Originally Posted by
fw10001
Hi, all. Need some advice on choosing a mobile provider in India.
I will be visiting DEL, LKO, CCU in a few months. Will carry a tri/quad-band GSM phone with me, and plan to buy a prepaid SIM in India.
Are there any Indian mobile service providers that have nationwide free roaming in north India? Or, if roaming is bound to cost more, any suggestions on service providers that have reasonable pricing and good coverage? If I am forced to choose a "local area", I'll choose Delhi since I usually fly into DEL.
Also on the wish list:
1. If possible, I'd love to get a "lifetime" SIM, so that the phone number wouldn't expire (even if there was no activity on the number for months/years). Is that possible? If there is India-specific jargon/terminology for this stuff, I'll appreciate the education, too :-)
2. If possible, I'd like data/web access included in my prepaid plan, so I can check my email. I do not intend to carry a laptop or netbook, so I cannot use a USB-interface data card.
Thank you, and feel free to move this post to a separate thread if it is not appropriate for the Chai Stall conversation.
as long as you get a national service provider, such as airtel or vodafone, you should be able to use the same number across the country. roaming is not THAT expensive in india, at best 1.5 rs per minute while local calls could be going for 60-80 paise (0.6-0.8 rs).
lifetime simcards exist, but they mean the lifetime of the operator, and hence should be valid till 2014 as of now (that is when current licenses to operate cellphone services in india expire).
if you have a smartphone, you should be able to add on an EDGE or 3G data-pack to avail of data services on the same number.