Cellular Carriers in Belize

We are with DigiCell (BTL), and have, over the years, been happy with their service. Also had a landline with them and, yes, dial up internet :-)
https://www.digicell.bz
The website gives you all the plans and rates.

Thank you very much for the response, very much appreciated!

You're very welcome!

Depends on where you are. We have both DigiCell and Smart for different things. We pay ridiculously little for phone and text, though we really just don't call that many people, and texts are super cheap. We do pre paid because the deposit if you're not a resident is pretty steep, and we just weren't prepared for that. I'm thinking it was something like $1000.
Our internet situation is weird because we are super remote, but it ends up being about $150 Bze a month. That's through SMART.

Thank you for the response, this should be helpful down the road.

Sincerely
Brian S.

You're welcome.

Check with people where you plan to stay. We bought BTL pre paid when we arrived, and then found there wasn't much of a signal in Hopkins and everyone else used Smart!

We have had better results and little dropping with 'Smart' and we are pretty remote we have no cables in the vacinity, so we are dependent on the MiFi its not too bad apart from the 2 hours after school when it slows right down, i like to think its kids doing homework  burt my son thinks they are all playing games.

The Smart Phones are indeed Verizon, and it is a CDMA network, but will evidently be changing to the GSM format, according to Placencia Smart a few days ago. I had to buy their phone, although I had both Verizon and unlocked GSM phones I brought from the US. The office was also a bit of a stickler on having an electrical bill, rent receipt, etc from Belize, showing an address. Well, in Punta Negra, there aren't any addresses!! And I don't pay rent to my son, who owns the property (I am doing the building)! Sooo. He handwrote me a note, which also didn't quite suffice.... So he will be typing a more formal note, still with no address, and that should be acceptable. It was a funny but fun experience, and the Smart Phone gave excellent 3G reception in remote Punta Negra. My son found the internet service at the cabina where we stayed to be quite fast and reliable (he needs real good internet for his work). The internet was via cell tower to the router at the resort office. Ahhhhh. This is why Belize is a 3rd World country. And that's very fine with me! Hope this helps. Just visit the Smart Office near the south end of the peninsula, on the right as you head south, a bit off the street.

Well, I once felt that way about a laptop. I closed it gently, then placed it under the wheels of my semi truck and drove over it. I never again had that problem. It was a wonderfully peaceful month or so.......

Regarding carriers, SMART uses Verizon phones, CDMA, and I had to buy their phone. Their cheapest Gusto3 has excellent reception and fantastic battery life. I believe the SMART network is the older, and has the best reception in remote areas. Digicel is probably the newcomer, and has most customers in populated areas. It is GSM, and you can bring in any unlocked GSM phone, insert the new chip, and you can use the phone you are used to.
I have found a serious problem with the Gusto, in that you can't transfer pictures from the phone, except by bluetooth, but that hasn't worked either, now that I'm back in the states and tried what they suggested. It may be possible to store pictures on the Verizon place you can backup your numbers; I'm not sure how interconnected SMART is with Verizon, but you can use the SMART phone anywhere Verizon has reception.
The SMART people told me that SMART is changing over to GSM in the near future, and will buy back the phones they have sold us. Hope this was some help.
The SMART internet connection was excellent in the remote area of Punta Negra, between Placencia and Punta Gorda.