Sim Card and USB dongle for 3G service

[ravisunny2]

Could someone help me with a few queries with respect to using a USB Dongle on the PC for internet connectivity?

1) Is there any difference in the bandwidth/speed when we use a 2G sim or a 3G sim card?

2) Apparently there are two types of dongles

(a) One in which the sim is integrated with the dongle
(b) One in which we can insert any sim into the dongle

Is there any difference in the bandwidth/speed for these two types of dongles?

3) The Airtel site says that there are two models of dongles available:

(a) E153 with HSDPA 3.6 Mbps, chipset QUALCOMM MSM6246
(b) E1731 with HSDPA 7.2 Mbps HSUPA 5.76 Mbps, chipset QUALCOMM MSM6290

Will there be a difference in speed in the two models if I use a 2G sim card?

In other word, what will be the bottleneck the type of sim card or the model of the dongle?

Thank you.

 

[amish]

1) In India, all operators now sell 3G capable sim. Infact I dont know if there is such thing as 3G sim. Because MTNL sim which was puchased in around 2005 or so, is also 3G capable.2) No speed difference. Speed depends on dongle capacity and network operator.3) Speed should be same on 2G

 

[ravisunny2]

So my so-called 2G sim card, with 3G enabled, will provide the same bandwidth on E153 and E1731?

 

[amish]

Again, how do u know its "2G only" sim card?

 

[mega_processor]

whenever you go to a place where 3g signal is insufficient , your dongle switches to 2g and you can experience slower speeds.Now i myself provide universal 3g modems ie modems which go with any simcard.I use 2g loop simcard in the same dongle sometimes since i get cheaper raters but pathetic speeds.when i have to give a demo to some of my clients i use airtel/mtnl 3g.and i get good speed depending on the plan and dongle ie 3.1mbps/7.2mbps.whenever i go to my native place in goa where airtel has no 3g signal,it switches to 2g mode and i get lower speeds.

 

[ravisunny2]

My Airtel sim card is 3 years old, so I presume that it is a 2G card.

Just did some googling and apparently there is a way to differentiate between the two cards.

How to Know if a SIM Card Is 2G or 3G | eHow.com

The bottom line is : can I get the 7 Mbps/21 Mbps etc. using my old sim card?

At this link The Difference Between 2G & 3G SIM Cards | eHow.com it says the following:

The major difference between 2G and 3G SIM cards lies within the rate of data usage and transfer. In 2G SIM cards with GPRS/EDGE, data services can transfer between 56 and 236.8 kilobits of data per second. However, 3G SIM cards can transfer 14,400 kilobits per second. This makes 3G SIM cards better for downloading data like Web pages and multimedia.


Will a higher end modem help?

 

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[ravisunny2]

Okay, so there actually are 2g and 3G sim cards, not just a 2G service and 3G service.

Where there is no 3G signal, the performance gets downgraded.

Will it make a difference if I use the 2G (3G enabled card) in a higher end dongle modem?

@Amish

My sim is 3 years old, so I am pretty sure that it is a 2G sim card.

Also we can tell a 2G sim from a 3G sim according to this link

http://www.ehow.com/how_6003697_sim-card-2g-3g.html

 

[x720]

There are no 2G only sim cards. 3G can be activated on any sim card, afaik.

 

[amish]

Exactly thats what I said earlier.. there is no such thing as 2G or 3G sim card. Atleast in India it seems all operators have been giving 3G capable SIM.So its either 2G or 3G network. If u r in 3G network range u will get 3G speeds else 2G.