Buying a pre-paid cell phone in Delhi, India

June 12, 2011 6:32 PM

My wife is traveling to India later this month. She'll be in the mountains, where there are few landlines, but from her experience last time there is sufficient (if spotty) cell phone service. Wikitravel says: "Fully loaded prepaid starter kits are available for around Rs. 500 or less" (plus more details). Does anyone have experience buying a pre-paid mobile phone like this in India? Can she do it at the Delhi airport? Is it a hassle, or is it worth it?
posted by Plutor to Travel & Transportation around New Delhi, India (9 answers total)

From what I remember, you can rent mobiles at airports-- I'm not sure if you can get one of your own at the airport, and I don't know about the Delhi airport specifically. It's probably more expensive, but if she's only going to be there for a short time, its probably worth saving herself the hassle.

I had a mobile phone, but I'm not sure how hard it was to get because I was there with my university and they set it up, but I had to fill out the paperwork and it didn't seem too involved. Oddly, I needed to attach a passport photo.

Once you have a phone and sim card, it's very easy to put minutes on them if you're on a major carrier (I think Vodafone is the biggest) you can basically add more minutes at every other corner store (they'll display the logo of the company).

Also, if she has vodafone and will be making international calls, she should look into the "World Calling Card" which is good value if you buy them in large denominations, and makes international calling convenient.
posted by geegollygosh at 7:07 PM on June 12, 2011

My understanding is that one must now show ID proving Indian residency before purchase of a mobile phone is allowed. I can't confirm with Google, and I didn't try the last time I was there, but that's my understanding. I found coverage to be very good even in reasonably remote areas, and am told that it's increasing very, very rapidly.
posted by TheNewWazoo at 8:24 PM on June 12, 2011

I bought a couple of cell phones in India and used pre-paid plans to recharge the minutes. The nice thing is that the cards you use to recharge your phone can be found anywhere.

If I remember, all I needed was to show my passport when I bought the phones. I walked into the cell phone store, handed over the cash, they photocopied my passport, and I was good to go. The phone I bought there was cooler than the phone I used back in the states (what? I can actually use the keypad to make my own ringtone? cool!). This was in 2003-2004.

I sold the phones on the street the day before I caught my plane and made about 80% of my money back.
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 9:28 PM on June 12, 2011

While I'm sure there are ways around these regulations, I had to jump through some annoying hoops to get a SIM card last time I was in Delhi (2009-10). It didn't used to be like this, but apparently there was a law passed in the wake of the Mumbai attacks that requires you to show some proof of residency (a landlord's letter attesting to your address, say) in order to legally get your hands on a SIM card. I'm not clear on the details; I got walked through it by my fellowship program. But I do remember having to produce proof of address while in India (namely, a lease), passport photos, passport and visa, etc.

The Indiamike forums are a great place to ask this question if you want up-to-date answers from people who are in India right now, dealing with these kinds of questions. Very helpful people!
posted by artemisia at 9:59 PM on June 12, 2011

Best answer: I was there 8 weeks ago. Airtel have an office at Delhi airport. We bought a sim card for MrTaff's normal mobile phone and a micro
sim for my iPhone with no problems. At one in the morning. Can't speak for phones at the airport....but they're easy enough to buy elsewhere....and not locked in to any network.

Email me if I can be of further help.
posted by taff at 10:04 PM on June 12, 2011

We were in Himachal and ALWAYS had phone coverage. And data almost always.
posted by taff at 10:06 PM on June 12, 2011

AFAIK, you can go to any reputed retailer (preferably carrier showroom), show your ID proof (preferably passport and Indian visa) and give them passport size photo. You will have to fill up some forms and they will happily sell you a SIM card.
posted by zaxour at 1:21 PM on June 13, 2011

Best answer: Delhi airport has an Airtel store, as taff said. Here is their page that tells you what you need:

- Your self attested photograph
- Your photo proof of identity / signature
- The proof of your address

It is the last one that's tricky for foreigners. If your wife has a hotel booking confirmation, or a letter from her hosts, or something else that looks legit and has an address for her in India, that should be fine.
posted by vidur at 5:04 PM on June 13, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks for all the advice. She brought an old GSM phone with her (glad we never got rid of that). She just called me on it from her hotel in Bilaspur. At the Delhi airport, they asked her to sign something that said she'd be in New Delhi for at least 24 hours, but they didn't ask for any actual proof. She signed it and then got on her connecting flight a couple hours later (whoops).

Anyhow, thanks again. Last time she went, she was in the mountains in Himachal and I only spoke to her maybe three times in the whole month. It'll be nice to hear from her a little more often this time.
posted by Plutor at 8:23 AM on June 22, 2011