Santo Domingo - Post Report Question and Answers

Do you have any recommendations regarding mobile phones? Did you keep your home-country plan or use a local provider?

Embassy provide phone or Claro - Jun 2024


Claro. - Sep 2023


Embassy phone. - Oct 2021


The two largest providers are Claro and Altice. They work well and are affordable, particularly compared to U.S. pricing. Contract and pay-as-you-go options are available. - Jan 2021


Claro or Altice. - Jan 2019


Local providers offer monthly plans or pay-as-you-go (I paid $30 per month for unlimited calls and data). - Nov 2016


Claro or Orange. - Jan 2016


CLARO, Orange and Tricom are all decent. - Jan 2016


Decent cell phone planes here. Bring an unlocked phone so you don't have to buy one here. - Aug 2015


Anything you want from a cheap US$15 phone to iPhones are everywhere and affordable (the plan, not the phone itself. They are much more expensive here.) - Aug 2015


There are three major carriers (Orange, Claro, Tricom) here and all have relative decent prices for montly payments. You can also bring an unlocked phone (such as an iPhone) and just purchase a sim card. - Aug 2014


They seem to have a wide variety of phones here. Some people have brought IPhones from the US. - Apr 2013


You can bring your unlocked phone here and purchase a local SIM card. You can also buy a cell phone here, but they are much more expensive. - Apr 2013


Most from US will not work in DR. - Jan 2013


Not really. - Jun 2012


Get a cheap throw-away one here. Less to be stolen if you're mugged. If you must have the latest/greatest iPhone/Blackberry/Android phone, be sure you can unlock/jailbreak/root it before coming. The services to do that here are unreliable and expensive. Claro and Orange are the 2 biggest carriers, and have affordable plans. Expect to pay about $20/mo. for 250 minutes. - Mar 2012


Claro and Orange are the two large companies here, both have reliable service. - Feb 2012


no - Feb 2012


Claro - Oct 2011


You can use Claro/Codetel or Orange. A lot of people have blackberries. My plan is one of the cheapest and I pay around $14 USD per month. You should expect to pay a lot more for a data plan. The Embassy does not issue phones to all officers. - Jun 2011


All phone plans seems to work well. - May 2011


orange or claro are the two big companies - Nov 2010


I recommend a prepaid phone. Basically at every traffic light people will be trying to sell additional units for prepaid phone services, so it is easy to purchase them. - Aug 2010


You need one. Life is full of unexpected experiences, and Santo Domingo is no exception. There is no 911 here, nor policemen around that you can count on to help you, or for that matter good samaritans. You are on your own around here, and having a cell phone is a necessity. There are many service providers, and if you have a contract you can expect to pay the same amount that you would pay in the States. We just get the phone cards, and because we don't use the cell much, it only costs about $20 a month. - Jun 2010


Plentiful and cheap. - May 2009


Get one, because calling cell phones from a home phone is super expensive, and everyone else has a cell pone. Though it's a little more expensive, opt for the better service of Claro (it's Verizon). - Nov 2008


Claro and Orange are the biggest competitors here and usually are just fine and reasonably priced. - Oct 2008


You'll need one. Get a contract, as the cards to recharge the phone don't seem to last the right amount of time. Some phone cards sold on the street are counterfeit. - Jun 2008


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