BVI Cellphone
 

It's time for another cellphone thread :) But since I searched and can't find the answer I'm looking for, I should be safe :p

Anyway, I have to travel to BVI for a few days, and I'm curious about cell service there. I can't find any details on cellphone coverage on the island, will my Sprint 800/1900MHZ CDMA handset work on the island (not likely), or should I take an unlocked GSM handset, etc.

If I need to take the unlocked handset, which SIM card should I bring/get?

Any and all help is appreciated.

http://www.sailonline.com/charterers/Cell_phone.html

Well, according to that link, I may still be able to receive my US signal.. or at least roam onto Verizon

Be careful, because roaming on CCT can be very, very, very, very, very, very expensive. It's been a couple years, but I was charged $5/minute for calls to the US.

They also (I believe) still have an AMPS network that might be cheaper if you can find a handset.

Roaming is very expensive there. You can use your sprint phone in some areas for about $3.49 er minute.
http://www1.sprintpcs.com/explore/co...cdad144723263a

It might be cheaper to buy a Quad Band gsm phone and a prepaid sim card from telestial.com. They also sell phones.

http://www.telestial.com/view_produc...T_ID=MSIM-EX01

It's been a few years but I had some luck picking up the Sprint signal from Puerto Rico in St John (no roaming). If you are in certain parts of of Tortola you might have the same luck.

random update, I called CCT (the local cellphone company) today, and was able to get an agent to answer (on a Sunday!). They do offer prepaid SIM cards, but he wasn't able to give me any details. I'll call tomorrow and hopefully get someone that knows more than this person.

As to the phone, you should probably plan on an unlocked GSM triband covering the bands you need. I just picked one up on e-bay today for under $25 delivered, so it's not a huge expense.

We have a catamaran down there, we always use a satellite phone. I guess my dad is roaming on his phone, probably a Norwegian phone, but I try not to turn my one.

We had decent service on St. Thomas (USVI) with our regular sprint phones in Feb 06. No roaming required.

I finally contact CCT wireless. $20 for the SIM Card with $0 value, and just top it off as needed. $1ish/minute to the US, $.25 to send SMS.

Edit... they do peak/off peak billing and SMS rates change on Jun 1

7am-6pm Weekdays, $1.34 to the US
6pm-7am Weekdays, $.94 to the US
Weekends, $.84 to the US.

$.35 cents mobile to mobile on CCT network (since my colleagues are getting SIM cards as well, this is invaluable.

$.12 outgoing, free incoming.

That sounds quite a bit more reasonable to me.