David33,
Here is my latest experience on CTI credit.
[url]http://www.argentinaprivate.com/forum/showpost.php?p=371930&postcount=133[/url]
When you return after two months, try using the phone before topping it off with more credit. I was pleasantly surprised earlier this year that the credit was still good after more than a two month absent.
I'm just going by what the *555 recording says when I call to check how many pesos I've got left. At any rate, I'm going to try to use them all up before I leave.
I posted my detailed experiences with CTI sim cards or chips a few years back. Knowing more about Argentina today than years ago, my next chip would be Personel or Movistar--cheaper per minute and better local bs as service.
I was staying in Recoleta and arriving on a Saturday morning.
I walked on Callao past Santa Fe one block and by Marcelo T, there is a main Personel store which is open part of the day on Saturday--closes at 2pm. They took very good care of me.
Cheap and can add up to 99 pesos of time by computer.
I started in spanish--I am self-sufficient in spanish, but clearly not fluent. When I had some problems with questions about international calling, uses phone cards with the cel phone etc.; an english speaking customer service rep was brought down who had worked for motorola. This guy spoke fluent english. He actually taught me how to use some of the features on my motorola razr that I had never bothered to learn how to use.
The personel service in bs as is much better than cti--few dropped calls; fewer times without service; clearer conections and cheaper per minutes on average.
I would rate the service more or less the same as movistar. I has used one of jackson's movistar rental phones last xmas after my ex-novia decided that I owned her money and kept my older cel.
For the people in centeral, there is a large personel re-seller.
On Florida east of Corrientes [a block or two towards Plaza San Martin] which is open long hours and sells chips and larger phone cards. They take international credit cards.
Personal's own centers do not take international credit cards.
Personel and Movistar both have large offices on Corrientes near Florida which sell sim cards.
Bob
Last week I was able to get a CTI fixed monthly plan without the DNI. In the past I would use the CTI centers to buy a 100 pesos worth of minutes (160 minutes) or in a bind I would buy the 20 peso cards at most kioskos. Everytime I tried to buy a monthly plan they would tell me I needed the dreaded DNI. Well, last week I went to the CTI center on Avenida Cabildo 2537 with copies of my passport, escrittura (if you don't own an apartment, a copy of your apartment rental agreement is sufficient) and one utility bill (not required). I took a number and within five minutes I was speaking to a CTI representative. I told her I have every intention of living here and I would like to have a monthly plan. Ten minutes later I had a 330 minute monthly plan for 89 pesos per month.
I asked the representative what would others who don't have the DNI need to do to get a plan. She basically said, "que hacen lo que usted hizo" (that they do what you did)
If you would like a fixed monthly plan because you spend a lot of time here or are actually living here, just go to any of the CTI centers like the one mentioned above or to the cti center on Paraguay why Florida with a copy of your passport information and a rental agreement and you can purchase a monthly plan without the DNI.
Other facts to consider before buying any plan from CTI. You can choose from plans that cost about 30 pesos to about 200 pesos per month. It takes about 5 days for the plan to kick-in on your cell phone. The reason for the 5 day delay is because you have five days to accept or reject the plan. The contract period is for 2 years and you can change to a different plan within the 2 year period as long as it's a plan that has more minutes. CTI requires that you pay for two months in advance or if you use your credit card to pay for the monthly bill the two months in advance is not required. Since I pay all my local bills on the internet using my local Argentina bank account I chose to pay the two months in advance. Consequently my first two monthly bills will be $0 pesos. Finally, if you buy a cell phone plan you can choose to buy a cell phone at a reduced rate and pay for it in three installments.
L
Reading about your CTI without DNI post, it sounds good. It looks like they keep loosening up the requirements for foreigners.
But interestingly, it looks like you have done something else without the DNI. Could you tell us about the local Argentine bank account wtihout a DNI? All the banks I've looked at say they require it, as do other posts here.
Thanks.
[QUOTE=Lexton]Reading about your CTI without DNI post, it sounds good. It looks like they keep loosening up the requirements for foreigners.
But interestingly, it looks like you have done something else without the DNI. Could you tell us about the local Argentine bank account wtihout a DNI? All the banks I've looked at say they require it, as do other posts here.
Thanks.[/QUOTE]Lexton, I only know of two ways to get a local bank account without the DNI.
