Tata has come up with a new Wireless Broadband service called as the Tata Photon Plus (photon +) , which works with a USB modem. It promises a speed of upto 3.1 mbps. But remember that the speed depends on the time of the day, the web page being accessed etc. Also this speed may only be upto their ISP and not the speed that’ll be delivered to you. So better confirm this before you proceed to subscribe.The USB modem is only available in a Sale model unlike BSNL where USB modems can also be used under rentals models.
The plans start from as low as Rs.500 per month to Rs.1500 per month apart the from the price of the USB modem which is a one time charge of around Rs.3600.
For the Rs.500 plan, you get a bandwidth (download+upload+browsing) of 0.5 GB per month and for the 1500 plan you get a bandwidth of 15 GB.
You can also pay for what you use with some plans like Use n Pay for which the monthly rental is Rs.250.
Coming to its service quality, don’t get attracted by its eye catching advertisements. It justifies the advertisements strictly in the said cities. So if you live in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore or Hyderabad you may try Photon + as you will get speeds of at least 1mbps in these areas. If you live in other places then don’t expect this Photon + to be any different from your 128kbps dial-up connection. One of my friend, who stays in Guntur (a town in Andhra Pradesh) said that he was getting a download speed of 11-15 kbps almost all the time and also the connection frequently gets interrupted.
So my ratings for Tata Photon + are:
Price: 3/5
Speed: 4/5 (if you are in the service city)
Service: 3.5/5
India’s 1st Private 3G service provider Tata Docomo has launched three plug-n-play 3G USB Devices (3G HSDPA/HSUPA/HSPA+ Data Card) and High End 3G devices.
These 3G USB modem starts from Rs.1999. These USB modems are designed to deliver the heaviest of data at different speeds. Tata DOCOMO also claims that there USB Modem is furnished to fit all business consignments of its users! All Data Cards have function to dial & receive calls & SMS/text messages when plugged into your desktop or laptop.
These USB Data Cards will give you instant access to High speed wireless Internet connectivity at anytime, anywhere with up to 3.6 Mbps,7.2 Mbps and 21.6 Mbps (depends on device) of speed for laptops and other computing devices.
HSDPA USB Modem
Download speed: Max. 3.6 Mbps
Upload speed: Max. 384 Kbps
Price: Rs. 1999
HSUPA USB Modem
Download speed: Max. 7.2 Mbps
Upload speed: Max. 5.76 Mbps
Price: Rs. 2600
HSPA+ USB Modem
Download speed: Max. 21.6 Mbps
Upload speed: Max. 5.76 Mbps
Price: Rs. 3500