If you are travelling outside India and want to keep yourself connected to mobile networks for communication without paying exorbitant charges, you should get an international roaming (IR) pack from the telcos. All three private telecom operators in India, including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea offer users multiple IR packs. There are both prepaid and postpaid IR packs on offer, and different countries are included in different groups/sets by the telcos, depending upon which the benefits would be different for the same tariffs offered by an individual operator. For example, the Rs 4999 plan could offer different benefits for countries in Set-A and Set-B of the telco. Let's take a look at the plans and see which telco is ahead of the other.
Airtel International Roaming (IR) Pack Details
Airtel Postpaid IR Packs for Short-Term Duration:
Airtel Postpaid IR Packs for Long-Term Duration:
Airtel Prepaid IR Packs:
Airtel IR Postpaid Data Top-Ups:
Airtel IR Prepaid Data Top-Ups:
These are all the prepaid and postpaid IR packs available to Airtel customers under World Pass. Airtel IR packs will now work in 184 countries. In case the customer has not taken an IR pack from Airtel, he/she can use high-speed data for prices as low as Rs 1.5/MB for set-1 countries and Rs 3/MB for Set-2 countries. After the high-speed data quota of your pack expires, the internet speed is throttled at 80 Kbps for all postpaid international roaming pack users.
Also Read: Airtel World Pass: International Roaming Packs Explained
Airtel has the advantage of more number of countries and multiple validity options. Customers can opt as low as 1 day plan or a 365 days plan.
Reliance Jio IR Packs
Jio Value IR Packs:
| Price/Rental | Validity | Data | Voice/IR Usage | SMS | Countries | Wi-Fi Calling | Notes |
| 1102 | 28 | Rs 933.90 | ISD 5 | 100+ | Wi-Fi calling facility is allowed only for call back to India | Incoming calls on Wi-Fi calling can be received from anywhere in the world at Rs 1. Outgoing SMS over Wi-Fi calling is not allowed. All incoming text messages will be delivered without any charge. | |
| 1101 | 28 | Rs 933.90 | ISD 5 | 100+ | Without Wi-Fi calling | Incoming calls on Wi-Fi calling can be received from anywhere in the world at Rs 1. Outgoing calls over Wi-Fi calling are not allowed |
Jio Unlimited Packs:
| Price, Rental | Validity | Data | Voice outgoing | Voice Incoming | SMS | Countries | Note | Incoming Calls | Outgoing calls |
| 575 | 1 Day | 250 MB high speed data thereafter unlimited at 64 kbps | Outgoing calls to India & local 100 mins. Incoming Call Free | Incoming Call FREE | 100 SMS | 22 | without WiFi Calling | Incoming calls from anywhere in the world by enabling Wi-Fi calling feature will be free | Outgoing calls over Wi-Fi calling are not allowed |
| 2875 | 7 Days | 250 MB/day high speed data thereafter unlimited at 64 kbps | Outgoing calls to India & local 100 mins. Incoming Call Free | Incoming Call FREE | 100 SMS/day | 22 | without WiFi Calling | Incoming calls from anywhere in the world by enabling Wi-Fi calling feature will be free | Outgoing calls over Wi-Fi calling are not allowed |
| 5751 | 30 Days | 5 GB high speed data thereafter unlimited at 64 kbps | Outgoing calls to India & local 1500 mins | Incoming Call FREE | 1500 SMS | 22 | without WiFi Calling | Incoming calls from anywhere in the world by enabling Wi-Fi calling feature will be free | Outgoing calls over Wi-Fi calling are not allowed |
Jio Football World Cup Packs
| Football World Cup Packs (Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE) | ||||||||
| Price | Validity | Data | Voice Outgoing Usage | Incoming Usage | SMS | Till Date | WiFi calling charges | Outgoing calls |
| 1599 | 15 Days | 1 GB | Outgoing (Local + Call back to India)+Incoming (Mobility and Wi-Fi calling) : 150 mins | 100 SMS | available for subscription only till 31st December 2022. | Beyond the given benefits for incoming calls via Wi-Fi calling Rs 1 will be charged. | Outgoing Calls (Rest of World) - Standard PayGo rates apply | |
| 3999 | 30 Days | 3 GB | Outgoing(Local + call back to India) : 250 mins | Incoming(Mobility and WiFi calling) : 250 mins | 100 SMS | Beyond the given benefits for incoming calls via Wi-Fi calling Rs 1 will be charged. | Outgoing Calls (Rest of World) - Standard PayGo rates apply | |
| 6799 | 30 Days | 5 GB | Outgoing(Local + call back to India) : 500 MINS | Incoming(Mobility and WiFi calling) : FREE | 100 SMS | Beyond the given benefits for incoming calls via Wi-Fi calling Rs 1 will be charged. | Outgoing Calls (Rest of World) - Standard PayGo rates apply | |
Football World Cup Data Only Packs:
| 1122 | 5 Days | 1 GB high speed data thereafter Standard PayGo rates will be applicable |
| 5122 | 21 Days | 5 GB high speed data thereafter Standard PayGo rates will be applicable |
The Football World Cup Packs are available for subscription only till 31st December 2022. However, the pack benefits if unutilized can be consumed post December 2022.
