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Andorra Telecom Review: Honestly, It Is Excellent but Pricey (+Speedtests)

I visited Andorra in March 2022.

It was my first time actually staying in Andorra and not just passing the country to head to Spain from France.

Andorra was a short stop of my more extensive one-month European trip, where I visited Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Italy, Malta, Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia & Slovenia.

Not only was I excited to travel again after being home for a year, but I also had the opportunity to try out SIM cards (again).

Yeah… I am kind of weird – welcome to Phone Travel Wiz 🤪.

But I am the good kind of weird, I would say (but a weird person would not say they are bad weird, of course 🥴.

If you have read any of my SIM card buying guides before or watched a YouTube video of mine, you know that I am crazy enough to buy and test many SIM cards.

If this is your first Phone Travel Wiz review – welcome.

I buy and test all/most SIM cards in a country and tell you which ones are the best so that you do not have to 😎.

You only have one mobile operator in Andorra, so no comparison was needed like I do in most other countries.

But should you spend your travel money on an Andorran SIM card or rely on free WiFi hotspots instead?

Or even worse – roam internationally?

Well, I decided to buy an Andorra Telecom SIM card and try it out – and I will share my experience in this review.

Let's get started, shall we?

Andorra Telecom Review by Phone Travel Wiz

Original publication: 24th of May 2022. Last updated: 15th of January 2024.


Table of Contents

Who is Andorra Telecom?

Andorra Telecom Logo
© Andorra Telecom

Andorra Telecom is the sole telecommunications operator in Andorra.

It offers broadband, mobile & internet services in the country

Andorra Telecom is wholly owned by the Andorran government.

As the government has no competition in terms of telecommunications services in the country, it has little incentive to bring the prices of Andorra Telecom's services down.

However, the prices of prepaid plans have gone down in recent years, but things are still expensive compared to France and Spain – Andorra's neighbors.

Andorra Telecom SIM Card Holder Front

I do not have much more to say about Andorra Telecom specifically.

So let's talk about its coverage.

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Andorra Telecom Coverage + My Experience

I actually want to say something before I discuss Andorra Telecom's coverage.

There are some reports on the web saying that you can simply use a French or Spanish SIM card because those mobile operators cover the whole country with their antennas.

While Andorra is indeed a small country, it is not like Vatican City – Andorra has a population of more than 77 000.

I tried using my Spanish SIM cards in Andorra without enabling data roaming – the workaround did not work.

In fact, reception became worse the closer I got to Andorra.

Sure, you can often still use your home SIM card if you are close to, or next to Andorra.

But not with Spanish SIM cards – reception starts getting spotty about 5 kilometers away from the Andorra-Spain border.

You may have better luck with a French SIM card, but I doubt it.

Alright, enough about that.

Normally, I take the findings of Opensignal and Speedtest to set the stage forwhat type of coverage you can expect with the mobile operator I am reviewing.

However, as Andorra is so tiny, the two companies have not bothered to make reports about Andorra.

I do not blame them… especially when there is only one mobile operator in the country.

So, how was my coverage experience with Andorra Telecom?

Incredible, I have to say.

Andorra Telecom SIM Card Holder Back

I have to admit that I only stayed in Andorra la Vella (the capital) and the south of the country (to and from the Duana de Sant Julià de Lòria border).

And of course coverage is excellent in the capital, but also when you are on the road.

You should have good to great coverage in other Andorran towns and even up the mountains.

But you should expect some blackspots when snowboarding down the mountains.

While Andorra Telecom was supposed to offer 5G NR in Andorra la Vella, I never had 5G NR reception during the trip.

You may have better luck now 😁.

Here you have Andorra Telecom's coverage map:

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How to Get an Andorra Telecom SIM Card & Prices + Plans, Bundles & Offers

So, how to get an Andorra Telecom SIM card?

Unlike many countries in Europe, especially the European Union, you have to visit an Andorra Telecom store to get your SIM card.

That is because of the SIM card registration laws in Andorra – SIM card registration is mandatory.

You just have to present your passport (or ID if you are from a European Union nation – even though Andorra is not part of the EU).

  • Find out which countries have a SIM card registration regulations and what is required from you (lookup tool)
SIM Card Registration Worldwide Tool by Phone Travel Wiz

Andorran SIM cards are not sold by third parties, like grocery stores or convenience stores like in many other countries.

I bought my Andorra Telecom SIM card at the store called Botiga in Andorra la Vella

But here is a store locator in case you visit another place in Andorra.

Andorra Telecom Store

As I entered, an intimidating security guard asked me what I needed before being directed to the reception.

According to Google Maps reviews, others have had much worse experiences, so I cannot complain, I guess 💀.

Back in the day, many years ago, you would pay 60 EUR for an Andorra Telecom SIM card, which was crazy.

Later, the price dropped to 30 EUR with 30 EUR credit, and you could sometimes get the SIM card for 15 EUR with 15 EUR credit.

Nowadays, you can get an Andorra Telecom SIM card for free if you buy it together with a plan.

Andorra Telecom SIM Card Front

Honestly… I do not think they will let you out the door with just a SIM card nowadays, ha.

Before I tell you more about the plans, be aware that (almost) nobody will speak English at Andorra Telecom stores.

At least in the store I visited, they will deal with you in Catalan, French, or Spanish.

Luckily, my broken spoken French was good enough to interact with the salesperson.

