U.S. Based Cell Service in Cuba Thread

[Ethernut]

Looks like some of you have just been to Cuba and others are going soon. If your cell carrier is based in the U.S. I would love to hear about your experience there from what your carrier's terms were, coverage, texting and even data.  

TIA! - Ether...

[JohnnyO]

No service. You have to buy an Etecsa Chip to use your phone in Cuba. Your phone also has to be unlocked to use this chip. Calls to the US are almost $3/min during the day, closer to $2/min after 11pm. You can receive calls and there is no cost. To send texts inside Cuba are cents, they might get there in 4 hours. There is no voice mail. Internet service is available for a fee if you are near a WiFi station, it is slow during the day because of usage. Better after 11pm. There is internet service in the better hotels but not at the speed you are used to and can be $10/hour. John

[Ethernut]

@JohnnyO how recently were you there? Thanks for the writeup!

[JohnnyO]

Last week

[El Presidente]

In Oz we go and purchase a pre-paid Travel Sim locally that can be used in Cuba. 

Australia Post has them as do a few other locations.  You can top it up online as need be. 

The calls are re-routed through Estonia (or use to be). 

It works most of the time. 

Just check if you have the same service type providers in the USA.

The rates for Australians are as follows:

 

http://auspost.com.au/travel-id/prepaid-travelsim.html

Cost to call Australia

$4.00 AUD / minute

Cost to receive calls

$2.00 AUD / minute

Cost to send SMS

$1.00 AUD / message (160 characters)

Cost to SMS another Prepaid TravelSIM®+

FREE!

Data

$10.00 AUD / MB

 

[JohnnyO]

Was there this weekend and went through all the apps to see if anything would come up. On one Samsung Android phone there was nothing. On a newer one I have (Galaxy Prime) I was able to get maps of Havana/Cuba. It pinged my position and marked most of the streets fairly well. Points of interest were not well marked. For example the Capitol building showed its physical position/shape but it was not labeled as well as the Partagas factory. On another note, many of the streets have several names. The locals always refer to the streets by their old name (before 1959) but the Comandante might have given it another name. For example, the shopping center "strip" near the Capitol building the main street is labeled "Avenida de Italia" and the street signs say that. But if you look at the corner of the buildings the placard on the buildings say "Galiano" and that is the name the locals refer to. BTW, a SIM card in Cuba is $30+time. John

[Ethernut]

13 minutes ago, JohnnyO said:

Was there this weekend and went through all the apps to see if anything would come up. On one Samsung Android phone there was nothing. On a newer one I have (Galaxy Prime) I was able to get maps of Havana/Cuba. It pinged my position and marked most of the streets fairly well. Points of interest were not well marked. For example the Capitol building showed its physical position/shape but it was not labeled as well as the Partagas factory. On another note, many of the streets have several names. The locals always refer to the streets by their old name (before 1959) but the Comandante might have given it another name. For example, the shopping center "strip" near the Capitol building the main street is labeled "Avenida de Italia" and the street signs say that. But if you look at the corner of the buildings the placard on the buildings say "Galiano" and that is the name the locals refer to. BTW, a SIM card in Cuba is $30+time. John

Thx for the write-up! Which/Who's Sim did you go with? 

[JohnnyO]

I have always used the Cubacel SIM card. John

[Foxy73]

I work for t-mobile and back in May they struck a deal that would allow T-Mobile customers to use voice data and text while visiting Cuba. As of today this hasn't been put into place but should be coming in the next few weeks/months. 

[Ethernut]

3 hours ago, Foxy73 said:

I work for t-mobile and back in May they struck a deal that would allow T-Mobile customers to use voice data and text while visiting Cuba. As of today this hasn't been put into place but should be coming in the next few weeks/months. 

Great info Foxy. I'd heard T-Mo and Verizon had agreements, but it doesn't sound like that's solid yet. Appreciate the heads up. Let us know when you hear something different. ?

[Foxy73]

Will do. If I had to guess I would imagine we will offer free texting and free data while roaming and 20 cents per minute for phone calls. That's what we currently offer in most countries. Who knows though, maybe because it's Cuba it will be more. 

[Saxman]

I have it in good authority that AT&T is about to announce a deal with Cuba. Of course Verizon , T-Mobile and others already have it but, I have been waiting for this. Should be announced soon


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[Fuzz]

T-Mobile sounds good. I was going to pick up a US SIM whilst I'm there in Oct/Nov.

