Tanzania?
 

I'll be in Tanzania for about 10 days in December and January, mostly in the national wildlife park areas (Lake Manyara, Serengeti, Ngorongoro). I would probably want one SIM to put in my phone, and another to put in a mifi device to be used for data. Any suggestions as to who has the best coverage in these areas? Who has the best voice and data rates (around 1GB)?

I believe vodacom is the largest carrier there. Zain is also another carrier. I am assuming it's like Nigeria, where by you can buy sim card on the street for pretty much almost free and with a little startup credit. Buying topups should be easy. Just get there and you should be able to get a sim and topup easily.

Thanks. I did see that Vodacom had a "bolt-on" 1GB package for what works out to be about $27. I'll also check out Zain. But the real issue is coverage and 3G data. I was in Tanzania in 2007, and was amazed that people were getting cell service inside the national parks -- I often can't even do that in the U.S. I had previously been there in 1999, and saw hardly any cell phones. But I don't know what carrier they were using or whether any carrier now has 3G coverage in those areas.

I have a friend who is a guide there. I'll ask him.

My friend said that Vodacom and Zain provide coverage throughout the country, including the parks. This is mostly GPRS/EDGE/GSM, but you can get 3G in the cities.

Vodacom details its offerings and prices on it's website. Zain was recently acquired by AirTel India, and currently appears to have no real website, just a placeholder.