How do I get a landline connection at home ?

In India (as of 2018), we have multiple ways to get a landline  or fixed telephone as listed below:

(1) Traditional landline - Get a Broadband (a free landline connection gets bundled with it) or Telephone connection from a Fixed or unified Telecom license holder like BSNL, Airtel, Reliance Jio, Tata (the latter 3 are available in APR Condominium) . You will get a 7-8 digit number which has to be prefixed with an STD code to reach out to.

(2)  SIP based IP Phone - Use a VoIP Phone (or old mobile/PC/Laptop with Grandstream wave application installed) and subscribe to BSNL WINGS VoIP Service. It will use your home Wifi or Broadband connection. You will get a 10 digit mobile number, which looks and behaves like a mobile but since you have fixed the terminal location, it will effectively behave as a landline

(3)  Cellular Fixed Terminals - Get a Fixed Cellular Terminal (FCT) device/handset (like Motorola FW200L, Huawei, etc) which supports 2G/3G voice or VoLTE with mobile SIM and use it as a landline. They even come with dual SIM option. You can also use an old mobile for this purpose. Again you will get a 10 digit mobile number, but since your terminal location is fixed, it will effectively behave as a landline with ability to receive SMS.

Please note that their is really no need to have a true landline number (7-8 digits with STD code) as of 2018. You may choose your Broadband provider correctly and then  select any solution. It is not advisable to take landline connection just for address proof sake as the government gives far easier option like Aadhar  to serve as your address proof and also be usable electronically via Digi-locker.

- Suman Kumar Luthra @ APRC Telecom Special Interest Group