BSNL EVDO

BSNL is the first company in India to offer broadband on the move. This service is on the EVDO spectrum and offers speeds upto 2.5Mbps! This article is a summary of all the frequently asked questions on EVDO broadband.

I am in Trivandum, Kerala and it took about 4 trips to the BSNL office at Pattom to get the connection. They have a separate process for issuing the EVDO cards probably because the number of units sold are much less than other post paid services. If you don’t have an existing BSNL connection, you need an address proof document(they don’t accept driving license as a valid document).

Please note that BSNL EVDO is still in implementation. Currently only major cities in India is covered. In the near future it is expected to be implemented across the country. So before you jump in and buy EVDO device confirm that your areas has a tower which supports EVDO!

What is BSNL EVDO service?
BSNL EVDO is a roaming broadband service offered by BSNL. EVDO (Evolution-Data Optimized) is a wireless protocol for broadband access and is an enhancement of the CDMA2000 standard. See wikipedia for more details on EVDO standard.

How do I get the BSNL EVDO service?
You need to visit the main BSNL office in your area for getting the EVDO service. If you already has a BSNL landline, just fill in the form and pay the initial fees of around Rs. 5600(reduced now) and you will immeditely get the EVDO device. If you don’t have an existing connection, you need to give address proof (passport copy, election card copy etc.).

What is the BSNL EVDO device? Do you have any pictures?
BSNL EVDO hardwareBSNL is using EVDO device AC8700 manufactured by ZTE. It is a sleek black USB device. BSNL has burnt in the phone number and hence the EVDO comes with a phone number on it. The user id is the phone number prefixed with area code and password is typically the last 4 digits of the phone number.

What are the software/hardware requirements for BSNL EVDO?
Along with the ZTE USB card, you will also get a mini cd which contains the device drivers for Microsoft Windows.

What is the cost of BSNL EVDO service?
BSNL EVDO is an unlimited bandwidth service. The initial cost for the device and connection is about Rs. 5600 ($140) and the monthly subscription charge is Rs. 500 excluding tax.

What is the download/upload speed I can expect with BSNL EVDO?
EVDO is capable upto 2.5mbps. But actual speeds are much below this. The maximum I got was 1mpbs and at technopark trivandrum. At my home I get about 150kbps (which is not broadband!) and at Irinjalakkuda there is no service at all! So it will take a while before EVDO can replace other mobile services such as Reliance Netconnect or Tata Indicom mobile broadband.

Where can I use BSNL EVDO service?
BSNL EVDO service is roaming enabled. This means that you can use it anywhere inside your state (I can use it anywhere in Kerala). Currently country wide roaming is not available.

Is there anything I can do to boost BSNL EVDO performance?
The speed on BSNL EVDO is dependent on a number of factors. The location of the EVDO device and the orientation of its antenna can affect the broadband speed if you are away from the BSNL tower. Experiment to find out the best location for maximum speed!

Microsoft has released a patch for Windows Vista to improve EVDO performance. You can download the EVDO patch from Microsoft site. According to the site,

QUOTE

Windows Vista obtains a round-trip time (RTT) estimate at the time of connection setup and every time that a new segment of data that is transmitted. A connection that only receives data is limited to the single RTT sample that is obtained at the time of connection setup. Because the connection only receives data, the connection cannot “converge” to the actual RTT of the connection. For example, because the RTT data may fluctuate for various reasons, a “converge” operation is performed to estimate a meaningful RTT by using blending current and previous RTT data. However, if the connection cannot converge to the actual RTT of the connection, the bandwidth delay product (BDP) estimate that Vista obtains is also incorrect. Therefore, the connection’s receive window is limited, and throughput of the connected transmission network is reduced.

This patch seems to boost the EVDO peformance.

Can I use BSNL EVDO on GNU/Linux systems?
Yes. EVDO can be configured as a dialup connection. Follow the following steps to configure EVDO on a linux box.

1. Connect the EVDO device to the USB port.
2. Create a new dialup connection using kppp. The settings for PPP connection are,
Modem device: /dev/ttyUSB0
Connection baud rate : Up to 921600
Dail to : #777
Username and password : Type in the username and password

This assumes that EVDO device was auto configured on ttyUSB0. You can see this information by using “lsusb” command. If the device is not auto detected, you can use “modprobe usbserial vendor=0×05c6 product=0×6000″ to manually add the device.

Source: http://www.jayson.in/

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