Telecommunications in Ahmedabad

Hello All,

The answer depends upon which kind of connection a person wants. The options are:-

1. Wired Connection
2. Wireless Connection
3. Wireless Internet USB dongle which can work with a pc or a laptop
4. Wireless internet USB dongle which can also work as a WIFI hot spot so you can use it with any device supporting WIFI
5. A 3G SIM card with a 3G HSDPA/HSUPA enabled mobile phone with WIFI tethering.

Costs / details are as below :-

1. For wired connection You Telecom, Airlink, Reliance, Airtel, Hathway, Bsnl and others are there. Currently I am using a Airlink wired connection. The plan is data 40 GB, validity 30 months, speed 2 Mbps i.e. 256 KBPS but in actual you will get approx 100 KBPS and price is INR 3000 (approx 60 USD). You Telecom is another very good player which provides speed up to 12 Mbps i.e. 1500 KBPS and in actual you will get approx 1000 KBPS i.e. 1 MBPS. You can always connect the wired line to a WIFI router and thus make your connection wireless for a limited range of say 10 meter radius.

2. Wireless internet services are available from Tikona. To my knowledge it is the only player in this field. You simply need to purchase their plan and then you don't have to carry any dongle. In most of the places you will get their signals, the only thing is your mobile, pc or laptop must be WIFI enabled.
I do not know about the cost.

3. Wireless internet dongles are available from Reliance,  Airtel, Vodafone, Aircel, MTS , BSNL, TATA Docomo and almost every mobile service provider.

The cost of dongle is approx INR 1000 (approx 20 USD) other than the data plan. 3G data plan is approx INR 250 (USD 5) for 2 GB package, validity 1 month, speed 3.1 Mbps. You can also get unlimited 3G data packages for INR 800 (16 USD) from some players.

I will suggest to purchase a generalised dongle (not locked to a particular provider) and purchase the 3G SIM card of the company which gives the best value. I will suggest not to purchase Reliance CDMA dongle as that dongle will work only with CDMA technology SIM for which the only players are Reliance and MTS. All other players offer GSM technology.

Also note that do not purchase 2G plan, they are very very cheap but speed is abysmal.


4 & 5. You only need the dongle which works as a WIFI hot spot also and rest of the things are as explained in point 3 above. One such provider is MTS and the cost of device is about INR 3000 to 4000 that is 60 to 80 USD.

I will say that instead of purchasing such a device one should purchase a low cost 3G HSDPA, HSUPA enabled android based phone and then use it as a WIFI hotspot by WIFI tethering. A good international brand phone will cost approx Rs. 6000 (that is USD 120) and INR 4000 for Indian Brands (imported from china) (that is USD 80). In this case you have both a phone as well as a WIFI hot spot device.


I will answer queries related to mobile service providers (about talk plans) and how to call internationally at low cost in next post.


I hope that above information will be helpful. Please email me in case anyone needs any further clarification.

Thanks

Amit Jain

Thank you Amit Jain for your contribution!

Aurélie

Hi All,

There are many mobile service providers in Ahmedabad say Airtel, Aircel, Vodafone, Idea, BSNL, Reliance CDMA, Reliance GSM, Tata Docomo, Uninor, MTS and perhaps one or two more.

Till date I have used the services of Vodafone, Airtel and Reliance GSM. They all have quite similar plans. Currently I am using Reliance GSM because it is the only company which, even in roaming, charges 1 paisa per SMS (5000 SMS per USD) and no extra roaming charges for 2G data services. (I am mostly in roaming as most of the time I am in Mumbai)Talk plans of all the companies are more or less same, perhaps TATA Docomo should be offering some very good options. Talk plans in India are quite cheap comparing to any part of the world. In normal plans people are normally charged 0.40 to 0.50 paisa per minute that is 100 minutes per USD and if one opts for a minimum commitment plan than lot of options are available which varies from operator to operator. For example in Reliance if you pay INR 900 (18 USD) you are allowed to call unlimited throughout India.

It is advised to always be careful when in roaming that is using the mobile outside the home state. In roaming normally charges are INR 1 for incoming call and INR 1.50 for outgoing call and SMS INR 1.50.Be careful about data charges in roaming as it can be very very high so it is better to confirm it from your provider and take a suitable plan.

One interesting point to note here is that Mumbai, though in Maharashtra State, is considered separately for mobile services. It means that if you have a Mumbai's Sim Card and u get out of Mumbai than even if you are in Maharashtra you will be in roaming. I think this case can also be there with other metropolitan cities like Kolkata and Chennai, but I am not sure.

I have found the services of all three operators as fine, as I always do my homework by reading the fine print.

Anyone can email me should s/he has any query?

Thanks

Amit Jain