You have two phone options for making calls—going to a telecenter or
buying a cellular phone (commonly referred to as a “mobile”).
A local telecenter is like a payphone—you can make calls from there,
but it is trickier to receive calls. Telecenters are everywhere,
especially in residential area. Calls are bought by the unit, rather
than the minute, with local calls costing far less units than
international calls. Approximately, local calls cost about one dalasi
per minute, while international calls cost about $0.90-$1.10 per
minute. Note that in many telecenters, rates differ depending on the
hour and day—Sunday night calls after 11:00 pm are usually the
cheapest.
The Gambia uses UK and French phone jacks so you may need an adapter
for both types of socket.
Buying a mobile phone, called a “mobile,” is a reasonable option
considering you will be staying in The Gambia for quite some time and
the device (and the cost) can be shared among several people. Mobile
phones from the United States will not work in The Gambia, so don’t
bother bringing them. Mobile phones can be bought at many
Gamtel, Gamcel and
Africell offices. One Africell office is located on Kairaba Avenue, in
the large white building at the junction with Mosque Road (number 73
on “Bakau to Serekunda area” map) Also on Kairaba Avenue, a Gamtel
Office is located slightly past the junction with Post Office Road,
coming from Fajara (number 86).
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Dial out code:
00
Gambia's International Code: 220
There are three parts you must buy to make a mobile function—the
actual phone, a SIM card, and a scratch card. The cheapest
phones run at about $90.00 to $110.00. A SIM card, (a one-time
purchase) plugs in to the phone, hooking you to the network and
providing your unique phone number. Africell SIM cards run
around $18.00; Gamtel SIM cards are a bit cheaper at $11.00.
The final component is a scratch card, which acts a substitute
for the phone plans you buy in America—it gives you a set amount
of talking time. Your scratch cards must be bought to correspond
to the type of phone; i.e. a Gamtel phone card will not work
with an Africell phone. They can be purchased at many local
shops and telecenters—look for the signs that are usually posted
outside the building. Scratch cards can be bought in varying
amounts at the price of about $0.04 per unit, ranging from about
$1.50 to $9.00. Units correspond to minutes by a certain
variable, depending on whom you call—international calls take up
far more units than local calls. For instance, a scratch card
costing about $1.50 will give you about two minutes to talk to
your family in America but about 45 minutes to speak to your
friend in Serekunda. You only need a scratch card to make
outgoing calls—the best part about Gambian mobiles is that
incoming calls (including international calls) are completely
free.
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