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By Rajkamal Rao
By Rajkamal Rao
Go back to "The first 90 days"
One of the first things you will need on landing is a cell phone - and believe it or not - you will need to provide proofs of both identity and address to buy one. Please refer to the subsection on cell phones in the current state assessment chapter for an overview of the cell phone service options in India.
Much like in the US, you will need to make decisions around the following:
Device. Your first decision is to see if you can use your unlocked US phone in India. Even if your US carrier did not give you an unlock code, there are many local outlets which specialize in hacking into your phone and unlocking it for you. A friend had his US GSM blackberry unlocked for just INR 400 and it continues to work flawlessly.
If you want to try out a new device, you have lots of choices. In India, carriers do not discount the price of the device in return for long-term service contracts. You simply buy the device on your own. India has the world’s second largest market for cell phones with nearly 900 million subscribers - so, device retailing is big business. Every city has an electronics bazaar and just about every type of phone is available. Competition is intense and bargaining is encouraged.
If buying from these bazaar stores scares you, you could buy your device from the national chains. The MobileStore (from Essar) claims to be India’s first national chain of telecom retail outlets, as well as the country’s largest mobile retailer. All the top electronics appliance stores - Croma, eZone - feature mobile departments just like your local Best Buy.
And then, there’s always the option of buying your device online. Junglee.com, a service of Amazon’s, is probably the best to do comparison shopping of electronics items - but unlike Amazon, you cannot buy at Junglee. The site directs you to a local retailer or another website where you can complete the purchase. Homeshopping18.com and Indiatimes.com are also popular outlets for online mobile phones. Please review the subsection on E-commerce in the current state section for the pros and cons of online shopping.
Operating System. From the basic Symbian operating system popularized by Nokia to the latest iPhone 5 - phones of every type and price range are available. In the Smartphone ecosystem, entry-level Android phones rule the market. Blackberrys are popular with corporate types and Nokia is aggressively promoting the Lumia brand of phones.
Price. Entry-level phones without any modern features and fancy lights - but completely adequate to have conversations, send and receive SMSs, and featuring FM radio - are available from Nokia for under INR 1,000! And a new battery - which can alone cost you INR 275 - is included.
Next up are phones which mimic smartphones by offering icons, a music player and a camera in the INR 2,000 to 3,000 range.
For a little more, in the INR 3,000 - 5,000 range, one can buy entry-level Android smartphones from Indian manufacturers such as Karbon or Micromax.
And then are the entry-level Androids from the global brands. The Samsung Galaxy Pocket S5300 - retailing for about INR 6,500 - packs 3GB of user memory, an 832MHz processor, Bluetooth 3.0, a 2.8 inch display and the Android 2.3 OS - an amazing price considering that there are no contracts to sign!
INR 10,000 + phones are all about screen size, speed, memory and fashion. The iPhone 5 debuted in India for INR 45,000 and is one of the most popular phones in the market today.
Service provider. Now that you have the device and OS, you will select your service provider. Wikipedia lists the top mobile operators by rank, subscribers and technology. GSM, by far, is the most popular technology in India - and should be your choice. If you are using an unlocked US phone from Verizon Wireless or MetroPCS, you will be looking for CDMA technology and this is available from BSNL and Tata DoCoMo.
Pre or Post paid. Both post-paid billing (where consumers call first and pay later) and pre-paid billing are available from all carriers. The general anecdotal impression is that post-paid plans are fraught with billing errors - and are a way for companies to sneak in add-on charges on unsuspecting customers. Companies deny these allegations but lengthy and onerous processes to reverse contested charges on bills swing the argument back to consumers. Most carriers take pride in offering a myriad of post-paid plans often confusing the average consumer.
For pre-paid service, SMS messages are sent out at the end of each call indicating current balance. Alerts are sent when balances drop below a threshold. Customers who buy prepaid plans can recharge their accounts online - even from banking websites.
Your calling and data needs when you are just starting out in India ought to be basic, so we recommend that you go with the pre-paid option. You can always switch to a post-paid plan when you settle down.
Data services. Prepaid data services are very inexpensive. One carrier offers a mobile internet value pack for INR 98 valid for 30 days. 2 GB of data is included. 3G speeds are included. Not bad for you to check email when you step out of your home.
One of the first things you will need on landing is a cell phone - and believe it or not - you will need to provide proofs of both identity and address to buy one. Please refer to the subsection on cell phones in the current state assessment chapter for an overview of the cell phone service options in India.
Much like in the US, you will need to make decisions around the following:
Device. Your first decision is to see if you can use your unlocked US phone in India. Even if your US carrier did not give you an unlock code, there are many local outlets which specialize in hacking into your phone and unlocking it for you. A friend had his US GSM blackberry unlocked for just INR 400 and it continues to work flawlessly.
If you want to try out a new device, you have lots of choices. In India, carriers do not discount the price of the device in return for long-term service contracts. You simply buy the device on your own. India has the world’s second largest market for cell phones with nearly 900 million subscribers - so, device retailing is big business. Every city has an electronics bazaar and just about every type of phone is available. Competition is intense and bargaining is encouraged.
If buying from these bazaar stores scares you, you could buy your device from the national chains. The MobileStore (from Essar) claims to be India’s first national chain of telecom retail outlets, as well as the country’s largest mobile retailer. All the top electronics appliance stores - Croma, eZone - feature mobile departments just like your local Best Buy.
And then, there’s always the option of buying your device online. Junglee.com, a service of Amazon’s, is probably the best to do comparison shopping of electronics items - but unlike Amazon, you cannot buy at Junglee. The site directs you to a local retailer or another website where you can complete the purchase. Homeshopping18.com and Indiatimes.com are also popular outlets for online mobile phones. Please review the subsection on E-commerce in the current state section for the pros and cons of online shopping.
Operating System. From the basic Symbian operating system popularized by Nokia to the latest iPhone 5 - phones of every type and price range are available. In the Smartphone ecosystem, entry-level Android phones rule the market. Blackberrys are popular with corporate types and Nokia is aggressively promoting the Lumia brand of phones.
Price. Entry-level phones without any modern features and fancy lights - but completely adequate to have conversations, send and receive SMSs, and featuring FM radio - are available from Nokia for under INR 1,000! And a new battery - which can alone cost you INR 275 - is included.
Next up are phones which mimic smartphones by offering icons, a music player and a camera in the INR 2,000 to 3,000 range.
For a little more, in the INR 3,000 - 5,000 range, one can buy entry-level Android smartphones from Indian manufacturers such as Karbon or Micromax.
And then are the entry-level Androids from the global brands. The Samsung Galaxy Pocket S5300 - retailing for about INR 6,500 - packs 3GB of user memory, an 832MHz processor, Bluetooth 3.0, a 2.8 inch display and the Android 2.3 OS - an amazing price considering that there are no contracts to sign!
INR 10,000 + phones are all about screen size, speed, memory and fashion. The iPhone 5 debuted in India for INR 45,000 and is one of the most popular phones in the market today.
Service provider. Now that you have the device and OS, you will select your service provider. Wikipedia lists the top mobile operators by rank, subscribers and technology. GSM, by far, is the most popular technology in India - and should be your choice. If you are using an unlocked US phone from Verizon Wireless or MetroPCS, you will be looking for CDMA technology and this is available from BSNL and Tata DoCoMo.
Pre or Post paid. Both post-paid billing (where consumers call first and pay later) and pre-paid billing are available from all carriers. The general anecdotal impression is that post-paid plans are fraught with billing errors - and are a way for companies to sneak in add-on charges on unsuspecting customers. Companies deny these allegations but lengthy and onerous processes to reverse contested charges on bills swing the argument back to consumers. Most carriers take pride in offering a myriad of post-paid plans often confusing the average consumer.
For pre-paid service, SMS messages are sent out at the end of each call indicating current balance. Alerts are sent when balances drop below a threshold. Customers who buy prepaid plans can recharge their accounts online - even from banking websites.
Your calling and data needs when you are just starting out in India ought to be basic, so we recommend that you go with the pre-paid option. You can always switch to a post-paid plan when you settle down.
Data services. Prepaid data services are very inexpensive. One carrier offers a mobile internet value pack for INR 98 valid for 30 days. 2 GB of data is included. 3G speeds are included. Not bad for you to check email when you step out of your home.
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