iPhone 5 in India: A look at Airtel, Aircel postpaid, prepaid plans

iPhone is in India and so are the special plans. Like the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 4, the iPhone 5 is being offered by Airtel and Aircel. Keeping with the tradition, there are no subsidies on the Rs. 45,500 price tag, but both operators are offering a bunch of special plans to woo prospective customers.

Of course, you are not limited to buying an iPhone 5 from Airtel or Aircel - you can walk into one of the many electronic chains that are selling the iPhone 5 and pick up a unit, while sticking to your current plan. Since the iPhone 5 takes the new nano-SIM, you should check with if your current operator has nano-SIMs in stock or in worse case scenario, cut your regular/ micro-SIM into a nano-SIM - look up the Internet for instructions (caution advised).

Back to the operators. While Aircel is offering only a single postpaid plan (a very attractive one at that), Airtel has multiple postpaid options. Both operators have also shared multiple prepaid plans. It's worth noting that all iPhone 5 units being sold in the country (including the ones by Airtel and Aircel) are factory unlocked i.e. you are free to use it with any GSM operator anywhere in the world.


Unboxing the iPhone 5

Enough waiting. Here are the plans.

Airtel - Postpaid plans

Airtel - Prepaid Plans (Source)

Recharge Vouchers ->	Rs.290	Rs.490	Rs.790	Rs.990
Free Local Minutes (all networks)	500 min	900 min	1400 min	1500 min
Free SMS (Local / National)	300	400	500	600
Free 3G Data	200 MB	500 MB	1200 MB	3000 MB

Additional charges beyond free usage : Outgoing Calls 60p/min to any mobile Phone, 90/p min to all Landlines. SMS charges at 40p/SMS. Data usage at 3p/30KB.

Unboxing the iPhone 5