starnet

In many small towns and rural areas of our country, Reliance netconnect is the only reliable internet access mode available as on today. If EVDO is launched nationwide by Reliance at prices that are significantly lower than the cost of BSNL/MTNL ADSL then it can be a game changer that the Indian broadband market badly need. Unlike wimax, EVDO is a proven technology. I just hope that Reliance doesn't screw-up the implementation.

At present the cost for unlimited Reliance netconnect on prepaid is Rs. 1099 per month and not Rs. 1500. http://www.rcom.co.in/webapp/Communication...ffs_details.jsp This unlimited prepaid netconnect plan comes with 300 free SMS.

BSNL is offering unlimited download for Rs. 550 per month plus service tax. Cost of USB modem is Rs. 3500, so it is not out of reach. I'll immediately take one connection, if Reliance comes out with similar pricing. The news appears to be somewhat related to the following Economic Times news story There are only 3 major CDMA operators in India namely Tata, Reliance and BSNL. Tata and Reliance have already launched EVDO in some circles. So only Reliance is left. I noticed that Sadik was selling a BB for CDMA/EVDO for Rs. 9500 only. That may be a good handset for Reliance EVDO at that price.

If DAPO is indeed limiting free SMS to 3000 per month, then the prices of DAPO connections sold by members here will crash.

Nokia 2626 has BL-5C battery. This is the same battery that they put in their cheapest models like Nokia 1200. Once the set (Nokia 1200) is 6 months or so old, the battery hardly lasts for 2 days with very few calls. This is the major problem with entry level Nokias. Their batteries are not as good as batteries in say a Samsung or a Sony Ericsson set. Other than that Nokia's entry level sets are good value for money.

Aircel in Tamilnadu offers a pack of 2 prepaid SIM cards for Rs. 77 only. These SIM cards have phone numbers that are two consecutive numbers and all calls between these 2 numbers are charged at 10 Paise per minute. This is the best plan for use within a family. Reliance prepaid GSM has been a big disappointment. May be a smaller player like Aircel will provide better service at lower cost.

What are the charges for using GPRS in Delhi anyway? I have been trying to call customer support at *333 since last 2 days and getting a consistent message "this route is busy, please try later". Got the same message when I called *333 at 3:00 AM today. How can a route be busy at 3:00 AM? The people at RWorld in Patel Nagar (New Delhi) gave me a blank stare when I asked about the cost of GPRS at the tome of buying the SIM. So much for their training. Looks like RCOM is not having any customer support for new prepaid GSM customers. Typical Reliance ADAG mismanaged company...

Looks like I'll have to move to Bihar really soon because data usage charges are really high here in Delhi. I am paying Rs. 250 + service tax for 125 MB download limit with Airtel here.

Anyone here knows about when is Reliance going to launch its GSM service in Delhi?

Clearwire, which is a wimax operator in the USA, launched a USB wimax modem as well as an express card for laptops some time back. http://www.xohm.com/en_US/shop/devices/ May be Reliance is also looking to offer similar modems along with their roof-mounted modems. I guess that wimax service will really takeoff if a reliable connection can be provided via a USB modem.

Is GSM netconnect (for use of internet connection on laptop) available with a postpaid connection only?

Making a call from Reliance CDMA in major cities of Western U.P. is impossible after 5 PM. Looks like GSM network is more of the same. Looks like the rule is: No outgoing calls from Reliance are allowed between 5 PM to 11 PM in UP. Due to this very problem I was forced to buy an Airtel SIM and handset as backup because I visit UP frequently.

These data charges are a robbery in broad daylight. I was waiting for Reliance GSM launch in Delhi and was thinking that the data download charges will be more reasonable. But they are not. Now my only hope is MTNL 3G. MTNL doesn't offer quality service but they do force these private sector thugs to lower the cost for users.

I am not sure if the likes of Vodafone and Airtel can tell with 100% certainty that a O2 being used by a customer is a cracked handset or it is a set bought with bill and warranty. For iphones, Airtel and Vodafone may be sure about the source of the set because they sell the sets but for the sets from O2 and such they can't be sure because those sets are sold by a large number of legitimate dealers/stores in India. Besides there is no ban on my buying an unlocked GSM set (legitimate one) from say Singapore and using it here in India. Similarly a foreigner visiting India can bring his unlocked O2 to India and buy a prepaid GSM SIM in India and use it while he is here to avoid the international roaming costs. I have seen some of the customers of my company visiting Delhi using the local Vodafone SIM in Nokia sets while they are in India. I'm sure Airtel or Vodafone don't want to block such users too.

RCOM has a profit margin of at least 40% on handsets that are priced above Rs. 6000. Why will they like to forgo this profit is beyond my comprehension. Further handset makers will not like this move too. We all know that handsets in USA are cheap because the network operators like Verizon subsidize the cost of handset in return for customer entering into a 1-3 year long contract. For every sprint or Verizon handset that is sold in India means some loss for Verizon or sprint. So, Reliance officially allowing handsets with Verizon or Sprint's stamp on them is just not going to happen.

Link on page-1 for version 3.5 is now removed. Is there any way I can get the software now?