# Airtel 4G plans and tariff - a big JOKE ?



## Ricky (Aug 7, 2015)

So, Airtel just launched their 4G services in whole India . Do you feel excited, well you must be as now 4G will be available in major cities around the country courtesy Bharti Airtel which is the largest telecom provider by number of users in India. Ofcourse we will soon see Reliance Jio launching pan India 4G services on even a bigger scale but today its talk about Airtel 4G.


However, I am little confused about this launch, what is the reason to launch 4G when you can't take advantage of it at all. From the pricing and practical life usage of 4G, nothing above makes sense.

Example 1 :
Lets consider this simple case, you are a regular youtube watcher and since you have 4G LTE which can theoretically provide download speed upto 100mbps , lets assume , you are receiving at least 50mbps downstream speeds. So, to use your 4G LTE connection, you purchased Airtel home 4G router which can connect upto 32 devices at home using WIFI network.

Now, on your smart TV or even on your PC, you are watching Youtube video in HD mode ie. 720p resolution, if you check your bandwidth usage or in simple terms .. check your download speed, its about 3mbps while you watch HD video from youtube. So far, so good because you have around 50mbps download link, while you need only 3mbps.

Now lets do some simple calculations, well, you watched a 30 minute HD video on youtube, do you know how much data you will use ?

If taking 3mbps average, by 30 minutes you will use around 730mb of data approximately. It means, if you buy Rs. 7995 per month plan which provides 160GB of monthly transfer, then only you can do some sustainable video stream over the internet. Now lets say, you have 3 to 4 members in family, everyone is making 1 hours daily youtube usage then it will be minimum 4GB a day (an approximate), it means you will exhaust 120GB data in a month. This is I am calculating on lower side, what about other stuff, like Facebook, emails, regular surfing etc ?

Example 2:
Now consider another case, say I am a gamer and I play DOTA 2 over steam which is quite popular and nice game, initial download size of the game is about 6-10 GB and also there are regular update of 300mb -500 mb and sometimes even bigger. Then also love to play Titanfall which takes around 45 GB space in my hdd, battlefield which also eats around 35 GB space inside my computer and it all comes via download from Internet. So unless you are a rich gamer, you can manage to go away with their 100GB or 160GB plan otherwise they don't even think about 4G.

There could be many more example .However, from common layman's perspective, I don't see why Airtel is even investing on 4G network, they think that average Indian internet user is earning 100K per month so that he / she may not mind spending more than 5K on internet. They do have cheaper plan but on 4G LTE, they are nothing more than a JOKE. What if Reliance Jio comes with cheaper plans, they already give cues their data pricing which could be atleast half of current 3G data prices.

I hope someone from Airtel reads things and think about their pricing once again. 

Taken from : Airtel 4G data plans for Dongle and 4G home routers - a BIG joke


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## SaiyanGoku (Aug 7, 2015)

Airtel itself is a big joke as far as pricing is considered.

2 GB 2G data for 30 days used to cost Rs 98. Now the rate's been tripled(?) I think.


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## RCuber (Aug 7, 2015)

One doesn't simply use mobile data to watch youtube videos


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## Cyberghost (Aug 7, 2015)

4G and 3G speed depends on the number of people using on a tower. If more people continuously use the same tower for internet we'll get less speed so most companies don't offer unlimited internet or big data cap for wireless connections. Mobile internet are suited for travelers not for regular users. If you want to watch youtube or play games use a wired broadband connection.


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## tkin (Aug 7, 2015)

Bleh, with a pricing like that Airtel can forget home users. My 3g connection is fast enough, I don't do anything with my mobile that require a speed as high as 100mbps(though going by Airtel standards the 4G speed would be around 50mbps max). Vodafone 3g gives me sustainable 8mbps+ speeds in office, and 10mbps+ in home, which is more than enough for me.

Seriously, why would someone require a 100mbps speed apart from Streaming videos? And that would pretty much require an unlimited bandwidth.

