Cellphones and Internet in Sudan

Note: This post is part of a series on what Khartoum is like.  It is intended for anyone coming to Sudan who wants to learn more and get advice on various topics before travelling here, and anyone else interested.

When I arrived, there were three things on my mind to accomplish immediately: get a sim card and credit, get internet, and exchange money.  I'll talk about the first two here.

Cell Phones

There are three major telecommunication companies in Sudan: Zain, Sudani, and MTN.  Supposedly they each have their pros and cons; Zain provides better rural coverage, Sudani is cheaper, and MTN has the cheapest international calls.  So as long as you won't be calling home every day or backpacking through the desert while camel-spotting, Sudani is probably the best option.

Cell phone service is quite simple: just buy a sim card and top-up credit and you're ready to go.  That is, unless you have an unlocked phone.  If your phone is locked, you can either buy a cheap phone in the market ($30) or pay someone to unlock your phone.

You can buy a sim card from a vendor in any market in Khartoum or at bus stations.  You can buy credit in most shops and at many single-stand vendors all over the city.  If you're not sure how to use top-up cards or can't understand the Arabic instructions, you can always ask the vendor to enter it for you the first few times.  Sometimes the credit comes as a scratch card, sometimes as a receipt, and sometimes the vendor will literally send you credit from his phone (which costs an extra 2 cents).

Note: cell phones are called telephones or mobiles here, so if you talk about cell phones, you will get blank stares.

Internet

The best internet is provided by Sudani.  I actually read that the Swedish ambassador said Sudan has the best internet in all of Africa.  Whether or not that's true, Sudani provides reliable, reasonably fast service at a very affordable rate.

You can buy two types of internet dongles from Sudani: one that takes unlimited data bundles and one that takes limited.  The limited dongle is enabled to have faster service, so if speed is important to you, this is a good option.  However, the unlimited dongle comes free with a 3-month unlimited bundle at about $30, an incredible bargain.

The internet is not fast enough to watch videos or listen to audio uninterrupted; you will probably have to wait three or four times as long for it to load.  However, I find that at certain times of the day (1 am to 1 pm), the internet is quicker, with the best time between 6 and 8 am, when download speed exceeds video-play speed, sometimes by two or three times.

(For this series of posts, I would really like to get input from the Sudanese to be as accurate as possible. Please comment if I wrote something that is only partly true or could be misunderstood or is just obviously wrong. Thanks!)