Using phones and connecting to the internet in Macau
When travelling to a foreign country, you will want to stay in touch with friends and family back home. Luckily, when living in Macau communication won't be a problem. The region has well-developed telecommunications networks.
Phones in Macau
There is one landline operator and four mobile network operators in Macau. CTM (Companhia de Telecomunicações de Macau S.A.R.L) has a monopoly franchise license granted by the government and provides landline connection services for the whole of Macau.
When it comes to mobile communication, you will have four providers to choose from: MobiWeb (a branch of CTM), Three Macau, SmarTone and China Telecom Macau. Though China Telecom does operate in Macau, the network provider uses the same censorship criteria as in mainland China and is thus not a common choice among residents or travellers.
Purchasing a SIM card from any provider in Macau is easy, and no registration is required. You can even find SIM card vending machines in certain locations in the city like Macau Airport, Border Gate Checkpoint and others. You can start by purchasing a prepaid SIM card from any of the providers mentioned above to test the quality of the service or if you are staying in Macau for a relatively short period. You will have many prepaid SIM options available from each of the providers: BEST from MobiWeb, sold in various outlets across the city; prepaid SIM cards from Three ' with a great variety of package options; and SmarTone prepaid SIM (the company offers only one type of prepaid SIM cards).
Local calls from private landlines are free in Macau, and you can still find plenty of public phones across the city with the average price of MOP 1 for every five minutes. If you want to make international calls from Macau, note that the international access code for all countries, with the exception of Macau, is '00'. If you are calling Hong Kong, dial '01' first before proceeding to the phone number. If you are calling Macau from abroad, the city's access code is '853'.
Internet in Macau
Staying connected to the World Wide Web in Macau is no problem at all. All mobile providers mentioned above offer several comprehensive mobile internet packages and prepaid options. More than that, in 2010 the Government of Macau initiated a free public WiFi network ' WiFi Go. As of 2016, there were over 200 WiFi hotspots in public areas, key tourist attractions, popular tourist routes and more. Check available WiFi networks and if you find Wifi go or Wifi go-s, connect to the network by entering the password: wifigo. Every session has a time limit of 45 minutes and the speed limit of 3 Mbps.
If you want to connect to landline internet, contact CTM Macau for details on various packages available.
Good to know:
Unlike mainland China, Macau does not implement any internet censorship and you should be able to access all the popular social media and search engines.
Useful links:
