Keeping in touch
So you’ve moved to India, but how do you communicate with all the new and old friends you’ve made?
Gadgets
If you’re currently outside of India and thinking of purchasing some electronics, in general, you should go ahead and do it. Electronic gadgets tend to be more expensive in India due to high import duties and also tend to be launched later than in the West. You should be able to find availability and indicative prices on Flipkart and Amazon if you want to compare the prices of any particular gadget.
However, if you are already in India, wait for a sale or some offers to buy the gadgets. There are usually deep discounts on everything around Diwali and Christmas as well as during the special sales offered by the big e-commerce players.
If you do need to step into a brick-and-mortar store, feel free to bargain the price down. Using the online stores as comparison is a useful strategy since the big chains are usually able to match them.
Tips:
You may get a discount for paying in cash at your local store. Be aware that this is illegal and that you won’t receive a bill if you do this. This may have implications for warranty and customer service down the line.
Mobile phone connections
India is one of the best geographies for mobile connectivity and the prices reflect it. Most plans will give you free calls and texts with at least 1 GB of data per day for less than ₹200 (~USD 3) per month. There are both prepaid and postpaid plans available, with prepaid being much cheaper while postpaid plans often come with a lot more data and other services like Amazon Prime subscriptions bundled. The three main providers Vodafone, Airtel and Jio have very little to differentiate their services, so feel free to choose the most convenient provider for you.
As I’ve mentioned before, your phone is an essential part of your identity in India and changing your phone number is a massive pain. Case in point: I changed my number one month into my stay in India, and I still have OTPs being sent to my old number, more than a year and a half later. So, despite the ease of getting a new number, definitely think twice before changing your number.
Tips:
- You can port your subscription to any other provider after 3 months of using your connection while keeping the same number. This is immensely helpful in case your current provider has really poor service in areas you frequent often.
- To initiate the porting request, its easiest to go to the provider you are switching to and ask them to walk you through the process. They’re also helpful in dealing with the customer retention executive who will inevitably call you to lure you into staying with your current provider.
- The retention specialists will offer to drastically improve your connection speed or quality within the next couple of days or reduce the amount you’re paying currently. While you may be suitably sceptical about their claims, this may be an effective bargaining chip.
- Do not switch providers with the expectation of better (or even decent) customer service. Those cheap prices come at a very real cost. The only way to receive decent service is to subscribe to the very highest tier plans (multiple thousand rupees per month) and use the special customer service lines available for these customers.
Internet Service Providers
Broadband internet is fairly cheap and ubiquitous in urban India, but you might encounter service delays during the installation process and unreliable service with frequent drops in connectivity. When it works, though, broadband service is generally fast, allowing you to stream Netflix in 4K and Skype with friends without a hitch.
For service, you can either go with the big boys (Airtel, Hathaway etc.) who might service your neighbourhood through tie ups with local providers or you can approach your local cable-operator who probably already has your building wired up (ask your building’s security guard or your neighbours for their number). Either way, expect to pay some fixed amount for installation and the equipment and a monthly amount corresponding to your chosen plan.
Tips:
- While there might be a discount for prepaying a number of months upfront, I have been burnt that way before. I’ve experienced a noticeable drop in service quality after the first month of service. I would advise paying month-to-month until you’re satisfied with the provider’s service.
- It is also possible to do without a broadband connection entirely if your mobile data speed is fast enough. I rely on this method entirely, and I generally get speeds between 10–15 Mbps which is enough to stream all my favourite shows in HD.
- To check your effective connection speed for streaming media, you can use fast.com (by Netflix). Its somewhat more accurate than Ookla’s Speedtest which many ISPs optimise for.
Television
Cable TV is currently a massive cluster…. thanks to a recent directive by the telecom regulator to ‘rationalise’ prices. I’ve found it easier to stay away from the whole thing and rely on internet-based services for my entertainment needs. If you don’t want to completely cut the cord, or if you absolutely must have your dose of morning news everyday, you can go through either the Direct-to-home (DTH) providers like Airtel or Tata Sky, or you can approach your friendly neighbourhood cable-wallah. They will both provide you with a set-top-box which will be your gateway to all the TV you could possibly want.
Tips:
You can probably get a discount if you buy both internet and cable from the same provider, especially if its a smaller neighbourhood operator.
Landline service
No.
Now that you’re all set with communication options, you might want to take a look at other tips here.
