Basics
There are 4 network operators in the country, coming down to 3 in 2016:
- Kcell
- Beeline
- Tele2 merging with
- Altel
2G is up to EDGE on 900 MHz on all networks. 3G up to DC-HSPA+ on 2100 MHz on all networks. 4G/LTE started on Altel in 2013 on 1800 MHz and covers about 56% of the population in 2015. Kcell and Beeline were awarded frequencies on 800 and 1800 MHz for LTE in 2016 and they have just started. Altel shut down the last remaining CDMA network in 2015. Beeline and Tele2 started offering LTE in 2016. All four of Kazakhstan’s cellular operators are expected to have 4G/LTE networks live in every regional capital by the third quarter of 2016, and to have expanded services to most cities by the end of 2016.
Kcell and Beeline traditionally offer the best coverage and quality of service, but the other providers Tele2 and Altel offer discounted rates and 4G/LTE speeds. In late 2015 Tele2 and Altel (Kazakhtelecom) announced plans to put together their mobile operations in the country by creating a joint venture and merging their two networks in 2016.
There are many small reseller offices in airports, train stations and shops, but their employees mostly don't speak English (except possibly in airports). You are required by law to present your ID at the point of purchase, but this may not be enforced so strictly.
Dialing rules for calls
For dialing Kazakhstan has some specifics: The international dialing prefix is "8->10" - callers dial '8', wait for a tone, and then dial '10', followed by the country code, area code and number. The long distance and domestic mobile dialing prefix is "8" - callers dial '8', wait for a tone, and then dial the area code and number. Under an agreement with Russia, Kazakhstan uses the same country code "+7" like Russia. So for calls to Russia, you can skip internatl. access and country codes.
You can cut costs for international calls by using call cards sold at mobile phone shops and kiosks. You scratch off a PIN, dial a local access number given on the card and further instructions then are available in English.
Kcell
Kcell is the leading mobile provider in the country caring for 41% of mobile users. It's operated by GSM Kazakhstan Ltd. under the Kcell and Activ trademarks. It's partly owned by Swedish TeliaSonera and has the best coverage:
Kcell’s 2G network covers 96% of the population and 47% of the territory, while its 3G services are available to around 70% of the people: Coverage map by region. Kcell commercially launched 4G/LTE in August 2016 in Almaty, Atyrau, Aktau and Shymkent and through network sharing with Beeline in further 9 towns, open for prepaid.
Availabitlity
Their SIM card is sold at their shops (service point locator). They charge you 1500 tenge including a 1300 tenge preloaded credit. As a foreigner you need to provide your passport of a foreign citizen or a foreigner's residence permit in the Republic of Kazakhstan or a certificate of a stateless person or a diplomatic card. The two prepaid plans are called 'Long Calls+' (Ұзақ әңгімелер+) and 'Simple+' (Қарапайым+) and don't make a difference for data.
You can top-up at pay terminals or using recharge cards. They are sold for 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000 tenge. To load, type *110*<13-digit voucher PIN>#. Or you can pay online by credit card.
Data feature package
Mobile internet by default is charged at 20.16 ₸/MB on all tariffs. These packages are sold:
| Period | Data | Price | Activation | Overuse |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| daily
= (until midnight) |
10 MB | 29 ₸ | *444*1*1*1# | 4 ₸/MB |
| 20 MB | 39 ₸ | *444*1*1*2# | 3 ₸/MB | |
| 40 MB | 49 ₸ | *444*1*1*3# | 2 ₸/MB | |
| 100 MB | 59 ₸ | *444*1*1*4# | 1 ₸/MB | |
| 30 days | 5 GB | 1490 ₸ | *444*4*1*5# | throttled to
64 kbit/s |
| 10 GB | 1990 ₸ | *444*4*1*10# | ||
| 20 GB | 2990 ₸ | *444*4*1*20# | ||
| 30 GB | 3990 ₸ | *444*4*1*30# | ||
| 40 GB | 4990 ₸ | *444*4*1*40# | ||
| 3 months | 20 GB
per month |
8990 ₸ | *444*3*1*3# | throttled to
64 kbit/s |
| 6 months | 11990 ₸ | *444*3*1*2# | ||
| 12 months | 14990 ₸ | *444*3*1*1# |
All packages auto-renew. To stop the daily packs, type *444*1*4# and for the monthy packs *444*4*4#. To check status of the packages, type *444*1*3# for daily and *444*4*3# for monthly. You can reset high speed on monthly packs ahead by adding extra turbo packages.