[Corylax18]

Everybody seems to be completely ignoring infrastructure. The wired phone and internet service in Cuba is extremely spotty, exactly what cell phone towers, switching centers and earth stations are going to handle all this new cell phone service? Let alone the Fiber or cooper network needed to carry signals between these points then up to the satellites for transmission to other countries. The Technology is decades behind, and even with years of concerted efforts by multiple carriers, and 10s of millions in investments (per carrier) we still wont see service anything like what we are used to. 

The agreements are great, the first step. But we are years off from having consistent Hi speed voice and data services in Cuba. I could see large parts of Havana, Santiago de Cuba, and a few other towns getting some semblance of consistent service within a year, but that would require quite a bit of cooperation from the locals.  

[Ryan]

The cell infrastructure is very good in Havana. I usually have both an Irish sim and a Cuban sim with me. I can't remember a time where I didn't have coverage on either in any part of Havana or environs. Even Pinar del Rio, San Luis, San Juan y Martinez, no problems with a signal.

[Corylax18]

4 minutes ago, Ryan said:

The cell infrastructure is very good in Havana. I usually have both an Irish sim and a Cuban sim with me. I can't remember a time where I didn't have coverage on either in any part of Havana or environs. Even Pinar del Rio, San Luis, San Juan y Martinez, no problems with a signal.

Interesting, I know there is "Coverage" but I was not aware that it was that extensive. Another key is the spectrum that they are using. Is it PCS, AWS, 700MHZ, or AWS over 700 (4G LTE). They could very well still be on GSM or 2G, Ryan, can you elaborate? 

[Ryan]

GSM 900, which I believe is 2G, is what I usually get. Works fine for voice calls, I've never tried cellular data there though I know some Canadians who get data. Texts from my Cuban sim to other Cuban sims work fine. texts from my Irish sim to Cuban sims are sometimes delayed, up to hours of a delay, or don't go through at all or can even be garbled. They usually go through though.

I hear there is 3G too now. UMTS maybe.

[Ryan]

Cuban sims are fairly straightforward to get now. Make sure your phone is unlocked and compatible with GSM 900.

A sim is bought at an ETECSA office (there's a good one behind the Habana Libre Hotel) for $30 and that gives $30 credit. Usually plenty for local calls and texts for a week.

You need a passport for ID to get a sim. Notionally there is only one sim allowed per person per visit.

[Ryan]

A quick google and I found this. This is one of the more accurate and up to date descriptions for what to do to get a sim card in Cuba. I had forgotten that it's not easy to get a permanent number, but renting one is straightforward enough for $3 per day.

http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Cuba

I have a permanent Cuban sim card now. Bought for me in the name of a Cuban resident and then transferred to my name.

[Saxman]

As predicted AT&T just announced a deal to do roaming in Cuba http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/att-and-etecsa-sign-deal-for-cuba-roaming-and-direct-connections-300316297.html


Saxman (Victor)

[Ethernut]

16 minutes ago, Saxman said:

As predicted AT&T just announced a deal to do roaming in Cuba http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/att-and-etecsa-sign-deal-for-cuba-roaming-and-direct-connections-300316297.html


Saxman (Victor)

Excellent! Thanks! Now does your source reveal how long it'll be before it's available to us?

[Saxman]

Not yet but I suspect from prior stuff that in 30 days they will announce pricing and it will be in line with Verizon. I go to Cuba in Dec so very interested in making sure my wife can call me


Saxman (Victor)

[JohnnyO]

On my most recent visit I discovered a few more things on my Cel phone with Google maps. I used the Samsung Galaxy Prime. I had map service on the plane, it pinged my position even before we entered Cuba. Over the ocean it didn't give you an accurate reading but once on land it showed your true position as you moved. When we landed in Terminal 2 it was not labeled. I tried to put in an address and it could not be found. However, when I put in a point of interest like Marina Hemingway it showed up right away with the addy. No route was shown just your position and the Marina's. Basically this is all you would need if you want to know where you are and for the Taxi. Maybe by November they will have more updates. On another side note, if your call is less than 6 seconds you don't get charged for it. This is handy if where you are staying there is a land line you can cut the call short by saying "Call you back", use the land line and not get charged for the call. Sometimes calls are gargled, trust me it will not get better. Hang up (using the 6 second rule) and hope you have a better connection on the next call. For local calls I think you get charged in 10 second increments. For international not sure, $10-20 goes very quickly. John

[Ethernut]

Any movement of US carriers in Cuba since the thread began? Thx!

[Saxman]

Any movement of US carriers in Cuba since the thread began? Thx!

AT&T has a deal but no package is being offered to the public.


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Saxman