Phone Guide for 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa

7 June 2010 No Comment

Picture: www.flags.de/Phone Guide Germany

Soccer fans traveling to South Africa for watching the games of the 2010 FIFA World Cup should leave the SIM cards of their regular mobile phone provider at home - because of high roaming charges for outgoing and incoming calls as well as for mobile data services. At www.teltarif.de we have found out: Subscribers of a cell phone plan of one of the German operators Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, E-Plus or Germany pay as much as € 2.55 per minute when calling their family back at home from South Africa. For incoming calls in South Africa German operators charge up to € 2.00 per minute. A less expensive way to keep in touch with family and friends at home while visiting South Africa during the 2010 FIFA World Cup from June, 11th to July, 11th is to buy a prepaid SIM card of a South African provider.

There are three different mobile network operators in South Africa - Vodacom, MTN and Cell C - who are using spectrum around 900 MHz and 1,800 MHz for GSM services and 3G spectrum around 2,100 MHz for 3G services. This means: Users can make mobile phone calls or access the internet via GPRS or UMTS with any cell phone that works in Germany. Network coverage of Cell C is not as good as the ones of MTN and Vodacom and Cell C does not offer UMTS for mobile data services. These three cellular operators provide telephone services to over 39 million subscribers in South Africa, covering nearly 80 percent of the population.

With a “Big Bonus Voucher” or a “Yebo4Less” prepaid price plan of Vodacom users pay € 1.06 per minute for mobile phone calls to landlines and cell phones in Germany. With a “One Rate” prepaid price plan of MTN or a “Easychat” prepaid price plan of Cell C subscribers are charged between € 0.23 and € 0.37 per minute for mobile phone calls to Germany - depending on the price plan and the time of day. For accessing the internet over the 3G networks of Vodacom and MTN with a mobile data tariff option expect charges of around € 1.00 per megabyte.

In South Africa every buyer of a prepaid SIM card must register with name and their address (hotel or vacation home) and show his or her ID or other supporting documentation (“RICA Act”). Prepaid SIM cards and vouchers for topping up new credit are available at phone shops, kiosks and supermarkets. In shops in the cities and at the airports as well at car rentals, it is also possible to rent a cell phone or a SIM card in South Africa.

International Calls from a Phone Booth

Landline services are operated by Telkom – South Africa’s national telecommunications company. Public telephones provided by Telkom use coins, phonecards or Worldcall cards for international calls. Coin-operated phones are blue, while cardphones are green. Such phonecards or Worldcall cards can be purchased at retail stores, gas stations, post offices and airport shops. Internet cafes can be found in almost every city or village.

In order to make an international call from South Africa to another country, dial 00, followed by the country code of the country you wish to call (e.g. for Germany: +49), followed by the relevant area code without the first zero (e.g. for Berlin: [0]30), followed by the phone number. South Africa’s international country code is +27. Telkom offers operator-assisted dialing and general international directory information at 10903. This service is free of charge. Telkom’s Home Direct service allows users to place a call on the caller’s home phone account or to arrange a reverse-charge call.

Important Phone Numbers in South Africa: