2g/3g service on mobile needed only while travelling outside state.Which one to take?

here's the problem i am facing.Have a broadband connection at home and it serves me quite well.So i dont really need 2g/3g on my mobile .The only time i badly need them( for google maps, making online reservations, checking out hotel vacancies , checking out places to eat ,etc,etc) is during travel to other states.Usually i plan a trip every november or december so i need a net connection on my mobile only for those 15-20 odd days.

Now does any 2g/3g service provider offer a plan for only 30 or so days or do we have to subscribe and pay for a year long plan ?? Also can it be used outside my state ? will there be any roaming charges ? How to apply for the same?? Which service provider to choose from? I don;t care abt blazing fast speeds.What i want is a reliable connection.Also do i need a 3g connection or will 2g do just fine ??

I believe you do need a 3G connection for using Google maps atleast and its not a lot of money either.

If you already use a mobile phone then you could get a 3G plan activated on your sim card. If you could let me know which company's sim card you use then I can explain to you how to get it activated. You dont have to get a lengthy plan, just go for a 30 days plan.

If you dont want to do anything on your existing sim then just get a prepaid sim card and buy a 3G pack thats all. Here is a thread that provides price comparison from some of the large players.

If your going to be using your phone for Internet, then you can activate a 3G plan on your mobile which you renew on a monthly basis. There is no charge for roaming when using your data.

Do you just travel to one place every year or different places?

Choosing a service would depend on where you will be travelling, if you can give some idea to the places you visit a service provider would be chosen according to that. You dont want to be in a place where you wont get hardly coverage.

Originally Posted by Tubelight

Do you just travel to one place every year or different places?

A different place every year. Love sightseeing and taking photographs of the places i visit. This year will be going to rajashthan/agra.Next year would prolly visit sikkim or assam.

Currently using my mother's sim after i lost my prev phone.So i have to get a new sim anyway.My friends have suggested bsnl as they offer country wide coverage.

Originally Posted by Preeti_20

If your going to be using your phone for Internet, then you can activate a 3G plan on your mobile which you renew on a monthly basis.

Originally Posted by Admin

You dont have to get a lengthy plan, just go for a 30 days plan.

So i don;t have to pay for the full year and just pay for that one month ??If so do i need to activate the plan by visiting CC everytime i want to access internet on my phone or all i need to do is activate it once and before traveling choose a plan and make payment online ??

Have seen some bsnl plan where you can extend the validity(say 180 days or so) for a nominal amt and data plans for 7-30 days.I don;t know whether it's for phone calls only or do then offer a similar plan for 3G as well ??

Here is how it works with Airtel:

• Go to the nearest mobile shop and buy a prepaid sim card.

• Send a text message to 121 with this message : "3G"

• Then select the option to activate 3G

• You would then get a prompt to choose your plan and its very straight forward from there.

Originally Posted by smoky004

So i don;t have to pay for the full year and just pay for that one month ??If so do i need to activate the plan by visiting CC everytime i want to access internet on my phone or all i need to do is activate it once and before traveling choose a plan and make payment online ??

Have seen some bsnl plan where you can extend the validity(say 180 days or so) for a nominal amt and data plans for 7-30 days.I don;t know whether it's for phone calls only or do then offer a similar plan for 3G as well ??

Thats correct just pay for one month, and then if you need a data plan for another month then get another plan for the next month. All you need to do is call up the customer care of the service provider ask them what 3G plans they have and you choose one and they will activate it. The money gets deducted from your phone account balance. This is how it works for a prepaid connection, I think it would be similar for a post paid conenction as well, but the data plan charge would be added to your bill.

I havent used BSNL so not sure how it works, but again you can phone the customer service and ask them, or somone one on the forum who has a BSNL connection will answer your query.

BSNL is a good option, and also you could try Airtel as they have good connectivity nationwide.

I would suggest BSNL you will get coverage in all places, and have no problem for connectivity.

Okay thx alot everyone

Airtel according to some is quite higher on the price side (depending on what your budget is), but it gives the best coverage all over India.

^^ i thought bsnl gave the best coverage.

One final question:-- Do you need to pay any additional charges for internet if you are using nano sim ?? Or can u just use the normal packages ??? Somebody pls confirm this

It is just the size of the chip that is different. You can even cut the normal sim card to make it nano or micro sim as some people call it. Those sim cards are for devices that take micro sim and from what I know there cant be any difference in tariffs.

Sim is a sim, no matter what its size, the same tariffs will apply to the micro sim.