Mobile internet in the Caucasus

I'm going to be traveling through the Caucasus for a couple of weeks, visiting Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

I'm assuming there's no cellular provider that will work across countries, but are there companies in the individual countries that offer prepaid SIM cards with internet access? And what sort of quality of coverage can one expect?

Best Answer

Each country has 3 mobile operators and all of them offer mobile internet (though not all offer 4G). They also all operate on the same frequency meaning you can use the same phone everywhere (make sure your phone is operator unlocked though !)

According to their respective Wikipedia pages, coverage seems to be quite good: 98% of populated territory (2010) for Georgia, 95% (2014) for Azerbaijan and 90% (2012) for Armenia (that last number needs to be verified)

Beeline (3G only) covers both Armenia and Georgia and they have offices in both countries, and according to their website there doesn't seem to be extra charges within their network, meaning you can buy one sim card for both countries. The "local" prepaid plan is 1GB valid for a month, and their roaming ones can be daily, weekly or longer, in chunks of 500MB.

GeoCell (3G/4G) is another Georgian operator that has data plans ranging from 500MB to 15GB (they also have roaming agreements with Armenia and Azerbaijan)

VivaCell MTS (3G/4G) is an Armenian operator, they have prepaid 3G plans that charge per MB of usage (7 to 15 AMD/MB)

AzerCell (3G/4G) have their SimSim plan which seems to be the prepaid option with different options (0.2 to 0.4 AZN/MB)

BakCell (3G/4G) is another Azeri operator that offers prepaid internet. They have packages ranging from 40-600MB between 1-4AZN, valid for a month.

All of the above operators seem to have roaming agreements with their neighbours and beyond, so you shouldn't have much trouble using the same sim in more than one place.

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How much is a SIM card in Georgia?

While the SIM card is free you, in fact, need to pay for the package and it's not super cheap, it's either 15 or 30 lari, depending on the package you choose. It's better to go to the mobile phone shop and buy the Georgian SIM card directly from them, with the package you actually need and for a better price.

Is the internet good in Georgia country?

Overall, most residential users in Georgia have access to a good internet connection, though quality and stability may vary somewhat by region and neighborhood.

Is internet good in Tbilisi?

You'll definitely get decent internet in Tbilisi, but depending on the neighborhood it could be either awesome fiber or just okay DSL/cable. As a general rule, the newer the neighborhood is the better the internet will be, and likewise for the inverse.

Does Magti work in Armenia?

As long as you activate roaming before you leave Georgia, your Magti sim will work in Armenia (and in many other countries).

What Makes The CAUCASUS Nations So Important?

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: energepic.com, Dominika Roseclay, Andrea Piacquadio, Tirachard Kumtanom