Idea NetSetter GPRS/EDGE USB modem connection in India
The AirTel GPRS (EDGE) service on my iPhone that I wrote about earlier is working well but a little slow. Something like 60 Kbit/s down and 40 Kbit/s up at best. For Twitter and some e-mail on the iPhone it’s ok but when connecting a MacBook via tethering it’s to slow.
I checked out some of the 3G offers like Reliance NetConnect and Tata Photon+ and they are about the same price as similar services in Europe. People tell me they work great, when you have coverage. Here in Kerala, only Trivandrum and Cochin has the service at all from what I can tell and even there the coverage is not stellar.
The shop staff recommended Idea NetSetter instead. Slower that the 3G options but very good coverage. Idea GPRS (EDGE) has higher capacity than AirTel I was told, and that is indeed the case.
With Idea Netsetter I get 200 Kbit/s down and 40 Kbit/s up most of the time, quite decent for a EDGE connection. This is actually a bit better than the shop staff said I should expect.
The initial cost of Idea Netsetter (prepaid) is 2490 Rs (€37) and for unlimited use you then pay 600 Rs. (€9) per month. The initial cost includes the Huawei EG612 USB Modem and a SIM card.
There are some software on the USB modem itself but with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard I needed to get the latest drivers from Huawei, MobileConnectDriver (version 4.16.00.00 as of this writing).
See the screenshots for necessary settings in System Preference -> Network. Sorry for the Swedish but everything is in the same places in all languages so you can work it out. It is the service “HUAWEIMobile-Modem” you should use.
Being used to borderline imbecile staff at mobile shops in Europe it was a pleasant surprise to find staff in India that really know what they are selling. I might have gotten lucky but at this randomly chosen shop I got good information about the difference between advertised speed and real world speed, price and coverage information etc.
BSNL 3G service is launching in Kerala this month, January 2010 covering 21 cities in Kerala. Next time I will get a 3G connection :-).
P.S When you as a tourist want to signup for mobile services in India you need to bring one photo and your passport. Best is to in advance have copies made of main page of the passport, the India visa page and the entry stamp page. Some mobile services is only available for people with a permanent Indian address.
Related content
- Colorbox replaces Thickbox module for Drupal
- Spice up your Drupal 6 site search field with a bit of jQuery and CSS
- Bash script to make development settings on local Drupal database
- Building complex web sites the Drupal way - Session at BarCamp Kerala 7
- Versionshantering med Bazaar för designers - Föreläsning på DrupalCamp
Comments
Snow Leopard - Macbook Air - Getting connected in India
Hi,
Very useful post - in fact, it feels like a life saver because it is difficult to get reliable information about India from here in England. I have no context in which to judge what I read.
So please forgive me if I ask a few questions, and I hope you can find the time to answer them.
First thing, I am English and we are going to India at the beginning of February and staying for seven weeks.
We shall be in the north and have a rough plan of travelling Delhi - Agra - Jaipur - Haridwar - Varanasi - Darjeeling (maybe not in that order).
I googled for information and found your site. So here are the questions:
Do you know which modem would be the best to buy - for coverage and speed - in the regions I am traveling in?
Realistically, do you think I will have to accept 'no connection' in some places on my route?
Lastly, I am @photographworks and I shall send you a request to link on Twitter.
Re: Getting connected in India
I’m afraid I have no experience with mobile Internet in north India.
My guess is that Idea Netsetter will work well there also. GPRS/EDGE is not fast but a lot better than nothing. I go to a net café when I need to download/send bigger files.
For BSNL 3G, Reliance NetConnect and Tata Photon+ I think you need a permanent Indian address but it’s best to check. My impression is that BSNL (government company) has the best coverage, they certainly have the worst web site.
As long as you stay in cities you should be ok. There will of course be some black-spots in the coverage even there, especially inside. Can be a good idea to test the signal when choosing hotel/room.
If you go outside the cities you will most likely have to accept “no connection” from time to time. On the countryside here in Kerala my EDGE connection becomes GPRS or nothing.
If this is your first trip to India and you here for only a month or less I would consider going slower. Trying to do things quickly in India is frustrating and no fun at all. A slower pace, preferably well away from the tourist traps, will give you the time and opportunity to truly enjoy and appreciate India.
If you do go to Darjeeling, and you should, I recommend Mars, or at least late February. It becomes quite cold there in the winter (and this winter has been really cold everywhere as you know).
who is the idea coverage in goa and dharamsala
hello
you seem to very experienced - any idea about thje idea coverage in goa and dharamsala (himachal pradesh)
would love to get any information about that ... best to my emailadress - or also here...
thank you
jeevan
Sorry, don’t have any
Sorry, don’t have any personal experience outside Kerala.
I’m pretty sure the coverage in Goa is good, more unsure about Dharamsala (I assume you will stay in McLeod Ganj).
Next time I need an connection in India I will try to get BSNL 3G. Good speeds of up to 3 Mbps and they are quickly extending there coverage everywhere in India.
Great info frjo, thanks for
Great info frjo, thanks for writing this up. Planning on going to Kerala for a month later this year and getting a dongle was definitely in my plans, as last time I was there I was tearing my hair out using internet cafe's with their insanely slow connections.
Seems like the disparity between advertised speed and 'actual' speed and coverage is a constant everywhere. I have a 3 mobile broadband subscription in the UK and the speed and coverage compared with other providers is pretty shocking. I'll be checking ou BSNL when I go to India though, so thanks!
Post new comment