Need a new mobile phone connection? A prepaid SIM makes for an economic choice. Not only is there less red tape involved in procuring a prepaid connection, but you can also customise your usage plan to suit your individual requirements, making the most of the many unlimited offers and recharge schemes. What’s more, prepaid SIMs can now be bought from the store as well as ordered online. 

For an in-store purchase, you need to visit the nearest outlet of your chosen service provider with necessary documents such as ID proof, address proof and passport size photographs. Alternatively, you can visit the official website of the service provider – all leading market players offer this service now – and arrange for your SIM to be delivered to your doorstep. The facility is available for new numbers as well as for porting an existing number to a different service provider (MNP). There are also quite a few portals that offer prepaid SIMs from different service providers on a single platform. 

Things to consider before buying a Prepaid SIM 

Now that you know how to buy a new SIM, let’s shift our focus to the more important part of the process – things to consider before buying a prepaid connection. The plethora of unlimited offers from different service providers though does complicate the choice a fair bit. Here are the top factors that should govern your choice: 

• Network Connectivity: The network coverage and connectivity in your area of residence and work is a primary consideration. After all, there is no point in procuring the best unlimited offers if there isn’t going to be adequate network to make use of it.
• Pricing: Most service providers today offer SIMs free of cost, so it doesn’t make sense to pay for something that is readily available for free.
• Activation: Some service providers execute activation through an OTP shared via SMS, while others require activation by customer care staff. If two service providers match on most other parameters, you should definitely settle for the one with the more hassle-free activation process.
• Data Speed: Even in 4G, different service providers offer different data speeds. If your mobile phone usage is data heavy, it is advisable to do some research about data speed before making a final decision.
• Roaming Services: Why spend on roaming recharges and top-ups when you can find a SIM that gives free roaming as one of its inherent services?
• Cashback: Cashbacks are as big a drawcard for users as unlimited offers and that’s why most mobile service providers capitalise on them. The cashback offers and policies of a company are definitely worth looking into.

The Best Prepaid Offers to look out for 

Prepaid SIMs today have a lot of potential to deliver a host of services at affordable prices, thanks to all the unlimited offers that can be availed through special recharges and top-ups. Here are the best ones to look out for: 

• Unlimited local and STD voice call, along with free national roaming
• Free daily or monthly SMS preferably bundled with a talk time or validity recharge
• Free daily or monthly data usage. Most leading service providers, be it Airtel, Vodafone, or Idea, offer 1 to 1.5GB of free data per day
• Entertainment offers where you can avail exclusive access to popular entertainment platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hotstar
• Service providers like Airtel are also offering free international roaming in select countries like Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, UK, USA, China, Turkey, Netherlands, France, Germany, and Canada. If you travel overseas often, this could be a big asset

Most of these features are often bundled into a single recharge offer. Look for the one that suits your requirements the best and make the most of it.