Sign in with Facebook- Join for free
- Sign In
Sign in with Facebook
My son is traveling to Ulaanbaatar with a group of 9 college students for 2 weeks. What is the best thing to do for a cell phone there. The don't really need phones to chat on, but would like to have them in case of emergencies and to keep in touch with each other occasionally. My first thought was to stop at the Walmart there and pick up a trakfone, but I don't think that will work. Verizon has a plan for international travel, but it is4.99 a minute. I have seen some companies that offer international phones at1.99 a minute to either buy or lease. Is there another option there in Mongolia? Thanks!
He should buy an unlocked GSM phone (easily found online) and then get a local prepaid SIM card once he's in Mongolia. That will be the cheapest way. US carriers will charge you a fortune for making calls in Mongolia. A Verizon phone will not work at all, as Verizon's network is on the CDMA standard and Mongolia uses GSM. FYI, if your son is going to be staying that whole two weeks in UB itself, then a phone will be useful. If he's going to be traveling in the countryside, the phone will be about as much use as a brick. Mongolia, as I am sure you know, is very sparsely populated; cell phone service is available only in towns and cities, which are very few and far between.
Be the first to rate this answer!
One other point to remember, a cheap GSM phone won't do; your son will need a quad-band, or so called "world phone". The GSM frequencies in the Americas are different than those used elsewhere. The cheap phones sold in Walmart and other discounters are dual-band and are not going to work in Europe, Africa, Asia, etc.
Be the first to rate this answer!
There really isn't much to UB. Two days will be quite enough. more
Agreed. It is not a big place, and the sightseeing quotient is pretty low. I spent about the same amount of time there... more
The Continental Hotel
34 Opinions
Chinggis Khaan Hotel
63 Opinions
Bayangol Hotel
97 Opinions
