Following the footsteps of BSNL and Tata Indicom Photon, Reliance Communications has launched its Broadband services on EVDO Technology branded as NetConnect. [Coverage on NetConnect Plans and Coverage Map here]
Wireless Broadband using EVDO – What does this mean ? RCom already offers broadband services via Optical Fiber Cable and WiMax. OFC customers seem to be happy, however various reviews and comments on our own blog indicate Reliance WiMax customers are a frustrated lot. Does the launch of NetConnect broadband over EVDO mean a soft acknowledgment of WiMax 1.0’s failure in India by both RCom and Tata Indicom ?
Reliance EVDO – 3G Controversy Explained: Strictly going by licensing terms, Reliance and Tata can’t provide this Wireless Broadband service. However, they are using the underlying CDMA spectrum of their 2.xG network and hence their argument. GSM lobby led by Bharti Airtel has already raised concern about this issue, but IMHO, it will be overlooked by the DoT, unless the High Court of Delhi and TDSAT come into picture [Ya you know what I mean ]
Why EVDO Now, Why not earlier ? I don’t seem to understand why didn’t Reliance and Tata get aggressive on EVDO earlier if they were confident of making their case that it is a VAS to its 2.xG CDMA services ? Ok, forgt Tata’s, they never lead, but have chosen a right leader to follow, Reliance. RCom could have started this service earlier because their was and is tremendous demand for good broadband service. Did they first test the Wireless Broadband Signal strength with WiMax and when things weren’t working as expected, took this bold step ?
Reliance Broadband NetConnect Speed: Their broadband division has sent a document which clearly contradicts all their previously stated claims on the wireless internet speed,they say,
NetConnect Broadband / EVDO is 10-15 times faster 10-15 times faster than any data card or USB modem available in the market. The connectivity speed you will get is 400Kbps to 500 Kbps.
The above statement clearly confirms that Reliance 1.x DataCard speed was /is mere 30 Kbps and not 128 – 144 Kbps as claimed [assuming 450 Kbps is what NetConnect EVDO will deliver now and is 15 times faster than 1.x USB Datacard offering] Reliance claims to have 60% market share in USB Data Card Internet Services. What about the 2 Mbps to 3.1Mbps NetConnect speed claimed ? It is practically not feasible, atleast in India and is good in theory and test labs 🙂 [Correct me if I am wrong by posting a comment, I’ll be happy to eat my post]
Tata Indicom Photon + RCom NetConnect the Roadmap: Tata maybe a great brand but I have the wost experience since they have never replied to my questions. RCom does reply but never acknowledges its shortcomings but silently tries to improve on its own. RCom has placed an order for 1 mn EVDO modems and assuming they they might plug them in a years time with an ARPU of Rs 1,000, the company is likely to make a bottomline of Rs 200 crore over the next 12 months [Subscriber addition in chunks of ~100K / Month over 12 months with a profit of Rs 4 crore / month = Rs 192 crore (by Arithmetic Progression) in first 12 months]
Finally, will 3G based broadband help India ? If not, the TRAI must send a strong signal to DoT to open BSNL Wireline Copper Network, atleast by franchisee route so that most of India will be connected. I feel it will be a fantastic move to preserve existing Landline customers and make them subscribe to DSL broadband / IPTV.
Its quite possible to hit 2+ Mbps even with evdo rev 0 where there is good backhaul (read urban areas/metros/cities).I think tata photon users are hitting nearly 2M pretty easily (with rev 0 network).
Reliance has evdo rev A,which means better uploads and as a bonus they are all set for voip over the cdma (after the voip is opened that is) .
Once Again sunil here,I want to clarify between Tata Photon+ & Tata WiMAX.
Tata Photon is a Complete wireless high speed internet which is connected from portabe modem.
Where As Tata WiMAX is an Fixed Wireless Broadband which is connected through the Outdoor Mini Antenna.
As Usual There are some Advantages & disadvantages in these technologies.
I am from Tata Wimax Broadband To Know more details About Tariff plans and Comparison It is recommended to contact on 9243108958….
Thank you Very Much.
HI, I’ve used reliance broadbacd+ netconnect. On an average I use down load speed 270KBps. Some times the burst is beyond 300KBps. I use Azeurus for torrents, that shows download speed around 300KBps. The dialer shows 370KBps, I understand there is TCP/IP overhead.
I’ve used upload speed upto 120K during file attachements to my mails. So I’m happy that speed is more than 2Mbps. I don’t know about tomorrow, when there would be many users under a single tower.
Yes i think this will definitely make a diff…if not make the customers totally happy, at least make them ‘hungry for more’ and get the market ready for upcoming technologies. Although India is mostly a voice-heavy market, the urban crowd would love higher mobile broadband speeds. Packages which lets you surf unlimited for a specific amt per month will give a good competition to home broadband services. Eventually the govt will come under pressure to stop their politics and come to an agreement for rolling out 3g.
can somebody help me should I buy reliance netconnect or wait for ;llaunch of 3G services?