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Telestial launches the first ever Dual Number
US / UK SIM card with its Passport range of services!
Next day delivery now available in the US, Canada, UK & Australia

South Africa SIM Card

by MTN GSM 900
We are currently out of stock. For an alternative service please consider the Passport SIM card.

The prepaid SIM card for South Africa with an international cell phone is the most convenient and economical solution for staying in touch while in South Africa. All incoming calls while in South Africa are FREE, regardless of where they originate. Pay the local rate for local calls and use your cellular phone in South Africa like you do at home. And unlike home, your South Africa SIM card and cell phone service is prepaid so there is no need for a contract.

For more information please refer to the User guide that comes with your package.

South Africa SIM Card (MTN) Highlights
60 R ($9 USD) starter airtime credit
A local cell phone number in South Africa
FREE incoming calls
Voicemail
SMS (text messaging)
No yearly contract, monthly charges or credit check

Please Note:
Your South Africa SIM Card (MTN) will require a SIM-unlocked GSM 900 compatible international cell phone. If you do not have your own international cell phone, we have several models available for rental or purchase.

If you have a locked compatible GSM phone, you can easily unlock it. To do so, visit www.unlockingcodesforphones.com

$39.00


Related Links
 Activating Your Service

Your South Africa SIM card will provide you with a South Africa cellular phone number, which can be found on the back of your SIM card just under the bar code labelled MSISDN. The number begins with 083.


  • Travel to South Africa
  • Be sure that the battery is adequately charged
  • Insert the South Africa SIM chip into the cellular phone*
  • Turn on your phone
  • Enter PIN 00000 (5 zeros)^
  • Dial 555 to activate your service
  • Start calling**

Customer service for your Pay as you Go prepaid SIM card is available 24 hours a day by dialing 173 at any time from your South Africa cellular phone. You can also dial 083 173 from any phone other than your South Africa cell phone.

For emergencies while using your local South Africa GSM SIM card in South Africa please dial 112 from your cell phone.

*You will need to snap out the thumbnail sized South Africa SIM card along the perforated edge of its holder and then insert the SIM card into your South Africa cell phone with the gold contacts of the SIM card facing the metal contacts of your South Africa cellular phone.

^The PUK is only required to unblock your phone if you enter a PIN code incorrectly 3 times. Follow your cell phone manual instructions to correctly use the PUK to unblock your phone.

**When calling overseas from the United States to your South Africa cell phone, callers will need to dial 011 followed by country code 27 and your South Africa cell phone number, omitting the first 0 (zero). To call abroad from your South Africa cell phone simply dial 00 followed by the country code and phone number. To call Telestial you would dial; 0018582742686

 Airtime Rates

Domestic Calls

With your South Africa SIM card you have a choice of 3 calling plans: Classic (default), Pay Per Second and Payback. The Payback plan rates have not been listed, but information may be obtained by calling 173 from your South Africa cell phone. You may switch your South Africa cell phone plan once per month free of charge.

Classic (default)

MTN Pay as you Go Classic has been created for those people in South Africa who may not make a lot of calls and who tend to make more calls during Off-Peak times. It also offers preferential rates to other South Africa MTN numbers. All calls within South Africa are charged on a per minute basis.


MTN to MTN MTN to Other SMS
Peak
per minute
R 2,60
($0.36 USD)
R 2,85
($0.41 USD)
R 0,86
($0.12 USD)
Off-Peak
per minute
R 1,40
($0.20 USD)
R 1,55
($0.22 USD)
R 0,86
($0.12 USD)

Pay Per Second

If you're on a budget and make a lot of short calls while in South Africa, SMS may be your best bet while traveling in South Africa. SMS provides an easy way to arrange those important dates or simply want the best Off-Peak prepaid rates. If this sounds like your situation, the South Africa MTN Pay as you Go Call Per Second payment option is the one you should choose. All calls in South Africa are charged on a per-second basis, where you only pay for the time you use.


MTN to MTN MTN to Other SMS
Peak
per second
0,06
($0.01 USD)
0,06
($0.01 USD)
R 0,86
($0.12 USD)
Off-Peak
per second
R 0,016
($0.02 USD)
R 0,016
($0.02 USD)
R 0,03
($0.04 USD)

Peak time: Weekdays 7 AM - 8 PM

Off-Peak time: Weekdays 8 PM - 7 AM, All day Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays

International Calls

Depending on the domestic rate plan you have selected, your international calls from your South Africa Pay as you Go prepaid SIM card will be charged as follows:

Classic (default)

All international calls with your South Africa SIM card are charged on a per-minute basis.


Airtime Rate per minute
Zone 1 R 3,00 ($0.44 USD)
Zone 2 R 5,00 ($0.73 USD)
Zone 3 R 7,50 ($1.09 USD)
Zone 4 R 10 ($1.45 USD)
Zone 5 R 15 ($2.18 USD)
Zone 6 R 20 ($2.90 USD)

Pay Per Second

All international calls with your South Africa SIM card are charged on a per-second basis.


