pbdhhindustani
Right off the assembly line
I wanted your inputs on an affordable "emergency backup" 3G cellular connection plan in Kolkata for my parents to use their GSM Andriods on (actually these are CDMA chipsets with 4G ability and thus also work on GSM).
The assumptions are:
1. Their cable connection at home provides them with 99% of their 365x24x7 data needs
2. The rest of 1% usage is in emergency situations only. Typical apps used will be Google Hangouts, GPS and g(e)mail.
Emergency is the key term here. Their cellular data will be off most of the time unless they really need to use it (say cable connection is down).
Because of this very reason, purchasing a traditional cellular monthly plan with data included is going to be a waste, for our specific usecase.
The best plan for our specific usecase would have these features:
i. 4G LTE/3G access for atleast 100 - 300MB. Throttling beyond that is OK.
ii. Unused Balance expires every 180 days (i.e. no need to refill account every month) unless refilled before expiration in which case the Unused Balance carries over. We are OK with paying a very low monthly account maintenance fee or needing to refill every now and then (as long as it's not frequently/monthly)
For example something similar to these:
*www.joltmobile.com/jolt-affordable-flex-plans.aspx
Prepaid Mobile Internet Plans - Prepaid Mobile Broadband Plans | Virgin Mobile
iii. Reliable network (the last thing we want is to be paying for a connection that we can't use when we need it the most (when our main cable internet connection is down))
The TATA USB Dongle they currently use is not only expensive ($800/mo) but simply terrible. VOIP/Hangouts just does not work. Perhaps they are in a spotty area but it is what it is and we need to move on to alternatives.
As an aside, I recently spoke with a friend over Google Hangouts who was calling via his phone on BSNL 3G and the call quality was excellent!
If anyone knows of any plan that comes close, that would be very helpful.
The assumptions are:
1. Their cable connection at home provides them with 99% of their 365x24x7 data needs
2. The rest of 1% usage is in emergency situations only. Typical apps used will be Google Hangouts, GPS and g(e)mail.
Emergency is the key term here. Their cellular data will be off most of the time unless they really need to use it (say cable connection is down).
Because of this very reason, purchasing a traditional cellular monthly plan with data included is going to be a waste, for our specific usecase.
The best plan for our specific usecase would have these features:
i. 4G LTE/3G access for atleast 100 - 300MB. Throttling beyond that is OK.
ii. Unused Balance expires every 180 days (i.e. no need to refill account every month) unless refilled before expiration in which case the Unused Balance carries over. We are OK with paying a very low monthly account maintenance fee or needing to refill every now and then (as long as it's not frequently/monthly)
For example something similar to these:
*www.joltmobile.com/jolt-affordable-flex-plans.aspx
Prepaid Mobile Internet Plans - Prepaid Mobile Broadband Plans | Virgin Mobile
iii. Reliable network (the last thing we want is to be paying for a connection that we can't use when we need it the most (when our main cable internet connection is down))
The TATA USB Dongle they currently use is not only expensive ($800/mo) but simply terrible. VOIP/Hangouts just does not work. Perhaps they are in a spotty area but it is what it is and we need to move on to alternatives.
As an aside, I recently spoke with a friend over Google Hangouts who was calling via his phone on BSNL 3G and the call quality was excellent!
If anyone knows of any plan that comes close, that would be very helpful.