  And that is only part of the problem, thanks to the faster connectivity on 3G, you end up doing far more browsing than you would normally do on a relatively sluggish connection. Of course, if you overshoot your data limit, you will end up being charged at the rate of 30 paise per 20 kb. Which does not sound too bad on the surface, but on conversion works out to be approximately Rs 15 per MB, which in turn means more than Rs 15,000 per GB. Financial mayhem, in other words. The good news is that, with a little prudence, you can still make the most of 3G connectivity without depreciating your bank account significantly. All it takes is some common sense and attention to download detail. (Note that this feature mainly deals with 3G usage on a phone, as that is where it is most likely to be used). |  To start off, make sure you're on the right plan. As of now, most major service providers (BSNL, Airtel, Vodafone, Idea) have a number of 3G plans, but unlike the early days of accessing the Internet on your handset when you could have an unlimited data plan, there are some very strict data limits on just how much data you can use. You can get plans for long or short periods, with data usage limits applying for both. Some operators, like Idea, have time-based plans which let you use 3G services for a limited period of time, for instance, there is a Rs 145 plan for prepaid connections in which you get 120 minutes of 3G free spread over a period of seven days. Similarly Airtel has sachet plans that let you use small amounts of data over 3G for a limited period of time, Rs 11 for 10 MB of usage for a day, for instance.
|  The plan you choose depends on your needs, if you are the type who needs to use the mobile Internet a lot and need to download large attachments and watch lots of video, we would recommend using a high data usage plan. On the other hand, if you only occasionally need the odd burst of speed, go for one of the shorter duration ones. A warning: do not get lured by the lower costs of relative low data usage plans, the costs you incur for data beyond your usage limit could really hurt you. As to how much data you use, Airtel has a very good data calculator that let you work out your data usage by answering some simple questions. At the cost of sounding like old fogies, we must point out that if you are the type that just needs Internet access to check your e-mail on your handset and do some basic browsing, then you probably are better off with a "normal" EDGE/GPRS connection. |  One of the greatest attractions of 3G connectivity for many people is the fact that they can access videos on their handsets in all their glory, without having to go through the stop/stutter experience that is the staple on EDGE/GPRS connections. Well, all that video gobbles bandwidth, and lots of it. In fact, even if you watch as little as half an hour of video per day on your handset, it is a fair chance that you will have used up close to 1.5 GB of data in a month, more, if you are the type who prefers watching videos in high-definition. The rule of thumb for online video fans with tight budgets as far as 3G goes is very simple, use only when necessary, simply because ten minutes of video can cost much more than an hour of relatively normal browsing on the same connection. | And unless it is absolutely essential, avoid hitting that "view in HD" option. The same goes for still images. Unless very essential, you should stick to viewing low-res images and not click on to their much larger versions. Loading a high-resolution image could put you back by a few MBs.
The above applies not just to viewing pictures and videos but also uploading them. So if you are the type that likes to pitch your pictures and videos on YouTube, Facebook and the like, please do not get carried away by the fact that 3G connectivity can let you upload a two minute high definition video to your social network in seconds, or that you can now post high quality pictures in Facebook without waiting for half an hour for the picture to upload. Yes, it works faster, but it does so at a price. One which you have to pay when the bill arrives! |  This might sound a bit ridiculous to some people, but you do not always need to keep your 3G connection running. When you do not need to do something which requires high-speed data access, you can simply go to your phone's settings and switch to the good old 2G network. Believe us, you do not need mbps speeds all the time, especially for tasks as routine as downloading mail or getting social network notifications. While on the subject of notifications, wherever possible when on 3G connection, do make sure that you only keep those tasks running that you actually need. For instance, having your phone checking for software updates all the time might not be the wisest idea. |
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