Cell Phones in Santo Domingo

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CosmicMiami

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Mar 12, 2013
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I realize this topic has been discussed elsewhere but I couldn't find a current thread.

Traveling to Santo Domingo in a couple weeks and will need a cell phone. I currently have Sprint in the US.

I was thinking on just buying a throwdown with a prepaid plan at the airport. Not sure if either Orange or Claro have stores there but I suspect they do. I will only need the phone to make a few local calls as my wife will be conducting some business there.

Suggestions please and thank you.
 
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the gorgon

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Sep 16, 2010
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CosmicMiami said:
I realize this topic has been discussed elsewhere but I couldn't find a current thread.

Traveling to Santo Domingo in a couple weeks and will need a cell phone. I currently have Sprint in the US.

I was thinking on just buying a throwdown with a prepaid plan at the airport. Not sure if either Orange or Claro have stores there but I suspect they do. I will only need the phone to make a few local calls as my wife will be conducting some business there.

Suggestions please and thank you.
Click to expand...

every other store in the DR is a cellphone store. the other stores are bancas. getting a cellphone and service in the DR is the easiest thing you will ever do there.
 
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CosmicMiami

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Mar 12, 2013
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the gorgon said:
every other store in the DR is a cellphone store. the other stores are bancas. getting a cellphone and service in the DR is the easiest thing you will ever do there.
Click to expand...

Cool. Thanks. You think it's a good plan to just buy a throwdown? I've heard stories of people getting hit with outrageous bills from the local providers even if they have a US international roaming plan.
 
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Jaime809

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Aug 23, 2012
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CosmicMiami said:
Cool. Thanks. You think it's a good plan to just buy a throwdown? I've heard stories of people getting hit with outrageous bills from the local providers even if they have a US international roaming plan.
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You'll buy a prepaid plan with the phone, so there's no bill to deal with afterward. And if you buy a GSM unlocked phone off eBay that's for the US, Claro DR uses the same LTE bands that the T-Mobile US does. My original T-Mobile phones have worked great on Claro.
 
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the gorgon

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Jaime809 said:
You'll buy a prepaid plan with the phone, so there's no bill to deal with afterward. And if you buy a GSM unlocked phone off eBay that's for the US, Claro DR uses the same LTE bands that the T-Mobile US does. My original T-Mobile phones have worked great on Claro.
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if all you want is to make a few calls, buy a 1000 peso Alcatel, and be done with it. charge it up with minutes whenever you run out. that is where the bancas come in. they recharge cellphone minutes.
 
KyleMackey

KyleMackey

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Apr 20, 2015
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CosmicMiami said:
I realize this topic has been discussed elsewhere but I couldn't find a current thread.

Traveling to Santo Domingo in a couple weeks and will need a cell phone. I currently have Sprint in the US.

I was thinking on just buying a throwdown with a prepaid plan at the airport. Not sure if either Orange or Claro have stores there but I suspect they do. I will only need the phone to make a few local calls as my wife will be conducting some business there.

Suggestions please and thank you.
Click to expand...

Most service providers have significantly reduced international calling/roaming/text plans. Sprint probably has an add on you can do for a month that is not too expensive. Also if you turn roaming off, and just connect to wifi you can utilize an almost unlimited number of free calling and texting apps. Whatsapp seems to be one of the most popular. I call relatives in Germany, from the USA, and friends in DR all the time, no cost. For anyone I also recommend having at least 1 back up phone that contains the contact info and apps that your primary phone has. I have 2 backups, and turn them on once a week so all the apps can be updated.
 
L

LTSteve

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Jul 9, 2010
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CosmicMiami said:
I realize this topic has been discussed elsewhere but I couldn't find a current thread.

Traveling to Santo Domingo in a couple weeks and will need a cell phone. I currently have Sprint in the US.

I was thinking on just buying a throwdown with a prepaid plan at the airport. Not sure if either Orange or Claro have stores there but I suspect they do. I will only need the phone to make a few local calls as my wife will be conducting some business there.

Suggestions please and thank you.
Click to expand...

I am not sure about Sprint. I have Verizon in the States and when I travelled last to the DR I got a monthly unlimited call plan for the DR for an additional $40. This included domestic and international calls made from the DR. If Sprint offers something like this it would be a lot less hassle than buying a throw away and having to load minutes on it.
 
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trustquest

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Jan 15, 2017
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When I travel to the DR I keep my same phone and just purchase and temporary intl plan. I use wifi whenever possible and like someone suggested....whatsapp helps alot

Many people in this country use whatsapp to communicate...even with each other in-country as well as internationally

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk
 
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RDKNIGHT

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T-Moblie international plan is the best and download What's app.. cost me 80 bucks a month and i have internet everywhere on the island....
 
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Derfish

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RDKNIGHT said:
T-Moblie international plan is the best and download What's app.. cost me 80 bucks a month and i have internet everywhere on the island....
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For $80.00 you should be able t get a landline, 48 channels of TV as well as internet and a cell phone with unlimited everything from Claro. I did.
 
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AZB

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Jan 2, 2002
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get on a T mobile plan with a family member. it will cost you 10 dollars / month and you get unlimited internet almost all over the world. I am on my brother's plan and I have a sim card which i put in my phone whenever I land in USA. Then when I am traveling to other countries, I get unlimited internet on my cell phone. the internet is slow but it's capable of making whatsapp voice calls. My problem is solved and I don't need to buy anymore sim cards anywhere in the world.
get a cheap unlocked phone off ebay or craigslist. att phones would work on claro's lte frequency and tmobile has the orange LTE frequency. make sure the phones are sim unlocked. now all you do is buy a prepaid sim card in DR and use it in that phone. case closed.
AZB
 
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Jaime809

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Aug 23, 2012
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Derfish said:
For $80.00 you should be able t get a landline, 48 channels of TV as well as internet and a cell phone with unlimited everything from Claro. I did.
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On a contract, which no tourist will agree to for a vacation stay. $80 is about what T-Mobile's current unlimited plan costs, which includes international voice and data roaming. The sole downside is speed; you'll make a 4g data connection, but get 2g speed.
 
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dada4w

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May 31, 2017
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I was told to use Whatsapp.....I apologize if this is a crazy question, but how does it work? Can you still get hit with outrageous Data bills?
 
AlterEgo

AlterEgo

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dada4w said:
I was told to use Whatsapp.....I apologize if this is a crazy question, but how does it work? Can you still get hit with outrageous Data bills?
Click to expand...

Yes, it works with internet data. Expensive if it's your international data.
 
bienamor

bienamor

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Apr 23, 2004
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no cost at all at a hotspot. or regular wifi connection
 
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rubio_higuey

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Feb 7, 2007
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AZB said:
get on a T mobile plan with a family member. it will cost you 10 dollars / month and you get unlimited internet almost all over the world. I am on my brother's plan and I have a sim card which i put in my phone whenever I land in USA. Then when I am traveling to other countries, I get unlimited internet on my cell phone. the internet is slow but it's capable of making whatsapp voice calls. My problem is solved and I don't need to buy anymore sim cards anywhere in the world.
get a cheap unlocked phone off ebay or craigslist. att phones would work on claro's lte frequency and tmobile has the orange LTE frequency. make sure the phones are sim unlocked. now all you do is buy a prepaid sim card in DR and use it in that phone. case closed.
AZB
Click to expand...

T mobile uses mainly band 4 for LTE while Orange uses band 2 and 3.
 
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