Airtel Data Card

pundabee

It seems like vodafones datacard (the Option version mentioned above) is compatible with your Mac: Vodafone Option GPRS datacard.

I don't know much about Macs, but in order to get the datacard to work, you need to install the appropriate drivers. When Airtel say that their datacard doesn't support Mac it is either because they have not included the Mac drivers in their software or because they don't want to waste resources on supporting a small market (or both).

The way around the problem is to get the drivers from somewhere else. I haven't done this so cannot guarantee that it will work, but if you install the Vodafone software (linked above) the drivers should install on your system. It should then be possible to use the Airtel datacard since it should be the same as the Vodafone datacard.

Lots of ifs and buts.

chrissi

Hi, thanks for your reply.

Actually I would like to have a wireless data card (for example Reliance Infocomm R Connect Data Card) wich can be slot in to my laptop, not a GPRS service.

Does anyone know if the is possible on an Apple Power Book G4 from 2003, Mac OS X version 10.4.9 ?

hawaiiyogagrl

Hi Chrissi,
I have been trying to find out the same thing. Please post if you figure this out. I will do the same.
There is a store ("iworld", I think) in New Delhi that sells macs and mac products. My thought was if I can't figure this out before I get there, to go there and ask them for help.
Thanks

chrissi

Hi hawaiiyogagrl,
I would go to the place that you suggest, but I'm in Bombay so it's not possible. I could find a similar place in Bombay. I still have no idea how to get this to work and I really need to have my own connection asap. Yes, I post on how this goes and please also post if you find a solution.

pundabee

As I am now back in India, and have decided to get at datacard rather than using a mobile phone to connect my laptop to the Internet, I thought that making a small step-by-step guide on how to use a datacard bought in the UK with an Airtel SIM could be useful to one or two people. It is fairly straight forward and it should be possible to follow the instructions below even if you are not particularly computer minded. The guide is written with Windows XP laptops equipped with PCMCIA card slots in mind (some Macs do not have a PCMCIA card slot).

Disclaimer: I can't guarantee that any of this information will work for you. It is meant to be a guide for anyone wanting to take the chance on using a datacard purchased outside India with an Airtel SIM. This guide is attached as a pdf for optimal printing.

An alternative to Airtel is Hutch, who use the BPL network. This network has much better coverage than Airtel, but whereas Airtel seem to have GPRS coverage wherever they are, BPL don't. I am fairly certain that the approach described below will also work with a Hutch connection.

Buying an Airtel SIM
It is important to remember that it is illegal for mobile companies to sell a SIM to someone who hasn't got a permanent address in India. This makes getting a SIM slightly tricky. Essentially, there are three ways of getting hold of a Prepaid SIM (getting a Postpaid SIM is too complicated since you need to set up a way to transfer the monthly payments, and this is not recommend for the average person travelling in India): 1) You can get lucky. I got my Airtel SIM from a Hutch shop in Ernakulam, Kerala in November 2006 and gave the address of the hotel where we were staying. I then went to the Airtel office and set up a GPRS connection without any problems. 2) You can get an Indian or a foreigner who has a permanent address to buy the SIM and GPRS connection. 3) As a variant of 1), you can lie. Some people are convincing liars and could maybe pull it off and provide a fake address at the Airtel office.

The downside to 1) and 3) is that Airtel may just decide to do a check; they could turn up at your fictive address, and subsequently your SIM will be blocked. This is not likely to happen immediately though and won't be a problem for the average tourist.

If you are in India for a prolonged period or plan to return you may want to consider lifetime validity. In order for a Prepaid SIM to work it needs validity which means that you will be paying extra every time you recharge the card. By getting lifetime validity at a cost of around Rs. 1000, your phone will always work for incoming calls whether or not there is money on the card. The downside is that you will be paying slightly higher call charges except for foreign calls. A SIM without lifetime validity will stop working after three months without use. A SIM with lifetime validity will stop working after six months without use.

The cost of getting a Prepaid SIM is very low; a couple of hundred Rupees will get you started. A GPRS connection will cost between Rs. 250 and 350 a month for unlimited Internet access depending on the state where the connection is purchased.

Once you have bought the GPRS connection it will take between 24 and 48 hours before it is activated. When you have to renew your connection it can be done at an Airtel office (ideally in the state where you bought the SIM to avoid problems) or at a well assorted Airtel dealer. The GPRS connection is often called "Mobile Office". You will receive an SMS when the connection has been activated. Every renewal will also take 24 to 48 hours to activate.

Buying a datacard
The reason that it is recommended to bring your own datacard to India is that 1) you are less likely to get hassle from your Airtel office since you are not buying any hardware, but only a SIM; 2) The UK datacards are (assuming you purchase the right one) of much better quality than Airtel's; 3) A datacard bought on Ebay UK will be much cheaper than buying from Airtel. It is possible to get the datacards mentioned below for less than £20 on Ebay UK which is quite a saving on the approxmately £60 they cost with Airtel. It is very easy to buy a Vodafone branded datacard on Ebay UK because at one point these were given away for free when people bought, for instance, Acer laptops.

