Phone & Internet

Current plans, stores, and official links that go with Chapter 17. Checked October 2026.

In the book: Chapter 17

The chapter gets you connected in your first weeks:

• What to do with your US phone before you leave, so a Salvadoran SIM works in it
• Prepaid or monthly, what the carriers ask for, and the plan we settled on
• Two ways to keep your US number, and the trap with bank security codes
• Why WhatsApp runs daily life in El Salvador, and how to avoid paying a scammer
• Home internet: what to test before you sign a lease, and a plan for outages

Mobile carriers (as of October 2026)

Prices are as advertised on each carrier's own site in October 2026 and change often. All carrier sites are in Spanish.

Claro

• Prepaid: first top-up from $1.25 to activate a Chip Express SIM.
• Home fiber: 300 Mbps for $35 a month.
• Monthly plans (pospago), prepaid, home internet, and eSIM
• Requirements for a monthly plan and for home service
• América sin Fronteras roaming (the US included, on selected plans)
• Store list with addresses and hours
• Customer service: 2250-5555; WhatsApp 6060-5555.

Tigo

• Prepaid: PaqueTigos Todo Incluido from $1.50.
• Tigo help center: mobile plans, prepaid packages, and portability

Movistar

• Monthly plans: $19, $25, or $35 a month.
• Home fiber: 100 Mbps $25, 150 Mbps $27, 200 Mbps $28, 300 Mbps $35, 500 Mbps $45 a month.
• Monthly plans, prepaid packages, home fiber, and store finder
• Call center: 2244-0144; WhatsApp 7119-7119.

Digicel

• Monthly plans: $17.99, $21.99, or $24.99 a month, tax included.
• Prepaid: 4 GB for 7 days $2.25; 8 GB for 8 days $4.00; 10 GB for 30 days $11.00.
• Monthly plans, prepaid, and store finder with addresses and hours
• Customer service: *100 from a Digicel phone, 2504-3444 from other phones; WhatsApp 7760-0100.

Satellite internet (as of October 2026)

• Starlink residential service: enter your address to see the current price for El Salvador.

Telecom regulator: SIGET (as of October 2026)

The Superintendencia General de Telecomunicaciones (SIGET) regulates phone and internet service and takes user complaints.

• SIGET: services for telecom users, complaints, and stolen phone lookup (in Spanish)
• SIGET: mobile phone numbers (in Spanish)
• Telecommunications law (Ley de Telecomunicaciones), including the right to keep your number, PDF (in Spanish)
• SIGET office: 16a Calle Poniente and 37 Avenida Sur #2001, Colonia Flor Blanca, San Salvador. Tel. 2257-4438; [email protected].

Keeping your US number (as of October 2026)

• AT&T International Day Pass: $12 a day for one line, $6 a day for each additional line used the same day. AT&T International Day Pass
• Google Voice number port: $20. Google Voice Help: port your mobile number

Free public Wi-Fi (as of October 2026)

• The government's free Wi-Fi in plazas and parks is run by the Secretaría de Innovación (in Spanish).
• In May 2026, the Legislative Assembly's budget committee backed funding for broadband in 440 public spaces from July to October 2026: Asamblea Legislativa, May 25, 2026 (in Spanish).