OK, I just came back from the DGM office and here is the update (hot update lol).
Special note : The DGM was very nice, hes a young gentleman and spent a lot of time for me, we together tested it.
It is a PCMCIA card, very similar to Reliance data card.
The practical / theoretical max speed will be 115 kbps and not 144 - atleast with the card we tested .
The speeds are good. Tested 3 times and was getting speeds like 89 / 95 / 100 and another thing I noticed is, download and upload speed are very close. Like when I tested using Reliance data card upload speed was always below download speed, like 80 and 48 like that. But for BSNL it was like 89 / 85 , 100 / 95 etc. again I couldn't test it for a long time, so it may vary.
The charge will be Rs.250 for unlimited internet access, but the Officer was not sure whether we have to select any voice plan with that, mostly we will have to, so total may become Rs.400 per month.
This is best suited for people like me (if it work perfect) as I am spending Rs.1500+tax per month for the same thing now (Reliance data card unlimited internet connection cost that much).
Installation is not very easy, but not that difficult too. Just installing two softwares (one for the card and another for configuring the telephone number etc) and configuring.
The card is issued only to the BSNL officials now and it is not avilable for the public now, but they will put press notes and it will be available for the public soon, mostly from next week itself I think.
There is confusion with the roaming (by roaming I meant travelling inside a telepone circle, not using it in different states). The number is a WLL number, that is like a local telephone number and not a mobile number. So not sure whether it can be used out of that area (out of that particular STD code area) .However BSNL mentioned that there will not be roaming facility - for the time being. Reliance data card is connected with a mobile number, so we can use it anywhere in the state and Reliance card support roaming too, so we can use it anywhere in India (just comparing the two, but not much info from BSNL yet on this).
@Quiz_Master - Please post the latest news in Digit forum when you hear it from your uncle, we all at digit forum really appreciate it as we will know BSNL news before they publish it officially.
@a_medico - Partly true. People should select depending on their need. If they are at home / office most of the time, then BB is the best option for them for sure. But people for whom there is no other alternative (like remote areas) or travelling a lot, data card will be a nice option.
@a_medico again - frequent disconnections that you mentioned, is only while we travel. If you use it at home/office, there will not be any problem. When you cross coverage areas, it will be like your connection become idle or it get disconnected. I am using Reliance data card for quite a long time and didn't face any issues till today (of course you need good coverage). I remember travelling from Mangalore to Goa 4-5 months back, the train had power outlet for laptop and I could stay online continuously for about 2 hrs !! May be Relaince coverage very good in that area.
@gary4gar - Wherever there is CDMA coverage, you can use the card. But for the EVDO (the cards are not available yet, they are in the process of installing EVDO system), not all exchanges are selected now. For example, in Alappuzha district, Kerala, they selected only 3 excahnges for the EVDO.
Anyway both the things (ICC and EVDO) are great considering it is from BSNL.
