The best solution is to activate a phone locally. If you do not have a cedulla (Colombia ID) you are not eligible for a discouted phone or a pricing plan. However, you can start pre-paid service and obtain a number for free. This service includes SMS text messaging, voice mail and caller ID and the number will remain active as long as long you use it once every 6 months. Bring your passport, 2 small drivers license size photos and a copy of your passport for them to keep. Inbound calls are free and dialing out
is an outrageous .30 a minute using pre-prepaid cards which are sold everywhere. This phone will work in all populated areas of the country with Comcel having better coverage than Bell South. Do not go to a main Comcel office to activate this unless you want to spend a good portion of your life in Comcel Hell. Use an authorized agent and if you're in Bogotá and need a contact that will get you on the road fast write me and I'll send you the location etc. (btw, she's a babe)

Also, you will need to bring a phone or purchase once locally at full list price..very expensive. I recommend bringing a TDMA phone that is unlocked (for example, AT&T US Network (TDMA) phones work perfect...BUT you must have them unlocked... again, write for more details if you need help on this process.

As far as calling back to the States it is over .50 cents a minute on land line phones...very expensive.
The method I prefer is the MCI World Plan card as it allows for calling back to the States(from anywhere in the country) for .19 cents a minute with no additional charges. In fact, this card has the best rates of a major carrier from any country for calls to the States.

For receiving important calls from the States I
forward my line in my office to my cell phone in
Colombia, pay nothing to receive the inbound call on the mobile phone but have to pay the .12.5 cents (from my US plan) a minute for the long distance charge from my office. This way no one really knows where I am.

In summary, get a local phone. There is no GSM
service and if you have Bell South (or other carrier)as a mobile carrier in the States it might roam there but at a 2 dollar a minute price.

All references with TDMA etc. refer to using the
Comcel Network....I have no idea on what band Bell South uses.

Cell phone technology has changed in the past couple of years.

GSM phones now work in Colombia, at least in Cartagena, Bogota and Medellin. I have a T-mobile phone and I can use it in Colombia, but the cost is an outrageous US$4.99 per minute.

I bought two Colombian cell phones since I started visiting there. I bought one on my first trip and subsequently lost it - I bought a Nokia on my trip in April and noticed a HUGE drop in price - out the door for 80,000P ($35)- that even included my first set of minutes.

It'll take an hour to get the phone. There's a load of paperwork and you will need to provide an ID type photo and be fingerprinted. If you don't have a photo, just go to one of the many photo places that are in any of the malls (Oviedo Mall in Poblado is where I bought my phone - at least 10 different cellphone dealers there as well as three places to have your photo taken).

As freelancers and non-pros are a big part of the scene in Colombia, I think having a cell phone is a necessary hunting tool. And at $35, over the course of a week it's $5 a day.

WS

Yeah, a cellphone is especially useful in Colombia and everyone has them there. Last trip, my gal friend and I went shopping for a phone for me and she let me use her address, ID etc. The phone cost me about $40.00. They seem to have a better phone plan/rates if you're a local.

I was surprised at all the effort it takes to get a phone and/or SIM card through normal channels (seems heavily regulated). On the previous trip, Smitopher and I, went to the Comcel building in CTG by ourselves, waited around about an hour, all to discover there was way too much paperwork and the fees charged were kinda high to call the U.S. and the locals. A much more expensive plan than what they offered me through my galfriend.

The other alternatives are just to go to one of the large numbers of iCafe/phone call services to make phone calls (.30-.50cents/min for local). Or go to a tout to get the phones/ SimCard. At the beaches in CTG, they have roving vendors that let you use their cellphones for about .50cents minute. If you stay at an apartment, the gals can always call the front desk and leave messages.



(Message edited by merlin on May 23, 2005)