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alienempire said:


> 4G and 3G speed depends on the number of people using on a tower. If more people continuously use the same tower for internet we'll get less speed so most companies don't offer unlimited internet or big data cap for wireless connections. Mobile internet are suited for travelers not for regular users. *If you want to watch youtube or play games use a wired broadband connection.*


I don't think Airtel is targeting mobile users only, they are doing a lot of campaigns in Kolkata about their 4G wi-fi connection for home users. In fact one would think that Airtel only provides non-mobile connections(like MTS) if they saw the advertisements here.


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## tanmaymohan (Aug 7, 2015)

A single Speedtest takes up 70mb and a small music video 1080p took more than 80mb. We need more cheap plans rather than speed


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## Ricky (Aug 7, 2015)

tkin said:


> Bleh, with a pricing like that Airtel can forget home users. My 3g connection is fast enough, I don't do anything with my mobile that require a speed as high as 100mbps(though going by Airtel standards the 4G speed would be around 50mbps max). Vodafone 3g gives me sustainable 8mbps+ speeds in office, and 10mbps+ in home, which is more than enough for me.
> 
> Seriously, why would someone require a 100mbps speed apart from Streaming videos? And that would pretty much require an unlimited bandwidth.



That is the thing, what is all this hype about, I can't imagine anyone on move doing so much data intensive work (lets consider its targeted to user on move), may be media guys can use it for streaming but again its hell lot of costly unless money doesn't matter for you.

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alienempire said:


> 4G and 3G speed depends on the number of people using on a tower. If more people continuously use the same tower for internet we'll get less speed so most companies don't offer unlimited internet or big data cap for wireless connections. Mobile internet are suited for travelers not for regular users. If you want to watch youtube or play games use a wired broadband connection.



You are true, but WIRED connections in India is still not that widely available, I just met a friend yesterday who has no wired option in his area yet that area is so populated and mostly big institutions. They are all are relying on WIRELESS internet, big guys are using their own big WIFI receivers and smaller guys are using 3G dongles from Docomo and MTS. 

You know, for me 3G internet is cheaper than BSNL broadband and its my primary internet connection while wired BB serves as backup.  And if I ever need to switch to wired BB, it feels so slow because I generally get an average of 4+ mbps with my 3G.


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## tkin (Aug 7, 2015)

tanmaymohan said:


> A single Speedtest takes up 70mb and a small music video 1080p took more than 80mb. We need more cheap plans rather than speed


Should take higher, I just did a speedtest @ 8mbps 3g and data transfer was 15MB. So if 4G is 100mps then you are looking south of 180MB. That's 36/- as per Airtel 3GB baseline tariff


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## Ricky (Aug 7, 2015)

I just want add that now a days local internet provider are also going cheaper, I have a guy, for Rs. 1100, provides 4mbps unlimited, only catch is that sometimes they are not reliable but still you have peace of mind that you won't run out of data ever


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## anirbandd (Aug 7, 2015)

is anyone actually using 4G for gaming?

you mentioned online gaming with Titanfall, an FPS. 

how is the ping to different servers outside india??


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## RCuber (Aug 7, 2015)

anirbandd said:


> is anyone actually using 4G for gaming?
> 
> you mentioned online gaming with Titanfall, an FPS.
> 
> how is the ping to different servers outside india??



I use it when my main line goes down to play BF3/4 , pings are ok


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## s18000rpm (Aug 7, 2015)

anirbandd said:


> is anyone actually using 4G for gaming?
> 
> you mentioned online gaming with Titanfall, an FPS.
> 
> how is the ping to different servers outside india??



I use Airtel 4G dongle.

Pings to Singapore are 50+ & China are ~130+

But god damn its expensive. I'm using 25GB plan @₹1950 

But at least its very reliable than Cuber's broadband , he gets disconnected more often


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## tkin (Aug 7, 2015)

Vodaphone 3G pings are ok, not excellent.


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## kg11sgbg (Aug 7, 2015)

Ricky said:


> I just want add that now a days local internet provider are also going cheaper, I have a guy, for Rs. 1100, *provides 4mbps unlimited*, only catch is that sometimes they are not reliable but still you have peace of mind that you won't run out of data ever



Name the network service provider.


