Travel Technology - Cellphone Carriers - South India on 1800 mhz

Interested in being able to make/receive calls primarily in the states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. I'll be trying to use my Nokia 6682 (Cingular in the US, but unlocked. This is a 850/1800/1900 mhz phone). Will mostly be in BLR or MAA, but may travel a bit outside the city up to a 150mi radius .

Primarily need:
- to be able to make/receive calls within India.
- to be able to receive calls from the US, Singapore.
- voice mail.
- SMS
- about a month's worth of use.

GPRS would be nice to have but not a must.

From GSMWorld's coverage maps, it looks like Airtel and Hutch offer services in the 1800 freq.

Any recommendations of one over the other? How do the plans over there work? Can i get a prepaid card that can be recharged on demand? Do they require any address/identity proof when purchasing the card?

WOW, after looking at www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_in.shtml I think that I've never seen so many different GSM carriers in the same country! Sadly, few have their service maps posted.

In India, Airtel mostly operates on 1800 Mhz range. I personally Prefer (and have) Airtel.

www.airtelworld.com
www.hutch.co.in

You can easily get a pre-paid card and recharge as you need it.
Just keep copies of your passport.. you will need them to get the SIM.

coverage area is usually the entire state and anything outside the
state is roaming.

Roaming charges are not a lot.. just about 2x the in-state calls..
but your incoming calls will also be charged when roaming.
(about 10c per minute or less airtime) GPRS is available
but I dont have any personal experience with it in the area.
Calling International is approximately 30-50c per minute

Coverage is excellent almost everywhere in India. If you see cars
in the area, chances are you have coverage.

WOW, after looking at www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_in.shtml I think that I've never seen so many different GSM carriers in the same country! Sadly, few have their service maps posted.

11 operators for a country the size of India isn't that much. The USA has 67 seperate GSM operators and many more operators on different systems.

Don't Cingular have agreements in place with Indian cell phone companies.

Yeah the call costs are cheaper but it would be so much less hassle.

Don't Cingular have agreements in place with Indian cell phone companies.

Yeah the call costs are cheaper but it would be so much less hassle.

Yeap! I think you can roam with your Cingular, Tmobile,
Sprint or Verozon phones in India (Yes.. you also have CDMA
roaming there)

Yeap! I think you can roam with your Cingular, Tmobile,
Sprint or Verozon phones in India (Yes.. you also have CDMA
roaming there)

I've used Cingular & T-Moble roaming in India and was paying around USD$2.99/minute. I use two phones while in India; a local pre-paid account for all calls and use my US based one only to receive emergency calls from the US. You are better off getting a local pre-paid SIM card and using that for local & international calls. Incoming calls with your prepaid are free in your local calling zone.

Make sure before you leave the US that your US based phone is setup with your US service provider to allow for international roaming.

If you have a US based callback service for making international calls while traveling then you can use your prepaid local India number as the one to receive your callback as you'll not be paying airtime but only the callback rates. Do this only if your USA based callback service rates are lower than your outgoing calls made with a prepaid India based account.

In India, Airtel mostly operates on 1800 Mhz range. I personally Prefer (and have) Airtel.

www.airtelworld.com
www.hutch.co.in
...
coverage area is usually the entire state and anything outside the
state is roaming.
...
Coverage is excellent almost everywhere in India. If you see cars
in the area, chances are you have coverage.
The carrier's site itself makes no mention of frequency in Karnataka and Tamilnadu states. GSMWorld says that Airtel uses 1800 in Tamilnadu and 900 in karnataka. Hutch seems to use 1800 in both states, but GSMWorld shows stated coverage only in the city of MAA.

1. Does Airtel have 1800 mhz service in both Tamilnadu and Karnataka?
2. Does Hutch have 1800 mhz service outside of MAA? Primarily the road from BLR to MAA.
3. Does Hutch's coverage on 1800 in Karnataka extend to second-tier cities like Mysore and Mandya (spelling?)?

The carrier's site itself makes no mention of frequency in Karnataka and Tamilnadu states. GSMWorld says that Airtel uses 1800 in Tamilnadu and 900 in karnataka. Hutch seems to use 1800 in both states, but GSMWorld shows stated coverage only in the city of MAA.

1. Does Airtel have 1800 mhz service in both Tamilnadu and Karnataka?
2. Does Hutch have 1800 mhz service outside of MAA? Primarily the road from BLR to MAA.
3. Does Hutch's coverage on 1800 in Karnataka extend to second-tier cities like Mysore and Mandya (spelling?)?

I'd like to believe GSMWorld.
now dont quote me on this one, but usually all major providers have
service on and around the major highways.

I can't comment on the frequencies in each local area though.


You can email them and find out:

For Airtel its: 121@airtelindia.com
Hutch: I dont know off hand. but their website should have some contact info. (i'll post it if I can dig one up)

you may contact hutch at:
http://www.hutch.in/contactus/contactus_feedback.asp

cpx Thanks.

I posted questions to both carriers. Will post here if i get a response.

The mail to 121@airtel returned multiple times saying the Subject line must have my cell # on it in a specific format. Trying to fool it with fictitious #s failed.

I dug out the e-mail for someone called a grievance officer for the Karnatka state. Mailed this person. Let's see if anything comes back.

No response yet from Hutch.

The mail to 121@airtel returned multiple times saying the Subject line must have my cell # on it in a specific format. Trying to fool it with fictitious #s failed.

I dug out the e-mail for someone called a grievance officer for the Karnatka state. Mailed this person. Let's see if anything comes back.

No response yet from Hutch.

I've just sent an email to my account rep @ Airtel, lets see what she has to say.
(might take a while)

but I just realised, if you have Airtel service, when you are out
of the primary area, you can either roam on Airtel or Hutch.

Roaming costs are the same I believe.

I've just sent an email to my account rep @ Airtel, lets see what she has to say.
Thanks.

but I just realised, if you have Airtel service, when you are out
of the primary area, you can either roam on Airtel or Hutch.
That's good enough. Given the equipment i have, as long as i have service on 1800 mhz, i am good. Be it from Airtel or Hutch, i don't care if I roam on both their n/w.

I have 10 more days before i hit BLR, so i can wait for a response from either carrier.

For now, I am thinking, I will pick up an Airtel Prepaid card and go with it.

For now, I am thinking, I will pick up an Airtel Prepaid card and go with it.

Good idea. Try to get one with 1 year validity.
(you could receive SMS and incoming call around the globe with that one)
SMS will be free, but incoming calls will cost you @ Rs. 50 per minute
rounded off to a minute.

Just FYI: The official response from Airtel

we would like to confirm you that Airtel works on the frequency of 900 Mhz in Tamilnadu and Karnataka

Just FYI: The official response from Airtel
Bummer. I was hoping for 1800 mhz service in TN and KA. No response to my mails to either carrier. I guess if you are not a customer, they don't bother.

Bummer. I was hoping for 1800 mhz service in TN and KA. No response to my mails to either carrier. I guess if you are not a customer, they don't bother.

Customer service is a bit tricky there.. Its easy for me because
I've managed to keep direct email touch with a specific
Customer service rep... so I dont have to explain my
special circumstances and history every time.

In either case, you can roam on Hutch there.

out-of state roaming cost is the same whether you use the primary
provider or someone else.

For instance in Mumbai I use whatever is available with a strong signal..
Hutch, Orange or Airtel.

From first-hand experience, there was 1800 mhz service only in Tamilnadu and Kerala states. Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh had 900 mhz. This was with Airtel.