Which local network to lean on, what a tourist SIM costs on the ground, and the one coverage caveat that matters - for 27 destinations across Asia.
| Country | Main operator | Local SIM | Coverage note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | Banglalink Grameenphone | $4-8 | Dense population means broad 4G; 5G nascent. |
| Cambodia | Metfone | $4-9 | Cheap data, good in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap; rural temples weaker. |
| China | China Unicom | $10-18 | Vast 5G but the Great Firewall is the real issue; roaming eSIMs often bypass it. |
| Georgia | Magti | $6-11 | Tbilisi and Batumi strong; mountain regions variable. |
| Hong Kong | CSL Mobile | $10-16 | Dense urban 5G; works deep in the MTR. |
| India | Reliance Jio Bharti Airtel | $4-9 | Jio's 5G rollout is vast and cheap; rural pockets still 4G. |
| Indonesia | Telkomsel | $6-12 | Telkomsel dominant on outer islands; Bali well covered, remote dive sites weak. |
| Israel | Pelephone | $10-18 | Strong nationwide coverage; cheap competitive market. |
| Japan | au by KDDI | $20-30 | Exceptional nationwide 5G; abundant free WiFi reduces real mobile use. |
| Jordan | Zain Jordan | $7-13 | Amman and tourist sites solid; desert routes patchier. |
| Kazakhstan | Beeline Kazakhstan | $6-11 | Cities good; vast distances between them go dark. |
| Laos | Lao Telecom | $5-11 | Mountainous terrain limits coverage; download offline maps. |
| Malaysia | CelcomDigi | $7-12 | Strong peninsula coverage; Borneo interior patchier. |
| Mongolia | Mobicom | $6-12 | Ulaanbaatar covered; the steppe is largely off-grid. |
| Nepal | Nepal Telecom Ncell Axiata | $5-10 | Kathmandu fine; trekking routes above 3000m unreliable to none. |
| Pakistan | Jazz Pakistan | $4-9 | Urban 4G decent; northern mountains very limited. |
| Philippines | Smart Communications | $6-12 | 7,000 islands mean wildly variable coverage; ferries often dead zones. |
| Qatar | Ooredoo Qatar | $14-22 | Excellent dense coverage across the peninsula. |
| Saudi Arabia | Mobily | $12-20 | Strong 5G in cities and along major highways. |
| Singapore | Singtel | $12-18 | City-state with saturation coverage; PayNow QR everywhere. |
| South Korea | SK Telecom | $18-28 | World-leading 5G density; near-total coverage including subways. |
| Sri Lanka | Mobitel | $4-8 | Dialog widest; hill country and east coast can drop. |
| Thailand | dtac | $8-15 | 5G covers 95%+ of population; AIS strongest on islands and rural north. |
| Turkey | Türk Telekom Mobile Turkcell | $8-16 | Turkcell very wide; Cappadocia and coast well served. |
| UAE | Etisalat (e&) | $15-25 | Among the world's best 5G; VoIP often restricted on local SIMs. |
| Uzbekistan | Beeline Uzbekistan | $5-10 | Silk Road cities covered; desert stretches unreliable. |
| Vietnam | MobiFone | $5-10 | Viettel has the widest rural reach; cities are fast and cheap. |
"Top" means the network we'd hand a traveller who can only choose one - the best balance of nationwide reach and reliability where tourists actually go, not simply the largest subscriber base. Local SIM prices are typical tourist-package rates bought on arrival, in USD.
Reviewed monthly against operator reports and field observation. History from April 2026.
It is the network we would hand to a traveller who can choose only one: the best balance of reach and reliability where visitors actually go, not simply the largest subscriber base.
No. Local SIM figures are typical tourist-package prices bought on arrival and are shown separately from the travel-eSIM price index.
The dataset is refreshed monthly. Each page shows its current update month and links to the open data-asia.json source file.
Yes. The dataset and derived figures are published under CC BY 4.0. Credit DriftAsia and link to the relevant page or source file.
DriftAsia, "Asia Mobile Operators Reference", September 2026. https://driftasia.com/data/data-asia.jsonOpen data under CC BY 4.0. Free to reuse with attribution.