3G Auction Some After Talks

Long waited India’s 1st 3G spectrum auction is over! Starting on 9 April it took 34 days. Govt-owned BSNL and MTNL are already offering 3G services over country. Now private operators also get licenses to offer high speed 3G services.

Indian Government earned Rs 67,700 crore, double than they expected to get by selling 3G airwaves.Most important thing not a single operator did win pan-India 3G license, which may lead to network sharing over circles to circles.

But it is uncertain that dual technology operator Reliance and Tata will join such sharing or not.Airtel & Vodafone mostly come to as partner, and Idea may join them via their joint venture of tower sharing i.e. Indus Towers.

But even of this partnership between three operators can’t cover all circles with 3G connectivity – the trio will miss Orissa.Airtel’s wining of 3G license is quite unimpressive, they won license in

BSNL Offers Local and STD Video Calls Just At 30p

In a bid to promote 3G Mobile services, India’s National telecom backbone and Pan-India 3G mobile service operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) today announced the promotional reduction in Video Call charges for its Postpaid and Prepaid 3G subscribers in all telecom circles.

With the massive reduction in Video Call charges, Now BSNL 3G subscriber can enjoy the next generation Local and STD video calling just at 30 paisa per minute. The above promotional tariff will be available for 90 days with effect from 1st June, 2010.

BSNL is the only service providers to have 3G spectrum across all the telecom circles.Recently the state operator crosses One Million 3G GSM Mobile and Data service subscriber mark and offers it next generation 3G services in more than 434 cities across India.

BSNL Ties Up With Indian Railways to Promote 3G Services

In a bid to promote the 3G mobile and data services, India’s National telecom backbone and pan India 3G operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has partnered with the Indian Railways.

As part of the tie-up, the New Delhi-Chennai Rajdhani Express will boast BSNL 3G logos and advertisements as a promotional vehicle. The 1st Rajdhani train was flagged off by Mr. Kuldeep Goel, Chairman and Managing Director of BSNL from New Delhi. The six-month campaign is expected to cover 34 locations across 11 States in India.

With the unique marketing initiative, all coaches of the New Delhi-Chennai Rajdhani Express were covered with vinyl sheets carrying advertisements of BSNL 3G services.

BSNL 3G Mobile Service Now In Kerala

State-owned telecom operator Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) today launches 3G the third generation mobile services in the Kerala telecom circle.Presently BSNL 3G services will be available Kozhikode city, suburbs and Kalpetta and it will connect 21 towns covering all district headquarters of Kerala. With the BSNL 3G prepaid GSM mobile service users can enjoy Local Voice and Video calls at just 30 Paisa per Minute and All STD video calls will be chargeable at 50 paisa.

The 3G services allow telecom operators to offer high-speed Internet and video calls on mobile phones as well as mobile TV facility.

According to the BSNL Kerala Unit, the process of extending the services will get over by the end of this month.Currently BSNL commence the 2.55 lakh 3G lines in the Circle, including 37,758 lines in Kozhikode city and suburban areas and 1,469 lines in Kalpetta to accommodate the 3G subscribers. BSNL also erect new 100 3G base stations in Kozhikode SSA to provide the seamless 3.5G connectivity

BSNL is the only service provider to procure the license to operate 3G services in the Kerala region and the state-owned company feel this would see a shift of premium customers towards it. The operator has invested Rs.650 crore for the project in Kerala, apart from expanding the accessible 2.75 G network to wrap up more than 95% of BSNL mobile subscribers. The traffic congestion in existing 2G mobile services in the region would be removed by the launch of 3G mobile services and the up-gradation of 2G network.

BSNL 3G SPEED

3G is automatically activated when you activate the SIM using Rs 350 or higher activation voucher. To configure your phone for 3G Data Connection, just create a new connection with Access point “gprsnorth3g.bsnlmobile.in” or “bsnlnet” & leave all the other settings at default. Name it “BSNL 3G”. Then go to your phone’s “Network selection” menu & Select UMTS instead of GSM/Dual Mode.

