My primary phone is an Airtel. I had a lifetime reliance sim lying around the house in a spare phone. Been eagerly awaiting Airtel's 3G launch, but could wait no more. Popped the reliance into my E71 and carried my Airtel along in the spare phone.
Called customer care. Inquired about plans and opted for the 100MB monthly plan. Adequate data limit for mobile usage (My itemized bill for Airtel with unlimited GPRS shows an average usage of 125 MB each month). Covers 24/7 push mail and nimbuzz connectivity and the frequent twitter/facebook checks in a day and the occasional google maps usage.
Was told to send a "MBB100" sms to a no. to activate the plan and "ALL" as a sms to another no. to get the settings. Received sms confirmation within minutes that the plan was active. However the sms for settings replied that my handset was not supported.
Then I experienced the legendary nightmares of the reliance customer care. Upon calling for the settings I was informed that settings can only be received in areas with 3G network coverage. According to them 3G areas were only Mira Road, Bhayander etc . . basically suburbs over 40kms away from mumbai and the Colaba area where I lived has no coverage. A heated argument over lack of adequate communication about areas with 3G coverage and refunds etc made the understand the essence of the saying "Never argue with an idiot, they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". Gave up then.
Then it struck me to google around and landed up on the reliance com 3G website which had the settings which I could enter manually. Used rcomnet APN and viola. . . .I was cruising at 3G speeds. . . at colaba and across areas in south mumbai. Customer care had informed me that there was no 3G coverage in south mumbai at all. It seems they are located on some distant island populated with a moronic tribe and cutoff with the companys operational details. (am not generally this harsh but the call was realllly frustrating).
Finally getting down the actual usage . . Well speeds on my phone were kickass. . . phone displayed 3.5G now instead of the usual Edege logo. Youtube streamed without a hitch . . mundutv on 3G quality was clear, could read the scrip name and prices on CNBC channel ticker now (earlier not legible on gprs quality). Video calls aren't supported yet. Even if they were couldn't try as don't know another soul on 3G yet. Got rid of nimbuzz, and got frings. Gotta yet test how video conferencing with msn etc users works. Used the active connection manager application on the phone and noted that under heavy usage such as youtube streams etc the download speeds would range between 75-95kbps. That equates to appx 768kbps to 1mbps speeds. Was fairly impressed that my phone now had speeds comparable to my mtnl dsl.
And finally connected the E71 to my pc. Used the phone as a modem for the 1st time. Works like a charm. No drivers software required. Its all automated. Since I have a 100MB limited didn't browse or download during my short session. Just checked speeds on speedtest and disconnected. Was totally surprised at the speeds I got. I had three runs and they were between 2.5-3 MB/s. I have posted my best run below.
This was my first day. Will update the overall service level and consistency after a more thorough usage over the month.
Seems like a great product . . . completely let down by inadequate marketing yet and absolutely abysmal customer support.
https://www.speedtest.net
Called customer care. Inquired about plans and opted for the 100MB monthly plan. Adequate data limit for mobile usage (My itemized bill for Airtel with unlimited GPRS shows an average usage of 125 MB each month). Covers 24/7 push mail and nimbuzz connectivity and the frequent twitter/facebook checks in a day and the occasional google maps usage.
Was told to send a "MBB100" sms to a no. to activate the plan and "ALL" as a sms to another no. to get the settings. Received sms confirmation within minutes that the plan was active. However the sms for settings replied that my handset was not supported.
Then I experienced the legendary nightmares of the reliance customer care. Upon calling for the settings I was informed that settings can only be received in areas with 3G network coverage. According to them 3G areas were only Mira Road, Bhayander etc . . basically suburbs over 40kms away from mumbai and the Colaba area where I lived has no coverage. A heated argument over lack of adequate communication about areas with 3G coverage and refunds etc made the understand the essence of the saying "Never argue with an idiot, they drag you down to their level and beat you with experience". Gave up then.
Then it struck me to google around and landed up on the reliance com 3G website which had the settings which I could enter manually. Used rcomnet APN and viola. . . .I was cruising at 3G speeds. . . at colaba and across areas in south mumbai. Customer care had informed me that there was no 3G coverage in south mumbai at all. It seems they are located on some distant island populated with a moronic tribe and cutoff with the companys operational details. (am not generally this harsh but the call was realllly frustrating).
Finally getting down the actual usage . . Well speeds on my phone were kickass. . . phone displayed 3.5G now instead of the usual Edege logo. Youtube streamed without a hitch . . mundutv on 3G quality was clear, could read the scrip name and prices on CNBC channel ticker now (earlier not legible on gprs quality). Video calls aren't supported yet. Even if they were couldn't try as don't know another soul on 3G yet. Got rid of nimbuzz, and got frings. Gotta yet test how video conferencing with msn etc users works. Used the active connection manager application on the phone and noted that under heavy usage such as youtube streams etc the download speeds would range between 75-95kbps. That equates to appx 768kbps to 1mbps speeds. Was fairly impressed that my phone now had speeds comparable to my mtnl dsl.
And finally connected the E71 to my pc. Used the phone as a modem for the 1st time. Works like a charm. No drivers software required. Its all automated. Since I have a 100MB limited didn't browse or download during my short session. Just checked speeds on speedtest and disconnected. Was totally surprised at the speeds I got. I had three runs and they were between 2.5-3 MB/s. I have posted my best run below.
This was my first day. Will update the overall service level and consistency after a more thorough usage over the month.
Seems like a great product . . . completely let down by inadequate marketing yet and absolutely abysmal customer support.
https://www.speedtest.net