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I know a lot of you have probably decided to buy a cell phone in Colombia to have a local number for all of your chicas to reach you at. Any advice on what cell company is the best, has the best service, rates, etc? Seems the most common way to do this is buy a phone there and buy cards with minutes as you need them. I appreciate your help.

~ Bill

... in response to Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by wildbilman on Dec 2, 2005

Thanks all for the great advice! Look like I'll upgrade my current phone and keep it set up for here, and unlock my Nokia and buy a SIM card for it in Cali and use it when I am there. Worste case looks like its easy to buy a low end phone there and prepay some minutes.  Thanks again

... in response to Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by wildbilman on Dec 2, 2005

- to get a credit history you need to deposit 500.000 pesos or more a month in a bank account that is under your name and bring in the statements to the phone company.  

- I am unsure if a cedula is absolutly necessary to get the cel....might be able to get by with a passport

- nobody provided you with sources for getting your us phone adapted for colombia.  If you are in cali contact me and I will give you a trusted source one of my clients used.

... in response to three details not yet addressed in the t..., posted by teoblas on Dec 3, 2005

[This message has been edited by jediknight]

with comcel a credit history isn't needed for a prepaid plan, for a contact it is needed

... in response to Re: three details not yet addressed in t..., posted by jediknight on Dec 3, 2005


It wasn't necessary for me to have a cedula in getting my prepaid service with OLA or Movistar but I did need my passport and a Colombian cosigner.  Comcel did not require me to have a cosigner.

A cedula is needed to open a bank account in Colombia and you can't open an account with just a tourist visa.

With my unlocked US cell phone I had no problem with any service provider's SIM card.

... in response to Re: Re: three details not yet addressed ..., posted by pablo on Dec 3, 2005

I rwead on my girlfriends passport application that a cedula is needed.

What is a "cedula"?  Is it like a SSN or SIN (CDN)?

... in response to Stupid Question, posted by Montrealer on Dec 3, 2005

A cedula is a national ID card-without it you can not do anything official-almost. A foreigner can obtain one depending upon the type of visa-not available on a tourist visa.

... in response to Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by wildbilman on Dec 2, 2005

[This message has been edited by WS244]

Well to add what JC said----and others please correct me
and qualify

One-- is to go to comcel, etc and you have to open an
     account to receive a Colombian telephone number
     which is in the sim card they give you.  

Two-- you have to buy a seperate card with so many minutes,
     depending on how much you spend on a card.

Three-- once you start to use the card, it is only good
       for 2 months i recall.  Then you have to buy
       another card.  You keep the same Telephone number

Four-- if you have a GSM here, just take it there with you.
      Others know the frequiencies but mine is a quad  
      band so a mute point with me.  You should have it
      unlocked.  

Five--When i went to comcel my other half did all the
     talking as i do not speak spanish. Jim C is correct
     though about a credit history or something.

Sixth--I think using my cingular in Colombia is about 3.00 dollars a minute to the states using my stateside number and sim card.  With my comcel sim card and Colombian telephone number my calls to the states are about 45 cents a minute i think.  Inbound calls to cell phones in Colombia are free if you have a Colombian cell number.

... in response to Re: Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by WS244 on Dec 2, 2005


One-- is to go to Comcel, etc and you have to open an
account to receive a Colombian telephone number
which is in the sim card they give you.

Correct.

Two-- you have to buy a separate card with so many minutes,
depending on how much you spend on a card.

Correct.

Three-- once you start to use the card, it is only good
for 2 months i recall. Then you have to buy
another card. You keep the same Telephone number

Yes and no.  The lower the amount on a prepaid card the fewer days you have to use the minutes.  For example, with OLA, a 10.000 peso prepaid card is good for only 15 days with no rollover.  The 20.000 card is good for one month.  The 30.000 card which is no longer available, was valid for 45 days.  Movistar has a 45 day time limitation on the more expensive cards as does Comcel.

Note:  The phone number assigned to your SIM card account is deactivated supposedly after two months with no activity on the account although I was able to get my numbers working well beyond that time limit with OLA and Movistar.

Four-- if you have a GSM here, just take it there with you.
Others know the frequencies but mine is a quad
band so a mute point with me. You should have it
unlocked.

Correct.

Five--When i went to Comcel my other half did all the
talking as i do not speak spanish. Jim C is correct
though about a credit history or something.

I think the Grumpmeister was referring to plan accounts.  I had little trouble getting an account with OLA and Movistar although I did need a cosigner.  Comcel did not require this of me.

The photograph ID especially made for an individual cell phone and provider may no longer be required.  Check with the cell phone company to see if this rule was recently changed.

... in response to Re: Re: Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by pablo on Dec 3, 2005

Thankyou Pab.  I go to Bogota at different intervals, sometimes at intervals of 3 or 4 months, and my comcel  phone number always works.  When i make a reservation to travel, she buys a prepaid card and e-mails me the card pin code prior to my arrival.  I will be down there next weekend and will check on why my number never seems to expire at comcel.  She may be paying a monthly service charge i am not aware of.  Altough i am on cingular here, when she comes to the states i have a T-mobile sim card and U.S. number for her phone, and i just then buy a T-mobile prepaid card which is good for 3 months.  In T-moblile's case here, their phone number expires at the end of a year if you do not recharge it.