More info
- APN: internet
- Website in English: http://www.kcell.kz/en
Beeline
Beeline is run by Kar-Tel under the license of Vimpelcom in Kazachstan. Beeline charges lower prices than Kcell but it's network is almost as good as Kcell. In 2016 it launched 4G/LTE in the cities of Almaty on 2100 MHz, Aksay and Uralsk on 1800 MHz and Astana on 800 MHz opened for all users, but they need to have one of the new 4G-enabled USIMs.
Availability
Beeline's SIM cards used to be available without registration. They are often sold on the streets for a very low price like 150-1000 tenge. Their default tariff line without monthly fees is called 'Free Style'. To top up your credit you need to go to one of the many machines on the street.
Data feature package
Internet by default is charged at 20.16 tenge per MB. These packages can be added:
| Period | Data | Price | Activation |
|---|---|---|---|
| daily | 100 MB | 30 ₸ | *623*1# |
| 30 days | 1 GB | 490 ₸ | *524*1# |
| 3 GB | 890 ₸ | *522*3# | |
| 5 GB | 1190 ₸ | *522*5# | |
| 10 GB | 1390 ₸ | *524*10# | |
| 12 GB | 1790 ₸ | *522*12# | |
| 20 GB | 2590 ₸ | *522*20# | |
| 30 GB | 3290 ₸ | *522*30# |
Data will be cut-off, when used up. All packages auto-renew. To stop, type *622*333#. Daily package is valid until midnight. To check data credit, type *106#. To check money credit, type *102#.
Tourist SIM
In 2016 Beeline Kazakhstan has launched a tourist SIM called Welcome (Қош келдіңіз!) aimed at foreign tourists. The offer provides IDD telephony calls at low rates, 200 minutes of monthly on-net calls and 200 on-net SMS, as well as a 10 GB mobile internet bundle. The service is available across the country for 1500 ₸. Overuse is charged at 15 ₸/MB and another 10 GB can be refilled by *323*20# for 990 ₸.
More info
- APN: internet.beeline.kz
- Website in Kazakh and Russian: https://www.beeline.kz
Tele2
Tele2 used to be an operator solely owned by the Swedish Tele2 Group. It has about 4000 base stations covering 85% of population making it one of the smaller networks in the country. Though they have lower coverage, they give out data for a cheaper price.
In November 2015 they agreed to a merger with Kazakhtelecom, owner of the Altel network (see below). In 2016 both networks are going to be united. The new company is a joint venture of Tele2 and Kazakhtelecom. In March 2016 Tele2 started to resell Alltels 4G/LTE on 1800 MHz in Astana, Almaty, Akmola, South Kazakhstan, Zhambyl, Karagandy, Kostanay and North Kazakhstan.
Availability
Their SIM cards are available in their stores (list) and come in different varieties:
- Start: 2 GB data (overuse: 3 ₸/MB) , 30 mins dom. calls: 890 ₸, activation: *122*12*1#
- Strong: 15 GB data, 180 mins dom. calls: 1290 ₸, activation: *122*1*1#
- Large: 20 GB data, 280 mins dom. calls: 1790 ₸, activation: *122*13*1#
You can top-up online by internatl. credit card or in Tele2 outlets. Check credit by *121#.
