MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel and Blinkit have cooked up a speedy new service, delivering SIM cards to customers' doorsteps in a mere 10 minutes. This ground breaking partnership, a first for any Indian telco, is now live in 16 cities, promising to get customers  connected quicker than a rabbit out of a hat.

“Simplifying customer lives is central to everything we do at Airtel.Today we are thrilled to partner with Blinkit for 10-minute SIM card delivery to customers’ homes across 16 cities and in due course of time we plan to expand this partnership to additional cities.” declared Airtel CEO Siddharth Sharma, CEO – connected homes and director of marketing, Airtel.

For a paltry Rs 49 convenience fee, customers can choose between prepaid or post paid plans, or even port their existing number to Airtel. Once the SIM arrives, a quick Aadhaar-based KYC process gets them up and running, all from the comfort of their own homes.

“To save customers time and hassle, we’ve collaborated with Airtel to deliver SIM cards directly to customers in select cities, with delivery in just 10 minutes. Blinkit takes care of the delivery, while Airtel makes it easy for customers to complete self-KYC, activate their SIM, and choose between prepaid or post paid plans. Customers can also opt for number portability, all at their convenience,” said Blinkit founder & CEO Albinder Dhindsa."No more queuing in shops, no more waiting around. We deliver the SIM, and Airtel handles the self-KYC. It's a win-win."

The service is currently available in major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore, with plans to expand further. And if customers get stuck, Airtel's help centre is just a tap away on the Airtel Thanks App, or a quick call to the support line. But, they better be quick, the SIM needs to be activated within 15 days.