Communication and/or Internet Connection in Douala? How does it work?

0POSTS

13 years ago

Hi there friends,

Warm greetings from Jakarta-Indonesia.

I would probably be based in Douala next month for initial 1 year contract in some company. This will be my very first time to Cameroon and to Africa, I would appreciate if someone can give me some hints about few questions on communication matter.

I was wondering how does it work the communication and internet service in Douala? Like,
- Which cell phone operator has the best service (in terms of good connectivity, pre paid/post paid price?), how much is the average expense per month?, i know there is at least three operators in place. (Please correct me if i'm wrong).Am not a big fan of smartphones, so surely my cellphone is for normla text messages and phone calls only.

- How does it work if you want to install the internet connection in your apartment? Different providers from cellphone or is it the same operators as cellphones? Charge monthly by limited bandwidth? or by what kind of credit? Would they install the wifi in your apartment? Or even has it always been with mobile connection (plugged in at your laptop and then by the monthly credit)etc?

Thank you very much in advance for your kind attention and responses.

Cheers,

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Maximilien ViP

12633POSTS

13 years ago

Hi Hasiando,

Welcome to Expat-Blog

Thank you

Maximilien
Expat-blog Team

Cless&H Serial expat

579POSTS

13 years ago

Hi Hasiando ,
MTN (GSM), Orange (GSM) and Camtel (CDMA) are the 3 mobile operators for now, Viettel is coming in few months.
For each of them , I have one sim ... however I could advise to start with MTN or Orange , maybe MTN has some kind of special deals with Indonesia but really not sure about that.
I will advise you to start with a prepaid card, average price per minute are high in Cameroon and I spent approximately 10.000fcfa/SIM/month for my national calls , I generally use Voip for my international calls.
For Internet @ home, I use CAMTEL , the national operator , I pay 30000 fcfa for 256/128 kbps through ADSL. I never experienced any problems with their service and they installed it directly in my place.
You could also use USB keys (mobile internet) offered by each of these operator in order to top up your account with some hours , etc ..and again you could find the details directly in Douala.

If you have any other questions that I can help you with do not hesitate to drop me a private message.

Kind Regards.

GuestPoster691 Guest

0POSTS

13 years ago

Hi Cless&H,

Thank you for your time spent responding my questions. This is very useful for me.

So if i may assume, they would charge me more if i want to install more speed internet connection than 256/128 kbps? It is quite an impressively expensive cost for monthly internet connection expense:(

For mobile usb connection, would they accept the blank (virgin) mobile modem? If they do, what would be the common brand/type where they can just inject/tune it with the sim card available so perhaps i can prepare it from Jakarta? Or is it more mandatory to buy the mobile modem all together with a particular internet provider in Cameroon? Because in Indonesia it is possible to by the virgin mobile modem (any brand) and we just simply go to a reliable mobile internet provider and buy its internet connection package offered. Would it be the same case in Cameroon or is it totally different?

Thank you very much in advance once again fiends...it's nice to know you..

Cheers.

Cless&H Serial expat

579POSTS

13 years ago

Hey Hasiando,

The higher the bandwith , the higher the price of course .. I did not find the leaflet however this is something that we could sort out here directly. it should not take over a week to be done.

They won't accept the blank virgin modem , you have to pay it directly from them.
Cost vary between 10000fcfa and 60000 fcfa for the modem only.

Cheers,

GuestPoster691 Guest

0POSTS

13 years ago

Merci Bcp Cless&H,

Ca fait plaisir de recevoir la reponse si vite meme si c'est encore tot a Daouala....c'est etonant car des fois il me faut attendre jusqu'a plus de 15h00 Jakarta time d'appeler les colleagues cameronais pour juste asssurer ils sont deja au bureau (6h de decalage)...

Vos infos sont vraiment utiles.

Encore une fois, merci beaucoup..

amicalement,
Hasiando

Cless&H Serial expat

579POSTS

13 years ago

Hasiando wrote:
Merci Bcp Cless&H,

Ca fait plaisir de recevoir la reponse si vite meme si c'est encore tot a Daouala....c'est etonant car des fois il me faut attendre jusqu'a plus de 15h00 Jakarta time d'appeler les colleagues cameronais pour juste asssurer ils sont deja au bureau (6h de decalage)...

Vos infos sont vraiment utiles.

Encore une fois, merci beaucoup..

amicalement,
Hasiando

Hasiando,

Since this is the english forum , I will stick with it however your french is really good indeed.
I had an indonesia school mate in France, his french was less than basic and after 8 months , the guy was almost fluent so I don't know how you guys are so good with the languages but keep it up !
I have Internet at home and generally I don't wait to go to office to catch up with the news and my mails.
Cheers mate !

Cless&H Serial expat

579POSTS

13 years ago

Hasiando wrote:
Hi there friends,

.Am not a big fan of smartphones, so surely my cellphone is for normla text messages and phone calls only.

Cheers,

Hasiando,

I will advise you to use a smartphone in order to communicate for free on wassup , bbm, with your friends all over the world.
You may be surprised by the cost of these sms abroad.
For your smartphone, you may actually bring one directly from Indonesia, a dual sim could also be of great use as you will meet many people here with 2 numbers at least ( MTN and Orange) , again due to the cost of cross-network calls.

GuestPoster691 Guest

0POSTS

13 years ago

#10

Dear Cless&H,

Thank you very much for the sugestions. Will keep that in mind for sure.

It's been a pleasure talking to you and really appreciate for your kind information.

Cheers.

Cless&H Serial expat

579POSTS

13 years ago

#11

Hasiando wrote:
Dear Cless&H,

Thank you very much for the sugestions. Will keep that in mind for sure.

It's been a pleasure talking to you and really appreciate for your kind information.

Cheers.

You are very welcome,

Looking forward to offer you a welcome drink in Douala,

Cheers.

anyegeorge New member

4POSTS

13 years ago

#12

hello i might want to help you on this one.Yes in cameroon there are three major mobile communications company.Concerning the internet the three communication companies provide internet services. The main supplier of internet services can install an internet service in your apartment depending on what you need it for.Or better still buy an internet key with different speeds of your choice which you recharge depending on the kind of key you bought and the time you are required to use.i hope this helps