How to activate ISD on your Airtel number

Looking for a way to activate ISD on your Airtel number? International subscriber dialing (better known as DSI) is what you need to talk to someone sitting abroad. Telecom operators have separate charges for ISD calls which are significantly higher than normal local and STD calls. However, Airtel and other carriers offer prepaid top-up packs and postpaid plans to offer discounts on their ISD calls or free minutes to let you make international calls from your phone.

How to activate ISD on your Airtel number

The Basic ISD service is enabled by default on the Airtel network for all prepaid and postpaid connections. This means that you don't need to follow the steps to activate ISD on your Airtel number if you want to call someone overseas from your home network. An FAQ page provided by the telecom operator also mentions that customers do not have a way to turn off ISD service.

The basic service being activated by default, you just have to precede the prefix "+" of the telephone number with the code of the country where you must make an ISD call. The process is the same for Airtel prepaid and postpaid connections. However, in the case of Airtel postpaid connection, if you want to call to a country with a call charge over Rs. 15, you need to activate advanced ISD service. This can be done by visiting a nearby Airtel store or through customer support, 121.

Airtel has different ISD calling rates for prepaid and postpaid customers. In addition, call rates vary depending on the area code.

You can view the different ISD call charges applicable to Airtel prepaid and postpaid connections on its website.

Prepaid customers on the Airtel network have an ISD top up pack of Rs. 18 which reduces ISD call rates for 28 days. Likewise, there is a Rs. 1 postpaid plan that includes 599 ISD minutes and 200 GB of high speed data. Details of the country codes covered in the special postpaid plan are available on the Airtel website.

Airtel's postpaid customers can also opt for a Rs. 50 'umbrella' add-on pack which will offer a discount on ISD calls through 33 frequently called destinations. The plan is valid for a full billing cycle and works for countries such as US, UK, UAE, Afghanistan, Thailand, Bahrain, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong , Italy, Nepal, Singapore and Sri Lanka, as well as in some regions. Australia and New Zealand codes. However, it does not work if you are calling someone in countries like Canada and Switzerland.

The umbrella pack can easily be activated through the Airtel Thanks app, and it is added to the customer's monthly bill.

Visit our Mobile Top Up Plans page to find the best plan for your mobile operator.

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