Planning your next trip to Philippines and want to have an instant access to the internet while you’re there? Check this guide on best prepaid sim cards in Philippines for tourists, different plans and telecom providers.
General Information
GSM 900/1800 cellular service in the Philippines is provided by the leading telecommunication companies: Smart Communications, Globe Telecom and Sun Cellular. There are other operators in the market. The coverage is great in the cities, on the territory of popular resorts. But on many islands of the archipelago you will not find any means of communication, except your own phone.
Internet in the Philippines is available in 4G.
Philippines Top Telecom Operators
Smart Communications
The best communication services are provided by Smart Communications. This operator has the greatest coverage, offers variety of services, and has reasonable prices.
Globe Telecom
Globe Telecom has great coverage mostly in locations of large resorts. In remote regions or aboard a passenger ferry in the open sea, communications may disappear altogether. At the same time, the tariffs of this operator are clearly overstated.
Sun Cellular
Sun Cellular has recently entered the local market. Like its competitors, its services are so far only good in the big cities. But even in the capital city – Manila, there are entire neighborhoods that are beyond the reach of cellular base station signals.
Internet for the tourist in the Philippines
If your smartphone supports e-SIM technology you can order prepaid Philippines eSIM here.
In most resorts on the Philippines Islands, the quality of Internet services is very low. But many hotels have quite stable local Wi-Fi networks. However, you’ll have to pay up to 100 pesos per hour (about $2) to use it, and Wi-Fi is not available throughout the hotel. You can also get online at numerous Internet cafes.
The approximate cost of mobile Internet cards is 100 pesos/1 Gbyte. Smart Communications kiosks sell the 5GB card for 450 pesos and the 9GB card costs 999 pesos. Globe Telecom offers 6gb+1gb cards (video bonus) for 600 pesos.
When traveling in unknown areas, it is convenient to use navigators. You can download these applications to your gadget before you visit the country. Also install Google Maps offline or Maps.me. In the Philippines, the service CityMaps2Go is working steadily, you can track your movements using it, for example, traveling on the sea ferry.
Where to Buy a SIM Card in Philippines
You can purchase SIM cards in Philippines at the airport. Branded kiosks of leading telecom operators are located in the arrival terminals. SIM cards are sold in supermarkets and shopping malls.
