Basics[]
Monaco is a sovereign microstate principality of 2 km² located on the French Riviera. France borders the principality on three sides. There is no need to buy a special SIM card for Monaco as French antennas mostly cover it too.
In Monaco 2G is on 900 and 1800 MHz, 3G on 2100 MHz and 4G/LTE started in 2013 on 800 and 2600 MHz (bands 7 and 20).
International Roaming[]
Some EU providers voluntarily apply EU roaming regulations in Monaco, but most do not and apply high surcharges.
Warning: When roaming with an EU-issued SIM card, check with your provider first, or prevent your phone from roaming on Monaco Télécom by making a manual network selection and sticking to French networks instead. Your phone will most likely connect to Monaco Telecom as it's the strongest provider in the principality and has roaming agreements with most providers. It's crucial that you disable international data roaming on your device, which you don't need to do any more in most of Europe to avoid a high bill.
Monaco Télécom[]
Monaco Télécom is the main telecommunication and only mobile network provider with own antennas in the Principality of Monaco. The company was founded in 1997 following a decision by the government of Monaco to privatise the state-owned Office Monégasque des Téléphones.
Monaco Télécom has a roaming agreement with Orange in France and users of these networks can use each other’s networks without surcharges. As they have stopped selling prepaid packages entirely, and even their postpaid forfaits are quite expensive, purchasing a SIM from Orange or Free (or another provider that offers discount roaming on Monaco Telecom if coming from Italy) is likely the best option.
- Website in French: http://www.monaco-telecom.mc/
- Website in English: https://www.monaco-telecom.mc/en/
French providers in Monaco[]
French providers cover Monaco too. If you have a choice, Orange has the best coverage through its roaming agreement with Monaco Télécom, and Free Mobile has nearly equal coverage due to its co-location agreement with Monaco Télécom. But SFR and Bouygues Télécom are other options too, because their antennas reach most of the principality.
In 2016 the governments of France and Monaco signed a spectrum coordination agreement that allows French mobile operators to deploy their own base stations in Monaco. French mobile customers have experienced patchy service when trying to connect to their networks when in the principality. French mobile operators have signed agreements with Monaco and added new antennas in and around Monte Carlo. In particular, Free Mobile has secured a preferential agreement with Monaco Télécom to place Free Mobile antennas on their cell sites, resulting in nearly equal coverage.
Nevertheless, most French networks' 3G and 4G doesn't reach all areas of the principality, which is located in a gorge; only 2G is mostly available. Given the topogaphy of the area crucial spots like the harbour and the railway station are covered only by Monaco Télécom and Free Mobile, (and wifi). Therefore a WiFi network is listed below. Again, disable automatic network selection if you roam in Monaco.
Monaco WiFi[]
In 2017 the local government launched, via Monaco Telecom, its new Monaco WiFi service to give residents and tourists better connectivity in the principality.
Locations[]
The Monegasque operator has been deploying for several months a new fibre optic network for all 26 hotspots. The aim is to offer better coverage and more efficient flows in more than 30 public sites, including markets, parks, squares, and ports, and post offices, and the railway station. A map of all wireless hotspots can be found here.
Access[]
The WiFi access portal has also been redesigned. It is now in 6 languages – French, English, Italian, Spanish, Russian and Chinese – and suitable for all types of devices: smartphones, tablets and PCs.
Authentication is simplified, faster and reconnection is automatic. Finally, the portal meets the new Monaco regulations in terms of digital security. Verification is through your Google or Facebook account or by SMS.
Pricing[]
Access is free for Monaco Telecom customers.
A “Discovery Pass” of two hours is also offered free for any new user. These two hours can be stopped and restarted again by logging off and on and can be sufficient for day visitors.
For a longer period, these are the only reasonable rates in the city and can be bought online by credit card:
- for 1 day: €4.99
- for 7 days: €14.99
- for 30 days: €29.99