Airtel Internet Connection

[jdnet]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if any of you uses airtel as an ISP. I'm currently using 2 mbps at my home and office but thought of cutting costs and switching to airtel because I will be doing a lot of travelling between kurunegala and colombo from next month. It wouldn't make much sense to get another internet connection in kurunegala so thought this would be a good option. Does anybody know if their connection works well and is true to the speed you pay for?

Edited September 3, 2010 by jdnet

[Sifaan]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if any of you uses airtel as an ISP. I'm currently using 2 mbps at my home and office but thought of cutting costs and switching to airtel because I will be doing a lot of travelling between kurunegala and colombo from next month. It wouldn't make much sense to get another internet connection in kurunegala so thought this would be a good option. Does anybody know if their connection works well and is true to the speed you pay for?

All advertised speeds are theoretical maximums. I've used Airtel, Dialog and Mobitel.

Generally, the "unlimited" packages (Airtel, Dialog) suck.. because all unlimited users share one APN and it gets slow with all the buggers downloading movies and songs. The data limited packages are quite fast.

Pricewise, mobitel gives 1.5GB for 490 (and there is a package for 1290 but can't remember how much data), dialog gives 1GB for 500 (350MB for 99), and Airtel has 3GB for 600.

But going excess the rates are different (Dialog is Rs. 1 per additional MB, Mobitel is Rs. 2 per 10 MB, Airtel I'm not sure).

We recently bought a connection at work (for when we're out of office) and decided to go with Mobitel because 1.5GB is quite enough for us to check mail, light browsing and checking the stock market. And Mobitel generally has better coverage and quality of service (of the product) than Airtel. But if you think you need 3 GB, then Airtel may be more cost effective. Try to test the coverage in your location in Kurunegala first (you might convince them to give you a test SIM, or otherwise check using a prepaid SIM)

Actually in Kurunegala coverage might be a very tricky situ.. at my earlier place in Rajagiriya we were next to a hill, and Dialog signals were weak (no 3G indoors) whereas Airtel and Mobitel were OK. Probably the situation would've been reversed on the other side of the hill. With all the rocks in Kurunegala, it would definitely be worth to do a signal test before investing.

btw be careful of buying 3rd party dongles in case you're running Windows 7 or Mac... I couldn't find drivers for either for the el cheapo modem from Unity Plaza.

[Ruslan]

Have been using HSDPA broadband when I'm out of home. used Dialog and Mobitel so far, Dialog 3g coverage (Weak) is not par compared to Mobitel. I'm not sure about Airtel, guess their 3G coverage still at primary stage as well. for the Modem, I'm using a Firmware upgraded Huawei E220. works fine with Windows 7 64Bit without a problem. Dialing program I'm using with it is "Mobile Partner". now the Huawei E220 is discontinued and Huawei E160G is offered by the most of the Operators.

[Sifaan]

Have been using HSDPA broadband when I'm out of home. used Dialog and Mobitel so far, Dialog 3g coverage (Weak) is not par compared to Mobitel. I'm not sure about Airtel, guess their 3G coverage still at primary stage as well. for the Modem, I'm using a Firmware upgraded Huawei E220. works fine with Windows 7 64Bit without a problem. Dialing program I'm using with it is "Mobile Partner". now the Huawei E220 is discontinued and Huawei E160G is offered by the most of the Operators.

yeah, the E220 works fine (switched the el cheapo with a friend's E220 cos he only used XP)... actually only brought up the modem issue because it can be bit more expensive to buy from the operator.

btw you don't strictly need a separate modem unit if your phone can be used as a HSDPA modem (I have a Rs. 500 / 1 GB data supplement on my regular dialog connection and that's what I usually use at home with my phone tethered to the laptop)

[isurujosh]

have used all 3. airtel gave horrible speeds to me in Piliyandala. dialog always seemed like a very bad value for money choice. mobitel seem to offer the best deal but on peak hours now the speeds are a bit of a let down. thinking of testing an airtel again coz i heard they have improved since. as a policy i would not go for dialog as their ability to give a value fot money solution is only second best.

bdw i think airtel is quite limited in it's 3G coverage, at least that used to be the case, but not been in too much touch since of late.

