Gaurav Devaras, a 3G mobile broadband user, is happy to learn about the 4G service launch in Kolkata and thrilled about the speed it can offer.
"The price is not very high either," he observes. But there is one mood spoiler - a fair usage policy limit that Bharti Airtel offers as part of its plan.
After a certain amount of data usage, the speed will drop from a level of 10-15 mbps to 128 kbps. "My usage matches with the data limit they offer. But, it is very sad to know that the speed will drop to such a low. Since I am subscribing to something as high-end as 4G, it should drop to a minimum of 512 kbps," he says.
A speed of 128 kbps is offered by a dial-up internet connection.
It is also lower than the broadband limit of 256 kbps, as prescribed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). In response to a query, Airtel said that users can get back the original speed by using recharge packs called smartbytes. The prices of these haven't been disclosed yet.
"These are capped plans that enjoy a validity of 30 days and have a free quota for a particular rental. After exhausting the free quota, one can continue to enjoy high speed by buying smartbytes," says Airtel.
Airtel is the first company to launch 4G services on TD LTE technology in India. The three tariff plans they have launched offer usage quotas at six, nine and 18 GB. The operator is yet to launch specific B2B plans.
"Users who would want to use these kind of speeds would consume a lot of multimedia content as well. I am not convinced
whether the caps on usage will help consumers," says Mritunjay Kapur, managing director of Protiviti Consulting.