Making phone calls in Cape Verde

Maximilien wrote:

Hi,

When settling in Cape Verde, one of the priorities is to be able to make phone calls.

How to proceed to get a landline installed in Cape Verde?

What are the mobile operators?

What is your average monthly budget?

Thank you in advance for sharing your experience,

Maximilien

The question of telecommunications is always a hot topic for new arrivals to Cape Verde.

In Cape Verde, we have two Telecoms: CV Telecom (CVT) and Unitel (T+). Of the two, only CVT offers land lines, but frankly NO-ONE uses land lines anymore. Land lines are so 80s. Today, almost everything is wireless. My guess is that ninety-nine percent of the telecommunications here are over wireless connections.

So both T+ and CVT offer wireless telephone units which you can use at home. They use SIM cards just like a cell phone. You pay for the calls as you go. So essentially, you pay for calling credits and the credits are used whenever you make a phone call.

The only real reason you might want a landline is if you want a wired internet connection for a home or business as a wired connection may be much faster than a wireless connection. But be forewarned that the landline option is more expensive. Expect to pay up to $60-80 per month on a land line from CVT with international phone plus high traffic internet usage. Also, you have to wait at home for the workers to install the line (unless one had already been installed in the location by the previous tenant/owner). Often, they don't show up and you lose a lot of time just waiting.

But, unless you have specialized needs which warrant a landline, you'll be much better off with the wireless (cellphone) options. These are available from both operators. And because of the stiff competition between them, you'll have access to lots of special deals and programs on internet and mobile calling/messaging services. In addition, calls on Viber, Hangouts, Messenger and other services are FREE.

Finally, if you are looking for cable TV, there are two options. One option is with the CVT operator and they will run a landline (same one that is used for the phone service). The cost is about $31 per month. The other option is Boom TV. At a monthly cost of $20, they provide you with a box that receives a wireless signal so no land lines are necessary. Just plug your antenna into the box and it receives about 30 channels from Boom TV. The difference between the two options is that with CVT you get 49 channels and more of them are in English.

More Information (only available in Portuguese):
Unitel T+ http://www.uniteltmais.cv/

The CV Telecom Group
CV Telecom http://www.cvtelecom.cv/
CV Móvel https://www.cvmovel.cv/
CV Multimedia http://www.cvmultimedia.cv/

Boom TV +238-918-8004