American Samoa: Best Prepaid SIM Card Buying Guide (2023)

American Samoa – often grouped or confused with Samoa (formerly Western Samoa) – is an unincorporated territory of the United States. What that means is beyond the scope of this guide. But American Samoa is part of the United States but not entirely (it is not a state).

But that does not mean there is nothing to do on this beautiful island. Not only is the nature stunning, but the beaches are too. There are plenty of (high-end) resorts to stay at and beautiful marine life to see – you better share those photos and videos online.

The issue, however, is that posting on social media while roaming can be extremely expensive. If you do not watch out, excessive roaming bills could bankrupt you.

Alright, I am exaggerating here, but I would not recommend roaming in American Samoa – unless your operator allows you to roam for free (which they probably will not).

Instead, get a local American Samoan SIM card. Local SIM cards are (almost) always the cheapest option to stay connected. And there is something special about American Samoan.

You can get a Bluesky American Samoa SIM card for free in their official stores. If you recharge more than 5 USD, you will get 3 GB, 500 local minutes, and 1000 local SMS (all valid for 7 days) as a sign-up bonus. A data plan with 3 GB of data for 5 days will cost you 6 USD.

Now, Oceania is not the cheapest travel region (but it may be the most stunning), but free SIM cards AND reasonably priced data rates always excite me. Then again, I have a whole blog and YouTube channel dedicated to traveling with your phone – of course SIM cards excite me.

Even though there is only one accessible operator in American Samoa, there are quite a few things you need to know before getting yourself an American Samoan SIM card.

In this guide, I will go over everything you need to know about buying a SIM card in American Samoa. Let's go.

Original publication: 19th of January 2020. Last updated: 16th of September 2023.

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Table of Contents

Can You Buy a SIM Card in American Samoa?

Anyone living or visiting American Samoa can buy a local SIM card from Bluesky American Samoa without restrictions.

Do note that you have to go through a SIM card registration process. Moreover, you need to have a device that supports the frequencies used in American Samoa to use your phone in the country (regardless of wanting to roam or using an American Samoan SIM card).

Where can You Buy a SIM Card in American Samoa?

You can get an American Samoan SIM card in the stores of Bluesky America Samoa. They are available for free.

Can You Use Your Phone in American Samoa?

American Samoa uses GSM and CDMA technology for mobile telecommunications services. Bluesky American Samoa has GSM networks. ASTCA has CDMA networks. However, ASTCA has rolled out a 4G/LTE network (GSM-compatible) in recent years. But only ASTCA approved devices can use its network.

As ASTCA's approved device list is unknown at the time of writing, it will not be covered in this guide. Once it is known, however, the guide will be updated accordingly.

As there is a 99% chance you have a phone that supports GSM, Bluesky American Samoa would be your only option. You could roam on ASTCA's network for those with a CDMA phone but not use their SIM card (CDMA phones do not have SIM card slots as GSM phones do), but roaming is expensive.

American Samoa uses traditional American frequencies, which are mainly used in the Americas (North-, Central– & South America + the Caribbean – ITU Region 2).

Although American Samoa is officially part of Oceania, it is an unincorporated territory of the United States, which is one of the various reasons why it uses American frequencies over European frequencies, unlike other places in Oceania.

Other parts of the world (Africa, Asia (including the Middle East), Europe, and Oceania – ITU Regions 1 & 3) use European frequencies, which are different from the American frequencies.

If you purchased your phone in the Americas (ITU Region 2), you should not experience any issues with using your phone in American Samoa.

If you bought your phone in Africa, Asia, Europe, or Oceania (ITU Regions 1 & 3) and have a low/medium-end device without Tri-Band or Quad-Band support, then there is a possibility you cannot use your phone when in American Samoa or can only use slower networks (3G or 2G).

If you have a medium/high-end device with Tri-Band or Quad-Band support, you can use your phone in American Samoa (to some extent) – also on 4G/LTE.

Mobile Operators, Networks & Frequencies in American Samoa

American Samoa has one GSM mobile network operator offering prepaid services easily accessible to travelers:

• Bluesky American Samoa

The following frequencies are used in American Samoa:

• 2G: 850 MHz & 1900 MHz
• 3G: 850 MHz
• 4G/LTE: 700 MHz (Band 12) & 1900 MHz (Band 2)

You can learn more about frequencies in the video below.

