Cyprus-Forum.com

[jody]

hi there what are the mobile packages like over in cyprus,is it best to have a pay as you go or do they have good deals on line rental and that?I will be calling england on the phone,is it expensive?sorry bout this been 2 years since ive been over,we come over in jan to live permanately and was just wondering if its worth buying a sim free one or just getting one with a contract when we get there cheers jody xx

[skyvet]

Hi Jody,
As far as I'm aware, there are only two mobile phone companies, (Cytanet and Areba) and to honest I don't think there's much to choose between them. Personally I'm with Cytanet, and bought a sim card for my UK phone which then had to be unlocked. Rough initial set up costs were £15cy for the sim card (which gave me £3 credit) and about £10 for the unlocking. Once you've made this outlay however, the rates are unbelievably cheap! If for example you buy a £20 top-up card with Cytanet, they give you £23 credit. Text messages to anywhere in the world seem to cost about 1.5 cents, and calls are really cheap too. My wife and I often phone the USA on our mobiles, and a 30 minute call costs about £1.50. Similar charges seem to apply when we phone the UK.
Hope this is of some help to you.

[Sotos]

If you do not talk much then Cyta's so-easy is the best. It is the one skyvet described that you have to buy top-up cards. If you talk a lot you are better off with the contract option since rates are lower.

[Snad]

I like Areeba better than Cyta, as with every top up card you get 50 free text message and you get delivery reports, on Cyta you don't.
Cyta's call charges have also gone up recently, but I haven't noticed a difference with Areeba.

[Hazza]

I have both a soeasy card and areeba card. There is no doubt in my mind that soeasy (Cyta) is far superior to Areeba.

I get cut off in the middle of calls with the Areeba card saying "Network Error". There are alot of places where reception is very very poor on the Areeba. With Cyta, I've never had such a problem.

[jody]

Thanx alot for some good advice i think i am going to go with a contract as i can talk non-stop you know us women we do love to chat on a bit!!!!anyway thanks again jody xx

[steveash]

I was wondering about phone networks and contract vs pay as you go as well, whats the score with a contract for someone who has just moved to Cyprus? as in the UK you have to have lived here for 3 years so they can do a credit check, is it the same or easier to get a contract then? because i have a feeling that i will be making a lot of phone calls back to the UK with my line of work!!

[Sotos]

steveash, I think that if you are a foreigner they require a deposit to give you a contract but I don't know how much it is.

[Cyprus Vending]

The last I heard - You have to pay a massive £300Cy deposit for a contract phone with Cyta...

SoEasy - NO deposit!

Stuart

[Snad]

Its like the UK, where you sign up for at least 12 months, but unlike the UK, they don't give you a phone as an incentive. When you take out the contract here, thats all you get.
Contracts are a lot cheaper here than in UK, my friend is on Areeba and she pays £12cyp month, gets 100 mins an 100 texts.