Basics[]
Trinidad and Tobago has two mobile operators:
A 3rd operator was re-proposed by the regulator in 2015, but hasn't started yet. While there are two providers, bmobile and Digicel, several were granted licenses but they did not build out due to the market competitiveness. Each provider holds about 50% of the market. Along with Digicel, a 3rd operator, Laqtel, was granted a license in 2005. However, the company was unable to get their network off the ground and subsequently had its license revoked in 2008 due to its failure to pay outstanding bonds and court fines..
2G/GSM is on 850 MHz, 3G/UMTS is on 850 and 1900 MHz and was referred to as "4G" by local operators, but this has slowly been phased out, because of LTE introduction. 4G/LTE is on 700, 1700/2100 and 1900 MHz. 2G/GSM on 1900 MHz has been phased out to support 4G/LTE services.
At the end of 2016 new licenses for 700, 850, 1700/2100 and 1900 MHz were expected to be released. 4G/LTE has been launched commercially in 2016 by bmobile on the 1900 MHz band and by Digicel in 2018 on 1900 MHz band. Both Digicel and bmobile have also added the 700 MHz band and the 1700/2100 MHz band to their respective LTE networks.
When purchasing a SIM card, one may or may not need to show one's ID card (or passport).
Radio Frequency Summary[]
| Carrier | 2G GSM | 3G UMTS | 4G LTE |
|---|---|---|---|
| bmobile | 850 MHz | 850, 1900 MHz Bands 2, 5 |
700, 1700, 1900 Bands 2, 4, 28 |
| Digicel | 850MHz | 850, 1900 MHz Bands 2, 5 |
700, 1700, 1900 Bands 2, 4, 28 |
bmobile[]
bmobile is the mobile division of Telecommunications Services of Trinidad and Tobago (TSTT). TSTT is a joint venture of Cable & Wireless and the Trinidad and Tobago Government with the government holding a 51% majority stake.
They are the more established provider, but their coverage is slightly less than that of their competitor Digicel. 4G/LTE has only started in 2016 on 1900 MHz (band 2). bmobile also rolled out LTE using 700 MHz (band 28) in October 2020 and 1700 MHz (band 4) in November 2022. 3 carrier aggregation (3CA), 4x4 MIMO and 256 QAM is active on the network. TSTT previously launched a data device-only TD-LTE 2500 MHz (Band 41) network in 2014 called Blink, which it has expanded to over 400 locations, but requires a contract. This service has since been upgraded to LTE-A using Carrier Aggregation and 8x8 MIMO. Massive-MIMO is also used in select areas.
All rates given by bmobile are without taxes. So add 12.5% VAT (sales tax) for the final price. 4G/LTE is available for prepaid customers without surcharges.
Availability[]
SIM cards are available from the bmobile store at Piarco airport in the duty free area. They are also available at some malls such as Trincity Mall, Gulf City, West Mall, and at TSTT offices in Port of Spain, San Fernando, Scarborough and other areas (store list).
Standard (Mini) SIM, Micro SIM and Nano SIM are available. SIM cards are sold for
- TT$50 with TT$25 credit,
- TT$75 with the same credit,
- TT$100 with TT$150 credit,
- TT$200 with TT$300 credit
- TT$300 with TT$500 credit.
The included credit is valid for 30 days after activation.
To activate the SIM, insert the SIM into the phone and dial 800-3745. You will hear a message confirming the activation of the SIM and your airtime credit.
For top-ups, one can purchase top-up cards as e-card top-up TT$ 10-200 or scratch cards for TT$ 20, 50, 100 at local stores and shops. There is usually a sign outside. To load a top-up code, type *135#<voucher PIN>#. You can check the balance at anytime by dialing 120#.
Combo packages[]
Default rate outside of packages is TT$ 2 (TT$ 2.25 tax incl.) per MB.
In 2017 they discontinued all data feature packages and started to sell "unlimited" (*) combo plans:
| Time | Data | Local
Calls |
Local & Intl.
Text |
Roaming
Data |
Price
excl. tax |
Price
incl. tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 day | 20 GB | Unlimited (on-net)
30 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited | - | TT$ 20 | TT$ 23.13 |
| 1 day | Unlimited | Unlimited (on-net)
60 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited | - | TT$ 30 | TT$ 33.75 |
| 3 days | Unlimited | Unlimited (on-net)
75 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited | - | TT$ 40 | TT$ 45.00 |
| 7 days | Unlimited | Unlimited (on-net)
175 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited | - | TT$ 99 | TT$ 111.37 |
| 30 days | 25 GB | Unlimited (on-net)
200 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited | 1 GB | TT$ 215 | TT$ 241.85 |
| 30 days | Unlimited | Unlimited (on-net)
400 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited | 3 GB | TT$ 349 | TT$ 392.62 |
(*) A special Fair Use Policy applies to "unlimited" data: "On the rare occasion that a customer far exceeds the average use of 99% of our customers, bmobile may notify the customer that they are using excessive amounts of services, may prompt an investigation to ensure policy violations are not occurring, or have their access temporarily reduced or suspended until it ascertains whether the customer is using services properly."
