Cairo - Post Report Question and Answers
Do you have any recommendations regarding mobile phones? Did you keep your home-country plan or use a local provider?
I use GoogleFi which is fine. - Mar 2023
Mobile plans are plentiful and very cheap. Mine is about $8/month including tons of data. - Aug 2022
I have an Embassy-provided phone and got a local SIM card for my personal phone. It's very cheap. - Aug 2022
We use the local providers. It's cheap and reliable, however without an Egyptian bank account you have to go in person to top up money for your plan each month which is a pain. - Mar 2022
Unlocked phone and your passport and you can get an account. Google Fi works fine too. - Dec 2021
Orange, Vodaphone, Etisalat. All fairly cheap for local numbers/data. - Feb 2021
I used a local provider. Vodafone or Orange are both good options, but you will likely have to pay your bills in person. - Jan 2020
We have Vodafone and it's fine. The plans are impossible to understand so we still have pre-paid phones and every time I go to renew the balance I feel like they switch me to some new incomprehensible plan. But the phones work and the service is pretty cheap. The new telecommunications tax takes 40% of what you pay though, so 200LE (around $14) used to get you about 180LE in credits and now only gets you 160LE. - Jun 2018
Data is cheap. I pay LE99 a month (about $6) for about 3.5 GB of data and a large number of minutes and texting. There are several local cell phone companies and they are all fine. - Jan 2018
Most people use Vodafone for their personal cell phone service. Vodafone has 4G service and it's easy to get a number and recharge your phone and internet credit. They also offer internet dongles with 4G data to hold you over until you get your internet set up. The internet service through Vodafone was really fast and reliable. - Sep 2017
The two major mobile service providers are Orange (Egypt) and Vodafone (Egypt). I used a pay-as-you-go chip while I was there with no problem. Starting and exiting a contract are bureaucratic processes; avoid them if at all possible. - May 2017
Use local. Very cheap. I use Vodafone. - May 2017
Mobile phone service was great (better than in the US) and super cheap - I paid about US$12 a month including data. - Jan 2016
Local providers. We had Vodafone - Jan 2016
Vodafone seems to be the service of choice. It's pretty good. Our kids even have the small Nokia pay-as-you-go for emergencies (or for the phone call after school, "Mama, can I go to so-and-so's house?") - Oct 2014
I bought one here and prepay. It is very affordable for local calls and Internet on my Smartphone. - Aug 2014
Bring an unlocked phone and buy a SIM card that you can reload- we use Vodaphone for calls, text and data. - Aug 2014
Pay as you go - I don't use my personal phone much. I bought an old phone in Asia and just use a SIM card wherever I go. - May 2014
Get pay as you go. I had a post-paid Mobinil line and they always tried to charge me for things I didn't order. - Apr 2014
If you don't have your phone plan through the embassy, you run the risk of Mobitel having you in every few weeks, to check on you, per GOE; that is their latest irritating way of getting expats into their offices and their passports inspected. - Mar 2014
Pay as you go. - Jul 2013
Get a cell phone. You can get a basic prepaid handset and sim card for under $50. Air time is cheap. - Jul 2013
You can get cheap cell phones and service if you stick with the basics. Buy time as you go, don't get a plan. Those are absolute rip offs. - Jun 2013
All phones will work here, if they are unlocked. - Jun 2013
No, the cell phone service is good and cheap. I purchased a phone for my daughter for 50 LE (8 USD) and use scratch cards for phone service. For about 16-25 USD you can have decent cell service. Everyone in the family who can operate a phone should have one. Things are unpredictable here, and it helps to be able to call your kids. - May 2013
Mobinil works just fine. - May 2013
Local cell phone companies are fine. There are three of them, and service is pretty good and cheap. - May 2013
Cell phones are easy to get if you choose to - the three main companies are Vodafone, Mobinil, and Etisalate. Many folks (myself included) brought an unlocked phone from the US and bought a SIM card here. - Feb 2013
We have an account with Vodaphone and are satisfied with it. - Feb 2013
Use Egypt Vodaphone if you have an unlocked I-phone for family members. They are fairly reliable and reasonable in price. The embassy covers the phone/cell phone/bb of the employee. - Mar 2013
All mission members are provided with mobile phones, and we leave them on at all times, day and night, to monitor security notices and see what new surprises Egypt will deliver us. - Mar 2013
Buy a cheap throw-away phone and buy the phone cards with the pre-paid minutes. Don't get hooked into one of their plans. - Feb 2013
Cheap and readily available. - Jan 2013
Bring an unlocked phone or have yours unlocked online for about $30. Then buy a sim card from one of the local providers for about $20. They do sell phones here (they call them "mobile phones" here...referring to a "cell" means very little to them). There are cell plans available on a monthly basis, but I've been using scratch cards for minutes and data. - Nov 2012
There are three GSM providers: Mobinil, Etisalat, and Vodafone. They are all cheap, all offer pay-as-you-go or monthly billing, and you get a decent signal pretty much everywhere in the country. International roaming isn't cheap, but it is available. - Aug 2011
Get one. - Aug 2011
The local service providers are all about the same, and fairly reasonably priced. You can use a univeral or quad-band phone with a local chip or buy one locally. - Jul 2011
Their are plenty of services. Vodafone and Mobinil are the two largest providers, with good coverage, even in the middle of nowhere. - Jun 2011
Nokia and Vodafone have the best reputations. - Sep 2010
Get one. You can do pay-as-you-go or sign a contract. People do both and I have heard pros/cons for both. - Jun 2010
There are three major cell phone companies here - Mobinil, Vodafone and Etisalat. All are probably comparable in price and quality. - Dec 2009
