MTNL is a telecom provider in India that offers landline, mobile and internet services. While MTNL has no specific international roaming plans itself, it has partnerships with more than 350 telecom service providers in over 175 countries. Learn more about how MTNL works if you are going abroad and consider alternative providers for a stronger network and a more digitally friendly experience.
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Unlike other telecom operators in India, MTNL has no specific international roaming plans. However, if you do have an MTNL prepaid or postpaid SIM card, you can access international roaming services through MTNL’s partnerships with over 350 telecom service providers in over 175 countries.
MTNL’s partnerships include Vodafone in Australia, Telus in Canada and AT&T for SMS in the US.1,2
Prepaid subscribers must pay a roaming rental of ₹99 for international roaming for voice and SMS and ₹49 for only SMS. The validity period is 30 days. The tariff for international prepaid roaming and SMS depends on the individual service providers abroad.
Postpaid subscribers have to activate international roaming services by paying a security deposit. You can get an updated detailed tariff of operators in different countries by contacting the MTNL call center (1503 or +91-9869012345).
This process differs from carriers like Airtel or Vodafone which generally have one flat fee for buying an international roaming pack including data, easy signup and don’t require a deposit.
Since MTNL has no specific international roaming plans, Indian tourists who are heading overseas must contact the company to sign up for access to roaming services. MTNL will allow for access to international roaming services through partners and you will be charged the fees by the telecom service providers in the respective countries.
Prepaid and postpaid subscribers must activate their international roaming services and maintain a minimum balance of ₹151 to renew the services after the expiry date. MTNL has no separate temporary calling plans for tourists.
Indian international students can sign up through MTNL for services from telecom service providers in their destination country. MTNL does not offer direct international roaming plans for students going abroad.
An international roaming plan is helpful especially when students are first settling in abroad. Having access to the internet can help in finding housing, signing up for classes and keeping in touch with home. An international plan is also to cover the time until the students get a local SIM card.
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Non-resident Indians (NRI) are Indian passport holders who live long-term outside of India. Many NRIs have services and bank accounts that are maintained in India, which require OTPs for verification and need to stay active. Receiving OTPs can help manage local Indian bank accounts while still abroad as an NRI account holder.
MTNL subscribers must keep their Indian SIM cards active when residing overseas. They can do so by activating an international roaming facility on their MTNL SIM cards and paying the roaming rental fees. Since the validity is for 30 days, they must keep renewing it to continue receiving SMS from India. Consider other providers who may offer long-term roaming plans, such as for one year, to help keep a number active abroad.
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MTNL prepaid and postpaid subscribers must turn on international roaming services for MTNL to make and receive voice calls and SMS when abroad. However, the process for activating this service for prepaid and postpaid subscribers is different.
You can activate voice call roaming services by sending the SMS “ACT PREROAM” to 499. You will have to pay the ₹99 roaming rental fee.
This service allows voice calls and SMS through supported telecom service providers when abroad. The local tariff applies for incoming and outgoing voice calls and outgoing SMS; incoming SMSes are free.
If you only want incoming and outgoing SMS and not voice, you can SMS “ACT SMSROAM” to 499 from India. The roaming rental fee is ₹49 for International SMS roaming, in addition to local tariff charges for outgoing SMS. Incoming SMSes are free.
The validity period for these services is 30 days.3
Postpaid subscribers must contact their nearest MTNL CSC (Customer Service Center) and pay a security deposit to enable the international roaming service.
The fees will be variable and depend on the foreign telecom service providers. You can get the updated tariff details by calling 1503 or +91-9869012345. All incoming and outgoing voice calls and SMS are chargeable and incoming SMSes are free.4
MTNL prepaid international roaming services have a validity of 30 days. Unless you renew, the services get automatically disabled after the expiry date.
If you want to disable the roaming service, you can also send the SMS “DACT PREROAM” or “DACT SMSROAM” to 499.
To disable their international roaming services and claim the security deposit back, MTNL postpaid subscribers must contact the MTNL CSC.
MTNL has no specific plans for receiving OTPs abroad. As an MTNL subscriber, you must activate international roaming to receive SMSes. Incoming SMSes are free but you must keep the service active to continue receiving your OTPs abroad.
You can recharge your MTNL account from abroad before the expiry of the international roaming facility. However, your MTNL account balance must be at least ₹151 to renew the prepaid international roaming facility.
You can renew in two ways;
You can contact MTNL customer care in the following ways:
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Sources used for this article:
Sources verified on 20 February 2024.
Cover photo by Jay Gajjar on Unsplash.
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