TelCel GSM
TelCel has the best coverage in Mexico and the most customers. By far. It offers a full range of cellular services. It is surprisingly flexible and economical compared to many "visitor" service offerings in the USA and Canada.
You get started by either buying a cheap "Amigo" phone, or, if you have an unlocked GSM phone by buying a TelCel SIM card. The locals call this a chip. These can be bought at any TelCel service center or distributor. Or, at most any of the ubiquitous OXXO and Extra convenience stores. Or at many supermarkets. The cheapest phones will cost about MX500 with just a little bit of credit. The SIM card will cost about $MX300 with $MX200 credit. You can also buy a SIM card without credit at TelCel stores. It was $MX100 in 2014.
You get a phone number and some credit with your purchase. You want a local phone number - so make sure to purchase in the San Carlos / Guaymas area. The credit will be decremented as you use service. It also expires. Quickly.
Beware that 300 days after your credit expires that your SIM card expires. If your SIM card expires then you need to buy an new one. Assume that you will get a different phone number.
You get started by either buying a cheap "Amigo" phone, or, if you have an unlocked GSM phone by buying a TelCel SIM card. The locals call this a chip. These can be bought at any TelCel service center or distributor. Or, at most any of the ubiquitous OXXO and Extra convenience stores. Or at many supermarkets. The cheapest phones will cost about MX500 with just a little bit of credit. The SIM card will cost about $MX300 with $MX200 credit. You can also buy a SIM card without credit at TelCel stores. It was $MX100 in 2014.
You get a phone number and some credit with your purchase. You want a local phone number - so make sure to purchase in the San Carlos / Guaymas area. The credit will be decremented as you use service. It also expires. Quickly.
Beware that 300 days after your credit expires that your SIM card expires. If your SIM card expires then you need to buy an new one. Assume that you will get a different phone number.
Frequencies
TelCel GSM uses the following frequencies:
- 1900 for voice and 2G data
- 850 for 3G, HSDPA, HSDPA+
- 1900 2100 for LTE
TelCel Partners with AT&T
If you bring an AT&T phone to Mexico, you will be able to use it on TelCel without doing anything. The price you will pay for making voice calls here will be lots more expensive than if you switched to TelCel directly. But, it is not ridiculous. A few dollars per minute. Cheaper if you make specific arrangements with AT&T. SMS messaging is OK also. DO NOT USE DATA the same way. HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS per day are easily possible. A big surprise with your next monthly bill.
The partnership is reciprocal. You can use your phone with a TelCel Amigo SIM card in the USA without doing anything. Again, the price of voice calls is lots more expensive than if you put an AT&T SIM card back in your phone. But, it is not ridiculous. Again, if you use DATA while in the USA your TelCel credit will disappear. Fast.
AT&T, TelCel, and MoviStar (and Rogers) are network compatible as of 2012. The frequencies for 3G and HSDPA+ match. And it looks like the frequencies for 4G LTE will match too - and this includes T-Mobile.
The partnership is reciprocal. You can use your phone with a TelCel Amigo SIM card in the USA without doing anything. Again, the price of voice calls is lots more expensive than if you put an AT&T SIM card back in your phone. But, it is not ridiculous. Again, if you use DATA while in the USA your TelCel credit will disappear. Fast.
AT&T, TelCel, and MoviStar (and Rogers) are network compatible as of 2012. The frequencies for 3G and HSDPA+ match. And it looks like the frequencies for 4G LTE will match too - and this includes T-Mobile.
Credit
You buy credit in Pesos - not minutes, not SMS messages, not megabytes. Lots of places sell TelCel credit. The same ones where you can buy the TelCel phone or SIM card plus many, many more. You can buy a paper card with credit (ficha), or, many places can add the credit electronically - instantly. There are also several web sites, including TelCel, that will refill your TelCel account electronically from your credit card.