For streaming the max. speed is throttled to 512 Kbps on these "unlimited plans".
Tourist SIM[]
Since 2017 bmobile has offered a prepaid Tourist SIM which provides mobile service to customers who are visiting Trinidad & Tobago for a short period of time. The Tourist SIM is available at the bmobile Duty Free store, bmobile Hilton, and other select authorized channel partners and hotels. The SIM card is activated by first call activation. You simply have to make a call to any mobile number to activate the SIM and the associated bundles.
The SIM cards come in three (3) denominations as outlined in the table below:
| Time | Data | Local Calls | Local & Intl. Text | Intl. Calls (*) | Price excl. tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 days | 10 GB | Unlimited (on-net)
100 mins |
Unlimited | 50 mins | TT$ 210.00 |
| 30 days | 10 GB | N/A | N/A | N/A | TT$ 225.00 |
| 30 days | Unlimited | Unlimited (on-net) | Unlimited | N/A | TT$ 350.00 |
(*): International minutes include calls to the US, UK, Canada, and Caribbean only.
You will receive a message 2 days before the bundle expires and another message upon expiration of the bundles. The SIM card itself will expire 7 days after the bundle does. You can extend the validity of the SIM card by purchasing any unlimited talk and data bundle.
Roaming offers[]
In all other FLOW/C&W networks in the Caribbean (Anguilla, Antigua, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts/Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Turks & Caicos) reduced rates apply on default: TT$ 2 (TT$ 2.25 tax incl.) per MB.
More info
- APN : bmobile
- Voicemail: *91
- Message Center/ SMS Delivery No.: +18686880011
- Website: http://www.bmobile.co.tt
Digicel Trinidad & Tobago[]
Digicel is the first and only competitor to bmobile. They tout themselves as "the bigger, better network" and have aggressively built out coverage, partly surpassing bmobile. They are very aggressive with marketing and promotions, but their rates remain similar to bmobile.
In July 2018 4G/LTE was launched on the 1900 MHz band (B2). The 2100/1700 MHz band (B4) and the 700 MHz band (B28) are also used for LTE. They used B4 to launch LTE-A using Carrier Aggregation with the 1900 MHz band (B2) in November 2019 and B28 to launch 3CA in October 2020. 3CA and LTE CA with band 28 was stopped in March 2021 due to QoS issues. Only 2CA with band 2 and band 4 remains active. 256 QAM and uplink carrier aggregation (UL-CA) is also active on the network. Coverage is also available Nationwide. Check out their coverage map. The company has won the 2016, 2018, 2019 and 2020 Speedtest award for the fastest mobile network in Trinidad and Tobago and the 2020 Speedtest award for best mobile coverage.
Digicel's rates all exclude 12.5% VAT (sales tax). In 2014 they tried to block all VoIP use for their customers, but were told by the regulator to lift this ban again.
Availability []
SIM cards are available from the Digicel kiosk at Piarco airport in the duty free area. They are also available at malls and stores throughout the country (store locator). Their SIM card comes with TT $20 and priced at TT$ 49. Standard SIM, micro SIM, nano SIM and eSIM are available. For their new 4G/LTE network, you'll need a 4G-enabled SIM card.
Top-ups can be made by e-vouchers TT$ 5 - 500 or top-up cards TT$ 20 - 500. To recharge type *121*<voucher PIN>#. To check balance type *120#. Top-ups can also be done via the Digicel top-up App on iOS and Android, online or via the MyDigicel app by credit and debit cards (with a CVV number) and at stores in the US.
Data feature packages[]
Default tariff outside of packages is TT$ 1.50 per MB. As of February 10, 2020, Pay As You Go data is no longer an automatic service and customers now have to manually choose to access PAYG data by opt in and out by dialling *729#. They offer LTE+/HSPA+/EDGE Quick Pick Plans that include data, calls and SMS. All plans are Unlimited with a specified amount of LTE data allocated to each plan. When all of the LTE data is exhausted, speeds will be throttled to 2G Speeds. A 30 day 10GB plan as well as a 1 hour quickie pass are also available. All data-only plans have been discontinued. Waze, Loop, Wikipedia and the MyDigicel app are zero-rated and can be accessed for free without a data plan.