[Croozer]

btw you don't strictly need a separate modem unit if your phone can be used as a HSDPA modem (I have a Rs. 500 / 1 GB data supplement on my regular dialog connection and that's what I usually use at home with my phone tethered to the laptop)

Dialog has revised their (mobile) data add-on's & currently offers only a plan for Rs 99.00 (350MB included & additional MB @ Rs 1.00)

[Sifaan]

Dialog has revised their (mobile) data add-on's & currently offers only a plan for Rs 99.00 (350MB included & additional MB @ Rs 1.00)

are you sure???

I know they offered a new package (activated by texting IBB99 to 678) but didn't know they cancelled the earlier packages...

Edit: I checked with Dialog; people who have the 500/1GB package can continue to use it, but it's not available for new subscribers.

The only data limited plan currently avaialble is 99/350MB. Unlimited package is available for 690, but HSPA speeds will be available only for first 2 GB. (and there are more expensive unlimited plans as well, colleague is using one that gives 7 GB of HSPA speed)

Edited September 6, 2010 by Sifaan

[Ripper]

dunno about airtel but between dialog and mobitel..the latter is much much faster imo!

so even if there are slight price differences it kinda negates that...

[kalana]

speed of these broadband connections always depends on the place u use it.. so u better check the speed before selecting.. ex: my airtel unlimited connection gives me 2 mbps speed in wattala but the same connection gives me dialup speeds in rathmalana..

Edited September 6, 2010 by royalkalana

[Croozer]

are you sure???

I know they offered a new package (activated by texting IBB99 to 678) but didn't know they cancelled the earlier packages...

Edit: I checked with Dialog; people who have the 500/1GB package can continue to use it, but it's not available for new subscribers.

The only data limited plan currently avaialble is 99/350MB. Unlimited package is available for 690, but HSPA speeds will be available only for first 2 GB. (and there are more expensive unlimited plans as well, colleague is using one that gives 7 GB of HSPA speed)

Sorry for the late response bro,

Yep they have ceased all previous mobile data plans & only the Rs99/350MB is currently in store.

This is applicable only for new activations while all previous plans will be continued.

Cheers!

[Croozer]

speed of these broadband connections always depends on the place u use it.. so u better check the speed before selecting.. ex: my airtel unlimited connection gives me 2 mbps speed in wattala but the same connection gives me dialup speeds in rathmalana..

Very true mate, when I initially bought my Airtel connection it used to deliver approx 800kbps - 1.4MB (between Ratmalana / Moratuwa) but now it has become remarkably slow

May be if I upgrade to a 7.2 device results may be brighter, hopefully.

Edited September 7, 2010 by EVO_Croozer

[Sifaan]

Very true mate, when I initially bought my Airtel connection it used to deliver approx 800kbps - 1.4MB (between Ratmalana / Moratuwa) but now it has become remarkably slow

May be if I upgrade to a 7.2 device results may be brighter, hopefully.

If the bottleneck is between you and the provider, then getting a faster device can help. But if you are only getting ~1 mbps at the moment, it is more likely a bottleneck in provider's internet bandwidth, so upgrading device won't help.

(it's a different story if the network provider is capping your speed or otherwise limiting the resources available to you e.g. mobitel's 1 mbps cap on some packages or ADSL/WiMax connection speeds)

[kalana]

If the bottleneck is between you and the provider, then getting a faster device can help. But if you are only getting ~1 mbps at the moment, it is more likely a bottleneck in provider's internet bandwidth, so upgrading device won't help.

(it's a different story if the network provider is capping your speed or otherwise limiting the resources available to you e.g. mobitel's 1 mbps cap on some packages or ADSL/WiMax connection speeds)

true... getting a 7.2 mbps modem wont help u in this matter mate.. trust me

u will get the same speed in a 7.2 modem as 3.6 mbps modem..

[xlr8r]

Hi all,

Think i saw this thread a little too late and got cought to dialogs so called fast internet. Anyway just wanted to add my experience with the readers.

it all started when a dialog sales person walked in to my office n told about their upgraded systems n super fast internet crap (unlimited package - location Dehiwela).

so i gave it a try thinking dialog being a reputed company would have some good hardware.

but man this is the worst connection i've ever used. back in the days the dial-up was better i feel.

every few seconds it gets disconnected, super slow if u browse for 2 hours u would have actually browsed for about 15 mins rest of the time you would have wasted time reconnecting. That's seriously annoying.

Complained to dialog customer care center they give a lovely complaint number which no one bothers to check.

Verdict - Never ever ever ever get this connection its a rip off.