Also Read: Jio Brings Exclusive IR Packs for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
Jio IR Packs Disadvantages
Jio IR packs are only available for 22 countries, and Pay as You Go Standard charges apply for the rest of the countries. These standard charges vary by country. Jio's Unlimited IR packs are unavailable even for the most popular destinations, such as Switzerland and Japan. This will be of no use for global travellers looking for travel as people freely travel based on interest and purpose and not on IR packs. Also, we feel Jio has emphasised the Wi-Fi calling aspect to back its partner specific network latching. Even to avail standard IR charges, a customer needs to first recharge with any IR pack of Jio to use the standard pay-as-you-go charges. Jio customers also need to latch on to the Jio network to activate IR Services and wait till a customer gets an IR activation message. Also, Jio has specific partner networks on which these Unlimited IR packs can be used, unlike airtel, where there are no such conditions.
Also Read: Vi Announces Mobile IR Packs for FIFA World Cup 2022
Vodafone International Roaming Packs:
Vodafone IR Postpaid Plans:
Vodafone tags its IR plans as truly unlimited. Still, the terms and conditions have a non-commercial usage condition. Any usage greater than 120 min in a day and or data usage greater than 1 GB in a day during International Roaming is termed as commercial and subject to scrutiny by Vi. Moreover, these packs are not new, as they have been there since 2018, with few plan modifications and additions in 2019. Also, pay-as-you-go charges for data without any IR pack cost around Rs 563 per MB to Rs 1536 per MB, a segment where airtel wins. Vodafone Unlimited IR pack benefits apply to 29 Countries, and regular benefits apply to the other 52 countries. In addition, Vodafone has an Always On feature, where customers without any IR pack will be protected from bill shock by applying the one-day IR pack benefits after initially charging the standard usage charges for the day.
As Jio has limited IR pack options, such as Unlimited for just 22 countries, mandatory IR recharge, and a clause to latch to Jio Network first to activate IR services, it doesn't seem attractive for global travellers. Vodafone has Unlimited IR packs for postpaid and provides benefits with a non-commercial usage policy for data and voice. The unlimited (with clause) packs apply to 29 countries, and the same packs offer other benefits for 52 countries. On the other hand, Airtel World Pass offers IR packs for 184 countries (Set 1 consists of 119 Countries, and Set 2 Countries of 65 Countries), where customers can latch on to any network while International Roaming. Even if customers don't activate IR service, customers can comfortably use the low standard pay-as-you-go charges across all 184 countries.
Airtel World Pass Stands Apart
From a consumer experience perspective, the number of countries included, multiple options for validity (1, 30, 365 days), competitive standard IR charges without any IR pack, and use of IR service while abroad Airtel World Pass stands apart from the competition. We will cover in a series all the prepaid and postpaid IR packs of all the telcos in brief in our upcoming stories. For now, this is just an overview.
