Internet

[Inger]

Hallo, my name is Inger and I live in Sweden. My boyfreind lives in Tobago. Is it possible to get mobile internet at his home? If yes, Who?

Best regards and thanks
Inger

[Steve Wooler]

Hello Inger

Welcome aboard!

Because of the hilly nature of the island, there are still some places on Tobago that can't get mobile reception - or where it is erratic and unreliable. In general though, most places do have mobile reception. There are two local providers - Digicel and Bmobile. You can buy pay-as-you-go SIMs for both providers from various places. Your boyfriend should know which gives the best reception at his home and be able to take you to a suitable shop to buy a SIM.

[Ronald]

Hi Inger,

As you see, I´m from Sweden too, and I have been in Tobago many times, but always in the south, the Crown Point / Bon Accord area.

As Steve say, the sim-cards are aviable, but do not expect same typ of speed as in Europe!
As there are only two Internet providers, they don´t just care to build up a better system.

I had a B-mobile last winter and when I asked "Why so low speed, we left that many, many years ago at home", than they "don´t hear" no answer was ever given eighter!
I needed the Internet as I was sending/receiving documents, but when I wanted to read the papers, I´d go to an Internet café in Crown Point, as they had a very better speed than I´d get from B-mobile via a cell phone.

[Inger]

Thank you both Steve and Ronald for your quick answer. My boyfriend lives in Scarborogh, so there should bee internet. He use to go to Crown Point to get in touch with me. I will come to Tobago in October. If I need your help, can I contact you? Regards Inger

[Kurt.Halfyard]

If anyone knows the cost of a pay-as-you-go nanoSIMM card (iPhone5s) and what Digicel charges for data, I'd love know for sure.

I see the cost for their plans on their website and they are MURDER (http://www.digiceltt.com/en/plans/data-plans) , but not sure if this applies to a one-off SIMM card or if there are other options...


(This is mainly to GPS map out the Gilpin Trace, we have failed to make it to BLOODY BAY twice now (first time we turned back with guide, second time we went on our own and saw water, but heavy rains made us reconsider the big climb down...this time we will finish that trail....))

Furthermore, does SHEPPY still give out basic call/text-only cellphones with rental cars?

[Ronald]

Hi Inger

As you have been in Crown Point before, than you must have seen the houses in the junction before the Police Station, opposite the newly re-buildt restaurant/bar.
There´s a Internet Café upstairs into the house closed to the junction. The cost is only $20 per hours, if he has the same rate of course this year.

//Ronald

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Kurt

Check out http://www.digiceltt.com/en/plans/prepaid-rates for the Digicel pre-paid rates that would apply if you purchased a prepaid SIM card.

I am a great advocate of GPS for country walks. There's many a Sunday when we explore 'new' cross-country walks totally relying on my phone's GPS to keep us on the ancient public footpaths and avoiding the wrath of landowners. However, getting lost here in East Anglia is hardly more than a minor inconvenience. Given the vagaries of the unreliable local service, I'm not sure that I would want to rely on GPS for navigation through the rainforest.

Sheppy's website is still advertising a cell phone with rentals of 7 days or more. Best bet is to write and ask them to confirm rather than relying on answers here.

[Steve Wooler]

Inger

You are more than welcome to ask questions here.

[Inger]

Hi,

I will soon go to Tobago in about a week! Is there a club for us outlanders in Tobago and where?
Best regards and see You soon!
Inger

[Steve Wooler]

Hello Inger

No, not as far as I am aware. Don't worry though, I'm sure that you will have no problems finding your way around, what do to, where to go, etc.

[Kurt.Halfyard]

Can$10 for a Digicel SIMM Card purchased in the Trinidad Airport + CAN$40 for 2Gb of data and talk was MORE than enough to cover our three week visit. The internet quality was all over the place (From Edge to 3G) and very spotty in the central main ridge part of the island, but GPS alway worked (valuable for Jungle hikes) with Google Maps. Was very happy with the whole DIGICEL set-up on the island, and it made making dinner reservations a lot easier.