2014 Bahamas Telecoms & Internet Acces

With the 2014 cruising season fast approaching, I would like to hear from fellow cruisers about what are the best options for telephone & internet access while cruising on the bahamas. Jay Sea Dee cruised there in 2009 and came through there again in 2012. Back in 2009 we had an unlocked cell phone and bought a Batelco pay as you go sim card for telephone service but we did not have any 2G or 4G products. We relied heavily on our sailmail SSB systems for emails.

We also now have a Bullet2HP wifi system for getting on local hotspots. Is there a network of hotspots in the Bahamas under one plan?

I assume much has changed and more service is available.....what should we plan for? do we need to get another unlocked phone before we go? We use T mobile here at home in Colorado, is there roaming service available in the Bahamas

John:

Bahamas WiMAX now rules the WiFi coverage. I understand they are adding services that will cover all of George Town anchorage this year! That will be great.

Please read this report spanning my observations over the past two years using WiFi in the Bahamas

ipyoa.com/forum/53-wifi-a-computer-netwo...n-the-abacos-bahamas

As for 3G cell coverage, that too is not bad. Batelco is the company that runs the cell grid. We used an unlocked GSM phone and an unlocked GSM USB dongle that we plugged into our router. It is best to get your chip in the Bahamas at a Batelco store where you can set it up and make sure it is working.

You also can buy your own unlocked GSM phone from Amazon Wireless and get a Samsung Nexus Smart Phone for about $200 then buy your own Batelco SIM chip online from MrSimCard here
www.mrsimcard.com/s-batelco.html

then activate it yourself once you arrive in the Bahamas on the grid.

Another SIM CARD company I have used is:
www.cellularabroad.com/bahamasSIMcard.php
We used this company for an Italy SIM card and it worked great with our Samsung Nexus GSM unlocked phone. Maybe you can look into their Bahamas offer for a SIM.

The issue in the Bahamas is that DATA IS EXPENSIVE! Most of these plans give you voice plus 2 GB or 4 GB of data. That may sound like a lot, but if you are running web sites, doing business, and or sharing photos, then 2-4 GB will be used up in less than 30 days. At that point your account is throttled back to a very slow speed until your monthly date runs out. We would just go online and buy another 2 or 4 GB and start a new month as needed.

Once you have a BTC Batelco SIM card running, you can easily TOP UP online here:
www2.btcbahamas.com/

What I have found is that you really want a new OS phone which will have more settings and usually connect better. I like ANDROID OS and do not use Apple. With Android you want to make sure you have an OS of 4.1 or higher which is Jellybean. With this you can run PDANET app and turn your phone into a WiFi router. This allows for others onboard to connect via your phone and one SIM CARD. That is the easiest way to share data.

So, in conclusion:
1. Unlocked GSM Phone then add a Batelco SIM card, gets you online and a phone #
2. WiFi via Bahamas WiMax, mostly in Abacos, but expanding rapidly
3. WiFi in George Town from several businesses
4. Amazon Wireless is a good place to buy unlocked GSM phones

Hayden

John:

One more item. The key to make ANY device work in the BATELCO Bahamas network is to add these settings to your phone, tablet or GSM phone/router/SIM card. Learn how to add the APN settings to your phone, it is key.

Read about this here:
www.mrsimcard.com/s-batelco.html
Good luck finding this info on www2.btcbahamas.com/help/faqs.php

Device Configuration
APN - internet.btcbahamas.com

MMS
APN - ppmms1.btcbahamas.com
IP address - 172.16.220.44
Port - 8080
Username - test
Password - test

GPRS
APN - ppwap1.btcbahamas.com
IP address - 172.16.220.44
Port - 8080
Username - test
Password - test

So what are your thoughts on trying to unlock an existing Android GSM phone (HTC-One-S) vs buying a new or used phone that is already unlocked.

John:
There are lots of ways to unlock phones. I have no problem with unlocking a phone. I would do that first. Try any of these tricks......

www.google.com/search?q=how+to+unlock+an...10&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

Hayden

Hi Hayden, we are making our first trip to Bahamas (IP32), Do you recommend any sites or
Bahamas Cruising Guides, since you have been there before. We plan on going early Dec
from Sarasota, to Miami, to Bimini? Where would you suggest we go from there? Thanks!