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## RCuber (Aug 7, 2015)

s18000rpm said:


> But at least its very reliable than Cuber's broadband , he gets disconnected more often



FFFUUUUU!!!  Now my connection is stable. only time it goes disconnected is when the line gets cut by local cable wallas.


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## Faun (Aug 7, 2015)

**** this country. I am going outside.


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## nikhilsharma007nikx (Aug 7, 2015)

Faun said:


> **** this country. I am going outside.


Words of wisdom.


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## tanmaymohan (Aug 8, 2015)

tkin said:


> Should take higher, I just did a speedtest @ 8mbps 3g and data transfer was 15MB. So if 4G is 100mps then you are looking south of 180MB. That's 36/- as per Airtel 3GB baseline tariff


Haha nice find

I was getting about 19-20mbps in starting and 30mbps in market area

I used to start the speedtest and stop it just to show off to friends  .


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## tanmaymohan (Aug 8, 2015)

anirbandd said:


> is anyone actually using 4G for gaming?
> 
> you mentioned online gaming with Titanfall, an FPS.
> 
> how is the ping to different servers outside india??


Checked pings to csgo Indian server : 59ms

Singapore and Hong Kong : 110-140

Almost same as my bb


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## Minion (Aug 8, 2015)

What an joke craptel.

Who will use such plans?


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## ariftwister (Aug 8, 2015)

Craptel.. They even have increased 3G tarrif due to launch of 4G. What the are they thinking?? Hiking 3G prices so that more users opt for 4G ??


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## Ricky (Aug 8, 2015)

Minion said:


> What an joke craptel.
> 
> Who will use such plans?




*Craptel*, that is the word. 

Today I saw their shitty 4G advt. , yes they got the speed but its like you have got the world's best food at your table but your stomach is seriously upset 

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kg11sgbg said:


> Name the network service provider.


Just a local guy, acting as sub franchise of tikona.


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## kg11sgbg (Aug 8, 2015)

ricky said:


> *craptel*, that is the word.
> 
> Today i saw their shitty 4g advt. , yes they got the speed but its like you have got the world's best food at your table but your stomach is seriously upset
> 
> ...


beware!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Ricky (Aug 8, 2015)

kg11sgbg said:


> beware!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I am not using it.. even if I plan to use, won't use it without vpn or encryption. However, I know many who uses him and downloads 100s of GBs of data every month.


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## ssdivisiongermany1933 (Aug 8, 2015)

Now Our last hope is bada ambani , he has spectrum in all circles


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## Ricky (Aug 9, 2015)

ssdivisiongermany1933 said:


> Now Our last hope is bada ambani , he has spectrum in all circles


I hope they won't joke upon us as craptel did..


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## kartikoli (Aug 9, 2015)

^^ I think he will (No hopes from Ambani's)


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## Limitless (Aug 9, 2015)

****ing rs 300 for 1gb.
Sunil Mittal is an ultimate *******


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## SaiyanGoku (Aug 9, 2015)

^ I pay less than Rs 20/GB on my broadband connection when I use it lightly. On heavy use, it comes to less than Rs 10/GB. Satisfied with the plan itself. So f**k Airtel unless their "4G/3G" data rates come down to Rs 30/GB and this is after generous consideration.


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## ankushv (Aug 9, 2015)

Mtnl 3g Mumbai @1249 for 1 year @900mb/month .
Local cable guy @3000/month for 1mbps truly unlimited .
Tata DoCoMo 2g@66/month
I use the above 3 in mumbai . 
I wanted to shift to airtel 4 g on my redmi note 4g but @300/month it's too expensive for my needs  .
BTW do airtel and reliance plan to use voice over lte (voLTE) or switch to 3g to make calls ? Any idea ?


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## nikhilsharma007nikx (Aug 9, 2015)

You need a 3G network, but "desire" a 4G one. ( desire here is used in terms of our "holy" country. )


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## s18000rpm (Aug 9, 2015)

[MENTION=278978]ankushv[/MENTION] at the moment they 4G is used only for data, for calls it switches to 3g/2g


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## Utkarsh2008 (Aug 11, 2015)

Happy with 1400 per month and 20mbps down/10 mbps up with usage around the 1000 gB mark each month.

