Airtel India Review, Travellers who need mobile internet steer clear!

Up until now, I thought Canada had the most frustrating telecom companies to deal with as a consumer. That is until I had the displeasure of dealing with Airtel in India.

Whenever I travel, I usually research providers beforehand to try and find those with greatest coverage. My research on India led me to believe none of the providers were that great – with no one providing 3G outside the major cities. So, I went with my second strategy for selecting a provider – the one that has the best presence at the airport.

As of today, I still don’t have internet access working on my iPhone. I’ve wasted about 3-5 hours with various Airtel employees and researching online, below is a summary of my experiences:

  • Been straight up hung up on at least 10 times by agents working their “help” line.
  • Been SMSed 5 times that “Your phone will be activated within 24 hours” to no avail.
  • Been redirected multiple times to a “supervisor” whose phone simply rings forever
  • Been redirected to a manager who told me “maybe in 4 days it will work, thanks for calling!”
  • Talked to at least 4 agents who could not speak english, this despite me picking the english option via the automated system
  • Been laughed at by Airtel employees in Kerala who told me “you had to activate it in Delhi!”
  • Found that even in Delhi, there is only EDGE coverage – meaning even if you get internet working, it’s dead slow.

In short, I simply can’t believe the incompetence of Airtel. It is truly shocking. If you are a traveller looking for mobile access while in India, pick any other vendor – there is no way you could have a worse experience.

Keep participating obliviously or help make change?

Watched a few interesting movies this past week – I fear I’m becoming addicted to documentaries. The first was a DVD rental called Darwin’s Nightmare and was focused on the trade coming out of the Lake Victoria region of Africa. Highlighting the shipment of fish north in exchange of arms south – while locals starve by the millions – exposed my guilt associated with being part of the minority who continue to exploit the planet and it’s people for over indulgence. Before you head out for your next all-you-can-eat seafood extravaganza, I dare you to watch the scenes showing the locals buying the rotting fish carcasses just in order to survive.

The second – shown in a local theatre – was called Manufactured Landscapes, and had an apolitical take on man’s manipulation of the natural environment. Edward Burtynsky exposed some shocking stories, but in keeping neutral really failed to dive deep enough to really expose the more interesting and untold stories. Seeing the Chinese ripping apart their own cities to make way for the Three Gorges Dam was extremely moving – but it left me wishing he’d spent more time conversing with the locals to explore their thoughts on what was unfolding.

I would recommend both, but my personal preference was the stronger statements conveyed with Darwin’s Nightmare.