The first way of getting one I encountered recently by accident. While my apartment was being built I went to the different banks to inquire about apartment insurance (seguro de hogar) and every bank told me they couldn't sell me apartment insurance unless I had a bank account. O course I couldn't open up a bank account unless I had the DNI (I believe Joseph Heller wrote his masterpiece Catch 22 after visiting Argentina) However, the rep from Banco Galicia told me they would open up a bank account for me if I purchased the insurance and had the monthly premiums deducted from my new bank account. Since I already had a bank account I didn't take them up on it immediately because the next day I was able to purchase insurance from HSBC without having a bank account with them.
I think Galicia bank will open a bank account for you if one buys either apartment insurance or car insurance, or maybe even life insurance.
The other way of opening up a bank account is to target banks like Citibank, Banco Frances, etc. Walk in with your passport, rental agreement or escrittura if you own property, and a copy of the "Certificado de Antecedents Penelas" (this is just a criminal background check issued by "The Ministerio De Justicia why Derechos Humanos") showing you don't have a criminal history in Argentina.
Go to the bank with the above information and tell them you want to open a bank account. They will tell you that without the DNI you cannot open one up. This is when you need to use your spanish language skills (I'm fluent) Tell them you already knew that, however you also know that the banks are allowed to open up bank accounts if one is trying to establish residency (blame immigration for the slow process. Inefficient managers of banks like to think they are progressive and not as backwards as those lazy porteños who work in immigration) I told the bank rep that no law actually existed that specifically stated I couldn't open up a bank account. I did let him know that many banking regulations existed regarding the opening of bank accounts because of money laundering, corruption, etc. I asked him to please speak to his manager. To make a long story short, the rep did speak with his manager and after much discussion they told me I had to come back the next day. When I went back the next day, they told me that they would open up a bank account with all privileges that all Argentine citizens have; high fees, low interest rates, and no transferring of dollars into my account from overseas banks for the first 6 months. By the way, I recenlty got them to give me a large safety deposit box that comes with a ridiculous 500 pesos per year fee. Suerte.
Well, these reports became a lot clearer when I found out what a SIM card is. Doh!
I'm coming down w / ball & chain and her brother. Just want us to be able to contact each other while we are in BsAs. So from other posts it sounds like I can get 3 phones for about $60 USD total and each will have perhaps 10 pesos of credit. Is that about right? Any other related immediate expenses?
We are staying at Av. Cordoba why Av. Leandro. None of us minds walking. So where is a low time waster establishment we should purchase from? (I count the walk as orientation and useful.
How time consuming should it be to get it set up?
Will 10p give me about 10 minutes of talk time?
(Been all over this site. Great information. Thanks. Hope I will have some breakaway time and be able to submit a report.
[QUOTE=RichiBoone]Well, these reports became a lot clearer when I found out what a SIM card is. Doh!
I'm coming down w / ball & chain and her brother. Just want us to be able to contact each other while we are in BsAs. So from other posts it sounds like I can get 3 phones for about $60 USD total and each will have perhaps 10 pesos of credit. Is that about right? Any other related immediate expenses?
We are staying at Av. Cordoba why Av. Leandro. None of us minds walking. So where is a low time waster establishment we should purchase from? (I count the walk as orientation and useful.
How time consuming should it be to get it set up?
Will 10p give me about 10 minutes of talk time?
(Been all over this site. Great information. Thanks. Hope I will have some breakaway time and be able to submit a report.[/QUOTE]Set up will be done within a few hours.
Make sure all three phones are of the same company so the per minute charges are cheaper. It is more expensive if you call a number that belongs to another company.
Ten minutes of airtime is about right.
El Greco
I am flying in to EZE and then transferring to ARP then flying out, then back again. Can I get a sim at either airport and are they going to be more expensive at the airport or the regular charges they have for the company?
Thread Starter.
Great info in this thread about purchasing cheap phones (AR$100 or so) or getting a unlocked GSM phone and buying a local SIM card.
How about the option of renting a cell-phone?
[url]http://www.tangol.com/eng/cell_phone_rental.asp[/url]
Seems to offer a free cell phone and calling rates are around AR$1.25/ minute for local calls, and AR$2.95/ minute for US calls.
For someone making just 5-10 calls, this seems like the most convenient and reasonably cheap option - is that correct? For example, 10 local calls of 3 minutes each would be under US$15 total.
Detailed rates from that web site:
Ø Airtime minute: AR$ 1,00 (plus national and international communication)
Ø Insurance (optative): AR$ 15,00
National and international Communications per minute:
Locals AR$ 0,25
Nacionales AR$ 0,65
Argentina - Mercosur AR$ 1,75
Argentina - U. S AR$ 1,95
Argentina - Europa AR$ 2,99
Argentina - Israel AR$ 2,20
Incoming calls AR$ 1,00
Tax is not Included.