*Cost per GB = ~1.4in

*I tested airtel 4g thrice on two different devices, only to burn the entire 49inr pack and get **** speeds and **** pings.
Nexus 5 : 5.6mbps/1.84mbps 37ms pingRedmi Note 4g: 5.75mbps/1.05mbps 55ms ping


Closer to Airtel tower, the speed went up to 13ish mbps down, which IMO is HSPA region. So nothing special at least here in Delhi NCR.


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## Ricky (Aug 11, 2015)

Utkarsh2008 said:


> Happy with 1400 per month and 20mbps down/10 mbps up with usage around the 1000 gB mark each month.
> 
> *Cost per GB = ~1.4in*



Using 1TB each month for Rs. 1.4 K.. cool.. what ISP ?




Utkarsh2008 said:


> [/B]I tested airtel 4g thrice on two different devices, only to burn the entire 49inr pack and get **** speeds and **** pings.
> Nexus 5 : 5.6mbps/1.84mbps 37ms ping
> Redmi Note 4g: 5.75mbps/1.05mbps 55ms ping
> 
> Closer to Airtel tower, the speed went up to 13ish mbps down, which IMO is HSPA region. So nothing special at least here in Delhi NCR.



So far, all signs are of impractical 4G from airtel aka craptel.


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## Utkarsh2008 (Aug 11, 2015)

Spectranet FTTH
Plans are very good.
1403inr per month tax inclusive for 20/10mbps with no FUP.


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## nikhilsharma007nikx (Aug 11, 2015)

But it's scarce.


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## Utkarsh2008 (Aug 11, 2015)

80% of that usage is on YouTube for songs (the damn thing auto select 1080p even when playing in background). 
I dont think I can ever imagine that on Airtel 4G, for me the best 3G is BSNL (Kanpur) providing consistent speeds around 1.4mBps for not-so-rip-off-rates.


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## Vyom (Aug 11, 2015)

I manage to convince myself to use 1 gb plan of 3G rates to Craptel, only after I found a broadband connection of 4mbps at only Rs 740. Feels heaven on Excitel.


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## Ricky (Aug 12, 2015)

Utkarsh2008 said:


> 80% of that usage is on YouTube for songs (the damn thing auto select 1080p even when playing in background).
> I dont think I can ever imagine that on Airtel 4G, for me the best 3G is BSNL (Kanpur) providing consistent speeds around 1.4mBps for not-so-rip-off-rates.



You can set it any settings you want in youtube , login to youtube and visit following URL :
*www.youtube.com/account_playback

Now select  * I have a slow connection. Never play higher-quality video *

After this , play your video at desired resolution and it will remember it next time.


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## Zangetsu (Aug 12, 2015)

The New Airtel Challenge
Fastest 4G in India

Guys lets find a network which is faster than Airtel 4G and get lifetime billing FREE


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## SaiyanGoku (Aug 12, 2015)

Zangetsu said:


> The New Airtel Challenge
> Fastest 4G in India
> 
> Guys lets find a network which is faster than Airtel 4G and get lifetime billing FREE



Let me setup a wifi router in college's lan just for one day. 

That would be at least 2x faster than craptel's "4G" at 3G rates (and speeds)


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## lywyre (Aug 12, 2015)

SaiyanGoku said:


> Let me setup a wifi router in college's lan just for one day.
> 
> That would be at least 2x faster than craptel's "4G" at 3G rates (and speeds)



I bet the Terms and Conditions specifies a *mobile network*


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## Zangetsu (Aug 12, 2015)

lywyre said:


> I bet the Terms and Conditions specifies a *mobile network*


Yes they are challenging the Mobile Network 4G and not cable fiber broadband such as Beam etc.


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## Utkarsh2008 (Aug 13, 2015)

Zangetsu said:


> The New Airtel Challenge
> Fastest 4G in India
> 
> Guys lets find a network which is faster than Airtel 4G and get lifetime billing FREE




I got 5mbps down and 1.2mbps up with airtel 4g where voda 3g does easy 6-8mbps down, will that qualify?


