Telephone Services
A guide to telephone systems on Tobago and how to keep in touch
Most people visit Tobago to “get away from it”. However, many of us still need to keep in touch with home or office. Thanks to the wonders of modern telecommunications, you will not be cut off from the world in Tobago.
TSTT Cellnet has a GSM/GPRS service allowing visitors to use tri-band mobile phones (cell phones) on Tobago. Check that your phone is capable of operating on the 1800Mhz frequency and that your cell phone account is activated for overseas use. You should also check your service provider's rates, because making and receiving calls overseas can be extremely expensive.
You can buy Pay-As-You-Go SIM cards that will work in any tri-band GSM mobile/cellphone. Buying them directly from the TSTT office in Scarborough is the cheapest way, but be prepared to queue for two or three hours. A better alternative is to buy from the Mobile Hut, next to the Penny Saverssupermarket in Canaan. The SIM costs TT$207.50 including TT$50 of calls. Calls cost TT$1.79 peak and TT$0.79 off-peak. The number is deactivated if you do not use it for 60 days (as opposed to 6 months for the TSTT equivalent), but the number can be reactivated for TT$100.
Calling Tobago From the UK
UK callers wishing to call Tobago to book accommodation, etc., or wishing to leave contact details with family and friends will be interested in the following services:
MoneySavingExpert.com
Martin Lewis may give you the creeps, but you can't fault his advice and his website site is full of useful information.
Check out Martin's call price checker here. The data may not always be bang up to date, so check each service provider's website before committing yourself, but you will find services offering calls to Tobago landlines from as little as 3p a minute and to Tobago mobiles from 4p. What a bargain!
TeleDiscount
Amsterdam-based TeleDiscount offers calls to Tobago for 8p a minute to Tobago landlines and 8p a minute to mobile phones in Tobago. You do not need to subscribe to TeleDiscount to use the service - you simply dial the following access number and the cost of the call is added to your normal telephone account.
To use this service to call a Tobago landline, dial as follows:
- 0871-551-5513 - pause and wait for the message, then dial - 001 - 868 + local Tobago number then end with the hash (#) key.
To call a Tobago mobile phone, enter:
- 0871-551-5454 - pause, wait for the message, then dial - 001 - 868 + local Tobago mobile number + #
TeleDiscount service can be used to make cheap international calls to most destinations. See their website at www.telediscount.co.uk for full details.
Calling Tobago From the USA
Callers from the USA now have a choice of similar services from a company called Telecom USA, which I believe is part of the MCI group. They offer two different services:
- 10-10-987 offer calls to Tobago at US$0.65 per minute with a $1.09 connection fee. Further information can be seen on their website www.1010987.com.
- 10-10-220 offer calls at a flat rate US$0.94 per minute. Further details can be found on the website www.1010220.com.
