Etisalat launches DC HSPA+ : What does it mean to you ?

Etisalat Sri Lanka are in the process of upgrading their current HSPA+ (Evolved High-Speed Packet Access) mobile broadband technology & speed with the launch of Dual Carrier HSPA+. I’m not going to speak about the technical stuff relating to such technologies here. (You can check on the links) But Etisalat had organized a small meet-up for Sri Lankan bloggers & tweeps who are interested on the subject. I got a chance to attend the event and got some insight on the new launch. The marketing and engineering team did a good job in explaining the technology and showed some live demo too.

A sample Speedtest result for Etisalat DC HSPA+ network

Before discussing more on that, I hope everyone’s aware that all five Mobile ISPs in Sri Lanka provide high speed internet access (3G or above) to their customers. If I’m not mistaken, the technology each operator uses differs (at-least by the name). As per the TRCSL, Dialog & Mobitel, who were first to offer high speed internet, use the HSPA technology. Hutch, the new entrant to the race also uses HSPA (as per their website). TRC says that Airtel uses HSDPA and Etisalat uses HSPA+.

Etisala’s network backbone has been around for a long time in Sri Lanka (earlier as Celltel and then as Tigo). But after the company was bought by well known Etisalat group and re-branded as Etisalat Sri Lanka, it has seen a rapid growth and expansion including the launch of high speed internet. Even though I don’t use Etisalat mobile broadband, I’ve observed users in twitter claiming Etisalat’s mobile broadband speed is better compared to other operators.

So what happens when Etisalat upgrades their current technology to DC HSPA+ ?

Obviously the maximum possible speed offered by the network will increase. This will give Etisalat, an edge over other networks, to accommodate more subscribers and provide better speed to all of them since they will have more bandwidth to offer and given the fact, mobile broadband is a “shared bandwidth service”. The Etisalat engineers at the meet-up said they can promise speeds twice as fast as their current offering. Considering the fact that we are living in an “Information-driven era” where our need is to access more and more ‘high quality’ content over a short period of time, we end up requiring speedier internet connection. The game is about speed. The operator who provides better speed wins.

Where does LTE (4G) stand ?

Most of must be aware about LTE (or 4G), the next generation of high speed internet which was launched on a test phase (non commercial) by Dialog and Mobitel, last year. A question was also raised at the meet-up as to whether Etisalat is considering launching LTE. The engineers said they have log term plans on LTE but pointed out it will take time since LTE is a technology which is still under development and therefore will be a costly technology to adopt and market. They are quite right about that, since LTE(4G) is different from HSPA-which is a high speed version of 3G. Also implementing DC HSPA+ will be easier as it is done on top of their existing 3G or 3.5G or 3.75G network (means swift island-wide implementation) whereas implementing LTE will involve installing new infrastructure (means it will take more time to implement island-wide).

Then comes the question of affordability over availability.

To access DC HSPA+  technology, we’d need “DC HSPA+ supporting” devices (same applies to LTE) including mobile broadband modems, mobile phones, mi-fi routers etc. Now you’ll ask why should we hype about DC HSPA+ when we can’t make the full use of it without a supporing device ? Well, the broadband modem advertised in the Etisalat website is priced at Rs.16000, which is not affordable to everyone. But I don’t think it will take much time for the prices to drop or for us to see compatible but cheaper modems in the market. Also as per this article from February 2012 at-least 93 user devices (including 4 mobile phones) support DC HSPA+. The article is 6 months old and I’m sure the numbers would have at-least doubled by now. Another good news is that the latest edition of iPad (released some time ago) and some variants of Samsung Galaxy S3 and some variants of HTC One X and Nokia Lumia 900 also support DC HSPA+ !  I hope the newer devices will probably support the technology. But what matters most are the Mobile Broadband modems (dongles) supporting DC HSPA+. It all depends on their price and availability.

When it comes to packages and pricing, Etisalat did not reveal much. But the adaptability of users will depend on the affordability too. Let’s see what happens ! 🙂

Also there is a misconception that Etisalat is able to provide better speeds since they have less customer base. (i.e bandwidth is shared among less number of users) ! It may have been true sometime ago. But I should note that Etisalat too has a big customer base now. Also as I pointed out earlier Etisalat currently uses HSPA+ whereas others use HSPA. I have seen lot of users shifting to Etisalat from other networks and claiming they’re getting better speed. Also the Etisalat representatives pointed out that their biggest marketing point is the broadband speed. So they closely monitor their speed and bandwidth on a daily basis to make sure they maintain the standard. That’s a good move.

