Is the internet good in India? Should I bother bringing my tablet or leave it at home? I like to look up things to do while I'm there and update family on what I'm doing while I'm away. It gives them the security of knowing I'm okay.
Your hotel should probably offer reasonable internet. When I was there, internet cafes were fairly common, and a decent way of accessing the internet. Now, most cities should probably allow access through your phone, but I would not know what they charge. It might make sense to even buy a plan. But your hotels would certainly provide it, unless you are someplace very rural. India has a very important tech sector, and the internet is necessary for its growth. They take it seriously, and I am sure there are areas with better infrastructure than the average in the US.
I am going to list some of the 3G prepaid connections that are available in India. Prices are more or less the same across India with a slight variation so dont quote me on this, this is just to give you an idea : Airtel 3G : Rs 1500 for 10GB data with a validity of 28 days. - US$22 Vodafone 3G : Rs 1847 for 10GB data with a validity of 28 days. - US$27 MTNL 3G : Rs4500 for 200GB data with a validity of 6 months US$67 .MTNL works all across India on BSNL network without having to pay roaming charges. There are other operators as well but these are the most widely used/available. I have listed out packages with 10GB data and more as I believe people use that much in a month especially when uploading their images while on holidays. If you plan to upload a lot of pictures and use in excess of 10Gb while you are here then go for MTNL's Rs4500 plan that gives you 200GB data usage. By the time most of you will arrive in India we would have Reliance JIO 4G connections available in India and their prices are going to be very low and speeds in excess of 20mbps that too mobile so the future looks good
I am not surprised to hear that there are areas of India with better internet infrastructure. I live in the US and I STILL do not have reliable internet. It is reliable in the day, but at night the radio wave signals that swarm the valley interfere with the broadband and it gets disconnected hundreds of times. Sometimes I feel like I live in the stone ages! If I can go to India and get on the internet at dark, I will jump for joy.
If you are talking about speed, then have no worries. Most of the cities and outlying locations enjoy super-fast internet speeds provided by reliable telecommunications companies. It is no wonder that India continues to be a hub for internet-based outsourced labor. Just make sure to buy a reasonably priced data bundle from either Vodafone or Airtel and you are good to go.
A tablet I think won't be too much of a burden to bring if it's of highest importance to you to get in touch with people back home. India being one of the top countries in BPO, then it's fairly safe to assume that their Internet infrastructure is well in placed.
This is great information everyone. Thank you for your input. I will definitely bring my tablet with me in that case. I'm also glad to hear that they have high speed in most places.
OMG! SO glad I stumbled upon this thread. I would've completely forgotten about checking this out. Thank you so much. I'm very glad to see that the speeds are very good and will satisfy all of our travel needs. Go India!
As stated, India has a thriving IT industry so its safe to presume that you can get decent speeds there on the internet. I know people who have travelled there and nobody complained about any lack of access. On the other hand, there are parts of the UK I struggle to get internet connection. Thanks for the info provided regarding data plans, they seem reasonable prices but I'll search to see if there are better deals.
I've never heard of anyone having problems in any of the tourist locations, but like with everything else it's always a good idea to call ahead to your hotel and other places to make sure beforehand.
You will only have problems in the rural areas, and you can still find internet cafes in the most remote spots.
Internet service is good in India. As India is leading country in IT technologies, there is no problem in India. India got the fastest 3g/4g internet service. I would advise you to bring your stuff with you so that you won't have any problem to kill the time.
If you know where you are staying just check with them about hotel internet and while you are calling ask about free wifi in the city/town you are visiting. I believe that a country with so many people in it has a good internet. However, this is only for bigger towns because I did a transcription of an interview with some Indian female writer and she mentioned that some rural places and most of the villages do not have internet access. People there rarely have smart phones so those who have them have some plan and everybody is using that one for stuff they need. They are crafty I guess but the show was about some of her books and how are books sold in India. They do not have credit cards often so they pay over the phone bill.
Nowadays, Under the Digital India Programme launched by the government of India, almost every big hotel in India offer fast Internet facility at equitable prices. So, you do not need to worry about the Internet in India at all. I have traveled to many places in India. Once, I went to Delhi and when I landed there, I rented a cheap hotel and enjoyed the Internet with a speed of 50mbps. I enjoyed the hotel as well as the high-speed Internet facility. I just want you to make aware that you can get Internet having decent speed in India and therefore, you should have no problem regarding the Internet in India.
I have bad news for you on that one. Internet connections in third world countries have mostly terrible internet connections and service providers. A speed of 1-2 megabytes per second is actually a luxury in these parts, but online gaming is still a pain in the neck.
I guess if you're in the urban areas, internet connection will not be a problem. There are internet cafes, and I think there would be wifi available in the hotels. But just to be safe, I think you better bring a pocket wifi, or maybe you can use your phone's data plan if you have it.
I think it's really based on the type of internet connection and the area you're in. Based on the comments above, I think there's nothing to worry about. Hotels in India have really fast internet speed and it's free most of the time, as long as you're just around urban areas.