Airtime Rate per second
Zone 1 R 0,12 ($0.01 USD)
Zone 2 R 0,12 ($0.01 USD)
Zone 3 R 0,18 ($0.02 USD)
Zone 4 R 0,24 ($0.03 USD)
Zone 5 R 0,36 ($0.05 USD)
Zone 6 R 0,48 ($0.07 USD)

For cheaper international and roaming calling rates consider the Passport international SIM card.


Zone 1: Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, San Marino Republic

Zone 2: American Samoa, Andorra, Australia, Bahamas, Canada, Dominican Republic, Faroe Island, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Guam, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Mariana Island, Monaco, Mozambique, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Zambia

Zone 3: Alaska, Albania, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Austria, Azerbaijani, Barbados, Belarus, Rep of, Belgium, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Denmark, Dominica, Greece, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Hawaii, Hong Kong, Israel, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Martinique, Mauritania, Montserrat, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, Portugal, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Spain, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos Islands, Virgin Island, USA, Yugoslavia Fed Rep, Zaire (Congo DRC)

Zone 4: Argentina, Aruba, Ascension, Benin, Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Central African Rep, Chile, China Peoples Rep, Comoros, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Rep of, Cyprus, Czech Rep, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Rep of, Falkland Islands, Finland, Georgia, Rep of, Ghana, Guatemala, Guiana (French), India, Japan, Kenya, Korea Rep (South Korea), Kuwait Mobile, Latvia, Lebanon, Macao, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Rep of, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, St Helena, St Pierre & Miquelon, Taiwan (China Rep), Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, USSR - Russian Federation

Zone 5: Algeria, Armenia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Congo Brazaville, Cook Island, Djibouti, Ecuador, Eritrea, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea People's Rep, Haiti, Hungary, Rep of, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia Mobile, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Rep of, Macedonia, Rep of, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Niger, Niue, Norfolk Island, Pakistan, Palau, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Syria, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Wallis & Futuna, Western Samoa, Yeman Rep of

Zone 6: Cuba, Diego Garcia, Egypt, Ethiopia, French Polynesia, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Korea Democratic (North), Mali Mobile, Nicaragua, Sao Tome / Principe, Tonga, Vietnam

Roaming Calls (calls placed when traveling outside of the country)

Roaming is currently not available with your South Africa service.

GPRS Data Rates (Wireless Internet)

GPRS is currently not available with your South Africa service.

 Adding Airtime

In order to add airtime to your South Africa SIM card, please follow the instructions below. You may purchase additional airtime from Telestial, most convenience stores, tabac shops and petrol stations in South Africa Additional airtime purchased locally, is available in denominations of R 60 (US$3.50), R 60 (US$7.00) and R 180 (US$22.00).

  • Locate the recharge voucher code, affixed to your SIM card package*
  • Dial 555 and follow the voice prompts
  • Enter your recharge voucher code followed by # when prompted
  • A voice prompt will confirm your credit balance

You may dial 555 and press option 1, free of charge from your South Africa cell phone, to find out your remaining airtime balance on your South Africa SIM card.

*Telestial provides you with a recharge voucher code, that you will find printed on a sticker, affixed to your SIM card package. At your destination, you can add your airtime and may purchase additional airtime in form of scratch cards, where you will need to scratch off the gray protective layer to reveal your recharge voucher code.

REMEMBER: Do NOT purchase another SIM card when your airtime credit is depleted! You only need a recharge voucher! Your incoming calls are always free, even when you run out of airtime.

Additional airtime for this SIM card is available directly from Telestial

Please click here for details.

 Service Life

Your service will remain active as long as you place at least one chargeable call within every 3 months. Failing to do so will result in your credit as well as mobile phone number to expire.

 Coverage
 Special Promotions
  • No promotions currently available for this SIM card.
 More Information and Resources

Keeping in touch while in South Africa can be very a frustrating and expensive experience without an international cell phone and South Africa SIM card.

Sometimes a payphone takes coins (But how many is anybody's guess!!!), other times a proprietary calling card and still others only a credit card will do with accompanying instructions that would take a week to understand.

South Africa cellular phone rentals can significantly cut down on the frustration of calling home while abroad but the airtime rates would bankrupt all but the thickest of wallets. Airtime rates for a South Africa cell phone rental can typically start at $1.50 and may be as high as $2+/minute.

Think you got a deal on your world phone and plan on doing some international roaming? With international roaming charges the airtime rate you will pay is out of this world.

The South Africa prepaid SIM chip is a quick and easy way to convert your existing world phone into a prepaid South Africa cell phone for South Africa and as discussed is more economical then a South Africa cell phone rental. For your next assignment or vacation in South Africa, this SIM chip (combined with an unlocked GSM World cell phone) helps you stay connected while avoiding those international roaming surcharges that always accompany your 'home' SIM card while abroad. We offer a growing selection of prepaid SIM Cards for other international destinations as well as a wide variety of GSM cell phone accessories and GSM international cell phones.

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