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## SaiyanGoku (Aug 13, 2015)

Utkarsh2008 said:


> I got 5mbps down and 1.2mbps up with airtel 4g where voda 3g does easy 6-8mbps down, will that qualify?


Obviously.

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Zangetsu said:


> Yes they are challenging the Mobile Network 4G and not cable fiber broadband such as Beam etc.


Can we challenge them by mentioning operators from other countries (even though I don't use them)? 

South Korea and/or Japan may have the best 4G speeds I guess.


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## Utkarsh2008 (Aug 13, 2015)

So, how do I go about it?

Speedtest.net on both phones (Redmi note 4g for Airtel 4g and Nexus 5 for voda 3g) with both the test servers as Airtel Delhi and record the video?

The airtel 4g does like 4-5mbps down while voda 3g (HSPA+) does 6-8+ mbps.


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## SaiyanGoku (Aug 13, 2015)

Utkarsh2008 said:


> So, how do I go about it?
> 
> Speedtest.net on both phones (Redmi note 4g for Airtel 4g and Nexus 5 for voda 3g) with both the test servers as Airtel Delhi and record the video?
> 
> The airtel 4g does like 4-5mbps down while voda 3g (HSPA+) does 6-8+ mbps.



I think you should use same phone for both tests. And make a public blog/post/facebook update/tweet tagging airtel.


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## Utkarsh2008 (Aug 13, 2015)

2 phones side by side for simultaneous demo would be better I think, then I could do the tests on the same phone if that is needed.

I did share my 4g experience with airtel (*twitter.com/airtel_presence) and they didn't reply me at all.


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## Zangetsu (Aug 14, 2015)

Utkarsh2008 said:


> 2 phones side by side for simultaneous demo would be better I think, then I could do the tests on the same phone if that is needed.
> 
> I did share my 4g experience with airtel (*twitter.com/airtel_presence) and they didn't reply me at all.



Upload a Video on Youtube and link it to FB & Twitter & Instagram etc.

Download a good large size file with a timer clock and show the video just like Airtel did in the Challenge Ad.


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## Utkarsh2008 (Aug 15, 2015)

That's just too much. I already shared speedtest.net screenshots+lte discovery signal strength screenshots. Compared with Vodafone 3g. Yet they don't care to reply. Airtel has to be the shittiest operator ever, even if they pay me to use it for the rest of my lifetime for free, I am not going to use it. :X

Die in hell Airtel.

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BTW, two speedtest.net tests burn an entire 49inr pack.

PS: I am so paranoid because call drop in my region on Airtel is epic. Barely 1 out of 3 calls actually connect and both parties can faintly listen to each other if lucky.

My friend missed his office cab because of this and had to go all the way (24km) in public transport in pouring rain.


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## Ricky (Aug 15, 2015)

Utkarsh2008 said:


> My friend missed his office cab because of this and had to go all the way (24km) in public transport in pouring rain.



And who is stopping him from MNP ..why stick to Airtel ?


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## Utkarsh2008 (Aug 15, 2015)

Yeah, both of us will go the MNP route.
Time is a bit of a factor.
And MNP kills the current number for a day (not sure but every employee in the telco store says so) and that is something we can't afford. Probably, today will be the day as Sunday black out is fine.


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## Ricky (Aug 16, 2015)

Utkarsh2008 said:


> Yeah, both of us will go the MNP route.
> Time is a bit of a factor.
> And MNP kills the current number for a day (not sure but every employee in the telco store says so) and that is something we can't afford. Probably, today will be the day as Sunday black out is fine.



My MNP experience was like that some friend complained my number is not reachable, I inserted new SIM and done, so I missed around 1 hour of call.. may be you can use dual sim phone.. so when other sim is activated , you know it.


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## topgear (Aug 16, 2015)

ankushv said:


> Mtnl 3g Mumbai @1249 for 1 year @900mb/month .
> *Local cable guy @3000/month for 1mbps truly unlimited .*
> Tata DoCoMo 2g@66/month
> I use the above 3 in mumbai .
> ...



are you sure ? If it's true it should be another costliest plan I've seen. Anyway, naming airtel as failtel sounds more good to me


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## s18000rpm (Aug 16, 2015)

So many bad reviews.

