From reading previous threads, I think I have learned that my best bet is to buy a prepaid SIM card for use when I'm in Chennai (Madras / MAA). Does anyone know if my dual-band Virgin Mobile (UK) phone will work there by just replacing the SIM card?

Does anyone have first-info about the best places to buy a SIM card in Chennai?

thanks!!

Yes it'll work in Chennai as they use same GSM frequencies as your UK dual band phone. To use a pre-paid SIM card in Chennai you'll have to make sure that your phone is unlocked from your network (SIM locked). If it is locked you can use one of several services in the UK to have it unlocked for a small fee. There is also software availble to generate the unlock codes. Do a Google to find the software tools or people who do the unlocking.

Pre-paid SIM cards are readily available at every nook & corner.

There is also software availble to generate the unlock codes.

http://www.unlockme.co.uk/dct4free.html

It is not so easy for non-residents to just buy a prepaid card as you have to show some proof of residence. Ask if you UK operator has a roaming agreement with an indian operator. All german operators mobile (T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 etc) phones work fine in Indian GSM Networks.

Virgin (UK) will send you an unlock code provided you have spent 30 GBP on your account

From reading previous threads, I think I have learned that my best bet is to buy a prepaid SIM card for use when I'm in Chennai (Madras / MAA). Does anyone know if my dual-band Virgin Mobile (UK) phone will work there by just replacing the SIM card?

Does anyone have first-info about the best places to buy a SIM card in Chennai?

thanks!!

I've used my Virgin (UK) prepaid in India and it works fine on Orange and Hutch.
(i'm not sure if it worked with Airtel or not)

for my prepaid, international roaming was enabled by default. but the roaming
charges are outrageous, but its still a good thing to keep for emergencies.

If you can manage to get your phone unlocked, you should be able to use
the local SIMs. most of them work on 900Mhz band and some of them are
on 1800Mhz.

if possible.. it would be a good idea to ask someone to purchase
a pre-paid SIM before you arrive, and give out the numbers to
people who may need to call you.

The prepaid UK SIMs generally work in the major Indian metropolitan areas, including Madras, without a problem as long as the phone is a dual-band or tri-band GSM phone. Same goes for the post-paid SIMs from the UK. As said before, if you want to put in a local number when in India, make sure your phone is unlocked so that you can put in another SIM while in India. To get a local prepaid SIM in India increasingly requires supplying a copy of ID at the time of purchase/setup of the local SIM.

GSM phones -- such as a prepaid/postpaid UK phone from O2, TMobile, etc. -- will work throughout most of India where a GSM network is available with some notable exceptions, such as the state of Jammu & Kashmir (or at least the Kashmir part) where roaming is not (or at least was not) allowed by the central government.

It is not so easy for non-residents to just buy a prepaid card as you have to show some proof of residence. Ask if you UK operator has a roaming agreement with an indian operator. All german operators mobile (T-Mobile, Vodafone, O2 etc) phones work fine in Indian GSM Networks.

Show proof residence In India for a prepaid SIM?

We've gotten local prepaid SIMs in at least four cities in India and never had an issue that went beyond supplying a copy of the "face page" of the passport and/or having the passport on hand. And in most cases it was obvious that the persons were non-residents.

We've gotten local prepaid SIMs in at least four cities in India and never had an issue that went beyond supplying a copy of the "face page" of the passport and/or having the passport on hand.

Same here although only I only got a SIM in one city and use it in two different parts of India. Was there a reason you got them in 4 cities or just happened to be in different cities when you needed to make the purchase?

Same here although only I only got a SIM in one city and use it in two different parts of India. Was there a reason you got them in 4 cities or just happened to be in different cities when you needed to make the purchase?

Anything from mere convenience -- as in just needed one at the time or a refill was not otherwise possible locally at the time -- to reasons such as some of the local cell phone service providers were lousy when it came to receiving SMS messages sent by certain other providers.

Anything from mere convenience -- as in just needed one at the time or a refill was not otherwise possible locally at the time -- to reasons such as some of the local cell phone service providers were lousy when it came to receiving SMS messages sent by certain other providers.

If this counts, i've been fairly happy with Airtel. I started with a pre-paid
service, I later converted it to post paid and international roaming enabled.
(with a deposit) It works great through out India and around the world.

and I find the internnational roaming charges fairly reasonable. very convenient.

FWIW, Verizon users from the US(possibly other CDMA technology users from other parts of the world) get hooked on to the Reliance network while in India.

I later converted it to post paid and international roaming enabled.
(with a deposit) It works great through out India and around the world.


I have Airtel pre-paid. Do you have an Indian address that enabled you to move to post-paid?

I have Airtel pre-paid. Do you have an Indian address that enabled you to move to post-paid?

More than the address, the post-paid roaming requires a hefty deposit.

Define hefty? Do you find that the roaming is cheaper than roaming with a non-Indian phone? For instance, if you were in China you would prefer to roam with your Indian Aritel rather than a US-based T-Mobile phone?

Define hefty? Do you find that the roaming is cheaper than roaming with a non-Indian phone? For instance, if you were in China you would prefer to roam with your Indian Aritel rather than a US-based T-Mobile phone?

Outside of the respective home market (and perhaps neighboring ones), it's been cheaper to roam using the Indian providers than T-mobile US (or even UK for that matter) in every country where I've been using T-mobile and my companions have been roaming with their Indian number. I don't know about how it worked for China, but for several places in Europe, South America and the Middle East my roaming on T-Mobile (US) seemed to be 10-40% more expensive (maybe even more).

Define hefty? Do you find that the roaming is cheaper than roaming with a non-Indian phone? For instance, if you were in China you would prefer to roam with your Indian Aritel rather than a US-based T-Mobile phone?

Yes! i'd agree with GUWonder. best thing about Indian phone is the
billing method. Costs calculations are complicated, but they
charge you per minute. Calling local within any market is very cheap.
(may be a little higher compared to a local
pre-paid SIM, but not too expensive)

say in China, the rate per minute including the roaming surcharge
was about 40c per minute(for local outgoing calls)
a 30 second call will cost me about 20 cents. I dont think you can beat that.

Plus incoming SMS are free worldwide.
incoming calls were about $1.25 per minute... and international
calls were about $1.50 per minute.
(including roaming surcharge)
These are steep rates, but much better compared to
US based phones.


in some countries like Cyprus, the rates were pretty cheap.
under 10cents per minute and under 6cents for SMS. (local)