Indian Tourist Places

Communication Tips

Phone and Net Facilities: It is great to remain in touch with your family and friends back home. Others would need frequent communication to oversea their business or to report to their superiors. Some of you might have net-based business or activities that needs regular net connectivity. All these are easy in most Indian tourist locations.

India is well-connected with the world, and here are the top 8 communication tips:

Public Phones: You can see (mostly) yellow boards with the words PCO, STD, or ISD in front of shops everywhere. You can make local or international metered calls from almost all of them. Connection is instantaneous, and the sound is crisp and clear. If not, just disconnect and redial or go to another booth.

Phones in Your Hotel: All 3 star hotels and above will provide 24 hour metered international call facility in your room, and the charges will be added separately to your bill. Almost all other hotels will offer public phone counters that function all 24 hours.

Phone Cards: You can easily buy international phone cards. They are available widely, cost less to call to your country, and you can use them even from the telephone of a local contact without inconveniencing him. Some of them can even be taken back to your country, and you do not lose the unspent money.

Mobile Phones: Mobile phones are easily available for rent from hotels, or from their contacts. You will have to give some identity proof and also a guarantee (refundable deposit) to cover for the machine’s cost. India has more mobile phones than landlines. As a result, phone connectivity is available even in remote places. The call-charges are very reasonable even for international calls.

Net Connectivity in Your Hotel: All 3 star hotels and above offer 24 hour, always on, plugin or wireless connectivity. Usually there is no additional charge for net usage. Most other hotels provide some form of connection, or would guide you to the nearest Internet café.

Mobile Net Connectivity: All mobile phone companies offer net connectivity via the mobile. You only need a special cable and software that might be available with those who rent the machine to you. Else you can buy them at affordable costs. Net over mobile phones is not fast, but is not expensive also.

You might even be able to get a thumb-size USB modem on rent that can give direct internet connectivity to your laptop computer without the use of a mobile phone.

Internet Cafes: The larger cities are strewn with Internet Cafes that charge less than $1 for two hours. There are such cafes now even in remote tourist centers, but the charge there would be $1 for one hour. Net in larger cities is cable-based and broadband. Net in small towns and isolated tourist centers would be dial-up and slow from today’s standards.

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