Connection speeds
Connection speeds for mobile phones and datacards (and more recently usb modems) depend on the type of network they operate on. Below is a list of different ways to connect your laptop. The speeds listed are the theoretical maximums (UL is upload speed and DL is download speed). In practice you will be lucky to get half of the listed speeds.

1) GSM CS: UL 9.6kbps/DL 9.6kbps
2) GPRS: UL 42.8kbps/DL 85.6kbps
3) EDGE: UL 118.4kbps/DL 236.8kbps
4) UMTS CS: UL 64kbps/DL 64kbps
5) UMTS PS (3G): UL 384kbps/DL 384kbps
6) UL UMTS/DL HSDPA: UL 384kbps/DL 1.8Mbps

At the moment (mid 2007) only GPRS and EDGE are available in India, and EDGE only in the big cities. There are plans to roll out 3G or HSDPA within the next few years. Fingers crossed. A GPRS connection will, roughly, be equivalent to a dial-up modem, i.e. painfully slow.

First generation datacards
There are three generations of datacards. The first generation, the GSM/GPRS datacard, is still being used by Airtel. Vodafone uses two of these types: one branded Sierra and one branded Option. Airtel use the Option datacard. The way to distinguish the Sierra and Option cards is that the Option has a black circle on the top (for the SIM); the Sierra card does not.

see pdf for photo

Though I haven't tried using this Vodafone first generation Option datacard it should be fully compatible with the Airtel Mobility software which is used for the Airtel datacard. The Mobility software can be downloaded here: Airtel Mobility Software. The important point concerning datacards is that they need drivers to work. The drivers are included in the Airtel Mobility software, and since the Vodafone and Airtel datacards are similar there shouldn't be any compatibility problems.

So, if you decide to get a first generation datacard, the approach is as follows: 1) Buy the Vodafone datacard before you go to India. 2) Download and save the Airtel Mobility software on your laptop before you go to India. 3) Buy or get someone to buy a Prepaid Airtel SIM from an Airtel office when you arrive in India. 4) Buy a GPRS connection at the same Airtel office for your SIM.

Second generation datacards
The second generation of datacards, the GSM/GPRS/EDGE/3G datacard, which was popular in the UK a couple of years ago, comes in different shapes and forms. I am certain that the Vodafone Option cards will work with an Airtel SIM (I am posting this using one such datacard). They can be distinguished from other datacards in that they all have a square bit sticking out when inserted in the PCMCIA slot. There are three different ones.

See pdf for photos

Below is a detailed instruction on how to make these work with an Airtel SIM.

The problem with using the second generation Vodafone datacards with an Airtel SIM is that the Airtel Mobility software isn't compatible with these datacards. The reason for this is that the Mobility software doesn't contain the drivers that are necessary for running the Vodafone datacard. The easiest way around this problem is to use Vodafone's Mobile Connect software and discard the Airtel Mobility software.

Therefore, download the software (approximately 60 mb) that is compatible with your Vodafone datacard. The datacard I am using is the Vodafone Option 3G Wlan datacard. The software for this datacard used to be easy to find on Vodafone's homepage, but they continuously change the links on there rather hopeless site, and I have been unable to track down the Mobile Connect software (the site is very slow on a GPRS connection).

Run the software by double clicking on the file. When asked, click "Unzip" to extract the files to the default location. By default files included in the software are extracted to your "Temp" folder which is normally located at C:\DOCUMENTS AND SETTINGS\ YOURNAME\LOCAL SETTINGS\Temp. Click "Close" once it has finished unzipping. Open Windows Explorer by right-clicking on "Start" (at the bottom left on your monitor) and choose "Explore". Go to the Temp folder mentioned above. There should be a folder called "VMC6_excl_WLAN_a" or something to that effect. Double-click on this folder. Double-click on the "Run" file. IMPORTANT: if you already have installed the Vodafone software, a re-installation will probably not succeed. You will have to uninstall the software before you attempt a new installation.

On the screen that follows you can choose between various networks and languages. The choice of network is irrelevant, but the language could be an issue for some. Click "Next" once you are happy with the choice of language.

The following screen will do some tests on your computer. This shouldn't cause any problems. Click "Next" when the testing has finished.

Click "Accept" on the Licence Agreement screen unless you have reason to not do so.

After a short delay, the software will be installed on your computer. You have to click "next" a couple of times ,"install" and "finish".

Finally, you will be asked to restart the computer. Click "Yes".

When the computer has restarted, Vodafone Mobile Connect should start automatically, If not, double-click on the Vodafone icon which should have been created on your desktop. The "Profile Manager" will open. Choose "PC Datacard" and click "Next".

On the following screen, you will be asked to insert your SIM into you datacard (step 1), and to insert the datacard into the PCMCIA slot (step 2). Do this. In step 3 your have to choose between different services. You can choose the default ("Prefer 3G but also allow GPRS network") or which ever one you prefer as long as it has "GPRS" in its description. Click "Next".

The following screen describes the "connection settings". No changes are necessary, but you can choose to change the default profile name. Click "finished" when you have finished.

You have now finished setting up a Vodafone connection. However, before you can use the Vodafone datacard with your Airtel SIM, you have to enter the Airtel SIM settings in the Vodafone software. This is done in the following way.