If you the the paper card with the credit, there is a number hidden under a dark coating that you scrape off with a coin - like many Lotto tickets. You then dial *333 and select the option to make a deposit. Then enter the (long) string of digits. You will get verbal confirmation upon success. If your refill electronically, you will get an SMS confirmation on your cell phone.
Obviously, credit can be totally used up. However, it also can expire - freezing the account. When it freezes depends on what denomination you purchase. If you purchase 100 Pesos or more, your freeze in 60 days. 50 Peso purchase will freeze in 30 days. 30 Peso purchase will freeze in 15 days. 20 Peso purchase will freeze in 10 days. If you refill your account 180 days then your old credit balance carries forward along with your purchase.
You can check your credit, again by dialing *333 and select the option to check your balance. Or you can dial *133# and you will get your balance returned in an SMS message.
If you the the paper card with the credit, there is a number hidden under a dark coating that you scrape off with a coin - like many Lotto tickets. You then dial *333 and select the option to make a deposit. Then enter the (long) string of digits. You will get verbal confirmation upon success. If your refill electronically, you will get an SMS confirmation on your cell phone.
Obviously, credit can be totally used up. However, it also can expire - freezing the account. When it freezes depends on what denomination you purchase. If you purchase 100 Pesos or more, your freeze in 60 days. 50 Peso purchase will freeze in 30 days. 30 Peso purchase will freeze in 15 days. 20 Peso purchase will freeze in 10 days. If you refill your account 180 days then your old credit balance carries forward along with your purchase.
You can check your credit, again by dialing *333 and select the option to check your balance. Or you can dial *133# and you will get your balance returned in an SMS message.
Tariffs for Amigo pay-as-you-go
When you get your Amigo phone or SIM card, it is enabled for voice, messaging, and data. As you use these services your account is debited. San Carlos is in TelCel Region 2 which includes most of Sonora and Sinaloa. The following prices are all in Pesos. Receive an SMS or MMS message: Free
- Send an SMS message: $0.88
- Send an MMS message: $2.08
- Data per megabyte sent or received: $1.00
- Check your credit balance: $0.85
- Receive a call inside Mexico: Free
- Receive a call from outside Mexico: $4.16 per minute
- Originate a call: $4.16 per minute inside Mexico
- (long distance)
Amigo Options versus Plans
Pay-as-you-go is expensive per unit. Per minute voice, per MegaByte data, per text message is expensive if you use a lot on TelCel. The same is true north of the Mexican border also. The options north of the border are usually limited to a monthly plan. TelCel, of course, has monthly plans. However, TelCel is very flexible with it's Amigo pay-as-you-go. There are options to pay up front and bring down the per unit cost for the services you use "too much". There are options for frequently called numbers, unlimited text messages, and Data. If you use more than 300 MegaBytes of Data per month you are much better off paying up front. For the same $MX300 you get 1 Gigabyte instead of just 300 Megabytes if you pay up front. If you send more than 113 text messages it is better to pay up front and get unlimited for the same price.
When you pay up front, you credit is debited immediately. It does not automatically renew when it expires.
As of December 2012, TelCel has 54 different monthly plans if the Amigo pay-as-you-go does not fit your needs. They vary in price from $MX197 to $MX2,359 per month. And none of them are unlimited.
When you pay up front, you credit is debited immediately. It does not automatically renew when it expires.
As of December 2012, TelCel has 54 different monthly plans if the Amigo pay-as-you-go does not fit your needs. They vary in price from $MX197 to $MX2,359 per month. And none of them are unlimited.
Numbers Frequently Called and Messaged
TelCel Amigo charges a lot per minute. As an offset to these higher than typical prices, you can register 3 numbers that you can call or send SMS messages to without cost. And 9 other numbers can be registered for lower cost calls. There are catches and complications.
For the 3 numbers with "unlimited" voice calls and SMS messages for free - one of the catches is that only the first 5 minutes of a voice call is free. Beyond 5 minutes the cost increases to $MX5.97 per minute. A second catch is that to keep your list of 3 "unlimited" numbers beyond 30 days you need to deposit $MX150 into your account every 30 days.
