Mobile phone plans in the Philippines

Are e-sim cards a suitable option for expats? What are the conditions?

I am not a resident of the Philippines but regularly trip in and out of Asian countries for business and pleasure.

My Torontonian cousin from Canada was my guest here in Bath in June and introduced me to an e-sim app entitled 'Airalo.' which she swears by.

She forwarded a clip (link below) to me from a vlogger explaining how the app works. I was impressed. The extremely low charges coupled with the functional ease of not fiddling about with those tiny plastic sim chips won me over immediately.

Most but not all phones are compatible. I have an iphone 13 which is  the last iphone to have a physical sim card tray.

I shall be trialling the app on my forthcoming visit to Asia later this year and will report back. I see no reason why expats based permanently in the Philippines cannot use the app. What has always irritated me about the country's service providers, namely Globe & Smart, is their effective duopoly on cellular communication along with those excrutiatingly irritating never ending promotional ('promo' in the lingua franca) text messages.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E98LjmYRtc

    Are e-sim cards a suitable option for expats? What are the conditions?I am not a resident of the Philippines but regularly trip in and out of Asian countries for business and pleasure.My Torontonian cousin from Canada was my guest here in Bath in June and introduced me to an e-sim app entitled 'Airalo.' which she swears by. She forwarded a clip (link below) to me from a vlogger explaining how the app works. I was impressed. The extremely low charges coupled with the functional ease of not fiddling about with those tiny plastic sim chips won me over immediately.Most but not all phones are compatible. I have an iphone 13 which is  the last iphone to have a physical sim card tray.I shall be trialling the app on my forthcoming visit to Asia later this year and will report back. I see no reason why expats based permanently in the Philippines cannot use the app. What has always irritated me about the country's service providers, namely Globe & Smart, is their effective duopoly on cellular communication along with those excrutiatingly irritating never ending promotional ('promo' in the lingua franca) text messages. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6E98LjmYRtc-@Lotus Eater

Haha Lotus, I hate all the promo drivel from Globe and Smart (PLDT) also. And their danged duopoly. That said, their data plans are usually quite cheap if you can put up with all the ridiculous fluff.. I did watch the video though, and had some thoughts..

These e-SIM services are expensive. It appears in some cases (certain countries) they are making money by becoming the intermediary. In others they negotiate with the existing carrier (like DTAC in Thailand) but the prices remain very high.

In the Philippines, I can buy a 15 day / 15GB prepaid Globe or Smart sim, or load onto my prepaid Globe SIM for around $5-6 bucks (P299/P250).  In comparison, the Airalo prepaid e-SIM is $21 for 1 month/10GB, or $32 for 20GB..  and $7 for 2GB top-up. This seems quite expensive until you compare to most home country foreign data plans - then it is cheap, haha.

The Philippines mobile operator (Alpas Mobile) that they claim to be connecting to is their own proxy. Not a real PI telecom operator. So they are  serving as the intermediary, doing the negotiation and acquiring the necessary access to the Globe network.. this may also limit you in the province, where Smart has better coverage.

Clearly, with these e-sim services, one is paying for convenience, yet I can see the value if you are visiting several countries. Way less hassle than buying sim cards, and if you have no sim tray in your new phone then I guess it's the only option. Like you, I have an iPhone 13, which still has a physical sim tray, however I generally stick my Globe sim into my old Samsung Note 10 when I'm there and leave my T-Mobile US number active in the iPhone. Their plan allows up to 5GB of data per month.

I think for someone visiting more than a week it would be worth it to buy a physical sim card from the Globe or Smart kiosk at the airport. The extra 5-10 min would save a lot, but some may prefer the convenience of the e-sim, or it is their only option due to no physical sim tray in the phone. Or of course their home country plan may offer coverage.

    Hello everyone,Staying connected while living in the Philippines remains a priority for expats, especially when choosing a mobile operator or to understand the local specificities of mobile plans.Here some elements to consider:

How to choose your mobile operator in the Philippines? 

The two major players are Globe Telecom or Smart (owned by PLDT). Globe is generally better in the metro areas and Smart in the more rural areas (the province). There is a third now, called Dito I believe, but I know nothing about it.

What documents are required to subscribe to a mobile plan in the Philippines?

A prepaid plan requires a foreign ID (passport) and a picture - this requirement was introduced in 2013. You must register the number, even for a prepaid plan. For a postpaid plan typical of Western countries, additional information is required. I have always used prepaid due to the convenience and variety of options and ways to use a prepaid "load", which you buy in increments ranging from 50p to 1000P.

What criteria should you consider when choosing a plan matching your needs?

Price and coverage area (city or province).

Are e-sim cards a suitable option for expats? What are the conditions?

Both of the main telecom companies in the Philippines have E-sim plans available now.

What are your local tips for saving money on your mobile plan, especially for international calls (apps, operators, etc.) or mobile data?

Buy the most appropriate plan (or Promo) that will include the essential services you need (data/calls/text).

@pnwcyclist

I think for someone visiting more than a week it would be worth it to buy a physical sim card from the Globe or Smart kiosk at the airport. The extra 5-10 min would save a lot, but some may prefer the convenience of the e-sim, or it is their only option due to no physical sim tray in the phone. Or of course their home country plan may offer coverage.

Yes indeed. My last two visits to the Philippines I have done this on exiting into the arrivals hall of T3. I do it for the convenience. The girl at the desk will also insert the sim for me and adapt my phone to Philippine settings. Ready to go. If you are not doing this very often with your phone it can be confusing. Prior to that I would just purchase 500 peso load and rely on text messaging only but take advantage of free wi-fi in the coffee shops. I do miss being given the tiny little piece of paper with the microscopic password on it and then finding that all the students with their laptops had monopolised it

Last November I could not purchase less than 1,000 pesos worth of load. Everything was packaged in bundles of 1000k GB. I think I only got about 2GB for that but it did last me 4 weeks. Here in the UK I pay the equivalent  630 pesos per month for unlimited usage on my iPhone with my carrier 3.

