Cell Phones and Skype

For Cell Phones in Ecuador there are two companies available:

One is MoviStar (the v's sound like b's but spelled like the US, so the pronunciation is MobiStar). The other is Porta.

Porta has a better signal, more towers and more people using it. However, most of the younger generation here has MoviStar.

The best thing to do if your coming here for an extended visit, is as soon as you get off your flight to get a cell phone from one of the companies mentioned above. A good cell will cost you around $50.00 dollars and you can put as many minutes on it as you'd like. You can call anyone in Ecuador. I believe the cost is 15 cents per minute for calls in Ecuador.

If you were going to call me from the US then you would call my US number through Skype, which rings through my computer. However, if you landed in Ecuador, you wouldn't want to call my US phone number as it would be rather expensive, so you would want to get a cell phone here as soon as you get into the country. In Ecuador if you call from cell phone to cell phone, it is cheaper then from cell phone to LAN line or vise versa. The same applies to calling from Porta cell to Porta cell then from Porta cell to MoviStar cell. If you're in a motel, for example, and you ask the Hotel if it's free to call out for local calls, they will say "yes", but when you check out of the hotel, they might hit you with a $200.00 dollar phone bill, due to the fact that it is free for local calls (as in LAN line to another LAN line in the city), but it is not free from LAN line to cell phone.

I highly recommend getting a cell phone as soon as possible when visiting. My personal preference is Porta. Some people carry both as it's cheaper to call others that share the same phone company.

You can also bring your cell phone into the country and the cell phone company here will modify your personal cell to receive cell signal in Ecuador. You might also get a chip from one local cell phone company that would allow you to talk cheaper to both Porta and MoviStar, however, for the cost of $25 to $35 dollars to modify your own phone, the $50.00 charge to get a new cell phone for Ecuador is more convenient. When you leave the country, you would have your Ecuador phone up until you left and still have your personal phone when you landed back home without having to have it re-programmed again for another $25 to $35.00 dollars. It is just a better way to do it, to have two phones; one for Ecuador and one for when you get back to the US.

When talking online through Skype, it is free. Skype to Skype is free anywhere. I use all the options that are available but not everyone needs them. Since I am in business and need to connect with others, I want as many different options as possible.