How is Idea Cellular in Mumbai region?

Ok so even I am planning to move out of Airtel and switch to Idea.

Reason:
Airtel network is good. I had moved from prepaid to postpaid but fake promises has made me sick of them.

Expectations:
I am assuming that Idea network would be good in Mumbai / Maharashtra. (Before BPL take over Vodafone had tie up with Idea and that time it worked good when I went out of Mumbai around Maharashtra)

Also assuming that they have own network presence in major states of India.

I do not expect Idea to be better than Airtel but I expect plans would be a bit cheaper than Airtel.

Fear factor:
Now my fear is that Airtel will not let me port out easily. And they will keep harassing me.

Process:
Due to above fear I want to know exact process to port out so that I can deal with Airtel harassment easily.

1. Will Idea help me port out if airtel tries to harass and block port out?
2. When is right time to port out? I assume that end of billing cycle would be good time.
3. How will Airtel generate bill? When do I have to pay bill? Before port out or after?

Let me know any other thing that I may have missed (esp. airtel's tricks to block port out!)

Thanks

I was able to port from Airtel Prepaid to Idea Prepaid with zero hassles. Not sure about postpaid. Get a test Idea sim and use it for a few days before taking a final decision which is what I did.

I also had a talk with Airtel Customer Care when they called me up for a tweet I posted celebrating applying for MNP. I told the guy that I do not want them to block my request. He said he would put it on priority approval or whatever. Not sure if that helped. I did not even get any calls from the retention department. Maybe the retention department found that I was a useless customer to retain as I hardly make any calls.

Lets see I have to wait for 30 more days.. as 90day period is not over..

but i am preparing myself for the MNP!

if you have a spare phone, this would be a good time to get an idea prepaid with some data and use it to see the network coverage quality etc.

Mumbai Idea network is good. Buying SIM wont help right now as I have no plans to go out of Mumbai for atleast a month.

Idea cellular has good coverage and quality in Mumbai and is excellent in rest of Maharashtra and Goa circle.

Airtel is slightly better in Mumbai but much worse in RoM&G.

Idea has good coverage in mumbai but its not as good as vodafone if you travel outside Maharashtra.

You need to wait for 90 days after converting from prepaid too!

Haven you tested the network at the places you frequent?
Idea Mumbai doesn't have good indoor coverage IMO, at least that was the case for places I'd frequent. Vodafone is much better! Rcom+Loop was a good combo too!

Yes prepaid to postpaid is considered as MNP even if within same network.

They made me fill all forms and i-card etc.

Stupid rule I would say. Simple request via 121 should be sufficient I suppose.

Oh. I meant to say the same thing 😛

Idea has one of the best rural network even in North delhi. Airtel is more of hype due to ads they show.

Same story here. Only operator providing 3G in 200+ towns in MH. Vodafone has covered only around 50 or so. Airtel benefits here because of Idea's excellent 3G coverage, thanks to ICR agreement.