Bloggery » April 21st, 2011
Airtel 3G vs BSNL 3G Speed and Price Comparison
All the major cell phone operators in India has launched their 3G data and video calling services. I was previously using BSNL 3G and has good speeds and coverage even in roaming. I recently gave Airtel 3G a try and I am sharing my findings with you here.
BSNL 3G is much superior to Airtel 3G for the below reasons:
1. BSNL has a 3G coverage in most second tier cities than Airtel. So you get BSNL 3G coverage in places where Airtel offers only EDGE service. Refer the map below showing places where BSNL and other operators have 3G coverage.
2. BSNL 3G Speeds are far superior (almost twice as fast) as Airtel 3G. I have checked the speeds of both the services – actual speeds I am getting in download manager while downloading the same file from the same server in good network coverage condition. I have tethered the phone to PC and downloaded a file from the filesonic India server. As you could see from the below video, BSNL 3G always offers 300 KB+ where as Airtel 3G offers only 150 KB+ speeds. The below video was shot at the most network congested time period to check the actual speeds both the operators can deliver at peak times. At non-peak times (after 11 PM), I find BSNL 3G delivering 500 KB+ speeds at ease. (Note: I have good BSNL and AIrtel 3G coverage at my place.)
Airtel 3G Speeds
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha-WCm5UwBI
BSNL 3G Speeds
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdNHJEsGtBU
3. BSNL 3G is much cheaper than Airtel 3G. BSNL has recently stopped the unlimited 3G service it was offering earlier. Instae it has made the unlimited downloads restricted to 35 GB cap limits. BSNL stated the reason as users exploiting the bandwidth. But I dont find a measning in naming a service as unlimited if its not truly unlimited. Anyway, BSNL now offers 22 GB for INR 1819 and 35 GB for INR 2230. Even after BSNL restricted their download limits, still BSNL 3G shines as the only 3G operator in India offering the service for cheaper rates (Refer current BSNL 3G tarrif here). If you take Airtel 3G,the highest data plan Airtel has is 2GB for INR 750, after which Airtel charges exorbitantly high in pay per MB beyond 2GB (Refer current Airtel 3G tarriff here). So still, when compared to other operators, BSNL is way way cheaper in 3G tarriff. You could see the BSNL 3G and Airtel 3G offers as of April 2011 below.
So, what I concluded from my above experiences with both Airtel 3G and BSNL 3G is that other operators have to yet catch up with BSNL in terms of speed, coverage and tarrif. In all these parameters, BSNL 3G simply beats Airtel 3G and other operators. No doubt BSNL 3G is a government company and other operators may find it too difficult to catch up with BSNL 3G, but for the end user, BSNL 3G really is the best 3G as of today in India.
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Get airtel 3g
I could add upon here as i have experimente with all cards here with my unlocked modem and 3g router.initially i found airtel 3g far superior interms of quality .i hit 4 mbps easily but plans are horrible and service pathetic.their USSD and call centre just fool around activating.vodafone has good plans but reception is bad on the peripheries of chennai.it was a surprise for me when i tried bsnl 3g which i brought tthrough road side vendor of bsnl and activated thro internet.i used my 3g router in configuring the bsnl and surprised that the speeds are only around 1mbps but quality is very good.its easily available and aplans are wonderful hence i would go for bsnl only
That’s a good one. A map for BSNL would make it even better!
Thanks for the post,
Vijay
Hi everyone i enjoyed the BSNL 3G for the last 6 months with unlimited plan of 3G. Its really very good and high speed. We are getting high speeds in both (Airtel & BSNL) without volume(in Airtel) the speed is waste. The speed with BSNL is really good and Volume plans also good. i got maximum of 6Mbps and in peak 3Mbps. BSNL is value for the money and speed and it has coverage in most of cities.
hi evey one i am using bsnl3G in a week but i can’t satisfy with speed
speed is very bad no justice to the user
Same here, Airtel claims speed for upto 21mbps but till now not even crossed above 1.5 mbps. I have done the speed test various place in Coimbatore.
Yes Saravanan! No one has realised their claim for such high speeds (though theoritical, not even the practically approachable limits)
BSNL 3G does not provide services in Delhi and Mumbai where the carrier is MTNL. BSNL does not have a tie-up with MTNL to provide seamless connectivity when you carry your iPad to these cities! Any idea what is happening on that matter?
but now bsnl has increased the tariff (w.e.f jan 2012) and airtel has reduced its tariff. but i’m still using bsnl because airtel folks are not able to activate 3g even after 3 months of intense follow up. but my friend says airtel 3g speed is good.
Hi friends,
I am using BSNL 3G Data card.I am getting continuous speed about 1.8-2.2 Mbps in my area.Speed depends upon the coverage you are getting.I also tested some other private operaters data card of my friends but their speed is very low as they are marketing for 3G.