Upgrading from 3G to Airtel 4G Mobile Service: An Overview

August 13, 2015 Technology

Touted as the future of internet service technology, 4G has finally arrived in India through the efforts of Airtel, one of the largest mobile networks in the world. Being initially available in over 290 cities in India, the Airtel 4G has already made an impression in the country where the normal internet speeds do not exceed 15mbps. Its predecessor, the 3G, is slowly (pun intended) giving way to this next-generation mobile data service that aims to deliver seamless internet connection ideal for the most demanding tasks such as file transfer and video/music streaming. If you are wondering what else does Airtel 4G has to offer, here is a handy overview of the data service from the most advanced telecom company in India.

How Different is Airtel 4G from 3G?

4G is also known in its other term as Long Term Evolution or simply LTE. It is an innovation of the existing 3G data service with emphasis on higher mbps or megabits per second. As you already know, higher mbps translates to faster internet speeds. Currently, the average data transfer speed is 10mbps, and that is on a 3G connection.

If you are someone who is a heavy user, i.e. a frequent internet surfer and an audiophile/movie buff, your ideal data speeds should not cause intermittent connection and buffering. Unfortunately, though, 3G still experiences such things whether it is a postpaid or a prepaid service. This is not the case with 4G. Because it comes equipped with up to 45mbps, it allows you to stream videos and music seamlessly, as well as download files with minimal to no snag at all.

4G is also relatively faster. Say you are watching a video online, you can expect there is no loading time for the video to appear and you can finish viewing it at exactly the same length of time the video tells you (see the progress bar). As for downloading, say a game off the Play Store, a 45-megabytes game can be transferred in just 30 seconds on 4G, compared to the minute it will take on 3G. That is also equivalent to 5 songs in a minute on 4G as against three songs per minute on 3G.

Airtel 4G Plans

The telecom network offers 4G in several postpaid plans starting from as low as 650 Rs to 2000 Rs per month. The data limits expand from 3 GB up to 40 GB. The main difference among the tiers is the amount of data it allows for each plan. It depends on the subscriber on how he is going to use the data consumable within a month.

Will Airtel 4G Provide Quality Data Service?

All things considered, the Airtel’s 4G offering is recommendable, especially for those who want to break the tedium that is the slow internet connection. While the network is yet to expand to more cities in India to provide a wider coverage, the subscribers can be assured that it will deliver a good service in places where 4G is already available. Signal problems can be attributed to densely built-up locations, although subscribers are able to access the internet faster in select areas.