... in response to Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by wildbilman on Dec 2, 2005

It really dosn't matter which company you use here. You all will have to buy a pre pay phone.It takes a three month credit history to have a plan (which is much cheaper). I use movie star the former Bell South. The costs are different if you are calling another company like comcell.  I have a house phone  and a vonage phone as well. The vonage phone receives all my US calls which are call forwarded from my phone in Key West.  Cartagena Hooker

... in response to Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by wildbilman on Dec 2, 2005


I brought a cell phone to Colombia that is unlocked which has SIM card technology.  (I think Verizon is the only carrier not using SIM cards but was even able to get my Verizon phone to work with Movistar after they reprogrammed it to work in Colombia as well as the States.)  If bringing your cell phone be sure your phone has 800-850 or 1900 bands.  There are numerous threads about this on PBH.  Here is one:

http://www.poorbuthappy.com/colombia/node/8619

Movistar is better than Ola for coverage but most Colombians prefer Comcel.  I recently purchased a Comcel SIM card for 12.000 pesos to work in my Sony Ericson.  If you purchase their 100.000 calling card they will give you an additional 100.000 worth of minutes and will allow up to nine (I think) frequently called numbers that are discounted off their normal price.  This list can be changed.

As Soltero pointed out, calls inbound or outbound from or to the States the best way to go is either Vonage or Skype.  I use Vonage and love it.  Skype seems to be a bit less reliable but has a per minute charge versus the monthly charge and no router to take with you.

... in response to Re: Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by pablo on Dec 2, 2005

..on the poorbuthappy site. i prefer comcel because they use the 850 frecuency which is the equivalent to cingular here, this means that it has better reception inside buildings than ola which uses 1900, the same as tmobile here. reception with comcel has always been strong and consistent when i call my fiance on her cell, whether inside a mall, movie theatre or building where she works.this also has to do with the phone, generally speaking sony ericssons and nokias have a reputation for strong signal reception. moviestar i believe offers both gsm and cdma but i haven't looked into it to give you some insight. prepaid is the way to go if you are not living there and visit a few times a year.
JK

... in response to Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by wildbilman on Dec 2, 2005

I bought a pre-pay Nokia 1100 at ComCel for about $35.

... in response to Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by wildbilman on Dec 2, 2005

i brought my cell phone (unlocked) and purchased a sim card from movistar, no problems, worked great. Its best if you get a tri band phone or a quad band phone (gsm),that way, you can go to any cll phone company, but movistar(used to be BellSouth) in my opinion worked best.

one note, all cell phone providers in the US will unlock your current phone since you bought it,its YOUR phone, not theirs. this used to be a big deal before, but it pissed off a lot of customers, so now, they will unlock it for you.
if you are like me, i have one phone for people callling me from the US( not cheap, roaming is $ 3.99 a minute) and one for local in colombia.

... in response to Re: Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by mudd on Dec 2, 2005

Some carriers still will not unlock phones. When you purhase an unlocked phone you will lose 'carrier specific' features but you will have no problems sending and receiving. A friend purchased an unlocked Blackberry online and couldn't use it for his emails with Cingular service. For simple talk an unlocked phone is the way to go, but if you need specific features to work stateside, go with the phones offered by the carriers.

... in response to Re: Re: Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by JaySlo on Dec 3, 2005

interesting, i have an old samsung from t mobile, that i keep as a spare. i have a new samsung that i use now here in the US, both phones are from t mobile and are US phones.. before i left, i had t mobile unlock the old one,which is the one i used in colombia with movistar, no problems. i gess its better to have 2  phones.

... in response to Re: Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by mudd on Dec 2, 2005

Get a vonage phone for the US calls. As long as your hotel or wherever ha a cable broadband connection, you can hook the VOIP Router to it and talk for free (besides the 24.99 monthly rate)

... in response to Get Vonage, posted by soltero on Dec 2, 2005

Which hotels have broadband connections available?

... in response to Re: Get Vonage, posted by EbonyPrince on Dec 3, 2005

I have never stayed in a Colombian hotel, so I really couldn't advise you on that one.

... in response to Get Vonage, posted by soltero on Dec 2, 2005

.Unfortunately, I cant, most of my business contacts use my US cell # to contact me. I can’t call 100 people and tell them to call a new # for a week, but I have used vonage down there, worked great

... in response to Re: Get Vonage, posted by mudd on Dec 2, 2005

Forward the calls from your cell to the vonage. If you have to, leave it (the cell) on and plugged in at your house or office. You can leave your cell in the US and save some cash.

... in response to Re: Re: Get Vonage, posted by soltero on Dec 2, 2005


Does anyone have experience with the Vonage Wi-Fi phone and how practical it would be in a foreign country?

"Take It With You

The Vonage Wi-Fi phone is great for people on the go - use the phone with wireless Internet networks at home or at the office, or when traveling and have access to a compatible Wi-Fi hotspot. The Wi-Fi phone is a great way to enjoy high-quality Vonage Broadband phone service around the globe, and help you save money."

http://www.vonage.com/device.php?type=F1000

... in response to Cell phones in Colombia?, posted by wildbilman on Dec 2, 2005

[This message has been edited by soltero]

Buy an unlocked GSM phone on the cheap on Ebay. That way you can use it wherever you go. Comcel (Sp?) will have chips for it in Cali. I don't know who the best carrier is in other parts of Colombia, but the phones can be activated anywhere in the world with the carriers chip. The chips can be switched out and you can buy time for them when back in whatever country including here.