BSNL EVDO and me!! :)

Ever heard of EV-DO - the revolutionary 3G product of modern communication scenario. Well I hadn't untill recently. Came across it as my old broadband connection( RIP :D ) was performing ever so disgracefully..

I bought the BSNL EVDO connection last week. The procedure was pretty simple-

a. fill the form

b. attach a photo

c. attach an ID and address proof

Voila! within two hours I got moi EVDO USB dongle. At a monthly charge of Rs.850(which includes Rs.200 as rent of the device) its definitely a bargain for me, reason being the fact that the EVDO enabled BSNL tower is just over 100m from moi place :). EV-DO comes with an unlimited plan only which is, coincidentally my favorite choice as well :D. 

Coming back to "Evolution-Data Optimized" or "Evolution-Data only", abbreviated as EV-DO or EVDO, EV, and blah blah is a standard for the wireless transmission of data through radio signals, typically for "broadband Internet access". Yes, you heard me correct, "Wireless broadband". It uses multiplexing techniques including code division multiple access (CDMA) as well as TDMA. 

In simple words, EVDO is the answer to people on the move, ranging from Business executives, IT professionals to students(that include me ! :) ). The most striking statement about it would be the fact that EV-DO devices provide typical speeds of 50-150kBps and 500-800kbps upload completely "wirelessly". EV-DO routers can make it possible to share it with other users as well. EVDO can provide all the features that the cable broadband can provide :).

It allows realtime streaming and viewing of videos from sites like Youtube, basic operations viz, email, file transfers etc. My eyes swelled with tears watching Barso re Mega video streamed live for the first time since I bought it:).

How does EV-DO operate: The EVDO modem receives the signal from the tower and allows you to connect to the internet. One needn't worry if their locality doesn't fall under 3G coverage, as EVDO comes with downward compatibility with available CDMA signals or 2G signals. EV-DO devices come with driver software for DOS systems. For GNU/Linux based systems, minor tweaks with dialing tool(wvdial) config files puts you right on track and ready to go online. :) I was able to run it smootly on my Ubuntu 9.04 as you can see below :). 

As wikipedia says, In India, EV-DO services are provided by Tata Indicom, BSNL and Reliance. Essentially a USB device, it comes at a wide price range. EV-DO services, with all its pompous outshine, suffer the drawback of being unreliable in rural areas(i.e, in areas without 3G enabled towers), though I haven't tried it yet. But still since it supports available CDMA signals or 2G signals, one needn't worry about being isolated from civilisation completely!! EV-DO service is highly efficient in our Metros and major cities, including Thrissur. So,if you are a person like me who's suffering with cuthtroat download limit wala broadband connection, this is your right choice buddy!Enquire about the tariffs at your nearest ISP office and go grab one !!!

:)

P.S: 1.Thanks to wikipedia.org and evdoforums.com for providing the technical information I included here.

2. Thanks to ubuntuforums.org and bsnlevdoclub.com for their help in configuring and troubleshooting the problems I had while running it under Ubuntu.