[Ram]

Originally Posted by abdriver2000

Ram,
They bill me for days I have not used my modem.

I have solved the issue for myself by going for the flat-rate unlimited surfing plan.
I can keep uploading & downloading round-the-clock all month long for a flat-rate of Rs. 1,099 per month.
Check out their tariff plans here:
Tata Indicom Personal - Internet Plug2Surf Tariff

Originally Posted by abdriver2000

They also bill after the connection is discontinued. And then they outsource the recovery to other agencies which have no idea why they are doing this!

abdriver2000: I believe there are legal remedies to this problem.
As per Reserve Bank of India guidelines dated 1st Dec. 2007, there are now regulatory measures in place.

Here's one...

(iii) Fair Practices in debt collection

(c) Banks / NBFCs / their agents should not resort to intimidation or harassment of any kind, either verbal or physical, against any person in their debt collection efforts, including acts intended to humiliate publicly or intrude the privacy of the customers’ family members, referees and friends, making threatening and anonymous calls or making false and misleading representations.

Here's another...
8. Right to impose penalty
The Reserve Bank of India reserves the right to impose any penalty on a bank / NBFC under the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 for violation of any of these guidelines.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by abdriver2000

I was promised a connection in 48hrs but did not get it until 19 Aug 08.

Bad indeed. I got mine in less than 24 hours of payment.

Never got more then 2bars of strength and I live in the heart of Mumbai.

Strange. I live in an area that has the worst coverage network...Orange, BPL & Airtel simply don't catch range in my house. Till date, it was only Reliance which provided a strong signal. Happy to say that the plug2surf is at 4 bars as well, even on the terrace!

Originally Posted by Ram

So, all in all, I am happy and satisfied with my Tata Indicom/Sungil Korea plug2Surf SXC-1080 CDMA 1x modem.

Likewise. Even in a small town like Deolali (Nasik), I had decent range & speed. I find the plug2surf immensely practical on outstation trips. I have taken the 30 hours / month Rs. 300 plan as the expected usage is minimal.

[mithun]

Originally Posted by abdriver2000

This might be slightly OT. I have a PCMCIA card in one of my laptop which has a Vodafone sim. Now I want to convert it to the USB stick modem since my other laptop does not have PCMCIA slot.

Vodafone USB stick costs 2999 and Idea USB costs 2499. Do you think Idea will take the vodafone SIM? Or is it locked to the IDEA network?

The objective is to simply save 500 bucks

Idea will not take the Vodafone sim !

[Proxima]

Chennaites, which is the best wireless internet service provider for a laptop (Acer Aspire One)?

Please advice.

[abdriver2000]

My Indicom woes still continue. They sent me a letter by normal post which does not even have the name of the manager, just a computer generated signature!

The letter states that they have disconnected my connection since I have not paid up. The real case is that I have got it disconnected and the bills are being generated post-disconnection.

The letter has a telephone number which is ringing but no one is answering. I called up the nodal officer of my area, but she does not pickup the phone. Instead juniors who only identify themselves by their first name pick up the phone.

The only help they provided is reducing my 'outstanding' from 475 to 365.
They have no records of my prior complaints. Even after providing the complaint numbers, they cant find it in their systems!

I even asked them to adjust this outstanding against my security deposit of 500, but they say I have no deposits!

The problem is even if I end up paying 365 just for peace of mind, this record may also be lost like all others.

I am really at my wits end to get rid of this nuisance. And they call themselves no.1 in customer service.

[SirAlec]

can you catch hold of the guy/dealer who sold you the connection.

I did the same! I caught hold of him, and paid the balance amount. and told him strictly that if any further bill that may come will have to borne by him. Add to that I gave a legal notice just for record stating the same through my laywer.

After that I was homefree.

[normally_crazy]

Do all these USB data cards work on a Macbook ?

[gowda79]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Do all these USB data cards work on a Macbook ?

It does work with macbook, but you need to download the drivers for the modem by googling as it does not come along with the package

[SirAlec]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Do all these USB data cards work on a Macbook ?

most manufacturer doesn't have support for Mac OS. and all these company are either chinese, taiwanese or korean. (ZTE, Huawei etc)

[normally_crazy]

Just went to Tata Indicom outlet and got the following details -

2009 for the USB data card and 198 for the sim card + plans.

I asled them whether it would work with a Mac - they say no. The USB modem is of SUNGIL -SXC 1080 make - can I download drivers for the mac and use it ?

[deepakchan]

Originally Posted by Proxima

Chennaites, which is the best wireless internet service provider for a laptop (Acer Aspire One)?