You can easily pick up an unlocked world compatible (quad band GSM) phone on ebay for a very little. If you travel a lot, this is a very sensible thing to do.
Motorola is the biggest manufacturer of quad band phones, by far. Some others like Siemens, Samsung, and Nokia make some, but the vast majority of their phones are not Quad band, and the Nokia quad bands are quite expensive, so you would need to really do some research as to which model is compatible with the destinations you want it to be. For that reason only, I recommend sticking with a Motorola GSM phone, since most of their current and recent models are world-compatible, widely available, and cheap.
The cheapest world quad-band Moto GSM phones available is the V180, one of which can be picked up, already unlocked, from reputable sellers on ebay for under $30 including shipping. A V188 is basically the same but also has a camera. But these phones are on the crappy side. The first phone I ever did this with was a V180 I bought for $28, but after about 3-4 months of use over a year of ownership, the voice transmission degraded to the degree that many folks I called on their cellphones could not make out my speech. It still worked fine for texting, though, or when calling land lines.
I personally recommend spending a bit more for a much better V190 or V195. I now use a V190 that I picked up in true mint condition with all the accessories, for $42. The similar V195 adds bluetooth and can be gotten unlocked in mint condition for under $60. These phones are much better constructed and have better sound quality than the low-end V180.
If you want a more trendy, feature-laden phone with a camera, an unlocked RAZR V3 can be gotten for $80-100 in true mint or new condition.
All of these world phones will take a SIM card from anywhere in the world - and you can buy pre-paid time cards as well, for cheap. You can also use them in the U. S. On T-Mobile or AT&T pay as you go plans. You can get a T-mobile SIM with 150 minutes pre-loaded, for under $10 on ebay (the retail value is $30) I use this $42 V190 as my anonymous hobbying phone in the U. S. As well as whenever I travel around the world.
I would also add that if you only travel within the U.S. and Argentina, then pretty much any unlocked GSM phone bought in the U.S. will work in Argentina as well, as Argentina chose to use the U.S. frequency bands. But Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay and Costa Rica, as well as most of Europe and Asia, use the other 2 frequency bands. The following map will clarify this:
[url]http://www.worldtimezone.com/gsm.html[/url]
[QUOTE=Member #2041]I now use a V190 that I picked up in true mint condition with all the accessories, for $42.
All of these world phones will take a SIM card from anywhere in the world - and you can buy pre-paid time cards as well, for cheap.[/QUOTE]Great info! I presume the Motorola V220 is also as good or better than V190 (assuming that the higher number means newer / better features? One vendor on ebay is offering it for $41, which looks like a good deal. V190 seems to go for $40 to $50.
[QUOTE=Salving123]Great info! I presume the Motorola V220 is also as good or better than V190 (assuming that the higher number means newer / better features? One vendor on ebay is offering it for $41, which looks like a good deal. V190 seems to go for $40 to $50. [/QUOTE]Actually, the V220 is an older phone than the V190 and V195. The V220 was Moto's basic camera phone from the generation between the V180/ V188 and the V190/ V195.
FYI, the V180 and V188 came out in 2002, The V220 came out in 2004, the V190 and V195 came out in 2006.
I don't know whether it's as good or better than the V190 and V195, because it is an earlier model. It would be safe to presume that it's at least as good or better than the V180 and V188, but the V190 and V195 phones are widely regarded to be significantly improved over Moto's earlier generations of clamshell models. The various user reviews of the V190 and V195 are much better, in terms of build quality and signal / sound quality than the older models. But I can't speak to the V220 specifically, as I have never had one. I can only say for sure that the V190 is noticeably better than the V180 in terms of build quality and signal / sound quality, from personal experience. I still own both. But I only use the V190 (I only keep the V180 as an emergency backup)
Also, if you're buying a Moto V180, V188, or V220, off ebay, make sure it's a Quad-band phone. They also sold some versions that were just 2 or 3 bands and won't work as world phones. All of the V190 and V195 phones were quad-band world phones.
[QUOTE=Member #2041]I would also add that if you only travel within the U. S. And Argentina, then pretty much any unlocked GSM phone bought in the U. S. Will work in Argentina as well, as Argentina chose to use the U. S. Frequency bands.[/QUOTE]Do you know if the 850mhz band is necessary for decent coverage in Buenos Aires? I have an old unlocked "world phone" (V300 tri-band 900/1800/1900) which I used to use with T-Mobile US and now use when in SE Asia. I'm looking at finally getting to Argentina in March, and would like to get a SIM card if the coverage there will be decent.