TOI

Mangalore, Nov 11: Dakshina Kannada Telecom District officials are optimistic of selling a minimum of 2,000 EvDO (Evolution Data Optimized / Evolution Data  Only) cards within a month of launch of high speed wireless broadband services in the city. The services will be launched on November 15.

DKTD principal general manager (PGM) Y C Mishra told TOI that everyday he was getting more than 50 inquiries about the high speed EvDO cards, especially from students in Manipal. ``As soon as the services are launched the 600 cards with the DKTD will be made available to the public through our commercial outlets. Of the 600 cards, 200 are reserved for Udupi and Manipal, he added.

He admitted the launch was delayed chiefly due to technical snag. ``The work of rectifying minor glitches is in progress. Of the 17 EvDO towers needed, 12 have been commissioned. The rest will be commissioned this weekend, he added. ``Basically, we dont want to have any issues from the customers' side after its launch. Hence this delay'', he added.

Of the 17 towers, Mangalore town will have seven and one each will be positioned at Ullal, Surathkal, Baikampady, Udupi and Manipal.

When this high speed broadband is used in the EvDO tower locations, the browsing and download speeds would be close to 2 mbps. ``Rest of the areas where CDMA towers are available, it will work like a normal NIC card (Network Interface Card) giving speeds up to 144 kbps'', Mishra noted.

DKTD is providing NIC services since 18 months. The highlight of both the services (NIC and EvDO) of DKTD is that download is unlimited. The EvDO tariff, being little stiff at Rs 650, has roaming included, which means the card can be used anywhere in the state. Use of these cards outside the state would incur roaming charges.