eigenvector

Awesome, thanks for the feedback.

889

That's amazing. And at the airport they didn't want the name and mobile number of a reference in Delhi?

segacs

I'm flying into New Delhi next week, also around 1am, so this is great info, thanks! What documents did they ask you for to get the card?

emma69

I think they just put down the name and address of the first hotel I was staying at, and verified name with the passport. They did require a photo (I had brought some with me as I had read this was required, just took the photo and printed at Walmart, not official passport ones or anything). If they had asked for a reference, I was ready with the name and number of the travel agent I used.

emma69

See below. I would also recommend you do some reading up about what it is your want your phone / data to do so you can ask for the right package. Vodaphone have an easy enough to navigate website with various options, I don't know about Airtel (the other one I say tons of adverts for - as a Brit I know the name Vodaphone!) They have roaming areas, and as I was travelling across between Delhi and Udaipur, I found a plan that had roaming voice and data. I will warn you about one thing - there are 'junk' calls galore to your mobile, advertising whatever (they weren't in English, but had the jingle quality of adverts!) They go off at all times of the day and night so set the ringer to silent! You will also get texts (that don't cost you anything) offering top up specials with bonus data / minutes so if you are there for a while it might be worth loading a small amount of money, then doing a top up.

889

"I will warn you about one thing - there are 'junk' calls galore to your mobile . . ."

There's a way to block these, either by checking a very small and well-hidden box on the registration form or by sending a certain SMS message to the telco. It's not perfect of course, but it works pretty well.

(I don't think you can block the top-up ads and such from the telco, though.)

emma69

Good to know! Turning the ringer off worked short term, but that's great information if someone is on a longer trip or needs to leave their phone on!

segacs

Update: I did eventually manage to get a SIM card in India (Vodaphone) but it was a huge hassle as prepaid cards can only be paid for in cash. And nobody has any cash right now.

The Vodaphone shop did take credit cards, but only for postpaid SIM cards, which are not available to tourists. We begged them to make an exception as we had no cash but they were unwilling. (This was 2 weeks ago).

Once we did get some cash, it wasn't that bad: 300 rupees got me a SIM, about 70 rupees worth of talk credit, free incoming talk/text, nationwide roaming, and 1GB of data. I was able to add another GB of data for about 95 rupees. They did require a passport photo, a hotel business card for proof of address, a photocopy of my passport, my actual passport, and about 45 minutes worth of completing paperwork and forms. And it took about a day to activate. But, on the whole, not terrible.

The "free sim card scheme" in the thread title seems to be an urban legend.

Wise-Broccoli8301

So is the best bet to still just buy a SIM card? I have a few questions if you guys don't mind helping me out:

1. I hear Airtel is the #1 carrier for coverage. I will try them first. If for any reason the kiosk is backed up or closed, what should I choose as my #2 carrier?

2. Is there a list of the pricing anywhere? I'd like to know what plans there are. Personally I'm only looking for data for a week so anywhere from 1-3gb should be enough

3. Does the card work pretty much in all of India? I'm going through the Golden Triangle tour and then ending up in Rajasthan for a friend's wedding.

889

I have found pricing very confusing, but in the end so cheap it's not worth the time and effort making a lot of comparisons.

Particularly if you're just there for a week, the main concern should be who can do the registration and activate your card as soon as possible. For that, don't use a kiosk, but head to a big office where they can process the registration themselves. (At kiosks and such, the registrations just sit there until they're collected once a day or so then taken to a big office for processing.)

Make sure you've got a passport photo and the name, telephone number and address of a local contact, like the manager of your hotel.

Keyser

i would suggest you look at reliance jio as well....till 31st march all data (1gb high speed per day, unlimited 2g after that), incoming & outgoing calls are free....the sim itself will cost inr 200....

oliver2002

Jio wanted an Aadhar card as proof of ID and address last week. Could be tricky for a foreigner to sign up quickly.

Keyser

not sure what the policy for foreigners would be....i'm assuming passports should be sufficient....

oliver2002

Nope, my jio store guy checked: he needed a proof of address. I offered my PAN, German passport, OCI. Jio call center said they need to verify an address thru Adhaar , utility bill or bank statement. I didn't have any of that, so my friend showed his aadhar and got me the sim card in seconds

Keyser

why am i not surprised????trust these guys to make it difficult....