To add the Airtel settings, go to menu/tools/mobile profiles/edit. Double-click on the profile you made above. An "edit profile" screen will open. Choose "PC Datacard" and click "Next". The 3 step screen described above will open. Click "Next". In the next screen you have to enter the Airtel APN settings. Type "airtelgprs.com" without the ". Delete the username and password and untick the two boxes. Click "Next".

On the following screen click "Security Settings". Tick the three top boxes only. Click "Ok". Click "next".

On the following screen click "Finish".

You should now be able to connect to the Internet with the Airtel SIM in the Vodafone datacard by clicking "Mobile" in the software. When you have disconnected

In Vodafone Mobile Connect, you should go to menu/tools/options/preferences/usage and change the data limits from 50 to 9999. Click "Ok".

Finally, when you have disconnected by clicking "mobile", you should go to start/control panel/network connections and right-click on the connection you created above and choose "properties" to make sure that the phone number is "*99***1#" or similar. You should be able to change the "1" in this phone number if needed (it may speed up the connection) to anything between 1 and 6.

Third generation datacards
The third generation of datacards are broadband datacards. They are distinguishable from the second generation datacards by having rounded corners on the part that sticks out of the PCMCIA slot.

See pdf for photo

These will connect to all the network types mentioned above. I have no experience with these, but seem to remember that they are locked to the card provider. Of course, someone could buy one, test it in India and reply to this thread describing how to make it work.

Attached Files

datacardinstructions.pdf (90.8 KB, 963 views)

debabrata

can any one tel me airtel datacard / usbmodem works with proxy
for surfing with lan

brownboy66

Hi Debabrata. Don't quite understand your question - but will answer as best as possible. By default - airtel mobile internet connections (whether with a datacard or USB modem) are connected to the internet via an airtel proxy server (hence all traffic to and from the internet passes through this proxy server first).

Locating the area to enter in this information is fairly straight forward. For users of microsoft explorer would go into the "internet options" menu for explorer, and then on the "connections" tab - click the button that says "lan connection" - and there will be a section there to enter the address of the airtel proxy server.

Firstclass

is it possible to get an umts internet connection for lets say 3 months in india for cheap?

i have an umts stick for my notebook

brownboy66

in general - no. Officially there are no UMTS networks in India (the government is still to negotiate a deal between the current owners of the spectrum - the military - and the telco's who would like to provide this service). There are some 3G networks in isolated places being rolled out where spectrum is not owned or used by the military - although this appears to be either CDMA or WiMax.

__________________
"the last meal is history - its the next one that's important" - Garfield (the cat)
IndiaMike Mod Team.... just some plonker with access to the mod tools

Nick-H

There is a newcomer on the scene, from BSNL, called EVDO from BSNL. They are still building the towers for this, and it is available in a limited, but growing, number of places, mostly outer-city for now, as they are saying that inner-city is well-enough covered by wire.

On selected places in can give a nominal 2.4Mb!

The Big But is that it is not suitable for travellers as, although it is a wireless mobile technology, roaming is not available at present.

spoiledali

hi,

I remember its very easy these days to get internet access using ur handset. Just send an activation sms - u will be charged with some nominal activation charges and then some will be deducted EVERY DAY until u deactivate the service with another sms. Not sure if they are charging per 10KB data transfer as Hutch did for me a year back.
I asked the salesman if the Airtel datacard was locked, but he couldn't understand the question no matter how I phrased it!
However I've been told by other sources that apparantly, all the Indian datacards (and phones) come locked to their suppliers network, so I don't think you could use a Tata Indicom sim in an Airtel datacard.

tnkx.

Firstclass

Yesterday I went to the Airtel Shop at Spencer Plaza (1rst Phase, 1rst Level) to get a prepaid simcard. Okay, no problem.

But then I asked about wireless internet connection.

There are 2 possibilities to go online by GPRS/ EDGE.
It's quite ok for e-mailing, chatting - perhaps skyping.

- airtel pcmcia Card
- airtel usb dongle

The usb dongle is the cheaper one and costs 3000rp to buy and then 1000 per month for unlimited acces (no time and traffic limit).
In my opinion still too expensive...

I hoped to be able to use my mobile (which has EDGE and GPRS) as a modem via the bluetooth connection. But it seems as if it doesn't work..... SAD ....

airbox

Hey Firstclass,

Did you solved the problem?
Does it works via the Bluetooth?
I am planing to connect like this, using the Bluetooth.

Firstclass

Yeah it works.
But its not really comfortable.
While surfing I often have to reconnect.
Its ok for checking small things like emails, but not for a lot more.

I use Bluesoleil freeware to connect my mobile with the computer.
If you also have a datacable (usb) use it instead of slowering down the speed by a bluetooth dongle.

airbox

Thanks a lot for the reply!
I am also using the Bluesoleil freeware to connect to my mobile. Seems like we both are using linux devices ;-)
I think I have date cable, but I really don't want to use it since I have only two 2 USB ports and I usually need them.
I am also thinking if using a USB dongle instead bluetooth connection going to be better for the battery life. Does anybody knows wich is more powersave?