPRS Edge almost every where. Bsnl has 3g at even some smaller towns and villages as well in some states but Bsnl's network is the poorest network I have ever seen in the whole world, your calls will drop and people calling you will only be able to get through to you 50% of the times with half the time spent on asking each other if you can hear me or not... It is a waste of time and money I would say. Airtel is a better option if you want a connection for your Iphone and they have some very cheap data plans for prepaid sim cards. Let me know if you want more info on this.
Do not count on 3G unless you know that 3g network is fine where you gonna be staying and have first hand info not hear and say...






2) I have a Huaewei triband aircard as well for which I could buy Internet access. Is 3g pretty spread out so I could use that all over and with 3g access? Or is Edge the norm still in most places? Or worse still are there places with no Edge/GPRS coverage at all?


3G in India is not very reliable.. I am yet to come across a place where there is no GPRS.. Mcleodgand for example is a tourist hot spot but Airtel doesnt even have EDGE there and you have to make do with 40kbps max speed on gprs there.






3) Are there Internet cafes with WIFI access in most smaller towns?

I have never seen or heard about an internet cafe which has WIFI access in India be it smaller towns or big cities... they all have their own computers and you have to use thier machines and most of them are infected with stuff like keyloggers and what not.. I would not suggest using them for sensitive stuff at least.




4) Do many guest houses and inexpensive hotels offer WIFI access, especially in smaller towns?

Inexpensive hotels/guesthouses do not offer WIFI access and even the mid range ones you will have to make sure before you book and dont forget to ask what they charge for it. Most high end hotels have WIFI or LAN access in the rooms.


5) Is the Internet pretty stable and fast throughout India in general? Is 24 hour Internet expected like it is in many other countries these days?

Internet is not stable or fast throughout India and you can expect some very irritating long waits to upload a simple 2-3mb picture onto the net..



6) Do you have any specific suggestions for me in terms of companies, if I'll need some sort of proprietary modem, coverage, etc.?

I would suggest a Reliance net connect broadband plus modem for your kind of trip which will give you broadband speed within large cities and towns and at smaller towns or villages you will get 150kbps speed which again is more then enough if you want to check just mails and upload a couple of mbs on to your blog or something...


Do give me a shout if you need any more help on this. Just out of interest, have you checked India mike? India Travel Forum | IndiaMike.com Its the best forum to get information on India from a tourists point of view.

Hi Admin,

Thanks for all the info. It sounds like the best solution might be a diversified one in terms of mobile internet. Perhaps to get a prepaid plan from Reliance and BSNL for my 3g/edge aircard mobile modem. Then to get Airtel service for my iPhone. That would give me three different mobile providers to choose from when I needed to get on the Internet. If necessary I could take out the Airtel sim card in my iPhone and put it in the modems if the other two operators were not working properly....

I am familiar with the website you cited and found out about this website through there...

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Admin

1) How far along is mobile Internet adoption? How widespread is it? In the Indian countryside, in most places is it possible to get 3G and/or Edge access using a prepaid SIM card for my iPhone?


You will find GPRS Edge almost every where. Bsnl has 3g at even some smaller towns and villages as well in some states but Bsnl's network is the poorest network I have ever seen in the whole world, your calls will drop and people calling you will only be able to get through to you 50% of the times with half the time spent on asking each other if you can hear me or not... It is a waste of time and money I would say. Airtel is a better option if you want a connection for your Iphone and they have some very cheap data plans for prepaid sim cards. Let me know if you want more info on this.
Do not count on 3G unless you know that 3g network is fine where you gonna be staying and have first hand info not hear and say...






2) I have a Huaewei triband aircard as well for which I could buy Internet access. Is 3g pretty spread out so I could use that all over and with 3g access? Or is Edge the norm still in most places? Or worse still are there places with no Edge/GPRS coverage at all?


3G in India is not very reliable.. I am yet to come across a place where there is no GPRS.. Mcleodgand for example is a tourist hot spot but Airtel doesnt even have EDGE there and you have to make do with 40kbps max speed on gprs there.






3) Are there Internet cafes with WIFI access in most smaller towns?

I have never seen or heard about an internet cafe which has WIFI access in India be it smaller towns or big cities... they all have their own computers and you have to use thier machines and most of them are infected with stuff like keyloggers and what not.. I would not suggest using them for sensitive stuff at least.




4) Do many guest houses and inexpensive hotels offer WIFI access, especially in smaller towns?

Inexpensive hotels/guesthouses do not offer WIFI access and even the mid range ones you will have to make sure before you book and dont forget to ask what they charge for it. Most high end hotels have WIFI or LAN access in the rooms.


5) Is the Internet pretty stable and fast throughout India in general? Is 24 hour Internet expected like it is in many other countries these days?

Internet is not stable or fast throughout India and you can expect some very irritating long waits to upload a simple 2-3mb picture onto the net..



6) Do you have any specific suggestions for me in terms of companies, if I'll need some sort of proprietary modem, coverage, etc.?

I would suggest a Reliance net connect broadband plus modem for your kind of trip which will give you broadband speed within large cities and towns and at smaller towns or villages you will get 150kbps speed which again is more then enough if you want to check just mails and upload a couple of mbs on to your blog or something...


Do give me a shout if you need any more help on this. Just out of interest, have you checked India mike? India Travel Forum | IndiaMike.com[/url] Its the best forum to get information on India from a tourists point of view.

Me and my friends are also planning for a bicycle trip around Delhi and nearby places. I m planning to go on my Hero Cycle...Bt just wanna know which bicycle are u going to ride on.. ?

Delhi and surrounding places have both plains as well as terrains.. (quite heighty i mean see the Riasina hills for example.. its a hill, lol)
so you need a light bycycle. perhaps a geared one.. racing bike. but tough..

now see hero cycle website..