Caracas - 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?
A phone from home with an international plan is probably best. You cannot get an international plan from a Venezuelan company. - May 2015
Bring one to use in country. Keep your other one. The Venezuelan one won't work anywhere else in the wold. - Apr 2015
GSM phone service with 3G in 2014. Don't plan on buying a phone here, even a cheapy, because they're in permanent shortage. - Nov 2014
If you aren't issued one by the Embassy, it is best to buy one here or just the chip, e.g., for your iPhone, from Movistar. - Sep 2013
BlackBerries are the 'it' thing here. I got by without one just fine, though. - Aug 2012
Many people have blackberries and iPhones here. Prepaid data planes are available. - Mar 2012
Bring an unlocked cell phone and buy "saldo" at any newspaper kiosk. Don't have a flashy looking phone--it makes you a target. Don't show your phone in public. - Mar 2011
Keep a cell phone. - Jan 2011
Get one, a cheap one, and use it judiciously. A friend was mugged here and had his cell phone thrown back in his face because it was a piece of junk. Perfect. - Oct 2010
The embassy provides each employee with one cell phone. The local companies make it hard for family members to get prepaid phones, but with a little work it can be figured out. - Sep 2010
Embassy employees get issued a phone. Spouses use pay-as-you-go. Purchasing them is a pain, since you can't get one until you're accredited which can take anywhere from 1-6 months. - Mar 2010
Buy a cheap one at the mall. They're all the same. Phones are about $100 USD and about $20-30 USD a month depending on usage. - Mar 2010
There are 3 carriers, MovilNet, Movistar, and Digitel. Digitel is the only one that is GSM and their coverage is not as good as Movistar's or MovilNets. - Feb 2009
You can get one locally. - Nov 2008
