Basics
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, also known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean Sea. To the north of St. Vincent lies Saint Lucia, to the east Barbados. Its 389 km2 territory consists of the main island of St. Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, which are a chain of smaller islands. They are a densely populated country with approximately 100,000 inhabitants.
Like on many small Caribbean islands there are these two usual providers:
- Digicel St. Vincent
- Flow SVG
Flow is the incumbent provider on the islands and Digicel came to the Caribbean 2001-6 to end this monopoly.
2G is on 900 MHz, while Flow uses 850 MHz for 3G and Digicel 1900 MHz. While Digicel had previously marketed their 3G/HSPA+ as "4G" network, real 4G/LTE has started in December 2018 with Digicel on 700 MHz (B17) and 1900 MHz (B2) and Flow on 1900 MHz (B2). Mobile coverage is generally good on St. Vincent, but can be patchy in the Grenadines.
Prices are given in East Caribbean dollar (EC$) that is fixed to the US$: US$1 = EC$2.70. Taxes are included.
Digicel St. Vincent
Digicel started in 2003 in SVG to challenge the monopoly of Lime that is called now Flow. Their network is generally on par at 98% of the population in the SVG. Digicel has reached about 2/3 of the market share.
Digicel commercially launched the first 4G/LTE network in SVG in December 2018. The new 4G/LTE data network work with its existing "4G" (3G/HSPA-based, but 4G-branded) network covers more than 65% of residents on mainland St. Vincent; and will soon have 100% coverage across all of SVG.
Availability
SIM card is for EC$ 15 in their stores (locator) with some credit on. Be prepared to show a passport for purchase. Free 4G/LTE SIM card upgrades for those with older non-LTE SIM cards.
Top-ups can be made online by credit card without surcharges or by vouchers sold all over the islands. Digitel offers CreditU where you can top-up one number by another: dial *128*<receiving mobile no.>*<top-up amount>#. Wait for confirmation and then dial *128*1# to confirm. EC$ 0.50 is charged for this service.
Dial *120# to check your account balance.
Data feature packages
Default rate is at EC$ 0.95 per MB. They offer these combo plans with 4G/LTE:
| Data | Calls | Time | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 300 MB | 50 mins | 1 day | EC$ 4 |
| 750 MB | 100 mins | 3 days | EC$ 10 |
| 1 GB | 150 mins | 5 days | EC$ 16 |
| 2 GB | 300 mins | 7 days | EC$ 25 |
| 8 GB | 1500 mins | 30 days | EC$ 90 |
Unlimited WhatsApp messaging and Digicel on-net calls are included. To activate a data plan or check your data balance on a data plan, dial *140#. Plans auto-renew. For more data you can add:
- 500 MB: EC$ 10
- 1 GB: EC$ 15
- 4 GB: EC$ 40
Digicel also sells an "unlimited" data plan with "unlimited" data (35 GB), 500 local all-net minutes and 400 on-net SMS all valid for 7 days ar EC$ 35. Activation is online or through the app.
International roaming
Digicel sells their Easy Roaming Plan.This service allows Digicel customers travelling to the USA, Canada and all other Digicel Caribbean territories to call, text and use data at discounted rates. You will need to connect to AT&T or T-Mobile in the US, Rogers in Canada or any Caribbean Digicel networks. To activate Roam like you are Home dial *153# and send:
- 100 MB for 1 day: EC$ 16.20
- 700 MB for 7 days: EC$ 81
- 3 GB for 30 days: EC$ 243
More info
- APN: web.digiceloecs.com
- Website: http://www.digicelgroup.com/vc/en/mobile.html
Flow
Flow, up to 2015 called Lime and since rebranded, is the incumbent provider in St. Vincent. It's operated by Cable & Wireless that has been sold to Liberty Global. It lost customers to Digicel and retains about a 1/3 share of the market in SVG while both networks are on par.
4G/LTE has been launched in December 2018 in the capital of Kingstown and surrounding areas on Band 2 (1900 MHz) which is more limited than that of Digicel.
Availability
Their SIM card is sold in their stores (locator) and some other places for EC$ 10 with some credit preloaded, with free LTE SIM upgrades for those with older SIM cards. Be prepared to show your passport/ID card at the point of purchase.
Top-ups between EC$ 5 and EC$ 200 can be made online or anywhere all over the island. Any top-up stays valid for 90 days irrespective of the amount.
Check your balance by *120#.
Data feature packages
Default rate outside packages is a high EC$ 1.20 per MB. They offer these 4G/3G combo plans with free WhatsApp (up to 1 GB) in speeds up to 4G/LTE:
| Data | Calls | Texts | Time | Price | Activation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 MB | 50 mins | 50 SMS | 1 day | EC$ 4.99 | *244*0# |
| 300 MB | 100 mins | 100 SMS | 3 days | EC$ 9.99 | *244*1# |
| 500 MB | 300 mins | 300 SMS | 7 days | EC$ 25.99 | *244*2# |
| 1 GB | 1000 mins | 1000 SMS | 7 days | EC$ 34.99 | *244*3# |
| 3 GB | unlimited | unlimited | 30 days | EC$ 99.99 | *244*4# |
These data-only packages are offered:
| Data | Time | Price | Activation |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 MB | 1 day | EC$ 3.99 | *146*100# |
| 300 MB | 3 days | EC$ 8.99 | *146*300# |
| 500 MB | 7 days | EC$ 14.99 | *146*507# |
| 1 GB | 7 days | EC$ 24.99 | *146*1007# |
| 1 GB | 30 days | EC$ 39.99 | *146*1000# |
| 3 GB | 30 days | EC$ 69.99 | *146*3000# |
| 7 GB | 30 days | EC$ 99.99 | *146*5000# |
More info
- APN: ppinternet