Reliance USB Modem promising express speed is presently only available in select 35 cities and name of these cities with coverage are as listed below: Ahmedabad, Erode, Ludhiana, Thiruvananthapuram, Ajmer, Guntur, Mumbai, Tirupur, Bangalore Hyderabad, Mysore, Udaipur, Bhopal, Indore, Nagpur, Ujjain, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Patiala, Vadodara, Chennai, Kakinda, Pune, Vapi, Coimbatore, Kolkata, Rajahmundry, Vijayvada, Delhi, Kota, Salem, Visakhapatnum, Ernakulam, Lucknow and Surat. Its modem Huawei EC 168 C comes for Rs.3500/- and ZTE AC871 comes for Rs.3500/-. ZTE AC871 performance is better than Huawei EC 168 C.
With speeds up to 3.1 MBPS one can execute video conferencing, video streaming, electronic surveillance, online multiplayer gaming and heavy file transfers without frequent disconnections.
Even its normal USB modem connection is good as it is able to provide internet connection across 20000 towns & 4.5 lakh villages, as well as along major highways, railway routes, airport lounges and remote locations in India.
Reliance USB Broadband Tariff Plans
Plan Name | Monthly Rental | Bundled Usage | Usage Charges beyond Free Usage | Roaming |
Pay As you Go | Rs. 299/- | Nil | Rs. 2/- per MB | Nationwide* |
Broadband+ 10GB @Night | Rs. 499/- | 10GB@ Night | 50 paisa per minute during day | Nationwide |
Broadband+ 1 GB Plan | Rs. 650/- | 1 GB | Rs. 2/- per MB | Nationwide |
Broadband+ 2.5 GB Plan | Rs. 850/- | 2.5 GB | Rs. 2/- per MB | Nationwide |
Broadband+ 5 GB Plan | Rs. 1099/- | 5 GB | Rs. 2/- per MB | Nationwide |
Broadband+ Citywide 10GB Plan | Rs. 1099/- | 10GB | Rs. 2/- per MB | Citywide |
Broadband+ 10GB Plan | Rs. 1750/- | 10GB | Rs. 2/- per MB | Nationwide |
10GB Night Add-on Pack** | Rs. 199/- | 10GB@ Night | NA | Nationwide |
One needs to give attention to fine print which states that day Usage is from 6 AM to 10 PM ; Night Usage : 10 PM to 6 AM. Other riders with parameters as stated in table are as appended below:
* Nationwide coverage will ensure Reliance Net connect Broadband+ coverage in 35 major cities and seamless integration with High Speed 1X for National coverage.
**10GB @ Night Add-on Pack (applicable on Pay As You Go, Broadband+ 1 GB, 2.5GB, 5GB Plan). It cannot be used as a standalone pack. Add-on pack will be available from 15-05-2009.
Conclusion
No doubt it is a good effort by Reliance; but it has to make the same a bit more cheaper to enable every body get benefitted with its cruising speed of internet connection. However a normal user looking for speed will have to shell higher and will have to pay atleast Rs. 1099/- for 5 GB plan as higher speed means more usage on the net. It faces threat from BSNL which has launched its 3G services in select cities. If BSNL can get its act together than none can beat this telecom giant. Moreover it has to give fillip to its marketing also as it is still using age old advertisements. Vodafone has given a new dimension to advertisement (advt) by its spell bound usage of cartoons during IPL matches which have become the talk of the town.
Update : 20 Oct 2011
Tata Photon is also providing good speed and its modem is available for Rs 1500 and one gets it free if one pays for 6 months services upfront. Its best plan for heavy data users is monthly Rs 950 with 5 GB data on 3G and later on balance data on lower speed.
Tata Photon Max
It has launched a Rev B capable Photon internet access device, Photon Max, which will available under two schemes: In one, it will be launched at an introductory price of Rs 1,999, with Rs 750 to be paid as monthly rentals, with 1.5 GB of data usage bundled along. In this scheme, additional data usage will be billed at Re 0.50 per MB. In a second bundled offer, the user has to pay Rs 3,999 upfront to get the device and 1 GB of data usage per month is offered for five months. Any usage beyond 1 GB per month will be billed at Re 0.50 per MB, under this plan.
You can find more information by searching on subject at Google to get the best deal.