BSNL 3G Speed Test and Review

vbb — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 08:08:51 +0000

It feels great to move to a 3G network after using GPRS as the data speed enhancement is noteworthy. Currently the state owned players BSNL and MTNL are providing 3G services in India.The 3G spectrum auctions are going on and soon we will have a lot of players

Here is a quick recap of my experiences with BSNL 3G in my area.As I live in a village,it took a long time to get 3G in my area while friends living in city areas are enjoying it from a long time.

Speed Test on Mobile

To test the speed of my 3G network, i used the site dslreports.com and mobilespeedtest.com.These sites download and upload some data from/to your mobile and gives you the speed based on time taken.Here are some of the screenshots of the speed test.

Although I got a speed of 920kbps once but I don’t have screenshot of that.Here you can see a speed test snap of 821kbps.

As you can see from the screenshots-even after repeated attempts over 3 months,I was not able to touch the magical speed of 1mbps on mobile.However I got speeds above 1mbps while browsing on computer.

I tested the BSNL 3G speed using both sites mentioned above.

MobileSpeedTest.com shows the results in a graphical manner where you can compare the speed with DSL,broadband etc.

Browsing Internet directly on mobile

I am using BSNL broadband at home as my primary internet connection and having this 3G connection from last 3 months.During these three months I have used 3G a lot.I have seen a lot of speed variations.As you know the speed depends on many factors-one being the distance from the tower.The connection once established is consistent i.e. it does not break up but speed varied in my tests.

From the screenshots posted above,you can say that the browsing speed is good enough to get a broadband experience.Normal web browsing/ email was fast.Even playing videos on YouTube is a pleasant experience.The videos I watched were delivered fast enough and it played without hiccups ie. without stopping for buffering.

Browsing on computer using mobile as a modem.

I connect my Nokia 5800 xPressMusic to my computer and use the inbuilt modem to surf over 3G connection.SpeedTest.net is a great site for testing speed of your internet connection.Here are some of the screenshots I have taken during testing of BSNL 3G speed.

However these are the top speeds I have got,but normally the speed is below than that shown above.You can compare the above to my BSNL broadband speed shown below-

What’s more?

I am happy to make a shift from GPRS usage to 3G as the speed enhancement is great.But the speeds shown above still do not compare well to speed one can get in western countries.

PC world has conducted a speed test for various providers in US last year and this year too.The average speed there is a way above 1mbps.But in India I have seen a few people reporting the speed in the same range I have described above.

Overall I have a good review for BSNL 3G speed.I have enjoyed it.What about you? Please share your experiences.

BSNL 3G Settings and Configuration

vbb — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:10:39 +0000

BSNL 3G is now available in many parts of India.You can enjoy high speed Internet,Video calling and novelties like mobile TV if you have a 3G mobile phone and a BSNL/MTNL connection as presently only these companies offer 3G services.Of course you should be ready to pay a premium for these services.

Here are the configuration settings for 3G mobiles which enable you to get 3G services in your mobile,particularly High speed Internet,or mobile broadband.

Settings for BSNL3G on Nokia and other mobiles.

The configuration settings has to be completed in two steps.First, you have to make sure that your mobile is set to work in 3G network mode which is denoted by UMTS(Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) mode in your mobile.If it is set to dual mode (UMTS+GSM),the mobile will fall back to GSM mode in absence of UMTS network.

However you should change this only when browsing Internet or you will not be able to get a network if UMTS is absent.Theoretically in dual mode,the mobile will work in UMTS ,if both networks are present and fall back to low data rate speed GSM only when UMTS is absent,but here we are forcing to use only UMTS to avoid occasional glitches which may sometime occur due to falling back.You can also try to browse Internet in Dual mode,and if you do not find any speed variation problem,you can keep your mobile in dual mode.

Step 1:Setup your network mode.

Go to Menu->Settings->Connectivity (or wherever you may edit network settings) and select Network.Open Network mode and change it to UMTS.The default is dual mode.

Step 2:Configure your 3G Access Point

Just like a GPRS access point ,you need an access point for 3G too.BSNL has changed its Access Point recently in some parts of India.You have to put the following access point according to the BSNL region leaving all other things to defaults in access point settings.

For BSNL UP (East) Access Point is –“bsnlnet”.

For Chennai region it’s “gprssouth.cellone.in”

You may have to fiddle with access point because BSNL does not have a unified access point all over India.You can try “gprs3g.bsnlmobile.in” or “bsnlnet” to get 3G in your handset.

If you do not know where to put the access point,read the guide to GPRS configuration first.

That’s it.You are now ready to experience mobile broadband in your device provided by BSNL 3G.If you really want to test how fast is the connection,watch any video on YouTube and let me know in comments whether you enjoyed 3G or not.