Megacom SIM card, how does it work?

So far, it’s always worked for me. My carrier is Orange.

Kyrgyzstan is the first country that isn’t offered.

Check message 3 again.

Exactly :) You’re making a mountain out of a molehill over 5 €. But I hope you finally realized that doing the whole process yourself didn’t make sense. Why didn’t you get an eSIM that covered Kazakhstan?

Michel

Check out message 3.

I read your message 😏.

"I’m talking about a SIM card.

For my part, I bought an eSIM from another provider since I have a compatible phone.

We’ve got the day in Bishkek to get it working, and I downloaded Russian and Kyrgyz on Google Translate...

For Russian, it’s magic—it even works with voice!

For Kyrgyz, my interlocutors need to be able to read, but I assume that’s not an issue in this country?

No doubt about it, all these apps make travelers’ lives so much easier!"

When you say "for my part," does that mean the SIM question doesn’t concern you but someone else? And for you, it’s sorted with an eSIM that includes KZ?

A whole day to get it working? With an eSIM, it’ll work before you’re even off the plane. The other option takes a minute tops in the airport hall, for a handful of soms payable by card. As for the translator, it’s useless when it comes to phone service. You’re stuck in French patterns and struggle to break free when people try to explain things to you. With Esantirulo’s message, there shouldn’t be any issue left.

Michel

Another bone to chew on?😉

sometimes you receive an SMS in an unexpected language, and you have to do certain maneuvers.

Yes, exactly, and it's good to know. That happened to me in Cape Verde. No problem with the internet, but when, several days later, I wanted to make a local call, it was impossible! As a result, since I wasn't sure I understood the SMS in Portuguese, I had to go into town to see the operator, who did the maneuver the seller at the airport hadn't done for me!

For the SIM card, don’t leave the seller until it works—that’s the best solution.

That’s what I’ll do next time!

I’ve got an even simpler solution for Uzbekistan. Just two clicks on my phone to buy the plan extension for that country...😉 Unfortunately, this option doesn’t exist for Kyrgyzstan.🙁

Local plans are always cheaper than the packages sold by foreign operators, and in Central Asia, they’re really inexpensive.

If you need your home number, just keep the SIM active for calls and texts and set up the internet on the local SIM. This assumes you have a phone with dual SIM slots, which is pretty standard these days.

The financial aspect isn't a big deal. It's just a tiny percentage of the cost of a trip. The price of one or two drinks at an airport...

I'm looking for convenience, and the simplest option is to go with my current carrier.

I’ve also realized thanks to this thread that there are now affordable deals adding GB for use abroad. You might need to switch carriers, but who cares!

40GB for these destinations:

SWITZERLAND ANDORRA Africa: South Africa, Algeria, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Comoros, Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Gabon, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Tanzania, Tunisia. Americas: Alaska, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominica, El Salvador, Ecuador, United States, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Hawaii, Honduras, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Uruguay. Asia & Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, China, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Macau, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Vietnam, Uzbekistan. Eastern Europe: Georgia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Russia, Serbia. Oceania: Australia, Guam, New Zealand, Palau, French Polynesia.

for 16.99 € (5G plan).

The price war on international roaming seems to have kicked off, likely due to the rise of eSIMs.

Yeah, But with an eSIM, you generally have access to multiple networks, with the best one taking over the connection. With your extension, you only have the partner network of your provider; sometimes it’s the most widespread, sometimes not. With a local SIM, it’s the same as with the extension—just one network. I sometimes use leftover Ubigi World data in France: really nice and comfortable, it’s the best of the three options, and all the time.

Michel

You do you, Tatra.

(I went with Ubigi for Kyrgyzstan. There’s only one local network.)

I don’t need a ton of data. It’s not about being an expat—even temporarily for work—but just a basic traveler who wants to receive WhatsApp messages from locals and family and check the internet outside the middle of nowhere.

This thread isn’t about how to pay less for data abroad or how to get data easily abroad. It’s just "Megacom SIM card, how does it work?".

I’ve already chosen my provider (Megacom, since it’s not the one used by the eSIM) and the method (SIM card).

A thread about mobile data options abroad would be interesting to start in the miscellaneous section.

You up for it?

You do what you want, Tatra.

And I’m mentioning it even if you’re not interested.

But just "How does the Megacom SIM card work?"

You’ve had the answer from the start: same as the others :)

Reread message 2.

A topic on mobile data provision abroad would, in my opinion, be interesting to open in the miscellaneous section.

Are you up for it?

It’s a non-issue, especially when it comes to Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Russian-speaking region. Esantirulo has said it all.

Michel

Message 2 doesn't tell me anything at all.

As for physical SIM cards, you put it in its slot, and then... it depends 😏. Sometimes it works right away, sometimes you get an SMS in an unexpected language, and you have to do certain maneuvers. Very often, the seller will do it because they're used to it. It can be complicated, and I've even had cases where it just never worked... at all.

Megacom, I don't know; are you talking about eSIM or SIM?

But I already wrote that (message 10), we're going in circles... 😏

I remember a plate of yak meat at a hotel in Murgab (Tajikistan), where, despite our hunger after several days, we struggled to chew it...

A hotel in Murgab? More like the only hotel in Murgab, the "Pamir". The other accommodations are guesthouses. A guy who travels these regions far and wide in his Niva posted about it last year. He says the current manager (a guy named Taïr) gave him free accommodation in exchange for a feature in his online journal. Among other things, he mentions that the hotel’s canteen is famous for its yak steaks, though he only had it as a side to plov. On the evening of his arrival, though, Taïr surprised him with a plate of fried trout. Alekseï (the author of these online journals) asked why he didn’t just eat in the café. Taïr replied that if he did, the other customers would ask for the same.

Hotel "Pamir" in Murgab – the only hotel on the Pamir Highway

Tout ton bazar de traduction ne sert à rien.

Eh bien, j'ai bien fait de le télécharger. Ça sert tout le temps !

D'ailleurs tous les logeurs non anglophones l'utilisent ! Idem au restaurant et même avec des quidams dans la rue ou ailleurs.

Ça me sauve aussi le choix de mon menu...

L'abonnement Mega coûte actuellement moins de 4 euros carte sim incluse. Les données fonctionnent en illimité et la couverture est bonne jusqu'ici sur les axes routiers comme dans les villes et villages.

5 minutes dans un magasin Mega de Bishkek.

Payable en carte bancaire.

Tu pourras nous dire si Mega a une bonne couverture sur ton parcours. Une information qui pourrait me servir dans un avenir proche. Merci.

Et ton véhicule ? au top ?

Le véhicule est en très bon état sauf les pneus qui ici sont utilisés jusqu'à leur dernier souffle...

Pour l'instant, Mega est ok. Beeline aussi. Pas au fin fond des pistes de montagne cependant !

Après, je suis encore dans la partie la plus touristique du pays...