Algeria is the largest country in Africa. There are only 3 wireless operators in Algeria – Djezzy, Mobilis, and Ooredoo Algeria. All three carriers provide 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE throughout the country. For better coverage Djezzy is preferable but for more data at cheap prices, Ooredoo is a better option. The good thing about Algerian SIM cards is they are available for the same price whether you buy them at the airport or in the market. In other countries, they charge more for SIM cards at airports but not in Algeria. Therefore, if you are a tourist, it is better to buy a SIM card from the airport and get connected quickly.
Djezzy and Mobilis are domestic telecom companies operating only in Algeria. On the other hand, Ooredoo is a Qatari telecom giant operating in several countries apart from Algeria. Getting a SIM card in Algeria is not free of restrictions. Algeria has two specific laws for prepaid SIM cards. The first law is regarding compulsory registration of SIM card users, whether the user is a local or a tourist. According to this law, you need to provide your legit ID (civil ID card, passport, etc.) to get the SIM card. The second rule is regarding the validity of the SIM cards. As per this rule, the SIM card will get deactivated if it remains dormant for 90 days. This means you need to recharge and make at least one call or send at least one SMS every 90 days. To know more in detail about all three Algerian SIM cards, let’s talk about them one by one.
1. Djezzy
Djezzy is a brand of Optimum Télécom. It has captured the largest market share in Algeria (45%) serving more than 14 million customers across the nation. It provides 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE services in all the provinces (locally known as Wilayah) of Algeria. Djezzy doesn’t have a great 4G speed, as it is only between 10 Mbps to 20 Mbps, and sometimes poor enough to not connect at all. But its coverage is the best, especially in urban areas, among all the three operators. In the rural part, it is sometimes hard to find 3G or even any network at all. However, if you are a tourist or a rural dweller, it is still the best network to choose.
Djezzy SIM cards are sold for 300 DZD (about 2.50 USD) in every Djezzy Store. It comes with a starter pack Djezzy Carte which comes with 50 DZD credit and 50 MB of data for 7 days validity. Its plan named Djezzy Hayla Maxi is a combo plan and it comes with unlimited on-net calls and SMS. The pack ranges from 100 DZD to 2000 DZD with varied bundles which include data, credit, and validity of different days.
The company also offers a data-only plan known as Djezzy Speed. This data-only plan ranges between 30 DZD and 1000 DZD providing various amounts of data with different valid days. In this plan for 30 DZD you get 100 MB for 24 hours, for 100 DZD you get 1 GB for 24 hours, for 300 DZD, you get 3 GB for 7 days, for 500 DZD, you get 6 GB for 30 days, and many more.
2. Mobilis
Mobilis is a brand of a state-owned company of Algeria named Algérie Télécom. It is the second-largest telecom company in Algeria, serving more than 19 million subscribers in the country. Mobilis covers most parts of Algeria but still its coverage isn’t as vast as Djezzy. You can get a Mobilis SIM card for 100 DZD, in which you get credit of 200 DZD. The SIM cards are available in all the Mobilis stores and other authorized resellers. It is important to note that Mobilis provides only 3G and 4G SIMs, and its 4G SIM cards work only in the places where its 4G network is available. On the other hand, its 3G SIM card will work anywhere as long as there are no network issues.
Mobilis offers a combo pack named Pixx which offers unlimited Mobilis to Mobilis calls. The pack ranges from 500 DZD to 2000 DZD. For 500 DZD you get 500 DZD credit and 5 GB of data for 15 days, for 1000 DZD you get 1000 DZD credit and 13 GB of data for 30 days, and for 2000 DZD you get 3000 DZD credit along with 30 GB of data for 30 days. Mobilis offers a data-only SIM card named Navigui 4G. This SIM card is worth 2400 DZD and gives 30 GB of data along with unlimited usage of Facebook and WhatsApp for 30 days.
3. Ooredoo Algeria
Ooredoo Algeria is the smallest wireless carrier in Algeria with 12 million subscribers. It was known as Nedjma before Ooredoo acquired it. It has the poorest coverage among all three players. Furthermore, it doesn’t cover all of Algeria, but its coverage in cities is relatively fine. Mostly it is popular in the country for offering big data bundles at cheap rates as compared to its counterparts. Ooredoo SIM cards are available at Ooredoo stores and many authorized resellers.
The company offers two combo packages i.e. LA Switch and Hashta. LA Switch provides various offers ranging from 1500 DZD to 4000 DZD, all of them having unlimited on-net calls and a validity of 30 days. In this pack, for 1500 DZD, you get 1500 DZD credit, 10 international minutes, and 50 GB of data. For 2500 DZD, you get 2500 DZD credit, 30 international minutes, and 120 GB of data. For 4000 DZD, you get 3000 DZD credit, 50 international minutes, and unlimited data.
Now let’s talk about the Hashta pack. It doesn’t provide international minutes, but instead, it provides unlimited Facebook usage and validity of 30 days. For 1000 DZD Hashta recharge you get 2000 DZD in credit and 4 GB of data. And for 2000 DZD Hashta recharge, you get 5000 DZD in credit and 10 GB of data. The company also offers various data-only plans ranging between 100 DZD to 3000 DZD with different data bundles and validity.