I’m currently in India and tried to get GPRS internet access using a mobile phone and a laptop. In fact, I’ve written this blog article in the middle of nowhere between Bikaner and Jaisalmer (Rajasthan). 
So, I bought an Indian prepaid SIM card (I’ve choosen Airtel). That was the easy part. With this SIM card I can make calls to Germany for a few rupies (around 10 Rupies=0.15€ per minute).
But getting the GPRS internet access working was a bit more complicated. Airtel SIM cards do not have GPRS activated out-of-the-box.
I searched the web and found many different opinions, how to get this work. But, in fact, none of them worked for me. The guys at the airtel shop also told me something different, also the guys at the Airtel customer care hotline (call 121 to reach them, but be prepared that their English is – uhm – different).
Finally, I found a very easy solution solution. It works great for me is is pretty cheap. They will charge 0.3 Rupies per 50kB without any additional fees. So, one Megabyte will cost 6 Rupies or ~0.10€. That’s ok for me.
Here’s what you need to do to activate GPRS on your Airtel SIM card:
- Dial *567#
- You will receive a message with GPRS options (“1” to activate GPRS, “2” to deactivate)
- Answer to the message with “1” (without the quotes)
- You will receive a message with possible GPRS tariffs (for me, there was only one tariff available: “1” 0.3 Rupies for 50kB)
- Answer to the message with “1” (without the quotes)
- That’s it, you will receive a confirmation message and the GPRS settings for your phone in the next few minutes
- On the laptop, create a dialup connection that uses your mobile phone as modem (via cable, IrDA or Bluetooth) and use “*99***1#” (without the quotes) as phone number, and a any text as username and passwort
As you see, it’s really easy if you know what to do. 
For your information, the GPRS access point (AP) for Airtel is “airtelgprs.com“, but normally, you don’t need it, because they will send you the settings for your cell phone by SMS.
PS: I can recommend Airtel for India, they have a good network coverage, even in rural areas, you can recharge your phone on every second corner and the tariffs are pretty cheap.
For the mobile internet access in Germany, I can recommend these two UMTS providers:
| BASE offers an UMTS flatrate for 17.50€ | |
| Simyo offers a prepaid UMTS solution, 24ct/MB or 10€ for 1GB |
If you like my work, buy me a beer. (Suggested: 3€ for a beer, or more for more beer ;-) )
