Bahamas 3G Cell Service BTCBahamas.com GREAT

After spending my 4th season in the Bahamas this yeas, 2015, I am changing my viewpoint on WiFi vs. 3G Cell use. This year it became obvious to me that the BTC Bahamas Cell Grid is far more reaching and has a wider coverage than Bahamas WiMax or OII Internet WiFi services. I used all three services this year and I spent $250 for a 3 month WiFi on Bahamas WiMax and I spend $75 for a couple weeks of OII to compare it to WiMax and I spent about $100 for BTC Cell service with phone and data. By far the BTC cell service was the best and was way faster than any WiFi used.

So, what is the best way to set up BTC cell service on a boat?

The easiest way is to have a GSM, Global unlocked cell phone. These can be found on on Amazon. We have a Samsung S3 or S4 old GSM Global phone that we have used for 3 years. We even used this in Italy. NOTE: We avoid going into a BTC store to get our phones set up, it is very frustrating. We buy a SIM card for BTC before we leave the USA. We buy this from www.MrSimCard.com and he is great to work with. This is THE BEST WAY to go, get your sim ahead of time and then when you sail into the Bahamas, your phone is live and online 8 miles before reaching the islands! Never a need to go to Nassau or any BTC store!

Yes...but I want to share my Data Plan with multiple laptops, tablets, and other phones onboard. No Problem.

Again, with a DROID phone you can easily turn this into a WiFi router and share the data with other laptops onboards. We have two laptops and a tablet running through our BTC cell phone and it works great. To do this you need to add the app called PDAnet+ and install this on the phone. This will allow you to turn on a WiFi hotspot with your phone and then share it with your laptops or tablets onboard. We even use this in the USA on our Samsung S5 with our Verizon account. It works great!

OK, great, but how do I set up data services on my BTC Cell phone?

In the Bahamas, the cell company is BTC and they use the web site www.BTCbahamas.com for overviews. All you need to know are a few items and also how it all works. Once you understand their methods, it works very well, it is just very different as to how they operate. For example, you first need to have a BTC Sim Card which gives you a phone number and an active account. Get this from MrSimCard.com. Then you need to add money to the account, this is first added by MrSimCard when you buy, but later on, when in the Bahamas, you add money to your account by logging in at BTCBahamas.com and clicking the EZTopUP link. EZ Top Up allows you to add money to your cell phone number using a credit card. Obvioously you need to have an account at BTCbahamas.com so you can make that right now if you like. The crazy aspect to the EZTopUP screen is that when you login, you can actually CHANGE you cell phone number associated with your account. At first this seems odd, but it allows you to login and add money to another number, like your friends phone or your child's phone. So login at EzTopUp and check that it is YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER you are adding money to, if not, simply click the RED EDIT button and change the phone number to your number, now add money.

OK, so, you added money, next you need to BUY a DATA plan. This is all accomplished using your Bahamas cell phone while in the Bahamas. You now make a cell phone call to *205# send ( that is asterisk 2 0 5 # then press send) This will bring up a text screen where you can 1. see your data plan, or 2 buy a data plan. So, you press 2 and then you select the data plan you want. We buy 2GB for $30. This data will expire in 30 days whether you use it or not! Now you have bought a data plan, BUT you need to configure your cell phone to use data! WHAT? Yes, your cell phone now needs a new APN, Access Point Network. Go to your phone settings and look for network, mobile network and APN, there you need to click NEW and create a new APN. All you need to add is the APN name which needs to be

internet.btcbahamas.com

Make no other changes, just add the APN name and save.

Once you add this new APN and save it, you need to restart your phone and your phone will now be online just like in the USA. Welcome to the Internet in the Bahamas and you never once stopped into a BTC store.

Yes, but now I am online and I want a WiFi HotSpot

I know, we do too, so again, we add the droid app called PDAnet+ to your cell phone. Iphones need to be JailBreak to add this, no phone company wants you to make a hotspot without paying for his, but PDAnet does it. Thank you! This will then allow you to make your phone a hotspot and that will allow you to get your laptops and tablets into your BTC cell phone and onto the internet sharing this one BTC sim chip. NOTE: BE CAREFUL and turn OFF ALL laptop auto updates, if you do not, you will use up your 2 gb in one day when your silly laptop goes out to update Office or WIndows or etc. Turn this stuff off. I do web design work and a lot of internet work while onboard and in the Bahamas, and I did not use 2gb a month on my cell plan. It is a lot for most people. If you blow through this then you are watching YouTube, or NetFlix ort your auto updates were on when you connected.

Last Topic, I want to boost the Cell Signal

I agree, but even with a regular cell, I was able to get BTC at Great Sale Cay which is 22 miles from Freeport and 10 miles from Grand Cay where the cell towers are located. Usually the cell will connect about 8 miles off shore. But, to boost the signal, next year, I will be adding a Wilson Electronics cell booster. These can be read about at their web site now called www.WeBoost.com or you can buy from www.3Gstore,.com. I will be adding the WeBoost Drive 4G-S
SKU 470107 That has all 4 bands covered, BTC uses 850mhz and 1900 mhz. This should really help as well, it is not needed, but I am going to add this to the boat next year and only use BTC data not WiMax. This booster can also be used in the USA as well, but check the specs.

store.weboost.com/products/drive-4gs?_ga...184193987.1431473835



OK, I hope this helps you connect to data in the Bahamas. I would love to hear from others and their experiences and their set ups.

Hayden, back in USA, Ft. Pierce after 2 months in the Bahamas.