Are you going to purchase a data card from a service provider?
If so, have you inquired about data card plans, price or speed from them?
In my opinion, if you are going to purchase a new data card, you should choose it according to your requirements. Also check whether the roaming facility is free or not, if you’re a frequent traveler. Moreover, also check coverage area where you frequently go. To sum up, if you pick data card as per your usage, you will definitely get it at cheapest rate.
Today, you will find data cards ranging from low to high price and speed of this device depends upon the plan which you have chosen. These days, service providers offer various plans for the hi-end customers such as unlimited, postpaid, prepaid etc. At present, every person wants to get high speed at the lowest price. In data cards, 3g Data card is the most popular amongst the people as it offers high Internet speed to its users. But it is very expensive as compared to other data cards and it offers speed up to 7.2 Mbps. On the other hand, if you choose a plan for Rs. 750 that offers 5 GB and 3.1 Mbps internet speed, after 5 GB, you will get speed 156 Kbps. You can even get a plan of Rs. 500 per month. This plan will offer you 8 GB in a day and 15 GB in night at the broadband speed of 256 kbps.
Confused? Before picking any plan, everyone should know his/her requirements. We can categorize customer needs in 7 types.
1. High Speed with unlimited internet usage: If your budget is between Rs 800 to 1000, then you can easily choose this plan by any service provider. Like reliance offers at Rs 950 per/month unlimited 5 GB with 3.1 mbps speed and after 5 GB, internet speed is 156 kbps. Same plan is offered by Tata photon in Rs. 950.
2. Medium speed but unlimited: If you are not crazy for very fast speed, then many companies offer speed based plans ranging from Rs. 500 to Rs. 600. For example reliance gives 8 GB during day and 15 GB in night with 265kbps which is not a bad speed, in just Rs. 500.
3. Low speed in unlimited: This data card plan is only for those users who do not need to download or upload files. With this kind of plans, you can browse and chat without any hassle. Reliance has a data card that offers 5 GB in day and 10 GB in night @ Rs. 400.
4. Limited Plans: If you need 1 or 2 GB in a month, then you shouldn’t go for any unlimited plans. You can easily get 512 MB to 2 GB in between Rs. 200 to Rs. 700.
5. Time Based plans: Select this plan if your daily timing for net is 30 min to 1 Hr only. These plans range from Rs. 100 to Rs. 1000.
6. Night plan: Night plan is the best plan in a metro city, especially for the employed persons. If you leave your office between 7 to 8 pm, then chances are you will not use internet at least till 10 pm. So in this situation, you can try night plan, because this plan is applicable between 10 pm and 6 am generally, and it’s very cheap also. Also, if you like to download heavy data like movies, albums etc, night plans are usually better than day plans.
7. Internet 3G Plans: Although 3G datacard are expensive than others, but they offer a wide range of facilities. You can also avail 2G data card services in 3G. So if you pick 3G data card today, you can activate 3G services in your device when the prices go down in future.
In Short:
If your internet usage is very less, then you should not opt for unlimited or higher price plan. You can subscribe for low price plan which can also give you good speed. If you choose BSNL and MTNL data card, you have to pay less for accessing internet. But disadvantage is that they disconnect early. Today, Reliance netconnect and Tata Photon are considered as the best data cards in terms of speed, price, coverage areas, roaming facility etc. The coverage areas of Reliance are more as compared to Tata photon. But if you choose Tata Photon, you will get good customer service from the company.