Tata Docomo launched their 3G services in India this Diwali. They have been pretty active online at Twitter and Facebook but this time they have not yet clearly mentioned about the activation of the 3G in this promotional period (i.e. 5th November to 11th Novemeber). I have been using 3G for almost 3 days now and here are some of the pros and cons of their service I have noted so far and also the complete procedure on how to activate Tata Docomo 3G.

How to activate 3G on Tata Docomo?

Tata Docomo is providing a free trial of 3G for 7 days to all its customers uptill 100mb usage. Here is how to get is activated on your phone:

  • Make sure you have a 3G compatible phone.
  • Goto the network menu on your phone and activate “Dual mode” or  ”UMTS” under Network Modes.
  • Doing so you will be able to see the 3G or 3.5G sign near the signal bar of your phone within a few seconds. If you don’t see any such sign then it might that 3G is not available in your area.
  • Next you have to send a sms by writing ACT3G to 53333. You may or may not receive any reply, most of us didn’t.
  • You probably will be having the old Tata Docomo settings in your phone, if not then call the service number and request it. There are two settings delivered to your phone – “TATA DOCOMO INTERNET” & “TATA DOCOMO DIVE-IN”.
  • You have to use the TATA DOCOMO INTERNET as your default setting for using the 3G service and you are now all set to go. Just start using make sure that your balance is not being reduced, if it is then you may not have configured 3G properly as per the above steps.
  • Live TV is available at the Dive-In site.

Pro’s & Con’s

Pros:

  • Nearly ~1.75mbps download speed.
  • Working in all area’s of the cities where they have launched.
  • Free usage uptill 100mb in the trial period.
  • 2G vouchers can be purchased and used with 3G speeds under trial period. (You can get upto 6GB data for just Rs. 95, depending on your city.)

Cons:

  • Low upload speed.
  • You have to finish the free 100mb data within the promotional period.
  • Currently there is no way to check how much bandwidth you have used. They are working on this.
  • Tata is having no plans to launch Unlimited Tariff’s.
  • TataDocomo’s twitter stream has a bunch of tweets indicating 3G is gonna be a premium service so do not expect low rates anytime this year. They don’t want torrent guys to flood out their networks.
  • Tata’s Network Range is fair but many users are facing frequent disconnections while on voice calls.
  • Video Calls are not working yet.

Overall Tata Docomo is offering a nice package but they surely have to improve their network over the time. 3G Download speed are good but uploading in some area’s are low. You can enjoy some free 3G bandwidth on your Tata Docomo number for now and hope that Tata launches some affordable plans. What are your views and how much speed are you getting, do share in comments below.