Frustrating Experience with BSNL 3G Data SIM - and a workaround

I took a BSNL SIM while travelling expecting that their services were more likely to be available in most states. Unfortunately, I did not test it well in Chandigarh before leaving.

I was using a Huawei 3G E8231 dongle and it just did not connect. I tried on cell phone as well but the data connection did not happen whether 2G or 3G.

I needed BSNL connection in Rajasthan where Tata Docomo did not have their own data service. Once I reached Pune, I did not need the BSNL connection but it worked using the APN bsnllive!

However, my relief was not long. It did not connect in Goa either, except for some reason for 1 day, when it worked very well for the whole day and using the APN bsnlnet as expected.

Since then again no connection. It is frustrating to contact BSNL support on their call centre, especially while roaming.

I sent emails to the addresses mentioned on BSNL site. The messages did not bounce; however, I got no feedback at all. Curiously, the email addresses were on gmail.com :)

I got a call yesterday (may be because I had visited the BSNL office in Mapusa who said that they will contact Chandigarh for help). I was told that I should try now as the problem is resolved.

However, no change in status and I cannot call back the person who had called :(

Finally, I got a person on 1503 of the Maharashtra circle who gave me the help number for Punjab. The person from the Punjab circle wasn't helpful at all and probably disconnected in the middle. I tried once again and it got disconnected again. No point in making any more effort.

I am bewildered by why did it work on two days and not on other days. Since it worked twice, it does not seem like a compatibility problem with my devices. Oh, well, fortunately, there are many more options now, which work AND who really do try to help!

I will dump the sim. A lesson learnt for a thousand rupees - a mere US$ 15 :)

Update 7th Feb 2015:

There had to be a reason why the BSNL connection worked twice. I kept thinking about the sequence of operations which might have been the reason.

I think I now know.

The default APN for bsnl is 'bsnlnet'. It did not work.
I changed the profile to 'bsnllive'.
Waited for a while.
State is now connected. Some data is sent but nothing is received.
I changed the profile back to 'bsnlnet'.
State remains connected and the 3G data connection works :)

The above steps have worked on two days now.
Why? That remains a mystery!

Future best universities may surprise us

Rankings of Indian universities in a recent higher education survey was not particularly impressive. But that was hardly surprising. An article about why there is a crisis in Delhi university made me recall my views about Goa's potential as a fantastic place for learning.

Every time I visited the Goa University campus on Taleigao or Goa Engineering College in Verna, the serenity and beauty were striking. It seemed obvious that there could not be a better place for contemplation and research.

Little incidents indicated that teachers were sincere and cared. This was supported by a cousin who was training teachers for a major publication house. She said that she was pleasantly surprised by the dedication and sincerity of the participants. It was different from her experiences in general.

The environment and the atmosphere are right so why the absence of progress. Regrettably, the University Grants Commission (UGC) promotes uniformity in the guise of excellence. So, Goa University is a smaller version of the rest of Indian Universities - potential is there but execution is depressing.

It is a small university with not too many affiliated colleges. A little change in direction and autonomy can make a phenomenal difference. It is not money but a change in attitude that we can do it will make all the difference.

I keep hoping that one day soon I will hear that Goa University is excelling in X. That X does not have to engineering and medicine. It probably will be an 'obscure' subject - because making a change in a domain which is ignored is much easier. The rest of the society will notice only after success has already been achieved. Much like our software services industry.

Let it be modern languages, music or any one thing which will help trigger a movement for excellence by proving that it is possible.

Holiday in Goa - Switching to Arch Linux

Overhearing phrases like 'How you did?' in a very pleasing accent makes me feel at home again.

Cab driver drove fast from the airport to Mapusa. The roads seemed nicer. At a few places, the rumblers were replaced by rounded speed breakers.

At night, when I drove, the traffic seemed nicer - more polite. Fewer people honking and fewer headlights on high beam. The addition of reflectors at the edge of the road made driving at night from Panaji to Mapusa more comfortable.

As usual, my first task was to upgrade my old PC in our flat in Mapusa.

The PC has an intel 945 graphics chipset, so the likelihood of the system freezing with Fedora 12 or Ubuntu 9.10 is very high.

Also, this will begin my long experiment with keeping a system used a few times a year current without upgrading the OS again.

I brought a backup of Arch Linux from my parents' system in Chandigarh so that I could be operational very quickly.

It did not turn out to be that way - more about that in a separate post.