Data feature packages
These data packs can be booked on the plans:
| Period | Data | Price | Activation | Deactivation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| daily | 15 MB | 27 ₸ | *147*1# | *147*8*1# |
| 60 MB | 45 ₸ | *147*2# | *147*8*2# | |
| 7 days | 150 MB | 139 ₸ | *147*3# | *147*8*3# |
| 300 MB | 250 ₸ | *147*4# | *147*8*4# | |
| 30 days | 1 GB | 940 ₸ | *147*9*1# | *147*8*9# |
| 5 GB | 1990 ₸ | *147*5# | *147*8*5# | |
| 10 GB | 2990 ₸ | *147*7# | *147*8*7# | |
| 12 GB | 3490 ₸ | *147*6# | *147*8*6# | |
| 1 year | 12 GB/month | 9600 ₸ | *142# | n.a. |
All packages auto-renew if not disabled. To check consumption type *123*1*3#.
More info
- APN: internet.tele2.kz
- Website in Kazakh and Russian: http://www.almaty.tele2.kz (for Almaty, other regions change on top right)
Altel (by Kazakhtelecom)
Altel is the 4th operator and run by Kazakhtelecom, the privatized incumbent provider. It used to run a CDMA network, but this has been closed in summer 2015. Now they are on GSM-only. As smallest provider it focuses on the major towns in the country. It's not recommended for travelling: 2G and 3G coverage maps, but gives very good rates for data at the highest speeds where it has 4G.
Altel was the first to start 4G/LTE in Kazakhstan in 2013 on 1800 MHz. 56% of population in around 20 towns are covered so far by 2015: 4G coverage maps. 4G/LTE is given out to all prepaid plans.
The days of Altel may come to an end in 2017. In November 2015 they agreed to a merger with Tele2 and in 2016 both networks were be united, but brands are maintained for now. The new company will be a joint venture of Tele2 and Kazakhtelecom opening the better coverage of Tele2 to Altel users and will have a market share of about 20%.
Availability
Their SIM cards are available in their shops (locator). You can top-up online by internatl. credit card or at some payment terminals in the country. Check credit by typing *110#.
Data feature packages
These so called GSM Tariffs, combo packages with voice and data (up to 3G) are offered:
- Connected: no base rate, default package, data always at 3 ₸ per MB, activation: *808*4#
- SMART: 1390 ₸/month including 8 GB, free Altel calls and 200 mins to other networks, activation: *808*18#
- SMART Super: 1890 ₸/month including 15 GB, free Altel calls and 300 mins to other networks, activation: *808*19#
- SMART Pro: 2490 ₸/month including 20 GB, free Altel calls and 400 mins to other networks, activation: *808*20#
These plans called Internet 4G are offered:
- WEB: 2650 ₸/month including 15 GB, activation: *808*21#
- WEB Super: 4200 ₸/month including 25 GB, activation: *808*22#
- WEB Pro: 5800 ₸/month including 35 GB, activation: *808*23#
All plans auto-renew, to stop them use the activation code followed be #0. Check data balance by typing *111#. After you have exceeded your data limit on Smart or Web plans, you can add more data by using a Booster:
- BOOSTER 2 GB, 500 ₸, activation *938*2#
- BOOSTER 5 GB, 1000 ₸, activation *938*5#
- BOOSTER 8 GB, 1400 ₸, activation *938*8#
Note, that add-on booster packages are only valid for the rest of the running time of the base pack. Check data consumption within packages by *807#.
More info
- APN: internet
- Website in Kazakh and Russian: http://www.altel.kz
Power Wifi
Power Wifi is a rental service of portable 4G routers combined with powerbanks operating in Kazakhstan. You can book devices on website and pick them up at Almaty or Astana airports. Once your stay is over simply drop them back at the airport.
Powerbank capacity is 7800 mAh (allows 1 full charge of iPhone 6 + 20 hours work of the router). Router has 4G/LTE and you can connect up to 5 devices at once. The bundle consists of the powerbank with integrated router (ready-to-go), sleeve and charger. Traffic is soft-capped (with a FUP) of 1 GB per day. Management can be done through a special app.
Rental charge is US$ 2.90 per day. They accept all major credit cards or PayPal. You need to pay full amount in advance, including deposit of US$ 50, which is given back, once you return the device without damages.
- Website in English: http://powerwifi.com/