Switching from Tata Photon+ to 3G, Please suggest USB Data Card & Network.

Hello all, this is my first post on this forum 🙂I am currently using Tata Photon+ from past 2+ years as my only source for internet and am reasonably happy with it until I recently I came to know about people getting much higher speeds at equal or even cheaper price when i read some threads on broadband forums.my details are:City: South MumbaiComputer: Macbook Pro with Mac OS X 10.7.2 (Lion)Currently using: Tata Photon+ with 10GB for Rs. 1200/month with avg. speeds of DL - 1.5-1.8mbps and Upload - 700-900kbps.I checked vodafone 3g but they are pretty expensive. reliance looks fine with 15gb for 1200 I guess, but MTNL looks very attractive with 750/month for unlimited downloads!now my question is which network is good and which usb data card dongle or portable wifi (or is it called mifi) you guys would suggest?I would like to buy a good USB data card dongle or a pocket wifi like vodafone offers. which supports speeds upto 21mbps in HSPA+ and 14 mbps in HSDPA so it is future proof. and also the data card which would work with all 3g networks like mtnl, reliance, vodafone, Tata (when they launch 3g in mumbai), airtel etc. and also most importantly it should work well with my Macbook pro with OS X Lion (10.7.2). I don't want to buy a 3g data card dongle from any operator as they are all locked to work with their network only usually but still it should be as good as they provide or better. I am completely unaware about the pocket wifi boxes available. are they any good compared to usb data card dongles? what if you are outside and you loose its battery? do you need to carry its adapter charger along everywhere? as that would be a burden to find a point to charge it everywhere. seems not much portable in that sense. but also at the same time a wifi router seems a good idea as it can also be used for mobile internet. also when in home can it be used with the adapter constantly without affecting the battery? which is a better option for when traveling, usb data card dongle or this pocket wifi mifi thingy?I checked reliance, which is reasonable with 15gb plan for 1200 bucks but mtnl sounds too good with 750 bucks for unlimited usage. so what is the current speed mtnl providing for 3g jadoo in mumbai and is there any fair usage policy or cap on speeds after certain usage? how does it compare with reliance etc.? is it worth taking a risk and going for mtnl 3g? the vodafone guy told me that with the 21mbps usb dongle you can get speeds of 10-12mbps easily. which sounds fantastic and even better than wired broadband I guess. does reliance also offer similar speeds? and how far behind is MTNL comparatively?so people please help me choose the right data card dongle/wifi router along with the right operator for my networking needs. I am a completely noob hence so many questions. your help will be highly appreciated. thanks a lot!

finally bought Huawei E353 unlocked from ebay and an mtnl 3G sim. getting good speed till now. about 2.29mbps DL and 360kbps UL. not bad. better than tata photon+ and cheaper too. lets see if the service is good and constant in future. its just 1st day today so...

I must have missed your post earlier , else I'd have written a detailed reply 🙂Mtnl is awesome mostly, and since you're in Mumbai, you've got the 4500 unlimited plan. It comes along with 800gb of data, and if you run out of it, you can get refilled free of charge within the 6 month period. Since you're getting good speeds as of now, expect these to be constant, unless its a bad day.And no, Vodafone will not get you 10-12 Mbps, you can get a max of 6 Mbps from what I've seen, but at the rates they charge and stupid data limit, it certainly is not worth it. Enjoy 😉EditJust pray, that you don't start getting the dummy connection problem.

Buy a 3G Modem and try BSNL 3G.Later change the operator if you aren't satisfied.

I must have missed your post earlier , else I'd have written a detailed reply 🙂

Mtnl is awesome mostly, and since you're in Mumbai, you've got the 4500 unlimited plan. It comes along with 800gb of data, and if you run out of it, you can get refilled free of charge within the 6 month period.

Since you're getting good speeds as of now, expect these to be constant, unless its a bad day.

And no, Vodafone will not get you 10-12 Mbps, you can get a max of 6 Mbps from what I've seen, but at the rates they charge and stupid data limit, it certainly is not worth it.

Enjoy 😉

Edit

Just pray, that you don't start getting the dummy connection problem.

thanks for the reply! finally someone replied on this forum! 😉

by the way i find it good with constant speed during night times. but during day time... it kept on disconnecting several times! almost frustrating. though today was my first day using it so lets see tomorrow during day time... hope it works well as today only I got the 4500 unlimited 6 months plan! and already downloaded 3.8GB 😛

I know vodafone has really bad plans. though reliance is better in comparison with 15-20 gb plans but still unlimited is better, provided it works well (fingers crossed)

but i was really hoping to get between 3-5mbps as read in some posts some users getting around those speeds but they were in smaller towns. but its surprising that mtnl-bsnl has better upgraded towers in smaller centers and not mumbai!!! I even asked mtnl guys at the exchange when i went for the recharge but I was told that between 2-3mbps is the max you get. haven't heard anyone getting 5-6mbps with mtnl yet! still its better compared to Tata Photon+ except the frequent disconnecting part!

hey by the way... if at all I complete my 800 GB limit before 6 months, which is highly unlikely but still, how do I get it re-filled? or does it happen automatically?

thanks.

Bsnl has upgraded its towers, Mtnl has not, though they plan to this year. Sanchaar haat for data refill on most cases.Regarding frequent disconnection , post in the 3G user experience thread .

sanchaar haat? i did not get you.. sorry.and does it help or make any difference by posting in 3G user experience? i mean will someone show me a way to avoid it in any way?

Perhaps, I haven't faced frequent disconnections ever, so I have no idea about them.If you read through the thread, perhaps you might find something.Sanchaar haat = mtnl customer service centre or you could go to the nearest exchange.

i too am happy except for the disconnection part which happens mostly between afternoon to evening time.. i guess u guys in gurgaon/delhi must be getting better connection. hope mtnl upgrades the towers quickly! will go through the mtnl 3g thread and see and also complain with them.by the way have you seen some videos on youtube about guys hacking bsnl servers and getting great speeds? like 5-10mbps or even more... how true is all that?

There was some guy promising the same speeds on this forum, better to stay away from such illegal stuff imo. Anyway the max, mtnl supports is 3.6 mbps hsdpa as of now, so the speeds are bound to be the same in Mumbai, Delhi and ncr.

ya i know... its better to stay away from such illegal activities! who knows mtnl might charge in thousands or even lacs later + criminal charges if they come to know for stealing illegal bandwidth. but makes me curious that if it is possible then it mean the mtnl towers can handle it to that speeds so then why not make it official and offer to all customers... don't mind paying little bit more also if getting better and faster service! only if mtnl/bsnl realize the value of the infra and money they have put in and also the value of business proposition, it can be country's leading telecom operator and turn into a highly profitable company! but government attitude... lesser said is better! ya I came to know that max mtnl supports right now is 3.6mbps and bsnl is better here comparatively time being. but I meant that maybe delhi is better coz here in mumbai I hardly know of people who use mtnl for mobile or 3G! and disconnection is more so..

Ah, inefficiencies of government companies 😛MTNL towers as of now, cannot handle more than 3.6 mbps, so even if there is some hack, it surely can't override the technological limitation. BSNL has 7.2 mbps in some places, and you cannot get 10 mbps there, so no hack would work there that would give you more than 7.2, and usually the speed on 7.2mpbs towers varies from 4-5 , 6 mbps.and the experience hasn't been great for everyone in Delhi, there are some areas where the network is pathetic, refer to the user experience thread. and hardly anyone uses mtnl for voice (except me and sanke1 perhaps 😛 )