You are finally realizing your dream of traveling to India, but you want to stay connected with folks back home or upload your photos to Instagram. And, you don’t want to use your connection from back home to avoid horrendous charges. So, how do you get a cell phone (mobile) connection in India?
Postpaid Connection vs Prepaid Connection
In a postpaid connection, you use the cell connection for a month and then pay the billed amount at the end of the month. Getting a postpaid connection for foreigners is a bit of a hassle. That is why a prepaid connection is a better option for travelers.
In a prepaid connection, you recharge your cell phone for a certain amount (which will be your initial balance) and as you use the cell phone the amount is deducted from the initial balance. A prepaid connection is much easier to get. You can actually get a prepaid connection up and running within 10 minutes.
How to get a SIM Card?
The very first place you can buy a sim card is at the airport. There are kiosks of different cell phone providers at all the major international airports in India. Beyond the airport, in any city, you will find hundreds of cell phone shops. You can go to any of these shops to get a new SIM Card. Do make sure that your cell phone from back home is internationally unlocked and can be used in India. Cell phones in India function within 900/1800 MHz ranges. So, your cell phone should be enabled to function within this range.
What are the requirements to buy a SIM Card?
- Two colored passport-sized photos,
- a photocopy of your passport with the original present for verification,
- a photocopy of your Indian visa with the original present for verification,
- a photocopy of your home address (driver’s license, voter card, or other government issued id), and
- Sometimes, a letter from the hotel where you are staying
Once the formalities are done the shopkeeper will activate your cell phone number within minutes
Cell Phone Connection in India
How much does a prepaid connection cost?
The sim card costs around Rs. 100-150 (US$ 2). This is the cost of the sim card. To make and receive calls, send messages and use the internet you will actually have to recharge your cell phone with a given amount. The minimum recharge amount is Rs. 10. Usually, a small portion of the recharge amount is deducted as service tax. For e.g. if you recharge for Rs. 220, you get to use Rs. 200. On average, the cost of phone calls within India is Rs. 1 per minute. The cost of international calls is approximately Rs. 5 to 8 per minute.
The other parameter of recharging your phone is validity. Different recharge amounts of different prepaid plan providers have a set validity period of the recharged amount. So, if you recharged for Rs. 220 and the validity is 2 months. What it means is that you can make calls worth Rs. 220 for 2 months. After the two months, if you still have money on the connection, the money cannot be used. And, contrastingly if you end up using Rs. 220 before the 2 month period, you can still receive calls on your phone for 2 months. Of course, you can always recharge to extend validity or add balance.
What is the right amount to do the first recharge?
This actually depends on your use and your travel time in India. If you are going to use the cell phone just to make local calls within India then Rs. 200 recharge will let you make local calls worth 3 hours. This is sufficient for someone traveling 2 weeks in India. If you want to make international calls then Rs. 500-1000 is a good starting amount if you are not going to make long and frequent calls abroad. If you want to use it mostly for internet while traveling in India then the best option is to inquire with the cell phone shopkeeper about best data packages
How to make calls from a cell phone?
To call another Indian cell phone, you just dial the 10 digit cell phone number. To call an Indian landline number you will have to the local dialing code. For example, the dialing code of Delhi is 011 and the Delhi landline number is 725725, then you will dial 011725725. To make international calls, you will dial respective country code and then the number. If someone from outside India wants to get in touch with you then they will have to add India’s international calling code that is +91 followed by your 10 digit cell phone number, +91-9999966666
What about internet packages on cell phone connections?
Data connection on cell phones used to be very expensive. But, then came Jio, the new cell phone connection backed by India’s richest man Mukesh Ambani. His internet connection plan brought a revolution and brought down the data connection costs. 4G data plans are the norm right now (May 2017). You can expect to get speeds between 3 Mbps to 15 Mbps with a cap of 1 GB per day, after which the speed drops to 128 kbps. The current cost (May 2017) of data connection is about Rs. 300-500 per month for 1 GB of high-speed internet per day and unlimited local calls and texts.
Reliance Jio – Cheap Mobile Data Connection Provider in India
Which is the best cell phone connection provider in India?
- Economically speaking, Reliance Jio is the clear winner. Currently, they are providing unlimited data, local calls and local texts for Rs. 308 per month
- BSNL is the government owned cell phone connection provider. They offer good rates and the real advantage of BSNL is its connectivity in the remoter parts of India. So, if you heading to Ladakh, Spiti Valley, the Himalayas, or the Northeast then you are more likely to get BSNL connectivity compared to other providers
- Vodafone, Airtel, Aircel, and Idea are other popular cell phone connection providers