Job Discussion Forums

amy1982 · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 192 Location: Buenos Aires

i posted something about this earlier, but here's the deal on changing SIM cards...

i went to CTI yesterday (Florida and Paraguay) and asked them to change my SIM card.

the guy was happy to do it, now i have an argentine cell number.

it costs 10 pesos and includes 10 pesos of talktime (essentially free!!)

in order to do it, you need to have a "tri-band" cell phone with a SIM card.

movistar and personal (both on Florida and Corrientes) will change SIM cards as well, but i don't know how much, etc.

vivaBarca · Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 4:37 pm Post subject:

What phone company do you recommend? I have a phone, just need the service.

matttheboy · Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Posts: 854 Location: Valparaiso, Chile

To be honest they're all rubbish. The standard of mobile service is about the same as in england 10 years ago (or france 4 years ago). Local texts often don't arrive, texting overseas is nigh on impossible (some get sent, some don't, you can receive from a few foreign networks but not from most). If you leave Buenos Aires people have to put the Buenos Aires dialing code in front, sometimes you have to drop a number at the beginning as well, sometimes you don't. Coverage is patchy if you're not in a big city.

I've got Personal, it cost 30 pesos with 20 pesos of credit, but that was over a year ago now. If you do go get a SIM card then go early. If you get there after 11 you'll most likely have to wait for hours.

The best thing to do is have a landline and only ever use your mobile for receiving calls, for emergencies and for calling taxis after a night out. Call costs are high.

sh07024 · Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 11

Great advice on the SIM cards. Movistar on Florida and Corrientes were very helpful.

shirley

Veritas_Aequitas · Joined: 15 Jul 2004 Posts: 88 Location: Jalisco, Mexico

I wouldnt recomend cti movil to anyone after all ive been through with my cell, but like matt said they are all pretty rotten.

sheena maclean · Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 9:02 pm Post subject:

! had a problem with my CTI mobile only 2 days after I got it connected, I couldn' t make any calls what so ever and it kept on putting me straight tru to a CTI callcentre recorded message. I went to the CTI office in Corrietes and they sorted it out in a flash! Still don't think they are that great tho but maybe the best of a bad bunch!!
Sheena

guillebaires · Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 6:45 pm Post subject:

CTI is the worst one by far...

amy1982 · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 192 Location: Buenos Aires

i'm sorry you all have had such a hard time with cti Sad

what sorts of problems have you been having with them?

i don't use my cell much, so that might be why i haven't really had any issues with them. and it's all prepago, so i don't have a contract or anything.

you might be able to change your cti sim card with one from movistar or personal if those seem better...

nomadamericana · Joined: 18 Dec 2004 Posts: 146 Location: Minneapolis, MN

I have an 2 years old cell phone from the US... and plan to bring it with me to Argentina... my question is... Can you buy a charger there? Will it work on my Nokia phone? I was planning an having the SIM card changed. Would it be easier to buy a new phone?

amy1982 · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 192 Location: Buenos Aires

yes, you can buy a charger here. take your phone to a place where they sell cell phones and they'll find one that yours. chargers are like converters (or is it transformers?). because cell phones don't need all of the electricity from an outlet, they convert it (even the ones you get in the US).

waterdance · Joined: 18 Sep 2005 Posts: 54

What do you call the pre'paid sim card in spanish
can you receive international call from back from the us on them.

amy1982 · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 192 Location: Buenos Aires

i pointed to the back of my phone and said "quisiera cambiar el SIM card." i'm not sure if that was correct at all, but the guy seemed to understand exactly what i was asking. and i think if they detect an accent, they assume you want the prepaid plan.

as far as making and receiving international calls, you can do both no problem. but it's REALLY expensive to make int'l calls. for someone to call your cell from another country, they dial whatever they do to make an international call then:

54-9-11-####-####
(note that there's no 15 - 54 is argentina, 9 denotes a cell, and 11 is BsAs)

waterdance · Joined: 18 Sep 2005 Posts: 54

they put a personal sim in my phone. it was a lot of paper work for a simple sim card. it costed 10 pesons for the sim and another 10 pesos for the first charge. it sounds more expensive than yours amy.

blendergasket · Posted: Wed Oct 19, 2005 7:51 pm Post subject: sim card or phone

I don't have a cell phone in the states but I think i will need one in BA when I get there. Do you think I should get my cell here and change the sim card when I get there or just get the whole thing down there? How much are cell phones in BA?

matttheboy · Joined: 01 Jul 2003 Posts: 854 Location: Valparaiso, Chile

You need a tri-band phone for it to work at all and you also need the phone 'unlocked' so it can take any sim card you put in it. In england this costs about �5-go to any independent mobile phone shop and they can do it for you. If they tell you to come back in half an hour it's just so they can justify how much they charge...it's a 10 second job, they just plug it into a computer and...listo...