Team-BHP - The DATA Card and USB Modem discussion thread (Reliance/Airtel/Tata)

- - The DATA Card and USB Modem discussion thread (Reliance/Airtel/Tata) (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/gadgets-computers-software/14087-data-card-usb-modem-discussion-thread-reliance-airtel-tata-36.html)

Quote:

Originally Posted by khoj (Post 2453305)

@Swanand Inamdar
Photon + has enough speed to allow one to hold skype sessions. Have done this mostly in New Bombay and Thane.

markiv, I trust you do mean photon and not photon+.
I am in the process of getting a new connection and going with photon+ again but now will hold for your clarification.

My friend who is using the photon+ here in Bangalore says that the average speed is around 0.5 MBPS.I am not aware of the speed at Delhi. I believe that this average speed should be prevalent at most of the places off course sometimes it may exceed. Based on this you can decide. I made a mistake by choosing the Reliance netconnect+ data card which cannot be used for any other network.

As Deepakchan explained about the 3g based data cards which seems to be the best at this point of time. You can change networks whenever required.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sumannandy (Post 2453862)

It is not possible to use Docomo 3G plans with an unlocked data card. Looks like it works only with Tata Docomo USB modem.

BSNL works fine.

Hi Suman can you tell me what is the cost of the unlocked data card that can be used for BSNL 3G and what is the speed that you are getting with the BSNL 3G.

I bought Alcatel unlocked data card from Letbuy for about 1600. The max. speed is 3.6 Mbps. You could possible get more expensive unlocked models as well.

The data card does not support calling. Profile are mostly automatically created (except Idea).

Speed depends on the location and time of day. The max. speed I got was around 2 Mbps. It could be as low as 300 kbps. The average is more than 1 Mbps.

I also have an alcatel data card.

All you need to do is put the sim, in my model it automatically configures the access point for most of the networks.

In case it does not, get the access point name. Online search would be helpful, you could also ask for manual settings from the helpdesk. The settings for mobile phones should work fine.

In my case, BSNL 3g works out of the box. It automatically creates a bunch of profiles based on where you are located. BSNL South 3g works fine for Bangalore.

If you need any help, feel free to PM me.

Thanks.

Have ordered the SIM unlocked data card from Letsbuy:
Alcatel X090

Am planning to use it with BSNL 3G, since i suppose it has the cheapest 3G prepaid plans going at the moment (Please correct me if i am wrong).

Sometime back we had bought unlocked 3G USB Modem + router from a place called 3Gstore.in from RT Nagar Bangalore. Unfortunately the router to which this 3G USB stick plugs into did not provide good features fit enough for a small office like the restore configuration and backup did not work on a second device as well.

We later swapped it with a BIG Pond 3G router, to which I can simply plug the 3G SIM and we have hit the highway. This Big Pond router comes with 2 external antennas for 3G reception and single antennae for wifi. Pretty good features including dynamic DNS support, Guest LAN, Backup/restore router configuration etc. Default settings can be overwritten so this might not pose a security issue as well. I would have posted the pics, but looks like its disabled (?)

Has anyone been able to make the BSNL 3G datacard (Teracom LW722 or 723) work with Mac OS Snow Leopard or Lion? Peculiarly, the driver UI provided crashes on these OS versions, and it does not connect via direct network connection either.

Guys, Planning to buy a USB modem. I am a noob in this. I have heard of USB modems from Reliance Net Connect, Vodaone 3G, Airtel, Idea & Tata Photon.

My usage would be very very minimal, its a substitute to the broadband connection in my office (maybe I would go for a zero rental postpaid plan if available). Requirements are good & strong connectivity, fast browsing & of course, the price. It should be value for money. free roaming would be icing on the cake!

Which one would be apt for me?

So I'm looking to replace my (stupid) Tata Photon+ data card with a more reliable and faster 3G data card.

Since I do a lot of road trips, which takes me to many non-metro and Tier 3/4/5 locations, I feel a service provider like MTNL would suit me best, since they have have BSNL's infrastructure to latch on to. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, I think it would be cheaper to buy an unlocked device and plonk in any SIM that I want. So I have discovered these USB modems and I need advice on which is best and also where to buy (Ebay?)

1. Huawei E1750
2. Huawei E1762
3. Huawei UMG1831

Please suggest keeping in mind that I want a modem comptible with Win 7 Starter AS WELL AS Ubuntu.

@raj_5004; All can be equally good or bad. A lot depends on the signal level and load in your area. I have a Photon+ for two years. No real problems, and I normally get 500+kbps peaking at 1.9kbps. However, in Bangalore recently while the signal level was full, I barely got 25kbps. Must be congestion.

In our area (fringe on all) Reliance was supposed to be bad, but last night on my phone (EVDO) I saw 1.8+Mbps. I will not commit until I see similar performance a few more times.

My suggestion is to borrow a few units, and actually test them out in your location.