Re: hello 3G, goodbye 3G?

+++ Arun Mehta [2014-03-24 12:56:07]:

> I just can't help this feeling of deja vu -- we wasted decades before offering
> ISDN in this country, just when it became outdated. We auction 2G spectrum
> alongside 4G, causing alarm among the 3G people who try desperately to get the
> 2G guys to upgrade now, before the 4G advertising hits. Anybody else amused?

The spectrum is technology neutral. Videocon is planning to offer LTE
services on the "2G spectrum" that they acquired a couple of years ago.

I wouldn't be surprised if Reliance Jio decides to follow their example on
the spectrum they won last month(or even take over/assimilate Videocon's LTE
network.) Videocon's licenses nicely fill the gap in Reliance's 1800Mhz
coverage map.

~10 years ago my native village didn't even have proper mobile coverage. Even
today the Raja-era licensees have not all bothered to roll out their 2G
networks. 3G coverage is non-existent. But Reliance Jio is setting up a tower
there and will be available on launch.

IMO 3G is pretty much dead in terms of growth. I don't see these companies
rolling out their networks into rural areas, since 4G players would have them
beat on both speed and pricing.(And Reliance plans to have cable tv like
services on their network too another incentive for people to choose them.)

And once the govt. decides to auction 700MHz spectrum, it'll be the final
nail in the 3G coffin.

> My options, therefore are to upgrade to 3G on my Vodafone, or to disable 2G
> data on my smart phone, and carry one of those dongles that can connect to my
> smart phone using WiFi. Anyone with a better idea?

Does Vodafone have a 3G license for your area?(I thought you live in HP.)

I'd recommend migrating to 3G because in a lot of places GPRS/EDGE networks
are choked to the point that even ssh sessions are unusable. So being able to
choose between 2 different networks(or more while roaming.) is a good thing
to have.

There's no point in having "2GB/month" GPRS connection when the network is so
slow that you'll never be able to do that much transfer.

Kingsly
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