For the 9 numbers with discounted voice charges, the numbers must be local and must be TelCel. And the cost is reduced to $MX1.19 per minute. This is a significant savings from the normal $MX4.16 per minute.
To setup these frequently called numbers, you call *264. *264 is only in Spanish. *333, where you can redeem credit or check your credit balance and expiration, can be switched between English and Spanish and it remembers your selection. Note that to change frequently called numbers using *264 will cost you $MX15.13 in credit
.
For the 3 numbers with "unlimited" voice calls and SMS messages for free - one of the catches is that only the first 5 minutes of a voice call is free. Beyond 5 minutes the cost increases to $MX5.97 per minute. A second catch is that to keep your list of 3 "unlimited" numbers beyond 30 days you need to deposit $MX150 into your account every 30 days.
For the 9 numbers with discounted voice charges, the numbers must be local and must be TelCel. And the cost is reduced to $MX1.19 per minute. This is a significant savings from the normal $MX4.16 per minute.
To setup these frequently called numbers, you call *264. *264 is only in Spanish. *333, where you can redeem credit or check your credit balance and expiration, can be switched between English and Spanish and it remembers your selection. Note that to change frequently called numbers using *264 will cost you $MX15.13 in credit
.
Data Options
One Peso per megabyte is fine for light activity. Like checking email a couple times a day. A few Google searches. Look up words in WordReference. Light FaceBook browsing. In fact, I run out of 60 days before I run out of $MX100 credit. If you are going to have more intense Internet activity, it is more economical to use an option described in this section. When you want to prearrange for lower cost data service - you send a specially formatted SMS message (like "ALTO1") to the special phone number 5050. What you get is a lower cost package of data access that has both a cap and an expiration. You pay immediately from your credit balance. Here are the most useful options when you want a lot more data at a better price (in Pesos):
Megabytes
150
200 1,024 1,024 1,536 1,024 2,048 3,076 |
Cost
$49
$79 $169 $229 $249 $299 $339 $399 |
Duration
24 hours
2 days 7 days 15 days 15 days 30 days 30 days 30 days |
SMS Message
ALTO1
ALTO2 ALTO7 MEDIO15 ALTO15 BAJO30 MEDIO30 ALTO30 |
You can check how much data capacity is left in your account by sending "VIGENCIAINT" as an SMS message to the same special phone number 5050.
Configuring Data Access
You probably did not buy your phone from TelCel. It is likely that your phone was not configured to use Internet data when you bought your TelCel SIM card. If you cannot get cellular data to work -it is likely that you need to configure Access Point Name (APN) for Telcel. On Android, this can be found on "Settings"; "Mobile Networks"; "Access Point Names". On iPhone, this can be found on "Settings"; "General"; "Network or Cellular"; "Cellular Data Option".
There needs to be an Access Point Name for TelCel. If it does not exist, add it. Only the following settings should be configured:
Name: TelCel MX
APN: internet.itelcel.com
Username: webgprs
Password: webgprs2002
Authentication Type: PAP
You probably did not buy your phone from TelCel. It is likely that your phone was not configured to use Internet data when you bought your TelCel SIM card. If you cannot get cellular data to work -it is likely that you need to configure Access Point Name (APN) for Telcel. On Android, this can be found on "Settings"; "Mobile Networks"; "Access Point Names". On iPhone, this can be found on "Settings"; "General"; "Network or Cellular"; "Cellular Data Option".
There needs to be an Access Point Name for TelCel. If it does not exist, add it. Only the following settings should be configured:
Name: TelCel MX
APN: internet.itelcel.com
Username: webgprs
Password: webgprs2002
Authentication Type: PAP
SMS Message Option
You can select unlimited SMS messages for 30 days for $MX100. This is known as Amigo BIP. To activate, send an SMS message with the word "ACTIVAR" to the special phone number 247. You pay immediately from your credit balance.