Talk:India/@comment-24.16.99.8-20170615162258

Couple of comments -

Network + coverage : Stick to the big ones : Airtel / Jio / Vodafone. They have the infrastructure to support decent coverage. Most of these also have their own retail outlet in the metros. Data usually "roams" pan India on these networks. One caveat is for rural areas - BSNL actually has seriously good coverage in rural areas and sometimes is the only network that will work in these. If you are going on jungle trips or into rural villages, note that YMMV on data speeds.

Phone coverage for 4G + VoLTE: This is critical if you want to use Jio. Usually the more expensive phones have all the LTE bands used in India. The cheaper ones do not typically have Band 40. if you have an unlocked iPhone 6S or above, you are in good shape as they have almost every band under the sun. If its Samsung Galaxy S7 and above, again you are good to go. For budget phones, please check your phones support at http://www.gsmarena.com/ before you leave

Activation: I have activated Vodafone, Airtel and Jio. Usually it takes between 5hrs - 24hrs for prepaid activation. The documents : passport and visa / OCI (original + 1 photocopy). If your passport does not have an address, your drivers licence or another official document with address + a photo copy of said document.

Data needs: Based on my travels, I find that 5- 10 GB is a good number for 2-4 weeks for me. It allows me to not worry about using google maps, see some youtube videos about the place I am visiting, tether my laptop and get some work done.