BSNL splits EVDO service with 5 Plans. Unlimited plan hiked.

UPDATE:  BSNL HAS DECIDED TO WITHHELD THE HIKE. More Info

There was a rumor/news/buzz going on in our forum regarding the discontinuation of Unlimited plan on EVDO service. It has created a stir in the existing customers, and many are even planning to move on to some other ISP. And it was confirmed that BSNL has brought some new changes in it’s EVDO tariff after some customers got a notification stating the change in plans and regarding the Unlimited plan and even BSNL published the new plan on their site to fuel the fire.

So I decided to get the official news straight from the BSNL and sent a mail to JTO in Bangalore who is in charge of EVDO service. He is friendly and is in touch with me since I started this website and forum. After exchanging some mails, I’ve gathered the official news here in this post. Hope you all find it useful.



I have got a good news and a bad news for ‘all’ BSNL EVDO users in India. Let me start with the bad news first. (will be bitter for existing users).

Earlier BSNL had just one unlimited plan in its EVDO service ever since they started it. But now for some reasons (I’ll tell you why) it has split the service into different plans and introduced 5 new tariffs for its customers. Thankfully it has retained its unlimited plan, but now it comes at a cost higher than before. All these 5 plans is effective from November 1st of this year. Here’s how the new tariff is like:

Sl. No	Cost of the Plan	Monthly free usage in GB
1.	199.00	0.5
2.	299.00	1
3.	449.00	2
4.	649.00	5
5.	999.00	Unlimited

Via the official BSNL site.

From Nov 1, all users will be automatically moved on to the Rs 999.00 Unlimited plan by default . Users can then switch to different plans of their choice by submitting a request in change of plan at their nearest telephone exchange.

Now the good news is that BSNL is upgrading the network from Rev 0 to Rev A EVDO technology. This means you get speeds up to 3.1 Mbps over the conventional 2.4 Mbps. And added to this, BSNL will shortly enable all India roaming (National Roaming) (technical work is almost over, testing is in progress)in 1 – 2 months with no additional cost.

While this is one reason for the hike in price, another reason is to reduce the load on their network and hence to reduce the bottleneck in the data flow. This thus increases the overall performance of the stability and speed. This will be possible because there will be less simultaneous logins, since many people will switch to/prefer limited data plans.

Sooner or later, the existing customers will have get their device exchanged after BSNL upgrades their network to Rev A. This is because the old devices do not support Rev A technology. New users need not worry about this. However BSNL will notify you to get your device exchanged to switch to Rev A network after the upgrade work is finished in your circle.

Well to conclude, Rs. 999.00 for Unlimited plan is steep. Considering the quality of service now available in most parts of the country, it is expensive. Only urban customers will get good quality in service after upgrading to the Rev A technology. Apart from that, this is the only service which will satisfy the needs of people who are in constant move and for those who do not have cable (ADSL)  internet in their area, since it offers good network coverage and unlimited usage at considerable price tag.

Once again, I would like to thank the JTO of Bangalore for giving out such a great information to me. And to all those who have questions in their mind, can drop in their queries in this thread in our forum rather than posting a comment here, because the chances of getting reply here in comments is very bleak. Happy surfing.

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