Buying a SIM card in Belarus is easy and cheap. However, if you are a tourist, you will be required to provide your passport details to obtain a SIM card in the country. They are easily available in the official stores of the telecommunications companies as well as partner stores, kiosks, hypermarkets, and more. There are three telecom companies in Belarus: MTC, A1, and Life. A fourth company that is partly state-owned is beCloud, which provides 4G/LTE to all three mobile operators but doesn’t sell any SIM cards for the masses.
BeCloud’s 4G/LTE services are available to the country’s 100% urban population but fairly rare on the rural side. VoLTE services are provided only by A1 so far. Basically, users have three options to choose from when buying a SIM card in Belarus. Also, it’s important to note the currency of Belarus is the Belarusian Ruble (BYN) and that, while it’s a country in Europe, it isn’t part of the European Union or EEA (European Economic Area). Hence, roaming rates can be much higher than in other European nations.
That’s why it is recommended to get a local SIM card in Belarus if you are a tourist. As mentioned, the internet connection is great, especially in urban areas. Moreover, the plans and tariffs in the country are very affordable. There are many other things you must know before deciding on buying a SIM card suitable for your needs. Thus, for further information, let’s take a deeper look into three major SIM card providers in Belarus one by one.
1. MTS (MTC)
MTS (Mobile TeleSystems) is a joint-venture company of Beltelecom (state-owned) and MTS (a Russian telecom giant). The company began operating in Belarus in 2002. MTS is presently the largest mobile network provider with the best network penetration. It covers 98% of the population on 2G and 95% of the people on 3G. The company launched its 4G/LTE services in 2015 and currently serves more than 5.7 million subscribers in the country. Its SIM card gets deactivated automatically after 180 days of inactivity. The company’s top-up vouchers are easily available both offline and online. For online recharge, you need to have an international credit card like Visa or Mastercard.
If you are a tourist, you can buy an MTS prepaid card with Super Max tariff for 22.90 BYN. It gives you unlimited domestic calls, 15 GB of data, and free data for apps like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and YouTube with the validity of 1 month. Beyond the 15 GB limit, you will be charged 0.047 BYN per MB. There are myriad plans available on your MTS SIM card designed for different purposes and needs. Some names of plans are Unlimited, ULTRA, Onliner.by, Easy To Say, The Internet, Packages For Smartphone “4G”, Absolute, and Children’s.
2. A1
A1 was known as Velcom until 2019 and started its commercial operations in 1999. It is currently the second-largest telecom company and the biggest competitor of MTS in Belarus, serving more than 4.9 million customers. In 2019, it launched its 4G/LTE services in the city of Minsk using the infrastructure of beCloud (a state-owned telecom company). Currently, it covers 76% of the population in its 4G/LTE network. Its local SIM card is called Privet, which means “hi” or “hello” in Russian. For tourists, it offers Privet.Tourist, a tourist plan for 10 BYN sold at its service station.
The plan has two options. The first is 50 SMS, 50 off-network minutes, 50 on-network minutes, and 5 GB of data for 7 days at 9.90 BYN. The second is 50 SMSes, 50 off-network and on-network minutes, and unlimited data for 30 days at 24.90 BYN. There are several other regular plans as well, available only after registering yourself with the Belarusian authorities. These plans give better rates, but you need to know the Russian language to operate the SIM and get the plan information.
Local Privet plans remain active only if you keep a positive balance on your SIM card. Furthermore, these plans remain active for 365 days. The company offers a data-only plan called Privet.Internet+ plan available for 1.99 BYN (500 MB for 7 days), and 7.55 BYN (2.5 GB for 30 days). The activation fee for this plan is 5 BYN.
3. Life:)
Life:) is the smallest wireless carrier in Belarus, with more than 1.3 million customers across the country. It is owned by a Turkish company known as Turkcell Group, which is the largest telecommunications company in Europe. It also operates in several countries like Georgia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Northern Cyprus. Because it has limited network coverage in Belarus, make sure to double-check the availability wherever you’re staying before buying its SIM card. Though it has poor network coverage, it offers data at very cheap rates. The company launched 4G/LTE services in 2016.
Note that it has complex validity rules. Inactivity for 180 days (no top-up or recharge) doesn’t deactivate the SIM card. Instead, it starts charging 0.25 BYN per day from the 181st day onward. Moreover, if you don’t have sufficient balance in your SIM card, it will get deactivated after 90 days of inactivity. The company offers several lucrative monthly plans that are available at a discount for first-time users. Some names of such plans are Shake Mini, Shake, All Inclusive, and Play.
Shake Mini plan offers you 5 GB of data, 300 voice minutes, and unlimited SMS for 9.90 BYN but costs 5 BYN for new subscribers. Shake plan offers 10 GB of data, 500 voice minutes, and unlimited & social media apps for 13.90 BYN but is priced at 7 BYN for new subscribers. All Inclusive plan comes with unlimited data and unlimited voice minutes for 21.90 BYN but will cost new users 14.90 BYN. Play plan gives you 50 GB of data and unlimited voice minutes at 19.90 BYN but costs 15.90 BYN for new users. Besides those, there are many data-only (monthly, weekly, and daily) packs offered by the company. They come at different rates with varying validity.