Hope this helps anyone looking for a new connection. (by the time i finish this the net is down again. Wow!)

[Sifaan]

Hi all,

Think i saw this thread a little too late and got cought to dialogs so called fast internet. Anyway just wanted to add my experience with the readers.

it all started when a dialog sales person walked in to my office n told about their upgraded systems n super fast internet crap (unlimited package - location Dehiwela).

so i gave it a try thinking dialog being a reputed company would have some good hardware.

but man this is the worst connection i've ever used. back in the days the dial-up was better i feel.

every few seconds it gets disconnected, super slow if u browse for 2 hours u would have actually browsed for about 15 mins rest of the time you would have wasted time reconnecting. That's seriously annoying.

Complained to dialog customer care center they give a lovely complaint number which no one bothers to check.

Verdict - Never ever ever ever get this connection its a rip off.

Hope this helps anyone looking for a new connection. (by the time i finish this the net is down again. Wow!)

interesting... at home (Rajagiriya) I either use Dialog on my regular number (tether phone) or mobitel with HSDPA modem (the one we bought for out-of-office use), and at home dialog actually seems more reliable and fast - mobitel disconnects 2-3 times an hour.

and it's not a problem with the modem cause when I plug a dialog SIM in the disconnection problem is gone.

[Bugatti]

Hi all,

Think i saw this thread a little too late and got cought to dialogs so called fast internet. Anyway just wanted to add my experience with the readers.

it all started when a dialog sales person walked in to my office n told about their upgraded systems n super fast internet crap (unlimited package - location Dehiwela).

so i gave it a try thinking dialog being a reputed company would have some good hardware.

but man this is the worst connection i've ever used. back in the days the dial-up was better i feel.

every few seconds it gets disconnected, super slow if u browse for 2 hours u would have actually browsed for about 15 mins rest of the time you would have wasted time reconnecting. That's seriously annoying.

Complained to dialog customer care center they give a lovely complaint number which no one bothers to check.

Verdict - Never ever ever ever get this connection its a rip off.

Hope this helps anyone looking for a new connection. (by the time i finish this the net is down again. Wow!)

It could be a coverage issue... most of these are seen where there is no seamless hand-off happening between 2G and 3G, and thats when the connection drops. On the "Mobile Partner" application, bottom left shows the current back-haul technology. When it is slow or disconnecting, check if it says, WCDMA, EDGE or GPRS

Try using it in a different location, just to determine if it is a location coverage issue.

[xlr8r]

It could be a coverage issue... most of these are seen where there is no seamless hand-off happening between 2G and 3G, and thats when the connection drops. On the "Mobile Partner" application, bottom left shows the current back-haul technology. When it is slow or disconnecting, check if it says, WCDMA, EDGE or GPRS

Try using it in a different location, just to determine if it is a location coverage issue.

not sure if its a coverage issue, since i just found out when u start a download like movies it downloads without a problem. When browsing the line keeps failing. could this be a issue with the modem? BTW it says WCDMA at the bottom.

[BLu3HaZe]

I think it's a problem with the network structure sadly, cuz I too use Airtel and in UMTS Only mode with full signals. The servers auto disconnect you after sometime of inactivity it seems, like when you load and read a page. Doesn't happen when downloading cuz you're constantly connected to transfer data

[Sifaan]

not sure if its a coverage issue, since i just found out when u start a download like movies it downloads without a problem. When browsing the line keeps failing. could this be a issue with the modem? BTW it says WCDMA at the bottom.

I have not tried with downloading, but with browsing on the modem mobitel disconnects and dialog doesn't.

so doubt if it's to do with the modem; maybe mobitel is disconnecting if it detects some minutes of idle usage (no upload or download)

[Pericles]

Dude, assuming your OS is Win XP? if so, what service pack?

[Pericles]

Dude, assuming your OS is Win XP? if so, what service pack?

[Nilantha]

If you have weak 3G signal you can use this antenna.http://www.yaathra.info

[BLu3HaZe]

Both antenna and modem or just the antenna for that price?? Very cheap if both, I got my modem for 6000Rs. or so...

[Nilantha]

Both antenna and modem or just the antenna for that price?? Very cheap if both, I got my modem for 6000Rs. or so...

no. only antenna 1750/=

[BLu3HaZe]

Ok Phew... Thanks!

Edited September 25, 2010 by BLu3HaZe