Airtel partners with BigFlix to launch on demand video streaming service
Airtel has tied up with BigFlix to launch on demand video streaming service in India. BigFlix is a Netflix type service in India offering a library of DVD quality movies & TV shows which you can stream to your computer, laptop or tablet device (no iPad support though as the site requires Flash). Previously, their streaming service was only available outside of India and only offered the DVD rental service in India. Sadly, they do not offer streaming to devices like Apple TV and have no HD content.
Advantages of Airtel’s plan:
- Streaming from BigFlix.com will not consume your monthly FUP quota
- Charges for the service (INR 229 per month) will be added to your Airtel broadband bill
Under the service, users can enjoy over 500 Movies along with 100 TV shows, 100 trailers and 100 music videos from the BigFlix library.
I checked out a few trailers and found that the quality is below par and is surely not DVD like even remotely as they claim. Also, I guess the sound will be stereo as opposed to 5.1 in a DVD. Nothing new, Reliance has a history of claiming services they cannot deliver. And it looks like they have managed to infect Airtel with this bug.
But that is just my opinion, and if you want to subscribe to the service, you can visit www.airtelmovies.com or SMS “movie” to 53636, OR call 1800 200 3101 for information or subscription to airtel Movies. Watching ‘airtel Movies’ requires standard Macromedia Flash player version 10.2 and no other specific software.
[via airtel.in]
Is Airtel becoming the at&t of India?
+ 3G = 
?
I have always been a big fan (and advocate) of Airtel. Whether it was their mobile service, broadband or DTH, I always recommended Airtel to my friends and family members. And this was not because of some brand love that I had for the company. It was because Airtel had always more than exceeded my expectation in terms of Quality of Service & customer care. With superb 2G network coverage across India and virtually 100% uptime of its broadband services, Airtel was my number one choice when it came to choosing a telecommunications provider. Sadly, things are changing 
.
I was super excited when Airtel launched their 3G network in India. I had been using MTNL’s 3G service for a year and though it was offering decent 3G data speeds on my iPhone 4 & iPad 3G, it had pathetic network coverage when it came to vanilla phone calls. I always carried an Airtel number as a backup because MTNL’s network could betray you anytime. When Airtel launched their 3G services in Delhi, I ported my number to Airtel thinking that my days of carrying two mobile phones were over. Little did I know that I was totally mistaken.
Switching to Airtel did have its advantages in forms of awesome 3G data speed to boast in front of my friends, however, it brought a hell lot of nuances with it:
- Low signal strength in areas where I used to get 5 bars all the time with Airtel’s 2G network.
- Call drops when walking from one room to another in the same house
- Decrease in signal strength & voice quality when holding the phone between my shoulder & ear with my shoulder as the support (typical Indian hands free operation)
- Number unreachable
- Switching to EDGE multiple times in a data heavy app (This is a big nuance with Skype on iPhone)
MTNL launches 10Gbps fiber to the home (FTTH) broadband service in Mumbai
State owned Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Limited has announced the launch of high speed FTTH (Fiber To The Home) broadband service in the Mumbai circle with the Delhi circle launch to follow on 1st May 2011.
The service will enable consumers to enjoy high speed broadband (up to 10Gbps) over a self healing network of fiber optics. The network will have ample bandwidth to offer advanced services like IPTV, HDTV, 3DTV, video on demand , Bandwidth on Demand, Video conferencing etc.
Plans will start from INR 649 for limited usage. Unlimited plans are available for INR 999 for 1 Mbps, INR 3499 for 4 Mbps & INR 5999 for 10 Mbps.
[via TelecomTalk]
Airtel’s 3G services now available in Hyderabad
Airtel has finally launched their 3G services in the cyber city of Hyderabad in India. This launch was much anticipated as Hyderabad is one of the biggest IT hubs in the country and has the potential of being one of the largest 3G subscriber base in India.
So far, we are getting mixed reactions for Airtel’s 3G performance in other parts of India. It will be interesting to see the performance in Hyderabad.
Airtel launches another useless service – Broadband TV
Airtel has an unprecedented record of offering totally useless and crappy “value added” services to users. Continuing with this tradition, they have recently launched “broadband TV” – a service that lets you watch live TV over your broadband connection.
No, this is NOT their IPTV service. In IPTV, you need a special set top box which makes a separate private connection from your home to the service provider’s servers to get the feed of live TV channels. WIth broadband TV, you will watch the live TV in a browser using your broadband connection – similar to watching a youtube video.
Vodafone launches MiFi device for sharing 3G data over WiFi
Unless you are living in a cave, you must have seen the ads indicating that Vodafone has finally launched their 3G services in India. Since 3G theoretically allows data speeds up to 21.1 Mbps (yes, that’s theoretical, do let us know if you get that speed), there is a possibility of using 3G as your primary broadband connection, provided if you do not download much. 3G USB data sticks only let you use the 3G data on the computer they are plugged into. What if you have more computers in your house? This is where these MiFi devices come into picture.
Airtel 3G offering amazing speed in Delhi/NCR
Ever since I got my number ported to Airtel and got 3G activated for my iPhone 4, I have been trying to measure speed that I can get over the network. Some of my initial analysis can be found in this article. Here, I am going to post some more results at other times of the day & night.
iPhone 4 with iOS 4.3 working with Airtel 3G in India
As soon as Airtel launched their 3G services in Delhi/NCR, I got my number ported from MTNL to Airtel and got the 3G services activated. Since the iPhone 4 is not officially launched in India, it is still not in Airtel’s supported handset list for 3G in India. So, when I tried to activate 3G by sending 3G as sms to 121, I got a reply that my handset is not supported (duh).
I then called up 198 (Airtel’s complaint hotline) and went into the 3G technical help section. I spoke to an executive and told him that I have an iPhone 3GS (which is in their supported handset list). He then activated the 3G services on my number after a few verification questions. After a few minutes, I received the confirmation SMS saying that the services have been activated on my number. After this, I restarted my iPhone 4 and could connect to the Airtel’s 3G network. No APN settings were needed, however, you do need to enable cellular data, 3G and data roaming under Settings -> General -> Network.
Here are my first impressions of Airtel’s 3G network.
MNP in India FTW
I just got my number ported from MTNL to Airtel. The process is smoother than one can expect given the situation of customer service in mobile space in India. I must say that I am extremely happy with the process and can confidently say that this is the result of extensive thought process coupled with a great design and excellent implementation.
The process is simple and is explained in the steps below:
Hong Kong Gets 1Gbps Internet At $26
So you’ve been jealous of your friends in US and Europe who get over 20Mbps connections at affordable rate? Here is something that will make you cry. HKBN, a new and popular broadband provider in Hong Kong, has started a 1Gbps (Yep 1000 Mbps!) broadband connection at $26 (~ 1200 INR). I checked the website and couldn’t find any mentions of FUP or download limits whatsoever.
Here in India, I pay more than that for a 4Mbps connection with a 25 GB usage limit. Any more and Airtel will reduce the speed to a meager 256 Kbps (Yes K).
So how difficult is moving to Hong Kong?
