I like to call it the Amber Nectar ;)

When is the next dreamliner coming???

This Saturday, although a delay to Monday would surprise nobody.

Mobile providers; roaming in India; SIMs w/o expiration dates?
 

Hi, all. Need some advice on choosing a mobile provider in India.

I will be spending a couple weeks in DEL, LKO, CCU in a few months. Will carry a tri/quad-band (undecided, maybe Blackberry) GSM phone with me, and I 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.

Around what time?

The aircraft won't be arriving before Tuesday evening.

mobile SIM and data
 

A2A, thank you for all the helpful information.

Two more questions:
1. If I have to choose between Airtel and Vodaphone, which would have better data access coverage? (I'll probably carry an older Blackberry, 2G?. I'll be in CCU, DEL, Lucknow).

2. I understand that a photocopy of my passport will be retained by the shop that activates a SIM for me. Should I worry about the passport information being misused? I do have an old (circa 1990s) driver license, but I doubt any store would accept its photocopy in lieu of the passport.

i would go with airtel....

unfortunately you will have to leave your passport copy....they won't accept anything else....however, i don't think you have anything to worry about....i have never heard any reports of any misuse in this regard....

Any news yet of whether Airtel will support the Nano sim on the iPhone 5?

yes of course. I read Voda and Airtel have placed orders.

http://www.bgr.in/news/indian-carrie...than-expected/

Will they happily switch existing SIM cards (and thus keeping same numbers) for new nano SIM cards?

yes. and they won't even charge you for it. at least voda will not.

awesome! thanks. I have both voda and airtel numbers, so hopefully I can get at least one of them converted asap.

And presumably there is no link between buying the iphone 5 thru their dealer I hope? I mean, if I buy an unlocked iphone5 in France, I could still ask Vodafone for a new nano SIM for my existing number?

yes. you are correct. I always buy the unlocked iPhone from outside India because it takes so long to get it here. and then you can use it with a local simcard.

However, I've heard this time apple will directly distribute these phones in India as well.