Aug 12, 2007 01:02 PM
11322 Views
I use Motoroloa Razr phone with Airtel as mobile service provider.When ever I want to connect to Internet on Road/Train, I connect myphone to my laptop using the USB cable. And Airtel internet charges are based on usage. Trouble with above setup is connection speed.I got about 15kbps with Airtel. Which was too slow for me.Then I came across Reliance's R-connect card with speed claimsup to 144 kbps.
So I decided to give it a try.As CDMA technology supposed to offer higher data speed, I assumedReliance's claims might in fact be true.This was around August of 2006. I paid close to Rs. 6k for reliancedata card. I signed up for unlimited data plan. (I don't remember thepricing exactly. But it was about Rs.2200 per month after taxes.)As soon as I got the card I realized that, average connection speed Igot out of the card was only 10kbps. (Reliance claims connection speed is up to 144kbps.
They never guarantee a minimum speed. :-)Also there is frequent disconnects in the internet service. If what you are doing in internet is just browsing, you might not notice these disconnects.But If you are into playing online real time games, and downloads you 'll run into trouble with reliance R-connect internet service.Being a network engineer myself, I had my laptop optimized for bestnetwork performance. So problem was clearly not on my end.
Customer support did connect me tech engineers.I don't want to elaborate the technical conversation. It is just fairto say that, they had no idea how things work. And they were justbaby sitting the technical equipment they bought from Cisco, Huwaei and Nortel.Now comes the interesting part.After trying for couple months, I came to the conclusion that RelianceR-connect card based internet service is useless.
I decided to discontinuemy service.In India you can't discontinue a service by calling customer service.You gotta go to the shop where you purchased the card, and write a letterfor getting your service disconnected. I wrote that letter.Next month I got a surprise bill of 2, 200 with no mention of my service being disconnected.
Then I talked to phone customer service, they claimed my account is still active.Again I had to do the letter writing part service discontinuation.I received another 2 bills before my service really really got disconnected.The whole experience costed me about Rs. 16, 000.Money is one aspect.
I ended up feeling cheated and abused. It was an awful experience.Having said that, what are all the choices currently there for mobile internet?My suggestion is to go for mobile with "EDGE" functionality and connect it to your laptop using a USB cable. (Airtel supports EDGE)Stay away from Reliance R-connect card.