Unlimited Plans:
| Time | LTE Data | Calls | Texts | Price (tax excl.) | Price (tax incl.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 day | 20 GB | Unlimited (on-net) 60 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited (local) | TT$ 26.67 | TT$ 30.00 |
| 2 day | 30 GB | Unlimited (on-net) 30 Anywhere Minutes/day |
Unlimited (local) | TT$ 48.89 | TT$ 55.00 |
| 3 days | 30 GB | Unlimited (on-net) 90 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited (local) | TT$ 53.33 | TT$ 60.00 |
| 7 days | 20 GB | Unlimited (on-net)
150 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited (local) | TT$ 106.67 | TT$ 120.00 |
| 10 days | 30 GB | Unlimited (on-net)
150 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited (local) | TT$ 133.33 | TT$ 150.00 |
| 30 days | 10 GB | Unlimited (on-net) 150 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited (local) | TT$ 208.89 | TT$ 235.00 |
| 30 days | 25 GB | Unlimited (on-net) 200 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited (local) | TT$ 262.22 | TT$ 295.00 |
| 30 days | 50 GB | Unlimited (on-net) 300 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited (local) | TT$ 315.56 | TT$ 355.00 |
| 30 days | 100 GB | Unlimited (on-net) 400 Anywhere Minutes |
Unlimited (local) | TT$ 368.89 | TT$ 415.00 |
Other Data Plans:
| Time | Data | Calls | Texts | Price
tax excl. |
Price
tax incl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 hour | Facebook Lite/ Instagram &
|
Unlimited (on-net) | Unlimited (on-net) | TT$ 5 | TT$ 6.50 |
| 1 day | - | - | TT$ 12 | TT$ 13.50 | |
| 1 day | Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp | - | - | TT$ 15 | TT$ 16.88 |
Talk and Text Plans:
| Time | Data | Calls | Texts | Price
tax excl. |
Price
tax incl. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 day | - | Unlimited (on-net) | Unlimited (on-net) | TT$ 20 | TT$ 22.50 |
| 7 days | - | Unlimited (on-net) | Unlimited (on-net) | TT$ 77 | TT$ 86.63 |
| 30 days | - | Unlimited (on-net) | Unlimited (on-net) | TT$ 180 | TT$ 202.50 |
| 30 days | - | 100 Anywhere minutes | - | TT$ 50 | TT$ 56.25 |
| 11 pm - 5 am | - | Unlimited (on-net) | - | TT$ 4 | TT$ 4.50 |
| Saturday - Sunday | - | Unlimited (on-net) | - | TT$ 22.50 | TT$ 25.32 |
Activation is by typing *323# and then choose the package. Check data balance by *120*4#. To all prices 12.5% taxes need to be added for the final price.
If data is depleted, speed will be throttled to "2G" speeds. For more data, you can add by dialling *323# or visit the MyDigicel app:
- 1 GB: TT$ 10 - TT$ 11.25 (tax incl.)
- 3 GB: TT$ 20 - TT$ 22.50 (tax incl.)
Tourist SIM[]
Travellers to TT have the option of purchasing a Tourist SIM package for US$ 30 (or TT$ 202.50). The package will be valid for 30 days from the date of activation. After 30 days, you can't renew the plan and will need to purchase a local Digicel plan instead.
With the Tourist SIM package you receive: unlimited on-net calls and texts, unlimited WhatsApp messaging (voice and video calling are not included), 3 GB of data, 200 "anywhere" minutes applicable to all local numbers, to the USA, Canada and UK as well as Digicel Caribbean mobiles.
Roaming offers[]
Digicel offers two reduced roaming packages to be used on Digicel's Roaming Partners' networks as well as Digicel networks in "DigiRoam" territories: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Panama, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Turks & Caicos. Standard roaming charge is TT$ 3.11 per MB.
- Caribbean Roaming Passport: TT$ 199 plus tax. It includes for 7 days, free incoming calls, free calls to Trinidad & Tobago, free SMS in the DigiRoam zone and unlimited data on these networks. Activation by dialing *147#.
For all the destinations above and the US, Canada, UK and others, they have introduced EZ Roaming plans with free incoming calls and:
| Time | Voice | Data | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 days | 10 mins | 100 MB | TT$ 100 |
| 7 days | 20 mins | 250 MB | TT$ 200 |
| 14 days | 40 mins | 500 MB | TT$ 300 |
| 30 days | 60 mins | 1 GB | TT$ 400 |
Caribbean Roaming (DigiRoam Territories)
| Time | Voice | Data | Texts | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 days | Unlimited (incoming)
Unlimited (to home) |
Unlimited | Unlimited
(Digicel Caribbean) |
TT$ 199 |
Activation is by dialing *323# or app. Add 12.5% taxes to all prices. A reduced overage rate of TT$ 2 per MB applies as long as the plan is running.
More info[]
- APN : web
- Voicemail: 123 / Int'l Voicemail: +18683500000
- Message Center/ SMS Delivery No.: +18683999008
- Website: http://www.digicelgroup.com/tt/en/mobile.html