If 3G isn’t available & if your phone is set in Dual mode then your SIM will automatically work in 2G mode. In that case the tariff will be same as 3G

The speed of BSNL 3G is HSDPA compatible & although I am not getting 3.6 mbps but the speed is still quite good at 512 kbps easily. Here is a screenshot which I was able to take of Symtorrent just before the speed throttled. The speed is 48 KBps or 384 kbps.

BSNL 3G USB HIGH SPEED DATA CARD

India’s National Telecom backbone Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) announced the of its 3G GSM mobile and High Speed Wireless Internet services (Data services) in Raipur city of Chhittisgarh telecom circle.

Speaking on the launch of BSNL 3G services in Raipur, Mr. Ram Yagya, Chief General Manager, BSNL Chhattisgarh circle said “The next generation 3G mobile and data service is now available to all BSNL postpaid and prepaid 2G subscribers in Raipur city.”

He also added that “BSNL will expands the 3G services in other parts of the state shortly. BSNL subscriber can enjoy local and STD Video call just at 30 paisa per minute with our 3G services. He also assure that the BSNL will do the best to provide uninterrupted 3G Mobile and data services.

BSNL 3G-Broadband

BSNL Broadband using 3G Network:

Users shall be able to access Web using High speed broadband connection. BSNL talks of 2 Mbps but we will be happy to receive at least 1 Mbps uninterrupted data transfer.

Users have the choice to connect using USB Stick Interface or PCMCIA Card which will be provided by BSNL. Available choices are Merlin X950D Express Card, Merlin XU870 Express Card, Option Globe Trotter Express 7.2, Option Globe Trotter Express HSUPA 3G data card and Sierra Wireless Air Card 880E.

Tariffs for BSNL Broadband 3G Data Plans:

Trial Pack – 50 MB Rs 60 and 100 MB will cost Rs 120 with 15 days Validity.

BSNL 3G Broadband Plans with Limited Usage:

The following plans have validity of 30 days. Additional download will be charged at Rs 2 / MB.

For Rs 250 you will get 300 MB Free Download, Rs 400 will fetch you 1 GB of Free Download, Rs 650 will get you 2 GB of Free Download while Rs 1,000 will get you 5 GB of Download. Service taxes are Extra.

BSNL 3G Broadband Plan with Unlimited Usage:

This will cost you Rs 3,000 / month with unlimited data transfer. Compare this to Airtel’s 1 Mbps DSL Unlimited data transfer plan available at Rs 2,222. BSNL is currently enjoying the monopoly and eventually when other operators enter the market, BSNL will be the first one to reduce the tariff as it has been pretty customer friendly.

Now if you are our reader in Chennai or other Metros where BSNL / MTNL 3G Data Plans are launched, we request you to check theBroadband Speed here and kindly notify us by means of a comment.

BSNL 3G Video Calling

When you talk to some body over phone and are able to see the persson at other end on the screen of your phone then it is called a video call. Video Calling lets your friends see where you’re hanging out. With Video Call, you can view both yourself, and the person you’ve called, in high quality, real-time video.

In order for you to make a video call, both calling and called party should be BSNL 3G mobile customers and both calling and called party should have suitable handset with 2 cameras. It is possible up to 10 persons to simultaneously have video conferencing through BSNL 3G video calling.

With the video ring back tone, during video ring back you will see a video as selected by the called party. With BSNL 3G Video Calling features, it possible to take voice call during internet surfing.

BSNL Video calling functions with Video Streaming, which is a sequence of “moving images” that are sent in compressed form over the Internet and displayed by the viewer as they arrive. It allows user to view video contents while downloading is in progress.

BSNL 3G service is available in a few selected capitals and cities. But while moving from BSNL 3G area to a 2G area, your call will continue without getting dropped. The data card speed would switch automatically to GPRS connection, the speed would be slower than that available in 3G network.

