Airtel 3G is here

Airtel 3G is here

Pin It

See all 4 photos

Source: http://www.airtel.in

Which 3G DATA Card to Use?

If you already have a data card, go ahead and use it. If you want to buy a new data card or if you are not satisfied with the performance of your currentdata card, you must go through this section.
There are 3 things you must look for in any data card or 3G modem you purchase.

1. Speed :

Only purchase a datacard with atleast 7.2 Mbps download speed capacity. Going for data cards with higher speed capacity (14.4 Mbps & 21.6 Mbps) is okay if your budget allows.
I personally have a Huawei E352 modem (14.4 Mbps) purchased on Ebay. Its cost was Rs.1750 (including shipping). I personally recommend Huawei data cards because I use their 3g data card. Micromax is other nice company to buy 3g data cards from, but as of now, I could not find even a single data card offering more speeds than 7.2 Mbps.

2.Call and Messaging Facility

If you are planning to purchase a data card, try to look for data cards that support text messaging and calling support. Some data cards do not support calling but text messaging is available in almost all of them. Make sure that your data card supports making and receiving calls.
The data card I am using right now Huawei E352 does not have calling facility. I read in many websites saying that 14.4 Mbps data cards do NOT support calling. So, I expected it.
I sacrificed calling features for the purpose of getting more speed (14.4 Mbps). But, text messaging is working for me.

3.Ability to Switch between different Networks

Every mobile network has different frequency ranges of operation. To connect to 3G, you should make sure that your data card has the facility to choose a particular type of network. You have to choose UMTS or WCDMA (which represent 3G Network) in the network settings of the software you receive with your data card.
Let me explain why this is important. For example after activating 3G data plan, you must change the network to UMTS or WCDMA in the network settings option as mentioned earlier. If you do not change it, by default you will be connected to EDGE network (2G Network) which offers very low speed when compared to 3G network.