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khunlee02:17 UTC23 Sep 2008

Hi,

Anyone knows the costs of getting a SIM card for mobile phone in Madagascar? Are there pre-paid ones and available for short-term visitors? Is registration required/troublesome? Are they available outside Tana?

I will be in Mada only for two weeks but like the convenience of mobile phone. It worked well for me in Kenya where I could use it to call locally as well as call back home with ease. But if there are other convenient options in Mada, please advise. (My experence with public phone kiosks in other African countries is that they are not cheap either!)

Thank you very much.
P

marogisa06:04 UTC23 Sep 2008

This is entirely unproblematic. A SIM card ("une puce") costs the equivalent of around two euros and can be bought in any town where the company has coverage, which is as good as any town of any size these days. You may be asked to present your passport when buying it, but that's the limit of bureaucracy.

Recharges or prepayment cards ("crédit") can be bought in small or large units as required at any number of outlets up and down the country.

You should choose either Orange or Zain (successor to Celtel/Madacom - names it is still known by in some places) as provider, as other providers (e.g. Telma) have a much more limited coverage.

Most of the outlets selling recharges don't sell SIM cards, and you may need to go looking. There's usually a stall selling Zain SIM cards outside the Shoprite store off the Avenue de l'Independence, and you can get an Orange SIM at a shop about 100 metres up the road from the Sakamanga Hotel.

Prerequisite for everything of course is that your mobile doesn't have a SIM lock.

When buying your SIM card, ask them to set it so that information messages are sent to you in French, not Malagasy.

If for any reason you need to make landline calls, do it from a post office - the few public kiosks are either chronically out of order or you need to get a prepaid card from somewhere to use them.

LoneRunner09:10 UTC24 Sep 2008

I used Celtel and was satisfied. But prices are quite expensive for sending international sms !

khunlee11:28 UTC27 Sep 2008

Thank you very much. You are both very helpful.

SIM card for mobile phone in Madagascar Country forums / Africa / Madagascar
khunlee02:17 UTC23 Sep 2008	Hi, Anyone knows the costs of getting a SIM card for mobile phone in Madagascar? Are there pre-paid ones and available for short-term visitors? Is registration required/troublesome? Are they available outside Tana? I will be in Mada only for two weeks but like the convenience of mobile phone. It worked well for me in Kenya where I could use it to call locally as well as call back home with ease. But if there are other convenient options in Mada, please advise. (My experence with public phone kiosks in other African countries is that they are not cheap either!) Thank you very much. P
marogisa06:04 UTC23 Sep 2008	Hi This is entirely unproblematic. A SIM card ("une puce") costs the equivalent of around two euros and can be bought in any town where the company has coverage, which is as good as any town of any size these days. You may be asked to present your passport when buying it, but that's the limit of bureaucracy. Recharges or prepayment cards ("crédit") can be bought in small or large units as required at any number of outlets up and down the country. You should choose either Orange or Zain (successor to Celtel/Madacom - names it is still known by in some places) as provider, as other providers (e.g. Telma) have a much more limited coverage. Most of the outlets selling recharges don't sell SIM cards, and you may need to go looking. There's usually a stall selling Zain SIM cards outside the Shoprite store off the Avenue de l'Independence, and you can get an Orange SIM at a shop about 100 metres up the road from the Sakamanga Hotel. Prerequisite for everything of course is that your mobile doesn't have a SIM lock. When buying your SIM card, ask them to set it so that information messages are sent to you in French, not Malagasy. If for any reason you need to make landline calls, do it from a post office - the few public kiosks are either chronically out of order or you need to get a prepaid card from somewhere to use them.	1
LoneRunner09:10 UTC24 Sep 2008	I used Celtel and was satisfied. But prices are quite expensive for sending international sms ! LR	2
khunlee11:28 UTC27 Sep 2008	Thank you very much. You are both very helpful.	3