Tikona WiBro is basically a Wireless Broadband Service provider.Their plans are quite competitive & hence I chose to get it installed. Speed advertised was decent at 2Mbps.
What it means (simplified) is that there are multiple “Signal Broadcasting/Transmission” Towers known as Access Points (AP) & then there is a router situated in your home / office. These APs will send/receive wireless data signals to a spot Wireless emitter/receiver in your home/office. In wireless broadband, this is done by a equipment called wireless router.
It is called wireless broadband & not WiFi because though the Router is capable of accepting signals wirelessly, one cannot use the router as a WiFi Hotspot / share files, & login without first logging in the Tikona Webs-based dialer. Further, there are restrictions about the number of users against the same Username (more on that later)
The receiver / router usually provided is Ruckus Metro 2211 [MM2211]. Though not mentioned openly by Tikona the router is capable of WiFi b/g (not n) speeds, which is OK (not great)
The router is also equipped with a external antenna & unlike normal antennas found on regular WiFi routers, this one is optimized for reception & is dome-shaped. Something like this:
This antenna, mind you should ALWAYS have direct line-of-sight with the AP.
Once you have called for the installation, the person comes with three things:
1) The ruckus router
2) External Antenna
3) RJ45 LAN Cable
The installation is the simplest I have seen!
The major hurdle is finding a Access Point visible by your antenna. Hence people living on lower floors among high-rise buildings, please make a note of the same. The installation guy may have to go up to the Terrace of your Building, hence keep the keys to the Terrace handy!
Once this is done, al that remains is switching the router ON & waiting for it to establish connection with the Access Point. Once that is done, simply connect the RJ45 Cable to the Back of the Router & to your Computer. As a safety precaution, disable all other WiFi / LAN connections.
Once this is done, whenever, you will try to visit any web-page (for 1st Time only), the Tikona Web-Based dialer will pop-up & you can enter your username & password (provided by Tikona once payment is realized).
Based on this dialer, there are restrictions on how many PC can simultaneously log-in to the account. Currently the “free” limit is set to 2. However, one can increase it by paying a life-time fee of Rs. 1500/-. So its like having WiFi Broadband.
That’s all! Easy surfing.
I am currently satisfied with the service in Mumbai. People elsewhere please suggest their experiences.