Also I wish operators like Dialog and Mobitel also improve their current HSPA network to provide more speed/ bandwidth before implementing LTE because they are facing a big competition in the mobile broadband area. Also LTE implementation (island-wide) will take time and it won’t be cheap either (at-least for now).

Final Note

On a customer point of view, what matter are, availability and affordability. And when there is a competition between networks on providing better service they will be forced to increase the availability and reduce the cost involved for the user. End of the day it will be a win-win situation for the customer ! 🙂

iRead : The book delivery service from M.D.GUNASENA

“iRead” : Order your book via 071 999 7117 and they’ll deliver it to your doorstep !

Reading books in the form of hard copy has been challenged by kindles and e-book readers. But that has never meant the end of the hard copies (at-least for now) ! It always feels good to hold a book in your hand and read (with all the bookmarks and stuff !) 🙂

Coming to my topic, M.D.Gunasena, a well-known book seller in Sri Lanka has a pretty good book delivery service called “iRead” (within Colombo limits). All you have to do is call their dedicated hotline on 071 999 7117 and order your book. That’s it  ! The book will be delivered to your door-step if it’s within 20km limit from Fort. But note that it will take 3 working days for them to process your order and they charge and extra Rs.50 on top the price of the book, as a service fee. It’s really good to see such services in Sri Lanka, where a particular branch of a book store may not have a book you look for and you may have to visit different places searching for it.

I recently wanted a book by Robin Sharma to be gifted. So I went to the M.D.Gunasena branch in Hill Street, Dehiwala all the way from Beruwala. I went there because I had already purchased one of Robin Sharma’s books at the same place. But this time they didn’t have it. They were having a different “collection” of his books and they said it’s the same with other branches. But the staff gave me the detalis on their delivery service and told that I can get the book if they have it at their stores.

So I contacted the hotline (071 999 7117) and gave the details. They contacted me after 2 days and told that the book is ready. But since I was in Beruwala, they gave the option of sending it to their Kalutara branch. But I opted to collect it directly at their Head Office in Pettah. It was quite convenient for me since it was hassle free and the book was ready at the cashiers when I went there. So give it a try guys ! 🙂

Marine Drive and the “Rio” treat !

I know it has been a long time since I last blogged. and of course, I shouldn’t feel good about calling me a “blogger” after doing only 2 posts in 2 years ! But, my plans to sit an write/type a blog-post have been spoiled by various reasons; the main reason being – “laziness” !!!

Leaving that aside, I came across this hype about the “Rio” ice-cream in Wellawatte recently. Those who are from / have been to Jaffna should know about “Rio” ice-cream better than me. ( Btw, I’ve never been to Jaffna !    -_- ). It is a famous brand there. (I came across these after googling : A post by Aamina Nizar & a Ceylon Today article.)

The ‘big’ cup of ‘Rio’ ice-cream ! Worth the try, money and hype !

They seem to be having a branch-of-a-sort in Negombo. An an “Ice-cream van” from the “Negombo Rio” pays visit to the Marine Drive in Wellawatte daily ! And that sums-up the story !

Sri Lanka, being a country with a usually ‘hot’ weather, has more ice-cream lovers (including me, of course !). And we’ve got our own experiences of having ice-cream at restaurants  (and blaming them for overcharging after giving a scoop of Elephant House ice-cream !) and from those wayside sellers (during school days, mostly).

Coming back to the “Rio” hype, I paid a visit to the Marine drive recently, to taste some ice-cream. The vehicle is parked by the railway tracks on Marine drive, few meters away from the Dinemore restaurant, towards Bambalapity. they had cups in varying sizes and since the Blueberry flavor which I wanted was available only in their ‘bigger’ cup of multiple flavors, I opted for it. It cost me Rs.100 (I repeat, ‘big’ cup with ‘multiple flavors’). I must say that i did not get disappointed. it was worth my visit, money and the hype !

It had vanilla, mango, strawberry and blueberry flavors (and some chocolate coating). Adding to that some pineapple pieces accompanied by some jelly in the bottom ! Me and my friends had a ‘yummy‘ evening by the Wellawatte beach side ! 🙂

So, the next time you visit the Wellawatte Marine Drive, do spare few minutes to taste a cup of  ‘Rio‘ ! you can also buy it as a take-away. (P.S: another good thing I noticed was that they had a garbage-basket near the van, so you can drop the plastic wastage in there without spoiling the beach ! Good job !)