Please advice.

Hi there. Welcome to the acer aspire one club. I use one too. I was hunting for a mobile internet connection last month just like you and would like to share my experience here.

Offer wise Reliance seems to be the best but my dad uses Reliance and I was not happy with the speed. Moreover I doubt if they have Evdo service. Tata Indicom and BSNL have already started EVDO service in Chennai. I checked out their offers. BSNL was offering Rs.550 unlimited download on the EVDO network and Rs.250 unlimited download on the 1X network. But there was no roaming and you could use it only in Chennai. Which left me with just one choice that is, Tata Indicom. Heard about their photon+ service which uses Evdo network (which is like an equivalent of 3G whereby the theoretical downlink speed is 2.4Mbps). I thought it was just a marketing gimmick. I asked if the whole of Chennai is covered with Evdo. The salesman said most of Chennai is covered, wherever there is no EVDO you will get 1X signal (theoretical max 153kbps). I chose to take the EVDO photon+ There was an offer of double the download extra free. That is, if I take 1GB plan Rs.800 per month, I will get 3GB for the first two months. Later, I can stick to 1GB plan or shift to unlimited plan which is Rs.1500 per month.

Speed: I get up to 1mbps during the day. Well, that was the maximum, assured 256kbps when I am on the EVDO network (the usb modem glows green for EVDO and orange for 1X). Whenever it is on the 1X network, I get only up to 64kbps (maximum). Overall, as far as I have tested, this is the fastest wireless connection in Chennai so far.

[SirAlec]

Originally Posted by normally_crazy

Just went to Tata Indicom outlet and got the following details -

2009 for the USB data card and 198 for the sim card + plans.

I asled them whether it would work with a Mac - they say no. The USB modem is of SUNGIL -SXC 1080 make - can I download drivers for the mac and use it ?

this may help

Reliance NetConnect on a Mac — Entrepreneur Geek

[Proxima]

Originally Posted by deepakchan

Hi there. Welcome to the acer aspire one club. I use one too. I was hunting for a mobile internet connection last month just like you and would like to share my experience here.

Offer wise Reliance seems to be the best but my dad uses Reliance and I was not happy with the speed. Moreover I doubt if they have Evdo service. Tata Indicom and BSNL have already started EVDO service in Chennai. I checked out their offers. BSNL was offering Rs.550 unlimited download on the EVDO network and Rs.250 unlimited download on the 1X network. But there was no roaming and you could use it only in Chennai. Which left me with just one choice that is, Tata Indicom. Heard about their photon+ service which uses Evdo network (which is like an equivalent of 3G whereby the theoretical downlink speed is 2.4Mbps). I thought it was just a marketing gimmick. I asked if the whole of Chennai is covered with Evdo. The salesman said most of Chennai is covered, wherever there is no EVDO you will get 1X signal (theoretical max 153kbps). I chose to take the EVDO photon+ There was an offer of double the download extra free. That is, if I take 1GB plan Rs.800 per month, I will get 3GB for the first two months. Later, I can stick to 1GB plan or shift to unlimited plan which is Rs.1500 per month.

Speed: I get up to 1mbps during the day. Well, that was the maximum, assured 256kbps when I am on the EVDO network (the usb modem glows green for EVDO and orange for 1X). Whenever it is on the 1X network, I get only up to 64kbps (maximum). Overall, as far as I have tested, this is the fastest wireless connection in Chennai so far.

Thanks Deepak. Feedback from the horse's mouth.

I'll check out the Photon+ thing and let you know.

[normally_crazy]

Originally Posted by SirAlec

this may help

Reliance NetConnect on a Mac — Entrepreneur Geek

I also found this - Sreejith’s NETwork How to get TATA Indicom Plug2surf [Qualcomm CDMA] and Reliance Netconnect [ZTE] work on a Mac OSX, 10.5 Leopard

[deepakchan]

Originally Posted by Proxima

Thanks Deepak. Feedback from the horse's mouth.

I'll check out the Photon+ thing and let you know.

@Proxima I am replying to your PM here in the thread. As far as I know, the Tata sales guy said most of Chennai has been covered. I use it majorly at my work place in Perungudi which is off Old Mahabalipuram Road (a little interior). I get 70% of the time EVDO signal. May be cos of other IT companies few kms away from here. When you go to the nearest Tata Indicom store which I think is in Thiruvanmiyur (you can use the Dealer Locator on the website tataindicom.com) you can ask him to demonstrate on his PC/notebook. If you see a green light flicker, then you have EVDO signal.