Has anyone used post paid cellphone plans here?

[Gilani]

I have so far used only prepaid plans which I somehow find very very expensive making me spend close to 200 pesos a month for few calls. And plus my number changes every time if I travel outside of Argentina.

I am thinking of taking a fixed line.

I want your views on the best provider for a fixed line with best plans ( yes I did check their internet sites..but want your views).

I am also curious to know about "roll-over minutes" concept here. If I travel out of Argentine for 4-6 months, do my minutes get accumulated and carried forward to the next month??

And if its possible to change numbers between providers if one is not satisfied with a particular provider?

Thanks.

 

[Roxana]

When I came back to Argentina, I only asked around which provided people used, and most of them used Claro, so I got it. It has a good network and signal, but the use of the minutes is a mistery, or lottery to me. I usually speak around one hour per month, some 200 txt msgs, and I pay more than $100 per month. Recently they sent me a txt msg offering to me 400 txt msgs per month for $20, a bargain!

The other day I met someone who works in one of the most important cell phone companies in Argentina, and told me the best company, based in network, is Movistar. However my best friend has this provider and has the same issue I have regarding the cost of the minutes.

I didnt find any hint about the roll over minutes here.

There is an entity that, for my understanding, belongs to the government. Its function is to regulate the cellphone companies. Its name is the acronym of Comision (o Ente) Nacional de Telecomunicaciones. Recently I saw a lot of information on its website.

Long distance calls are very expensive here. A call to Mar del Plata (400 km) costs almost the same than a call to the US or Europe.

Generally speaking, phone calls are expensive. I think because the market is small and there are oligopolies managing it.

 

[ben]

On AT&T, take the cheapest plan, add state tax, communication surcharge, 911 fee, Universal Service Surcharge(?!), number portability surcharge, and any number of other we're-going-to-screw-you-because-we-can charges, and you're paying no less than $60-$65. That comes to about $250 in pesos for, say, 450 min - in and out. Did I mention texts were extra?

Here, for the same money you can talk at least as much, except it's in the form of minutes, so if you talk less, you'll pay less.

Also, if you have a smartphone, pay for Internet/have access to reliable wifi, and are technically inclined, try skype/Vonage/some other SIP out there. Calls to Argentina (landlines) can cost as little as 2¢ US, and on movistar at least, skype on 3G is acceptable quality. If that's up your alley, it's worth checking out.