Best option when traveling to Haiti

Wife will be traveking to Haiti (Hinche in Central Plateau Region) in a
couple weeks.
Any one know what would be the best option for her to keep in touch while
she is gone. ATT wants 1.69 a minute and we are looker for a less expensive
alternative. She is in a panic as this is the first time in 25 years we will
be apart like this and she wants to be able to call home (or me call
herwhich I think may be easier and cheaper).

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

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› See More: Best option when traveling to Haiti

On 2007-12-10, PC Medic <[email protected]> wrote:
> Wife will be traveking to Haiti (Hinche in Central Plateau Region) in a
> couple weeks.
> Any one know what would be the best option for her to keep in touch while
> she is gone. ATT wants 1.69 a minute and we are looker for a less expensive
> alternative. She is in a panic as this is the first time in 25 years we will
> be apart like this and she wants to be able to call home (or me call
> herwhich I think may be easier and cheaper).

None of the international roaming SIMs I know about have good roaming
rates for Haiti either, so I think the only good way to get reasonably
priced service there to buy prepaid service from a local operator when
she gets there.

To do this she needs an unlocked, quad-band GSM phone to take with
her (I think Haiti GSM service is 900/1800). If your AT&T phone
is quad-band, but still locked, you should be able to get it unlocked
by phoning AT&T customer service and asking for the subsidy lock code.
Once you get the code, borrow (say) a T-Mobile SIM card from someone
and put it in the phone. It will ask you for the unlock code when you
turn the phone on. If you get to the point where the phone works with
a T-Mobile SIM in it, it is unlocked.

Once she has an unlocked phone to take, she should be able to buy
a local SIM card when she gets there. Here are the web sites of
the two Haitian GSM operators I know about:

http://www.digicelhaiti.net/
http://www.comcelhaiti.com/

Buy from which ever operator seems to have service where she is
going. If she has friends or relatives there, having one of them
buy her the SIM before she leaves might help since then you'd know
the number before she gets there (this'll also make it certain
you get the SIM; in most places this is no problem, but a few
countries make it hard for non-residents to buy phone service).

Dennis Ferguson

PC Medic wrote:
> Wife will be traveking to Haiti (Hinche in Central Plateau Region) in a
> couple weeks.
> Any one know what would be the best option for her to keep in touch while
> she is gone. ATT wants 1.69 a minute and we are looker for a less expensive
> alternative. She is in a panic as this is the first time in 25 years we will
> be apart like this and she wants to be able to call home (or me call
> herwhich I think may be easier and cheaper).
>
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

See "http://www.rangeroamer.com/microsites/sims/pricing.aspx"

Receiving calls from anywhere $0.29 per minute
Calling locally/nationally in Haiti $1.04 per minute
Calling from Haiti back to the USA $0.79 per minute


I never used them, but I found them on-line. They have very good
incoming call rates.

"Dennis Ferguson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 2007-12-10, PC Medic <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Wife will be traveking to Haiti (Hinche in Central Plateau Region) in a
>> couple weeks.
>> Any one know what would be the best option for her to keep in touch while
>> she is gone. ATT wants 1.69 a minute and we are looker for a less
>> expensive
>> alternative. She is in a panic as this is the first time in 25 years we
>> will
>> be apart like this and she wants to be able to call home (or me call
>> herwhich I think may be easier and cheaper).
>
> None of the international roaming SIMs I know about have good roaming
> rates for Haiti either, so I think the only good way to get reasonably
> priced service there to buy prepaid service from a local operator when
> she gets there.
>
> To do this she needs an unlocked, quad-band GSM phone to take with
> her (I think Haiti GSM service is 900/1800). If your AT&T phone
> is quad-band, but still locked, you should be able to get it unlocked
> by phoning AT&T customer service and asking for the subsidy lock code.
> Once you get the code, borrow (say) a T-Mobile SIM card from someone
> and put it in the phone. It will ask you for the unlock code when you
> turn the phone on. If you get to the point where the phone works with
> a T-Mobile SIM in it, it is unlocked.
>
> Once she has an unlocked phone to take, she should be able to buy
> a local SIM card when she gets there. Here are the web sites of
> the two Haitian GSM operators I know about:
>
> http://www.digicelhaiti.net/
> http://www.comcelhaiti.com/
>
> Buy from which ever operator seems to have service where she is
> going. If she has friends or relatives there, having one of them
> buy her the SIM before she leaves might help since then you'd know
> the number before she gets there (this'll also make it certain
> you get the SIM; in most places this is no problem, but a few
> countries make it hard for non-residents to buy phone service).
>
> Dennis Ferguson

Thanks for the info.
Contacting the friend in advance to purchase the SIM is not an option I had
thought of.

"SMS ???. ?" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> PC Medic wrote:
>> Wife will be traveking to Haiti (Hinche in Central Plateau Region) in a
>> couple weeks.
>> Any one know what would be the best option for her to keep in touch while
>> she is gone. ATT wants 1.69 a minute and we are looker for a less
>> expensive alternative. She is in a panic as this is the first time in 25
>> years we will be apart like this and she wants to be able to call home
>> (or me call herwhich I think may be easier and cheaper).
>>
>> Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
>
> See "http://www.rangeroamer.com/microsites/sims/pricing.aspx"
>
> Receiving calls from anywhere $0.29 per minute
> Calling locally/nationally in Haiti $1.04 per minute
> Calling from Haiti back to the USA $0.79 per minute
>
>
> I never used them, but I found them on-line. They have very good incoming
> call rates.

Thanks, I will check them out as well