But my experience has been totally positive with Airtel.

Vodafone is in class of BSNL when it comes to signal strength in my area, data plans are same as airtel but ping is bad vs airtel.

For me is been good, so migrated my phone sim to 4G too 

Only thing is DoT has to do something about the absurd data plans.

₹255 for 1GB is daylight robbery & these guys are worried about WhatsApp, Skype calls :/


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## ankushv (Aug 16, 2015)

topgear said:


> are you sure ? If it's true it should be another costliest plan I've seen. Anyway, naming airtel as failtel sounds more good to me


Sorry I'll correct myself
Local cable guy @3000/6mts @1mbps truly unlimited .


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## mohit9206 (Aug 16, 2015)

I think the best plan in terms of value for money is Reliance 999 3G plan which gets you 15gb 3G data for 28 days. Download Speeds can vary anywhere between 50kbps all the way to 1mbps.
All other operators have increased their prices and soon i think Reliance will increase it as well. Greedy telecom companies want more money but service is still **** all the time.


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## Ricky (Aug 17, 2015)

mohit9206 said:


> I think the best plan in terms of value for money is Reliance 999 3G plan which gets you 15gb 3G data for 28 days. Download Speeds can vary anywhere between 50kbps all the way to 1mbps.
> All other operators have increased their prices and soon i think Reliance will increase it as well. Greedy telecom companies want more money but service is still **** all the time.



Well, then there is MTS with 24GB (12 G night + 12 G ) day at Rs. 999 pm, speed are generally good, reaching 2-3 mbps if you are not in any crammed area. 

TATA docomo had 20GB at 999 then later changed to 10 GB at 999, now its 10GB at Rs. 1500, is it that much resource hogging or costly for 3G provider to provide data plans ?


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## Zangetsu (Oct 1, 2015)

Airtel asked to withdraw 4G ad by Advertising Standards Council of India â€“ Tech2


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## gopi_vbboy (Oct 4, 2015)

What happened to that nice 10rs 3g pack that used to give 25mb per day. It seems airtel has withdrawn from *121# and other sites except own website.


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## tanmaymohan (Oct 4, 2015)

^ There existed a pack which gave unlimited 30min 3G usage for Rs 10/- 

Speeds were always about 4-5Mbps


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## satinder (Oct 13, 2015)

Zangetsu said:


> Airtel asked to withdraw 4G ad by Advertising Standards Council of India â€“ Tech2



They are making fool with ad.
This ad campaign is only till other companies enter 4G market.

4G sim's internet work only when your mobile hand set is set on 3G !
LOL !

When you complain to Service Center / Call enter they always say that your hand set is faulty !
Cheap practices by Airtel Thinking,
Common people as Big Fools !

Airtel Telecallers are trained for specific questions and
will never give you satisfactory answer that you want to hear !


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## Ricky (Oct 13, 2015)

satinder said:


> They are making fool with ad.
> This ad campaign is only till other companies enter 4G market.
> 
> 4G sim's internet work only when your mobile hand set is set on 3G !
> ...



Essentially its deceiving business practice.


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## Ramakrishnan (Oct 13, 2015)

airtel started this notorious fup and everybody else go into the bandwagon and they and facebook started free internet services(not free actually, a scam). If one has sense dont ever do business with airtel. you will feel cheated.


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## KeyboardWarrior (Jan 11, 2016)

seems like average plans.


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## gadgetssai (Nov 18, 2016)

i think name its as airtel 4g better to say no network g
and i agree to all commenters that airtel net tarriff is more high as compares with other networks like idea and uninor


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## amyjohncse (Feb 21, 2017)

348 pack on airtel 4g is the useful one for all ,they provide high speed internet


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## ariftwister (Mar 13, 2017)

Oh, How the tables have turned!!


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## ashis_lakra (Mar 13, 2017)

Some months ago, before i recharged for 1495 plan which gave 15gb + 15gb promo offer for 3 months. After horrid experience, i'm not going to subscribe to airtel high plan EVER. I couldn't even manage to use 10% of data i was alloted. Horrible experience though their coverage is good.


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