Sunday, September 19, 2010

BSNL 3G review and speed Test

I have been using BSNL 3G for two weeks now and I must admit that I have become a fan of this service.

Speed:

The upload and download speeds were acceptable compared to the advertised speeds. The speed of the connection highly depends on the network strength, simultaneous number of users connected and any interferences.

While indoor the speeds were around the 1.5 Mbps mark. The video below was recorded on my terrace around 8 PM in the night.

As can be seen the speed is pretty impressive.

Coverage:
The network coverage also is pretty good. I was able to get strong signals even in the outskirts of pondicherry. On the entire stretch from Pondicherry to Chennai there were only a few places without 3G signals. Still you will have the 2.5G EDGE network to fall back in these situations.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

BSNL 3G configuration

After you activate your service either by getting a new 3G SIM or upgrade your old 2G SIM, follow the steps below to set yourself up for 3G.

First confirm your handset is 3G capable.

Automatic configuration:

Send a SMS to 58355 in the following format:
MAKE MODEL

eg: For my N900 the message to be sent will be :

NOKIA N900

You should receive a series of Configuration SMS messages . Accept them with PIN 1111

Now you must be all set to use the 3G network. When you are connected to the network your signal level indicator should be ideally showing 3.5 G indicating you are connected at 3G speeds.

If not cross check whether your network mode under Settings->Network is set to 3G or DUAL or something similar.

Manual Configuration (Which worked for me).

Create a New Access point with access point name as : bsnlnet

All other configuration details can be left blank.

This worked like a charm for me.

For Data vouchers and online recharge coupons go here

BSNL 2g to 3g migration - Official Document

BSNL 3G can be activated as per the link given below. I really find it amusing that a detailed document on how to activate 3G is not posted right on the homepage of the 3G home page of BSNL.

I had to dig in a lot to get this and though of posting this here so that others may not go thru the hassles i went thru.

http://www.chennai.bsnl.co.in/News/2gto3g.pdf