This coming November I will be in Vietnam on business & Indonesia seeing my GF so will try the Airalo app out. That will be the acid test.

Looking at Smart info, it looks like I would get an eSIM with a different number than the one I have been using for years, which doesn't work for me. Also, I will soon purchase the new iPhone that only uses eSIMs, and want to keep my current number (which is on everything official and otherwise).

Do I have to go into the Smart office, or is there a way to keep my current Philippine number while adding an eSIM? Does that supercede my physical SIM account, so I would be buying the prepaid eSIM plans?

@bizwizard

My partner has an older number that is important to keep and she told me they said the same thing - to get it moved to an eSIM for her iPhone would require a postpaid plan. We didn't want that, or a different number, so I just got her another phone to use that SIM card in as the phone had died.

@pnwcyclist

I have different information.

Smart gave me an eSIM with my current number. However, I had to invest in 6 months of a prepaid plan. The cheapest one, which takes care of my needs, is 599/month for unli texts and calls plus 10GB of internet. I gave them 599 pesos, and voila! The new eSIM gets my number right away.

I will have to make 5 more monthly payments of 599 pesos. The prepaid plan I was using was 599 for 3 months, unli texts and calls, and I think 6 GB--and I usually ran out of GB in the third month.

So for a couple thousand pesos, I have my existing number on an eSIM. This will transfer to the new iPhone I plan on picking up in November in Los Angeles.

That's great to know, and a nice option - thank you!

Something that has just occurred to me. Is it possible to use an esim with the same number in multiple devices? Potentially very useful.

Is possible to use an eSIM in multiple devices? I will see after I get my new phone in November. In the instructions for setting up my eSIM (iPhone), it said to get the number from a QR code (which Smart sent me after I visited them and applied) OR "Transfer from nearby iPhone." I'll see whether the old phone still has an eSIM--although I'll have to take out the SIM card to tell 😆

BTW,  Smart describes my plan as "Postpaid" even though I have to prepay each of the six months. Maybe that's because it's on a contract.

Update my last post. here's what I got:

Plan Name:    Signature Plan 599

Monthly Service Fee:    599.00

Plan Inclusion:    

50 GB 5G Only Data for 3 Months

10 GB Open Access Data

Unlimited All-Net Calls

Unlimited All-Net SMS

Unlimited Landline Calls

I'm not sure what the difference is between "5G Only Data" and "Open Access Data." I'll have to do some research

    @pnwcyclist
I have different information.

Smart gave me an eSIM with my current number. However, I had to invest in 6 months of a prepaid plan. The cheapest one, which takes care of my needs, is 599/month for unli texts and calls plus 10GB of internet. I gave them 599 pesos, and voila! The new eSIM gets my number right away.

I will have to make 5 more monthly payments of 599 pesos. The prepaid plan I was using was 599 for 3 months, unli texts and calls, and I think 6 GB--and I usually ran out of GB in the third month.

So for a couple thousand pesos, I have my existing number on an eSIM. This will transfer to the new iPhone I plan on picking up in November in Los Angeles.
   

-@bizwizard

Don't do it. Was kicking myself for not buying a new iphone in LA especially when an Apple Store was right up the street. Even had the airport shuttle to LAX stop at a BestBuy for one last attempt but only Apple sells unlocked phones. So I get to Cebu and see Apple prices are the same as U.S. but you pay no sales tax here. So it's cheaper to buy an iphone in PH plus they're unlocked and unlike in U.S. the 15s have a nano-SIM tray + 2 eSIMs.

Good point about the sales tax. I plan to put it on the company card, which has a forex charge if I buy it here. But that's less than the sales tax, unless I go to Florida (which I might be doing).

The iPhone 16 has no SIM slot, no matter where you buy it.

@pnwcyclist excelllent reply I am moving to the Philippines at the end of the month so thanks for all the great info. Have a very blessed day!

Why not just pay for an international plan like T-Mobile (America) offers?   I am confused. (:

From SMART prepaid I got 999 PHP/month for unlimited data with automatic extension every month. Here in Boracay we got 5G from Smart and I use my phone as a router. This is fast enough to play 3 videos on 3 different screens at the same time.

I have not seen a need to make real phone calls with a few exceptions. Everyone I know uses Whatsapp or the fb messenger. In the rare need to make a phone call to someone else, I load a little bit of money to my simcard and it is done.

Choosing a mobile operator in the Philippines is important for expats to stay connected. Globe offers a range of plans, but make sure to register your SIM card as required by law to avoid deactivation. Registered SIMs also help prevent scams and fraud, keeping your mobile experience secure.

    Choosing a mobile operator in the Philippines is important for expats to stay connected. Globe offers a range of plans, but make sure to register your SIM card as required by law to avoid deactivation. Registered SIMs also help prevent scams and fraud, keeping your mobile experience secure. If you want to register your new globe sim then visit[link under review] portal.
   

    -@davidjuan0111 Picking a mobile provider is important for staying connected in the Philippines. Globe has different plans, but don’t forget to register your SIM card to avoid it being deactivated. Registered SIMs also help protect against scams and fraud.

Personnaly I chose a dual sim phone, sometimes smart covers better an area, sometimes it is globe, and there is no subscription for local calls (I do agree the most important is to have unlimited datas, thank you to have underlined it) only reloads, so no cost to have several sims for local calls. Having a dual sim also allows me to confirm my bank operations with my country number. Choosing an operator is not so important, but having signal yes.

Best to all