Bengaluru eSIM
In Bengaluru you connect to Jio or Airtel, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 46 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Jio and Airtel
- Typical speed in India
- 46 Mbps typical, 9 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- yes, standalone
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Bengaluru
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $7.89 | $7.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $4.30 | $12.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $3.78 | $18.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $3.19 | $31.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $2.54 | $50.89 |
How India compares across Asia
- Regional typical speed
- 42.95 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, Jio, Airtel
- 5G
- Yes, standalone
- Next fastest nearby
- Maldives, 47 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Tajikistan, 43.9 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 5: Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Jaipur, Bengaluru
Landing at Kempegowda International Airport (BLR)
- Airport
- BLR / VOBL
- Distance
- 35 km from the centre of Bengaluru
Getting into Bengaluru
- BMTC Vayu Vajra KIA-9 (airport to Kempegowda Bus Station) (BLR), about 60 minutes
- Indian Railways MEMU/DMU services via Kempegowda International Airport Halt (free BIAL shuttle to the terminals) (BLR)
Underground and on the metro
Namma Metro runs 3 lines. It opened in 2011. The operator does not publish whether the tunnels carry a mobile signal, so we do not claim either way.
Worth knowing about Bengaluru
- No metro line reaches Bengaluru airport yet. The Blue Line (Phase 2B) from Hebbal to the KIAL Terminals station is 30.09 km and is expected to open in March 2028.
- The airport is about 35 km north of the city near Devanahalli, and the BMTC Vayu Vajra airport bus network takes anywhere from roughly one hour on the shortest route (KIA-9 to Kempegowda Bus Station) to over three hours on the longest.
- Namma Metro is overwhelmingly elevated: only 8 of its 83 stations are underground, in two tunnel stretches, Cubbon Park to Bengaluru City Railway Station on the Purple Line (4.8 km) and Sampige Road to National College on the Green Line (4.0 km).
- There is a rail alternative to the airport bus: Kempegowda International Airport Halt station on the Yelahanka-Kolar line, opened in 2020, with a free airport-operator shuttle timed to the trains, but trains run only six days a week and not on Sundays.
- An Indian mobile number issued to a foreign national stays valid only until the visa validity date, per Airtel's own terms for foreign nationals and tourists.
- The Yellow Line, from RV Road to Bommasandra through Electronic City, opened in August 2025 with 16 stations over 19 km, taking the operational metro network past 96 km.
- Namma Metro sells QR tickets through its app and a WhatsApp chatbot on 81055 56677, in English or Kannada. BMRCL says it was the first metro in the world to sell tickets on WhatsApp.
- A metro QR ticket stays valid for the whole day of purchase. Cancel it before entering and the fare is refunded to the original account within seven days, but there is no refund once you pass the gate.
- Day passes give unlimited metro rides for one, three or five days, either on a smart card with a refundable 50 rupee deposit or as a mobile QR pass with no deposit.
- A metro token is valid all day, but if it is not used at the entry gate within 30 minutes of purchase, a 5 rupee administrative fee is added.
- MG Road station was chosen for a TRAI pilot in July 2022 that put 5G small cells at street level, in the concourse, on the platform and along the tracks, making Namma Metro the first metro in India to test 5G.