Some notes about Vodafone and a recent trip to Mumbai, India.
On a recent (Sept 2011) 3 week trip to Mumbai I decided to go with Vodafone's India's 3G data plan, this included 500Mb data, 500 local and national minutes and 500 local and national SMSs with 1 month validity for Rs 500 (A$ 10). I was warned by friends in Mumbai that 3G coverage was spotty and I would end up on GPRS data most times. This did not bother me too much as I did not expect to need 3G speeds and this plan offered better value than their GPRS data plan. Luckily I discovered in time that GPRS data is charged separately over and above the Rs 500 if I used any GPRS data even if I had not exceeded by 3G data allowance. I immediately put my phone (HTC Desire HD) into 3G data only mode.
I have been using Vodafone Australia's 3G network in Sydney for nearly a year now and was generally happy with the service so expected to get similar performance in Mumbai.
What s surprise...
Activated the service and ran SpeedTest, 7.6M Down, 2.1M Up. Wow!!
https://www.speedtest.net/android/83041655.png
OK there was a cell tower just across the road from where I was so that could explain it and SpeedTest does not really tell you overall performance. But over the next few days the great performance was confirmed by other means,
Web pages and maps loaded quickly without the delay I had been accustomed to in Sydney.
My communications apps Fring (with SIP activated) and Skype stayed connected at all times, while in Sydney I often find them not connected and have to re-connect.
I was able to make clear SIP calls (using my Australian VOIP account) from Mumbai to Australian numbers while travelling in a car. and I did a couple of Skype video calls with friends overseas with excellent video quality (for a 4.3inch screen)
and coverage...
no problems at all, not once did I lose data connectivity when I needed it and while I was mostly in the main city area I did do one trip to the outskirts to a beach side resort (Manori) where I was just getting 1 bar reception but data stayed connected and I was able to browse and use mail without issues.
Vodafone Mumbai had given me a feel of what 3G can really be like and I now understand all the criticism aimed at Vodafone Australia's 3G network..
Do note however that Vodafone India's 3G offering is fairly recent and given the negative local impression about coverage and the fact that 3G and GPRS data is charged separately most people in Mumbai are on GPRS data plans and the 3G network has a fairly light load, then again given Mumbai's population, even a small percentage using the service can be quite a large number of people.
One issue with Vodafone India's 3G offering is that they do not directly provide usage details during the the month and even customer care in unable to help. You have to wait till you get your bill before you know your actual usage. I used 3G Watchdog which gave me a count that pretty much matched by bill.
Do Vodafone just needs to provide some sort of live usage data and the service will be top class.
On a recent (Sept 2011) 3 week trip to Mumbai I decided to go with Vodafone's India's 3G data plan, this included 500Mb data, 500 local and national minutes and 500 local and national SMSs with 1 month validity for Rs 500 (A$ 10). I was warned by friends in Mumbai that 3G coverage was spotty and I would end up on GPRS data most times. This did not bother me too much as I did not expect to need 3G speeds and this plan offered better value than their GPRS data plan. Luckily I discovered in time that GPRS data is charged separately over and above the Rs 500 if I used any GPRS data even if I had not exceeded by 3G data allowance. I immediately put my phone (HTC Desire HD) into 3G data only mode.
I have been using Vodafone Australia's 3G network in Sydney for nearly a year now and was generally happy with the service so expected to get similar performance in Mumbai.
What s surprise...
Activated the service and ran SpeedTest, 7.6M Down, 2.1M Up. Wow!!
https://www.speedtest.net/android/83041655.png
OK there was a cell tower just across the road from where I was so that could explain it and SpeedTest does not really tell you overall performance. But over the next few days the great performance was confirmed by other means,
Web pages and maps loaded quickly without the delay I had been accustomed to in Sydney.
My communications apps Fring (with SIP activated) and Skype stayed connected at all times, while in Sydney I often find them not connected and have to re-connect.
I was able to make clear SIP calls (using my Australian VOIP account) from Mumbai to Australian numbers while travelling in a car. and I did a couple of Skype video calls with friends overseas with excellent video quality (for a 4.3inch screen)
and coverage...
no problems at all, not once did I lose data connectivity when I needed it and while I was mostly in the main city area I did do one trip to the outskirts to a beach side resort (Manori) where I was just getting 1 bar reception but data stayed connected and I was able to browse and use mail without issues.
Vodafone Mumbai had given me a feel of what 3G can really be like and I now understand all the criticism aimed at Vodafone Australia's 3G network..
Do note however that Vodafone India's 3G offering is fairly recent and given the negative local impression about coverage and the fact that 3G and GPRS data is charged separately most people in Mumbai are on GPRS data plans and the 3G network has a fairly light load, then again given Mumbai's population, even a small percentage using the service can be quite a large number of people.
One issue with Vodafone India's 3G offering is that they do not directly provide usage details during the the month and even customer care in unable to help. You have to wait till you get your bill before you know your actual usage. I used 3G Watchdog which gave me a count that pretty much matched by bill.
Do Vodafone just needs to provide some sort of live usage data and the service will be top class.
