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Joined: Nov 2003
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Hi Boarders,
I enjoy reading your posts. I am coming to San Pedro to stay for over 2 months beginning Jan. 26 and I was wondering what is involved in getting my cell phone to work there. Last year when I visited for 2 weeks I called my phone company (Sprint PCS) and had them turn on Belize for my phone. Then when I tried to use my cell phone in San Pedro I got a message about not being a customer of BTL...or something like that. Do I have to sign up as a customer with the Belize phone company to use my phone? Have any of you been successful making your cell phone work in San Pedro? I'd appreciate any information you can provide. Thanks...

Joined: Mar 2005
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What about calling cards. I purchased them here in the states and used them abroad. I'm not sure if they exist for Belize. Any one know and where you call out to the states using one. We have to check on our dog, as we'll be gone for two weeks.

Joined: Oct 2005
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I use my cell phone in Belize regularly....unfortunately I cannot access my voice mail from the
States. Contact your cellphone provider and let them know you will be there awhile and they will get you set up

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Marge...Did you use a calling card from your cell phone when you were abroad?

Clover...Can you call back to the USA with your USA cell phone (Sprint PCS, etc.)? or call to other areas in Belize? and currently I can go on the web and get email, etc. from my phone...can I do that when I'm in Belize?

What experiences have others had using their cell phones in Belize?

Joined: Oct 2005
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From Belize: By dialing 001 before each number dialed you can call any number in the US. For Belize numbers you must first dial a 011...........I use Cingular and that is how it works. Check with your cell phone provider for international calling....I'm sure it is all the same but make sure you set up for international calling for specifically Belize or it will cost you a fortune. My understanding with Cingualr is that the GS frequency for Belize is the same as in the states which makes things pretty easy.....but again....set up for international calling or your phone calls to and from Belize could be a car payment!

Joined: Nov 2003
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Clover...Thanks for the info. Last year, when Sprint PCS was supposed to set me up I got the message about not having BTL service... Did you have to subscribe to BTL service or do anything else besides work with your US cell provider? (Maybe Sprint PCS just didn't get it set up right. If so, I'll troubleshoot it with them this trip. It wasn't worth it last trip but now that I'm coming for 2+ months I would really like to have my phone work.)

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The secret is in the GSM chip.....just go down to the local provider and tell them to make sure that your phone will send and receive calls from belize....and get the international calling plan. When I go down (and I go alot) I still have to be in communication with my business. Cingular works great...so did ATT. My problem was with the voice mail function....to this day (and I was just down there) I cannot access my voice mail from there.....didn't really care but I thought I had the perfect package!

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Clover..Do you mean to go down to the local provider in the states (Sprint PCS?) or do you mean to BTL in Belize? I have a Treo 650 phone. Should I ask Sprint PCS if it has a GSM chip?

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BTL in Belize has nothing to do with your cell phone service in the States. If you want to get a local phone number in BZ you would go to BTL. If you want to use your Stateside phone...with your Stateside phone number go to Sprint PCS (I'm not alkin the internet...already tried that) and hook up with a human and tell them that you are going to BZ and that you want international calling set up for your phone and specifically to that area.

Joined: Aug 2005
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You need a GSM phone in Belize. Cingular and T-Mobile use this system in the US.

These systems use a SIM card to connect to the GSM system. In theory you can take the SIM card out of your phone put it in another phone and the new phone will receive your calls. I actually did this in Germany in the early '90s.

You have the choice of buying a Belize SIM or using your US' SIM card. You'll need to have your US phone unlocked to use the local SIM Card. You'll need to set this up before you get to Belize. It took me about a week to get this done for my T-Mobile phone. It was done over the phone....the personnel at their 5th Avenue and 42nd St(Manhattan) store did not know what to do.

The choice of US SIM or Belize SIM would depend on how you plan on using the phone....local calls or to the US. It all comes down to $$$ per call.

I'll buy a local prepaid card when I arrive at the local phone company's office. They'll even install it.


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