Basics
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the Southern Pacific. It's not considered part of the EU and hence EU roaming regulations don't apply. International providers will most likely charge high rates when roaming in New Caledonia. This includes French providers from the mainland who will also consider New Caledonia as an overseas destination like some other French overseas territories.
In New Caledonia there is only a monopoly provider called OPT that charges quite high data rates like in many small island nations with only one mobile network. VoIP (Skype, Whatsapp calls, Viber) is blocked too, what makes IDD calls very expensive too. While data on a local SIM card in New Caledonia may seem expensive at first glance, it still remains cheaper than using a SIM on roaming. No international roaming SIM on the market can beat the cheapest data packages on a local SIM card costing the equivalent of US$0.10 per MB.
Mobile service is on different frequencies depending on the part of the country you are in: 2G is on 900 MHz, 3G is on 900 MHz in the countryside and 2100 MHz in cities. 4G/LTE has started in 2015 on 800, 1800 and 2600 MHz, but is not available for prepaid so far. Coverage is good in most towns along the coast and reaches a fair distance off-shore as well, but be warned that coverage can be poor in the mountains.
OPT
OPT for L’Office des Postes et Télécommunications de Nouvelle-Calédonie is the only provider. It's a public enterprise founded in 2003. They care for banking and postal services as well as telecommunication like landline, ADSL and the mobile phone service. For the last sector OPT has a good coverage checker.
Availability
A SIM card can only be purchased from any OPT store in New Caledonia. There are currently around 50 stores across the country) and you will need to show photo ID (a passport is fine for tourists) when buying a SIM card. Buying the SIM card is 6195 XPF and comes with 3000 XPF credit included which is valid for 90 days.
Their prepaid SIM is called Liberté (freedom in French) and all other SIMs or plans (called forfaits) have a minimum commitment of 6 months which makes them unsuitable for visitors.
Recharge
Recharges can be purchased from OPT Stores or most news agencies and can be recharged by calling a number and entering in the voucher number. This is done in French, but a local in the shop can help if you ask. These denominations are sold:
- 1050 XPF: 1000 XPF credit valid for 120 days
- 3150 XPF: 3000 XPF credit plus 10 local SMS valid for 150 days
- 5250 XPF: 5000 XPF credit plus 20 local SMS valid for 180 days
Credit validity can added to the previous expiry date of credit on the SIM to a limit of 365 days. Some examples of this: activated SIM (has a 90 days expiry) + 5250 XPF recharge (180 days expiry) + 1050 XPF Recharge (120 days expiry) => new expiry date is 365 days due to the 365 day limit. Activated SIM (with 90 days expiry) + 5250 XPF recharge (180 days expiry) => new expiry date is 270 days.
For balance check dial 1088 (for free) and press 1 and 1. For topping up dial 1088 and press 2 and enter the PIN code of the voucher.
Data Prices
Data on the SIM card must be added by SMS code IMD using SIM credit. Unless a data package is loaded onto the SIM you will be unable to access any data services.
| Data Volume | Period | max. Speed | Price | Activation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 MB (#) | 1 hour | 1 Mbps | 100 XPF | 'IMD' to 1110 |
| 20 MB | 24 hours | 2 Mbps | 210 XPF | 'IMD' to 1120 |
| 20 MB (#) | 24 hours | 2 Mbps | 420 XPF | 'IMD' to 1111 |
| 1 GB | 4 hours | 4 Mbps | 2100 XPF | 'IMD' to 1179 |
Data on the (#) bundles is "unlimited". After included high speed volume is used up, speed will be throttled to 254 Kbps. Data on the other packages will be shut off having reached quota. For activation, text code 'IMD' to the respective number. To check data consumption, text 'IM' to 1088 (for free).
More Info
- currently all VoIP, peer to peer and newsgroups are blocked when using their prepaid service
- APN: IM
- Website : http://www.opt.nc/ (in French)