Still, I wanted you to know about this – you may have to use Google Translate in the shops.

Okay, back to the plans – you have two prepaid plans with Andorra Telecom: Tarifa S costing 9 EUR or Tarifa M costing 19 EUR.

Below are the details:

PricePlanDataLocal MinutesValidity
9 EURS Rate1 GB20 minutes30 days
19 EURM Rate3 GB60 minutes30 days
Andorra Telecom Plans Folder

As I mentioned in the coverage section, you also get (free) 5G NR access with Andorra Telecom prepaid plans.

The salesperson told me that 5G NR coverage is limited, but it may be more extensive when you visit Andorra.

The Andorra Telecom salesperson activated the Tarifa M plan for me, with 3 GB of data and 60 local minutes for 30 days, costing 19 EUR.

Andorra Telecom SIM Card Holder Unfolded

After activation was done and the SIM card was inserted into my phone, I was directed to the register, pay, and went on my way again.

You may be thinking that 3 GB for 19 EUR is expensive.

And if you are Canadian, you may think this price is a steal because the Big Three rob you over there 😩.

Anyway, Andorra has the second-highest mobile data prices in Western Europe, according to Cable.co.uk (using their Western Europe definition).

Even with these high mobile data rates, it will almost always be better to get an Andorran SIM card because international roaming rates for Andorra are incredibly high.

But some European Union mobile operators, and I think it is about 20 of them, allow you to use your EU/EEA data allowance in Andorra, even though the country is not in the EU.

Be sure to confirm this before enabling data roaming in Andorra.

Vodafone Spain wanted to charge me 6.05 EUR/MB (yes, MB – not GB) for Andorra data roaming.

That would be 6195 EUR for 1 GB of data – no thanks!

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Andorra Telecom Top-Up, Recharge & Balance Check

Andorra Telecom top-up vouchers are sold in Andorra Telecom stores and partner stores.

I did not have to recharge my Andorra Telecom SIM card because Andorra was a one-day stop on my one-month Europe trip.

But I will still let you know about topping up your Andorra SIM card.

To top up your Andorra Telecom SIM card, call 115 and follow the instructions.

You can also recharge online with (international) debit and credit cards.

Dial *101# to check your Andorra Telecom balance.

You can also top up and check your balance on the Andorra Telecom app (Android/iOS).

Andorra Telecom App
© Andorra Telecom
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Andorra Telecom Speed Test Results

Alright, now it is time to talk about the speeds you can expect to get with Andorra Telecom after covering all the other essential topics like coverage.

I did six speed tests with the Speedtest app in Andorra.

Here are the results:

Andorra Speed Test Results in Andorra la Vella

Honestly, I was surprised to see how fast the speeds were in Andorra.

Because of how mountainous Andorra is, I expected speeds to be much slower (and reception to be much worse).

But I had no speed issues in Andorra, even when on the bus back to Spain.

With an average download speed of 120.30 Mbps and an average upload speed of 26.06 Mbps, you should have a smooth network experience in Andorra.

And I will tell you why.

A download speed of more than 25 Mbps is enough to video stream content @ 4k resolution.

Social media sites that allow for live streaming, like Facebook Live, recommend an upload speed of at least 10 Mbps.

And I got an average upload speed of 26.06 Mbps – more than enough.

So, in short, these speed test results would be more than enough for watching videos at a high resolution and for uploading content like live streams.

But let's take these results to a global level – Andorra is still doing well.

At the time of writing, the global average download speed is 74.87 Mbps – Andorra Telecom is far above this average.

But the average is skewed because of countries like the United Arab Emirates, with an average mobile download speed of 268.87 Mbps (insane!).

So let's look at the global median – 30.75 Mbps. Andorra Telecom's median download speed was 123.87 Mbps.

That is quadruple the global median.

Then again, many countries have yet to roll out 5G NR… but that is why we looked at the median too instead of only the average.

In short, you should have a smooth network experience with Andorra Telecom.

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My Overall Experience with Andorra Telecom – Is It Any Good?

I would recommend Andorra Telecom. Not only because it is your only option in Andorra but because it has an excellent network.

Phone Travel Wiz Approved Seal

Getting an Andorra Telecom SIM card was straightforward, and activation was quick too.

Andorra Telecom SIM Card Back

Having to deal with salespeople who only speak Catalan, French, or Spanish can be a challenge.

But they will have information folders like the one I showed earlier in the store.

And as there are only two prepaid plans, you just have to point at the option you want.

Andorra Telecom Plans in a Booklet

Andorra Telecom has extensive coverage throughout Andorra – also up in the mountains.

You will also have extensive coverage when on the road – even when heading to the Spanish border.

The speeds I got with Andorra Telecom were blazing-fast on 4G/LTE, and I expect even faster speeds on 5G NR (although I did not have the chance to try it out.

But yeah, I have not much more to say.

Andorra Telecom SIM Card Held by Adu from Phone Travel Wiz
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While I love buying, testing & review SIM cards and eSIMs, it is an expensive endeavor.

But it allows me to test the SIM cards in each country extensively.

That way, I can share my experiences with you so that you do not get suckered into a good deal (price-wise) but have a terrible network experience.

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Andorra SIM Card Buying Guide

While I have already mentioned the essential things about Andorra Telecom, I left some nice-to-know topics for my Andorra SIM card buying guide.

Buying a SIM Card in Andorra Guide (logo of Andorra Telecom)