Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, or BSNL for short, is a telecom service provider in India. BSNL offers prepaid and postpaid international roaming plans when users go abroad for travel, to study or to reside long-term. Learn more about what plans BSNL offers and how to use them.
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BSNL offers international roaming services in 476 networks in 195 countries. The company has arrangements with local telecom service providers in countries overseas to provide the coverage. For example, BSNL uses T-Mobile in the US, Hutchison 3G in the UK, and Optus and Telstra in Australia. Since BSNL partners with these companies, the rates depend on the service provider in the foreign country.
However, unlike other Indian service providers who let you keep the same SIM, BSNL prepaid and postpaid subscribers must replace their normal SIM with an international roaming one before heading abroad. The applicable charges are variable and depend on the foreign operators. The updated list is available on the BSNL website.1
Here is a list of international roaming packs offered by BSNL:2
| Country | Pack Cost | Validity | Calls | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Roaming | ₹57 | 30 days | NA | NA |
| International Calling | ₹65 | 30 days | ₹1.49 to ₹9.50 per minute, depending on the country | NA |
| International Roaming | ₹167 | 90 days | NA | NA |
| Singapore | ₹279 | 28 days | NA | NA |
| Singapore | ₹511 | 1 day | NA | 200 MB |
| Singapore | ₹1,379 | 7 days | 140 minutes | 500 MB |
| Singapore | ₹2,311 | 28 days | NA | 2 GB |
| UAE | ₹497 | 1 day | NA | 100 MB |
| UAE | ₹898 | 3 days | NA | 250 MB |
| UAE | ₹2,199 | 7 days | NA | 100 MB |
| Sri Lanka, Canada, Iceland | ₹659 | 1 day | NA | 50 MB |
| Sri Lanka, Canada, Iceland | ₹1,359 | 3 days | NA | 100 MB |
| Sri Lanka, Canada, Iceland | ₹3,495 | 7 days | 100 minutes | 500 MB |
| Mauritius | ₹705 | 1 day | NA | 200 MB |
| Mauritius | ₹2,875 | 7 days | 100 minutes | 1 GB |
| Mauritius | ₹3,905 | 28 days | NA | 1.5 GB |
| Bhutan | ₹895 | 1 day | NA | 200 MB |
| Bhutan | ₹2,895 | 7 days | 175 minutes | 500 MB |
| Bhutan | ₹4,865 | 28 days | NA | 500 MB |
Prepaid subscribers must activate their international roaming facility by recharging with STV ₹57 or ₹167.
Postpaid subscribers will need to apply for international roaming services by submitting a service request form, plus identification documents and a security deposit. BSNL will also charge ₹99 per month over and above the actual international roaming usage. Jump to our section on how to activate international roaming below for more details.3
For those going on holiday abroad, BSNL users may want a short-term international roaming plan. Tourists must follow BSNL’s procedure of replacing their normal SIM with an International Roaming SIM. Here are the prepaid BSNL international roaming packs for trips overseas:
| Country | Pack Cost | Validity | Calls | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Roaming | ₹57 | 30 days | NA | NA |
| International Calling | ₹65 | 30 days | ₹1.49 to ₹9.50 per minute, depending on the country | NA |
| International Roaming | ₹167 | 90 days | NA | NA |
| Singapore | ₹279 | 28 days | NA | NA |
| Mauritius | ₹3,905 | 28 days | NA | 1.5 GB |
| Bhutan | ₹4,865 | 28 days | NA | 500 MB |
Recharging with STV ₹57 activates international roaming on BSNL SIM cards. Subscribers can then select their destination country and operator to know the international tariff and choose the plans offered by the local telecom service provider.
STV ₹65 offers the following facilities to BSNL prepaid subscribers.4
International roaming plans are a good idea for students who are going abroad to study. It will allow them to stay in touch with family and ease the process of settling in at the university. Since most students will eventually purchase a local number and SIM, the BSNL international roaming pack does not need a long validity.
Before leaving India, students must replace their local BSNL SIM with an international roaming SIM card and activate international roaming by subscribing to STV ₹57 or STV ₹165 before purchasing their preferred IR pack. There are no special or preferred packs for students.
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Non-Resident Indians (NRI) can keep their Indian bank accounts and services alive by receiving SMS on their Indian number even when abroad. BSNL offers international roaming which allows for incoming SMS for free:
| Country | Pack Cost | Validity | Calls | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Roaming | ₹167 | 90 days | NA | NA |
Since NRIs must keep their IR facility active, they should recharge their BSNL SIM cards from abroad every 90 days. Phone and data service will be charged an additional amount.
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BSNL has partnered with telecom services in multiple countries to provide international services. This allows BSNL subscribers in India to use their IR services when abroad. However, BSNL subscribers must enable international roaming services by replacing their normal SIM card with an international roaming-enabled SIM card.
BSNL postpaid subscribers must submit a service request form to BSNL with the following documents:
In addition, BSNL charges subscription fees of ₹99 over and above international roaming usage.5
All BSNL subscribers must do the following steps to use the international roaming services abroad:
Generally, BSNL international roaming packs get deactivated after their expiry if not renewed. Each pack comes with a specific validity date. BSNL postpaid subscribers can disable their international roaming services by calling BSNL customer care number 1503.6
BSNL subscribers must keep their SIM cards active when traveling abroad to keep receiving OTPs, which is especially helpful for accessing Indian accounts. The best BSNL plan for receiving OTPs abroad is STV ₹167. This plan keeps the SIM active for 90 days, and you can subscribe to local telecom services and use your BSNL phone to make calls locally and internationally.
| Country | Pack Cost | Validity | Calls | Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| International Roaming | ₹167 | 90 days | NA | NA |
BSNL does not support VoWifi but it does provide VOIP calling service through the Wings app. BSNL Wings supports international roaming - with free incoming calls, and outgoing calls @ INR 1.20 per min when calling India from abroad. BSNL Wings must be registered and activated prior to use. Click here for BSNL Wings tariff and registration process.
If you are using your BSNL IR pack for international, be super mindful about the specific data usage limits in your pack. As an alternative to mobile data, you can always use the local Wi-Fi to make calls using apps like WhatsApp and Messenger.
You can recharge a BSNL account through the My BSNL app. Download the BSNL app from Google PlayStore or the iOS App Store and register your BSNL phone. The app allows you to recharge your BSNL account from anywhere. If you are already abroad, you can use the local service provider’s internet where you are traveling to recharge the BSNL account.
BSNL subscribers can contact BSNL customer care when roaming abroad through the following ways:7
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Sources used for this article:
Sources verified on 30 January 2024.
Cover photo by Jay Gajjar on Unsplash.
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