Chip in Ipad

I have an I pad mini that is unlocked and can take a phone chip.
I have never put one in here in the US, but am now wondering if anyone else has ever tried any of the Belize phone companies to see if they can put one in and make it  a usable phone. I am flying back down to Belize tomorrow night and it struck me as a good idea if i could then use it as my Belize phone and leave my US one behind in the US. I have a flip phone i use when there for regular calls but texting on a flip phone is nearly impossible and very frustrating. Hope someone can help me.

It is most likely a GSM device as used in the US by AT&T and  T-Mobile. vs CDMA as used by Verizon and Sprint.

GSM in Belize is BTL.
Smart the other cell phone company uses CDMA.

Neither of them has a bargain for cell phone data. 

A couple years ago I bought a $100 unlocked GSM smart phone on Amazon.com for international use.  If you have a Fry's Electronics near you and the time to shop there before you leave, you might want to get an inexpensive smartphone, as I find using an Ipad (of any form factor) as a phone is kinda awkward.

In Belize I use on BTL for calling/texting, and as a WiFi HotSpot for my Ipad and/or PC when away from the Placencia house.

At the house I have Internet from Smart that I use for WiFi on all devices.

Hope this helps.

Thanks for that, just seemed a good idea at the time and you know how that usually works out. I will just use it as normal as a mini computer on wifi when I get there and use the clunky flip phone for calls. Great unexpected chance to get a couple of weeks a my lovely ranch so all having to be done in a 48 hour window. Might look for a cheap smart phone before i come down next time, as that seems best plan. My telephone provider for the  I phone  allows full use in Belize at $10 a day which i can switch on or off day by day if I need it for a particular reason.

Hi Larry here.  Have you heard of magicJack? With magicJack you just need to have the internet and you have to pay for an international service through magicJack. I have used this product for about 14 years. When. I leave the States I use this service sometimes, and it works through my iPad. I hope that helps. You won't need any chip for your device. Or you can purchase a Hotspot device. There are several apps that can be used, for example “WhatsApp”. Thanks.