Mobilink Infinity – Wireless Broadband Service in Karachi
I have been using Mobilink Infinity wireless broadband service for almost three months now. I signed up or their pre-launch offer with upfront cost of Rs. 6000 for CPE and Rs. 2000 for security deposit. Installation charges were waived as part of the promotion. The monthly charges were supposed to be Rs. 1,199 for 1Mbps bandwidth of unlimited data usage and free voice calls (to Mobilink customers only). Today, I was told by customer service representative that unlimited download package will end on November 30th, after which I will have to choose one of their capped packages. I chose Mobilink over Wateen because of their unlimited package. The new packages are useless for me. Mobilink is not offering opt-out option. If I cancel, I will have to pay 50% of the upfront price as the CPE cost. This is simply outrageous. I have a call open with customer service department. I am contacting PTA if this issue is not resolved to my satisfaction.
To be fair, I have to say that up until today, I was happy with the service. I get good bandwidth most of the time. While it ranges from 30Kbps to 110Kbps, most of the time I get 70Kbps – 100Kbps (just a reminder – there is a difference between KBps and kbps). Following are screen shots of some of the bandwidth tests:
Mobilink Infinity Bandwidth Test - Ubuntu Download
Mobilink Infinity Bandwidth Test - CNET
Mobilink Infinity Bandwidth Test - Speakeasy
While the bandwidth is good, the connection drops several times a day, sometimes requiring a reboot of the CPE. According to Mobilink’s tech support, the connection drops due to electricity outages at the tower (one of the techs told me “is me sara qusoor WAPDA ka hai). I am sure that their towers are backed up by generators and UPSs. My guess is that there is a delay between power loss and generators kicking in, during which receivers lose connectivity to the tower. In any case, I have to reboot my device at least twice a day.
There are two CPE devices: indoor and outdoor.
ZyXEL Indoor CPE - Top
ZyXEL Indoor CPE - Ports
The two CPE devices are connected via a special 10 wire RJ-45 like connection. This connection provides power to the outdoor unit (so no power is required outside). The cable itself is as thick as a coax cable, but the connector is about three quarters of an inch. I had to drill a hole to connect the two CPE devices. The outdoor CPE (receiver) is typically mounted on the roof in the direction of the tower. Installation may be an issue for those who don’t have access to the roof or live in shared apartments. One of the problems that I see with Mobilink service is that they collect upfront fees first and then send the installation team. If for whatever reason, the installation is not possible or the coverage is poor, they issue a refund. Not a customer friendly practice. They should survey and test for wireless coverage before committing to the service.
I could not find specifications of the CPE which in my case is ZyXEL MAX3×0HW2. The indoor CPE has four LAN ports, two voice ports and built-in wireless. Unfortunately, Mobilink does not share the device password with the customers (I fail to understand the logic). Technical support can “see” the outdoor CPE but don’t have a view of indoor CPE. One of my frustrations is that the technical support sees my CPE connected even when I don’t have Internet connection. I used to call them regularly, but now I just reboot CPE (sometimes 2 or 3 reboots).
I guess you can just replace Mobilink with Wateen and it would almost exactly describe the Wateen experience. I recently shifted from Wateen to ptcl dsl when it became available..
Actually,if any different,Mobilink is a little better then wateen reading your article. But reading and using are two different things. I would rate wateen CSR below average. And latency is quite higher then DSL.. Not to mention the confused billing in the early days and scrapping of one year contract from wateen’s end without request neither consent. They shifted all the post paid user,of whom they have accepted post dated cheques, which I have not received back,although it has been more then 3 months I was migrated to pre paid..
Did you register a complain with PTA? Change in contract without penalty free opt-out option should enough for a class action lawsuit.
i want to know about this service
I think those who say mobilink infinity is better they did not use either of these two services infinity / wateen.
i have just taken this connection of mobilink infinity at home, and it is not even 60% of performance that wateen provide, wateen is definitly faster and have decent uploading speed too, whereas mobilink infinity uploading is hell slow even worse than dial up.. (2.4kb/sec).. if u do video chat, u will be badly disappointed by this so called broadband connection.
the downloading speed of mobilink infinity is ok but still not as fast as wateen. i use wateen at office, and mistakenly taken mobilink infinity at home….
i m ali plz call this number 0343xxxxxxx
Why?
From the month of April 2009 Mobilink infinity customer care showing excess outstadning of Rs. 1700/- into my account and inspite of so many emails, phone they are not correcting my bill. This month they are showing outstanding amount of Rs. 3900/- which is excess of Rs. 1700/-. Having become frastated I told them to disconnect my line immediately but still they did not do so and saying untill I pay the full amount of bill they do not disconnect the line.
Is there any responsoble person in mobilink customer care or in their billing section to resolve my problem because I am so disturbed with mobilink customer care.
i think ptcl dsl connection is Excellent
very faster and have decent uploading speed too,
so i suggest all connection remove and try ptcl dsl