Claro SIM Card in Guatemala
In Guatemala, I bought a Claro SIM card because a Claro store is conveniently located by the Municipal Pier in Livingstone. I paid about 15 Quetzals (US$2) for a SIM card. It came with 150 MB data. The store representative inserted the SIM card into my Android Smartphone (Unlocked Sony Xperia) and activated it with only one problem; she had to change the setup in Spanish to understand the configuration. My Sony Xperia Phone has built-in WiFi hotspot and native USB tethering feature. Once activated, I just enabled the WiFi tethering hotspot so I can use the internet from my laptop. The initial 150 MB data ran out quick. Next day, I went to a store to recharge 100 Quetzals (about US$13). It cost 90 Quetzals (US$12) for 1.5GB data. One thing to remember is that if you have prepaid balance in your account and you ran out of your data, it deducts .0008 Quetzals per 1 KB. For a curiosity, I calculated it and came up that it cost US$107 for 1 GB data if you go by on demand data use. Another thing to remember is that whenever you check your balance by texting/calling to *264, it deducts 1 Quetzal (US 13 cents) from your balance. I was satisfied with the connection speed in Livingstone and Rio Dulce. I think data is not cheap here though, especially thinking about the local people’s wage and living cost.
*** Prepaid Data Price (As of March 2016) ***
30MB – 2 Hours: Q2 (about US 27 Cents)
50MB – 1 Day: Q5 (about US 67 Cents)
100MB – 1 Day: Q8 (about US$1.07)
250MB – 3 Days: Q15 (about US$2)
400MB – 7 Days: Q25 (about US$3.33)
800MB – 15 Days: Q50 (about US$7)
1.5GB – 30 Days: Q90 (about US$12)
Service Numbers/Codes (Only in Spanish, No English Service)