Technology Unleashed

Mobile technology has been on the developing side since a bit of time. In some of the recent years,

It is pretty obvious that 4G will take a bit of time before it gets popularity in Indian Markets, 3G can be a good bet if you want to have a data connection with a good speed. Al tough 3G prices are also a bit out of budget and costlier as compared to some of the broadband services, but 3G gets an edge because of the portability. Generally 3G internet comes in a SIM card which you have to put into your data card and then use. So it becomes very easy for you to port your device and the internet connection.

 When it comes about choosing the best 3G internet provider, you can go out to have a lot of choices. Almost all of the telecom operators in India have 3G services today. But services for a particular telecom operator are not countrywide. All those operators have got license to launch their 3G services in some circles. Below is a detailed list of al those states where a particular service provider has got 3G license

1.Aircel: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar and Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, North East, Orrisa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, UP(E), West Bengal.
Total- 13 circles.

2. Bharti Airtel: Delhi, Mumbai, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, UP(W), Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Assam, North East, Jammu and Kashmir.
Total- 13 circles.

3. BSNL: All India except Delhi and Mumbai.
Total- 20 circles.

4. Idea Cellular Limted: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Punjab, Haryana, UP(E), UP(W), Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir.
Total- 11 circles.

5. MTNL: Delhi and Mumbai.
Total- 2 circles.

6. Reliance Communications Limited: Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Orrisa, Assam, North East, Jammu and Kashmir.
Total- 13 circles.

7. Tata Docomo: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh(W),Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh.
Total- 9 circles.

8. Vodafone: Delhi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kolkata, Haryana, UP(E), West Bengal.
Total- 9 circles.

In some of the circles, operators have come up with sharing the license, for eg : If one operator does not have 3G license for a particular circle, that can share the license with another service provider by paying a certain amount to that network.

Well, I have not experienced 3G internet all over India, but for a few circles like Rajasthan Delhi, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Karnataka, I have a bit of experience. All those network providers which I have used in these circles for 3G network are Tata Docomo, Aircel, Airtel and Reliance.

Talking about speed, Airtel takes the top slot on the list, as I felt it great while using Airtel 3G. The speed was too good and I constantly got over 4 mbps browsing speed and around 500-600 kbps downloading speed. Anyways, speed in a 3G network is never an issue irrespective to the network, but the main thing which arrives is the consistency. Airtel has been consistent over the period of time I have used this. Aircel and Reliance are not too far behind. But Tata Docomo seriously needs a lot to work in this field. Tata docomo’s network keeps fluctuating while you are running on a 3G network and your data connection keeps disconnecting and reconnecting.

While Airtel takes the top slot in terms of speed and consistency, you need to think a bit about the price too. Because users in India want an affordable data plan and it that regard, Aircel is the best. 10 GB 3G data with unlimited 2G internet costs Rs 997 in Aircel. The same pack s available for Reliance in Rs 1099 and Airtel charges Rs 1500 for the same pack.

Airtel and Aircel give a speed of 128kbps after you have used your bundled 3G data, but Reliance give a hectic speed of just 64 kbps which is surely a negative point for it.