Internet Connection Question

maeha

Hello,

I will be returning to India(Gokarna) shortly for a period of at least 6 months. This time however, I have the neccessity for 24/7 Internet connection.
Please bear in mind that I am not very 'techie' so I hope my questions make sense:
Can anyone advise me if Gokarna has been connected to the broadband network yet? A year ago they were installing cables etc., and they said it would be connected up in a couple of months ?
Also, in the U.K., I connect through a mobile network(Orange,)using a G3 Nokia. Is this facility available in India yet through any of the mobile networks?
Or, any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Kevin

brownboy66

Can't comment specifically on whether or not Gokarna has DSL, cable, or wireless. Unless it is very isolated I would think that at the very least it would have copper DSL. That being the case you could expect to get a connection of anywhere from 256k up to 2megs (depending on the network, provider, and plans available).

Ok - I can answer that one. So what you have is a mobile 3G connection with a maximum speed of about 2-4megs and an average throughput of say 7-800kbits. There are no 3G mobile networks currently operating in India (the govt/ industry are just going through the process now of trying to tackle that one). What they do have could be classified as 2G or 2.5G. For GSM - it's called GPRS or EDGE - and gives you around about 70-80 kbits of speed (the maximum is around 156kbits). To give you some idea of what thats like - dial up gives you around 30kbits of speed (so its about 2-3 times faster than dial up). Coverage is good - but you will find it slower than europe. What ever device you use in europe is likely to be backward compatible to the 2G network here (you'll just have to make sure its works on the same band - and that the device you have is not sim locked to your network provider in Europe).

In terms of networks - Airtel seem to be the best of the GSM providers with good service, network, and coverage.

check out the thread below for all the info on sims, unlocking, corresponding GSM band, etc.

http://www.indiamike.com/india/elect...etworks-t8434/


good luck.

Dilliwala

brownboy's on the loose again! Quick, lock him up!

Just want to challenge one point, mate:
"In terms of networks - Airtel seem to be the best of the GSM providers with good service, network, and coverage."

Cetainly not, it's MTNL/BSNL. But it's difficult for tourists to get one without a permanent address. Airtel wud be 2nd-best, but there are still large swathes of the land they don't cover.

shashank.aggarwal

Dilliwala..I beg to differ...BSNL/MTNL is only superior in coverage..thats it !! Its network in not good and forget about service !!

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burf

delhi has it all, but i aint sure about gokarna

Aishah

Will just have to add I could never get GPRS Internet via BSNL here - only Airtel was available finally. Tried many times to connect and just not possible with BSNL. Airtel prepaid internet for unlimited use is 395 rupees a month. Most days it is working but occasionally the server goes down. It can also be very slow from time to time - when working properly it is the same speed as dial-up.

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brownboy66

Grrrrrrrr...........

Mr Wala! Where have you been! Out travelling again? You've missed a few good discussions while you were away.

I guess its logical that the state run BSNL/MTNL would have the best network and coverage - how do they rate for service? I don't think I've actually read anything on IM about BSNL/MTNL mobile (except the occasional post by Aishah about dolphin mobile in Delhi).

Aishah

As far as mobile phone coverage goes BSNL is the best BUT with heavy network overload it now and then goes 'Network Busy' but after several attempts you finally get through. This is also the same with Airtel. And as you mentioned bb Dolphin which is roaming for BSNL in Delhi is very erratic. Sometimes works sometimes, nothing. Sometimes incoming calls and messages will work, but not outgoing... And it's the same for me with Airtel. Sometimes working, sometimes not in Delhi!
But for computer connection BSNL was totally hopeless...

shashank.aggarwal

And the worst part with MTNL is you realize that its not working only when you try to reach someone..whereas there can be other people trying to reach you and network is not letting them through..and you do not even realize what you have missed !!

Aishah

So true, Shashank! And very frustrating....

ChocolatNY

well last year i bought a Reliance data card for 5000 rps, it worked for surfing the internet... but i needed to use VPN to access my work related sites/work email, and i couldn't get that to work on my laptop. i ended up selling it. maybe you should look into that? sorry i can't be of more help.

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maeha

Thanks everyone for all your replies, they certainly give me something to start working on.

Thanks once again!

Kevin

Dilliwala

Right u are. But I only find the techie threads by accident anyway, espesh if I see your name against 'em, heheh. I'm not subscribed to the sub-forum.
So point me to them threads - maybe I have two paisas' worth to add.

I found MTNL roaming on BSNL to be fantastic espesh in 90% of Uttaranchal where there's no other coverage. Except in.......Mussoorie, of all places! Specifically, the south side of Landour Cantt from Kellogg Church to Sisters Bazar. Reason? Too many towers within range! 3 local ones, plus five from Dehradun! And that's standing in one spot, not moving from one end to another (similar problem to what happens on an aircraft, the phone doesn't know which tower to lock onto). I have gone without signals for the best part of a day at times, except at night it tends to improve for some reason (sun-spot activity, bb? Just a wild guess!). And other times have involved holding my phone aloft like the Statue of Liberty and looking like an idiot for many minutes on end - this with 8 towers in range. TV tower back-chakkar - no problem, Surkanda's tower gives a clear signal with no interference. Char Dukan - no problem, Happy Valley tower has a pretty straight line. Just the a.m. stretch is a major hassle, and often.
bb - cud u please comment on this? It seems the signals from the DD towers are too strong (about 20-25 km straight-line), e.g., I've not heard nor seen any Airtel or Idea/Escotel phones picking up any signals from down below. Nor have heard of local BSNL fones having the same prob (altho it doesn't make sense that only a roaming fone wud have this prob). I've idly thought about writing to BSNL about this, but doubt I'd get a response, I'm not even directly their customer.
Aishah (and shashank), very interesting that u have the SMS problem in Delhi, I've had exactly the reverse out of town. My MTNL fone works very well in Delhi (voice and SMS), and roaming voice calls work very well out of town on BSNL (except as described above). Where I've had probs is with SMS while roaming on BSNL, sometimes my msgs don't reach the addressee even though I get a delivery ack, and sometimes vice-versa. But it's been better lately.
I care not a damn about ring-tones, GPRS/WAP and the like, if that's what service means, shash. And the few times I had to call their help-line, I got what I needed. And the lower tariffs will keep me here. Plus the MAIN reason - roaming in remote areas. It's great to get a signal in places like Koksar, Ghansali, Udiyari, Munsyari, Bhikiyasain, Birahi, Vishnuprayag, Badrinath, WEST OF Mana (1 km up the Alaknanda valley with the Badri tower out of sight behind a high mountain wall) - to name just a few. I shud mention that none of these places have any other service-providers.

shashank.aggarwal

But DW..wasn't this thread about Internet ?? and if MTNL and BSNL are not strong in the area then there is no point is discussing or even mentioning them here..!!

As as I have said earlier...the coverage is the only strong point these two have...they do not have a netork as good as other nor their service (including customer service) is upto the mark...

You will find any serious professional or businessman having a MTNL OR BSNL mobile phone. They might keep it with some other phone but never as a standalone option...because again you will never know when that important call was being made to you and your phone was not even reachable...!!

As a recruiter, it happens sometimes that a candidate has a MTNL phone. Most of the times its an ordeal to reach him...sometimes I even skip his profile as I do not want to be harassed by MTNL network...

Aishah

OT - Dilliwala - can totally relate to your post - exactly the same happened to me, in that location in June. But the post is on topic because if you are using GPRS connection for internet you would want to know which service provider had the best coverage - and at Wolfsburn, it seems Airtel is the best. The other one mentioned by locals was Idea but i don't know much re their internet services.