I’m coming over to visit the family next month but will definitely need an internet connection for my online business during my stay.
I’ll be staying in Sarai Alam Gir, near Jhelum.
None of the relatives have a phone line therefore I won’t be able to connect the laptop to the wall. What I am thinking of doing is using GPRS with my mobile. I have a Sony Ericsson K850i which has a built in modem via USB on my laptop.
My questions are:
Which simcard is best to get from Pakistan for a decent, stable and fast(ish) connection? I will be using for say 2/3 hours at a time.
Re: Need internet connection during my stay in Pakistan
I think you can definitely get a GPRS connection in Pakistan as long as you have mobile coverage in your area. But whether that is a reliable connection in terms of stability is a different matter. You might get disconnected a couple of times during those 2 or 3 hours a day.
Re: Need internet connection during my stay in Pakistan
I was in pak recently (Sept/Oct) and used my nokia N80 as a modem to connect to the internet...and it was painful :-S I had 2 GPRS enabled SIMs - one from Warid, and one from UFone...Warid GPRS enabled on Pre-Paid, while UFone was enabled on Post-Paid...
Warid was better in terms of speed, connecting at 454kbps most times, occasionally connecting at 115kbps depending on my location...HOWEVER, the connection was horrible! it would ALWAYS disconnect within the first minute if i was doing anything that required a constant/secure connection, e.g. checking my email (hotmail), while it was loading the page...after reconnecting, it would allow me to work away for 8 - 10 mins, before disconnecting again...and the rate was outrageous too...i was going through scratch cards for refills like there's no tomorrow...
Someone recommended UFone after hearing about the problems i was having with Warid...and yes, the connection was more stable for UFone, not disconnecting often, but the speed was just horrible! it would never connect faster than 115Kbps, and even then, the pages would take forever to load...something as simple as checking my email, would require 10 mins to login and load the main page where i could view the emails...their rates were OK though...perhaps cuz it was on Post-Paid...
towards the end of my trip, I heard that telenors GPRS is the best in terms of speed and reliability/stability...but it was only available on Post-Paid as well...and i didn't want to get a 3rd SIM while i was there :p so i just stuck it out with Warid and UFone...perhaps on my next trip to pak, i'll try telenor too...
Re: Need internet connection during my stay in Pakistan
blagger: the warid SIM, i didn't get myself...got the chokidaar to get it for me...so not sure where that was available...the uFone SIM i got myself on the way back from somewhere, while i was out...and that was at a proper uFone outlet, not at a convinience store etc...in both cases, I had to call customer service to get the GPRS service enabled after I got the SIM...
do keep in mind that they needed a copy of your National Identity Card, even for pre-paid SIMs! Apparently they started this late last yr sometime...
scartch cards for filling up on ur minutes for pre-paid SIMs is easy though, u can get them anywhere from practically any store...
do let me know how telenor works out for u...i'm also interesting in knowing if u manage to get it on pre-paid, cuz from what i heard, it was only available on post-paid (with a Rs. 1000 deposit to enable GPRS on the SIM)...
