From what I have seen, not many people buy a monthly plan for their phones as is the norm in the U.S.. Instead, most Guatemalans (at least out in the rural areas where we live) use pre-paid plans and just put little bits of money on it at a time. The least you can buy at once is 5 Quetzales ($0.65). To buy saldo (the money you put on your phone) you walk to any of the little shops (of which there are a ton of even in my town, tell the person working there (sometimes a child) that you want to buy a recarga (recharge), tell them your phone number, and how much you want to put on your phone.
Another trick to saldo that took me a while to figure out are the "tripple saldo" days. There are about 3 of these a month. These are days when Tigo sends me a text message at 6am to tell me "HOY (insert date here) TRIPLE SALDO TIGO EN RECARGAS ELECTRONICAS desde Q5." Which means that if you put Q5 on your phone you get the Q5 of normal saldo which you can use for talking or texting and then Q10 of promotional saldo which can be transferred to a modem and used for internet or used for talking. I generally transfer it over to my Tigo modem (in the form of a USB stick) and use it to buy internet in my site.
This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about Guatemalan phone plans, but if you are planning a trip to Guatemala or going to live here for a month this is gold. You're welcome :)
 |
| They also advertise triple saldo days in the newspaper |
I learned something new: That the bonus saldo can be transferred to your Internet quota. But what is the conversion factor? As Internet access is usually sold on a gb basis and mobile phone saldo is in minutes, what happens when you transfer the Q10 (or whatever amount)? Would you in effect buy whatever amount of data 10Q would buy? But even that seems to vary depending on what data plan: e.g., a pre-paid monthly plan of, say 5 gb is less expensive per gb than, say, a 500 mb quota on a daily plan. Or is this more detail than anyone needs to know?
ReplyDeleteThere is no conversion factor. If you buy 10Q of saldo you also get 20Q of promotional saldo and can transfer the 10Q to your modem. I use Tigo as my internet provider and they have different prices depending on how much data and for how much time.
DeleteManaging three cell phones so that you can minimize costs is impressive. Any idea how many cell phones there are among your host family and at what age do children tend to get a cell phone?
ReplyDeleteThis is actually fascinating
ReplyDeleteIf you think that's bad wait until you get back to the US! Sylvia has every single iPhone model that has ever come out
ReplyDeleteHi Megan,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Liz Pascual. My daughter was a Peace Corps volunteer in Rwanda, 2011-2013. I have made an effort to send care packages to PCV's throughout my travels as a medical missionary. I will be in Antigua, Guatemala Feb. 6-14, 2015. I would like to bring a care package to a PCV in Guatemala. Are you, or do you know of a PCV who is in the area? I appreciate the help. Thanks- Liz Pascual
Hi Liz, Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. That is really thoughtful of you. As there are no PCVs right in the Antigua area, so I checked with the Peace Corps and they said that you could leave a package with them in the main office in Santa Lucia Milpas Altas which is one block off of the main road that goes from Guatemala City to Antigua. Here is the address: 3a. calle 6-48 zona 1 (Km. 34.5) Santa Lucía Milpas Altas, Sacatepéquez. I hope you enjoy your time in Guatemala! It's such a beautiful country to visit.
Delete