To enable video call service on your handset, go to menu, click on “setting” button, click on network, click on network mode, and select Dual mode. The handset will first reboot and then make your handset active for 3G network wherever it is available else the handset will remain active as it does in ordinary 2G/ 2.5G networks. Once your handset is in dual mode it will give preference to 3G network i.e. if both 2G/ 2.5G and 3G networks are there then will work in 3G Network.

When you are active in 3G network, 3G sign indication will appear in your handset near the signal sign.

How do I Make / Receive a Video Call?

When you and your friend both have 3G mobiles, just dial his number. The only difference is that you press the Video Call button instead of the voice call button. All 3G mobiles have a video calling button. Then hold your mobile in front of you, and watch your screen.

If someone ‘Video Calls’ you while you’re in 3G coverage, your mobile shows an icon on your mobile screen. To answer, press the Video Call button. You can even turn the camera off and have a normal voice call if you do not want to be seen.

Video calling is a 3G service; it is only possible if both the parties are within 3G coverage. If the other party is not in 3G network then the video call will not be connected, the call will drop and you will get a message “video call not supported by called party network”. In such a case you may like to make a voice call only. Similarly, if any of the party involved in conversation moves out of 3G coverage, the video call will drop. In such a case you may like to make a voice call. Voice calls work seemlessly when any of the parties move out of the 3G coverage area to 2G / 2.55 area.

You will be able to connect your 3G handset with the computer through Data cable, infrared or Bluetooth. You may also buy a 3G data card and use the same with your computer to access high speed 3G network.

What is 3G Data Card.?

3G Data cards are meant for accessing internet and emails at anytime and from anywhere. Thus 3G Data Cards help us to work on the move with full email and web access .It provides Simple and instant internet access at mega fast speeds up to 3.6 Mbps. 3G data cards make us free from messy wires, Fixed Line Requirement, No Need of Cyber Cafe / Hot Spot to Access Internet. Thus your Lap top become truly mobile

BSNL 3G Mobile Services

3G is the next generation of mobile communications systems. It enhances the services such as multimedia, high speed mobile broadband, internet access with the ability to view video footage on your mobile handset. With a 3G phone and access to the 3G network you can make video calls, watch live TV, access the high speed internet, receive emails and download music tracks, as well as the usual voice call and messaging services found on a mobile phone, like person to person video, live streaming, downloadable video of entertainment, news, current affairs and sport content and video messaging. BSNL 3G offers services like Video call facility, Mobile Broadband, movies, video PRBT, Mobile TV content available on BSNL 3G Portal etc. BSNL 3G practically provides broadband experience with speed better than 384 KBPS.

BSNL 3G services use USIM, theSIM card for 3G services. USIM stand for Universal Subscriber Identification Module. USIM is provided to access 3G services. The USIM has a storage capacity of 128 KB. The BSNL 3G starter pack includes the charges for USIM aslo.

BSNL provides upgrade to existing BSNL numbers to 3G without loosing the existing number. Number portability does not work yet, if you want to migrate from other mobile providers.

In order to use the 3G mobile broadband, you require a 3G handset and subscription for 3G services to use mobile broadband on your handset. In case you want to connect your laptop or PDA (personal digital assistant) to 3G network, like while moving in a vehicle, you will require to connect your 3G handset to the computer through data cable, infrared or blue tooth. You may also buy a 3G data card and use the same with your computer to access high speed 3G network. You can access 3G broadband without plugging a USB modem or data card into the laptop, through your Handset if it supports 3G.

Difference between WI-MAX , WI -FI and 3G: WI-MAX & WI-FI are primarily for internet/data service whereas 3G is for internet/data as well as voice service. Roaming facility in case of 3G is better as compared to these services.

There are two types of data card/devices to access Mobile Broadband. HSDPA card PCMCIA based, and HSDPA card USB based, and can be connected respectively at PCMCIA slot and USB port of Laptop. These are plug and play devices. The download speed presently available with these cards is 3.6 Mbps. In due course other types of cards will also be available.