Reliance Communications has launched ‘true unlimited’ high-speed services using its CDMA service in in Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune, and promised to launch in other cities soon.
The so-called ‘Pro 3’ services are based on EVDO Revision B (Rev B) technology, that helps combine multiple carriers of EVDO Rev A. Under Rev A, a single carrier can offer speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps to the customer, and under the new Rev B option, the speed can reach up to 14.7 Mbps.
MTS is the only other operator to offer Rev B services. However, MTS has lower amount of spectrum compared to Reliance Communication, and therefore the top speed is 9.8 Mbps (using two carriers?). Reliance offers 50% higher ‘top speed’.
In practice, however, speeds are likely to be in the 1-4 Mbps range, just like those found in 3G services such as those of Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular.
One key difference between RCom’s earlier offer and the new Pro 3 service is that for Rs 999 per month (plus tax of around Rs 122), you get true unlimited service.
In the earlier schemes of Reliance as well as the existing schemes of MTS, for the same amount, the high-speed data quota is capped at 40 GB per month.
“Pro 3 users can expect superior indoor penetration, seamless outdoor coverage and congestion-free, ultra fast and consistent speeds,” it said.
“With Pro 3, RCOM aims to churn in customers and extend its data customer acquisition footprint, especially among those with a need for speed and reliable indoor coverage,” it said.
Unlike 3G dongles, RCom’s Pro 3 dongles will work inside houses even in areas of slightly weaker mobile signal due to the different frequency being used.
It may be noted that the offer comes weeks ahead of Reliance Jio’s pan-India 4G service launch.