To check whether your phone will work in American Samoa, check out this page by Kimovil or this one by Will My Phone Work (outdated, unfortunately, but extremely user-friendly – useful for phones launched in or before 2019. It does not check for 5G NR compatibility).

Again, make sure your phone is unlocked. Otherwise, you will not be able to use any SIM card except the one from your home operator (meaning you have to roam internationally or buy another unlocked phone that does support the frequencies listed above).

If you want to learn how international roaming works, this guide explains it in-depth. If you wonder why it is often so expensive to roam, this article explains the hidden reason they do not want you to know.

5G NR in American Samoa

5G is not available in American Samoa as of April 2021.

However, the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has held auctions for the 3500 MHz (n77) frequency in September 2020 (Auction 105 spectrum sale). Bluesky (AST Telecom) was a qualified bidder, but it is unknown whether they won any licenses. Therefore, it is unknown if and when 5G will be available in American Samoa.

If you love reading long federal documents, you can read the FCC releases here.

Best SIM Card in American Samoa

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SIM Card Registration in American Samoa

SIM card registration with your passport information is required in American Samoa. It will be done at the point of purchase.

American Samoa Prices & Insights

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Currency in American Samoa

American Samoa uses the US Dollar with the symbol USD (which will be used throughout this guide).

American Samoan Prepaid SIM Cards

Below, I will guide you through Bluesky American Samoa and go through:

• Background information
• Mobile coverage
• SIM card types, prices, and availability
• Recharge/top-up information
• Combo plans, data plans, and special packs (such as social media packs) 

With that being said, let’s see what American Samoa has to offer to us.

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Bluesky American Samoa

Bluesky American Samoa, just Bluesky, is the only GSM operator in American Samoa. It used to also be active in Samoa as Bluesky Samoa, but it has rebranded into Vodafone Samoa instead.

Bluesky uses the following frequencies:

• 2G: 850 MHz & 1900 MHz
• 3G: 850 MHz
• 4G/LTE: 700 MHz (Band 12) & 1900 MHz (Band 2)

This is what you will learn about Bluesky:

* Coverage
* How to Get a Bluesky SIM Card & SIM Card Price
* Topping-Up Options & Methods
* Plans & Packages
* APN/Internet Settings

Coverage – Bluesky American Samoa

Bluesky has extensive coverage throughout American Samoa.

Almost all of Tutuila Island, American Samoa's main island, is covered. However, coverage up north around the coast may be spotty or non-existent. Do not expect (good) coverage on Manu'a Islands and Swains Island.

Below is BlueSky's coverage map produced by Speedtest:

SIM Card Price – Bluesky American Samoa

You can check your Bluesky phone number by dialing *888#.

You can get a Bluesky SIM card for free in Bluesky stores. When you eCharge 5 USD or more, you will get 3 GB, 500 local minutes, and 1000 local SMS (all valid for 7 days) as a signup bonus.

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Top-Up, Recharge & Balance Check – Bluesky American Samoa

Packages, Plans, Bundles & Offers – Bluesky American Samoa

Bluesky has four data-featured prepaid plans:

• Seki Bundles (combo)
• 2-4-6-10 Plans (data)
• Other Data Bundles
• Mega Data Bundles

All Bluesky plans can be activated by dialing *888#.

I will list all the prices in USD (United States Dollar).

To convert USD to your currency (let's say EUR – Euro) with up-to-date exchange rates, use the Wise Currency Converter tool.

Seki Bundles – Bluesky American Samoa

The Seki Bundles are combo plans with data (without 5G NR access), minutes & SMS.

Price	Plan	Data	Local Minutes	Local SMS	Validity
5 USD	Seki 5	3 GB	50	50	24 Hours
15 USD	Seki 15	10 GB	150	150	7 days
25 USD	Seki 25	20 GB	250	250	15 days

2-4-6-10 Plans – Bluesky American Samoa

The 2-4-6-10 Plans are data bundles (without 5G NR access).

The following 2-4-6-10 Plans are available, which can be activated by dialing *888#:

Price	Plan	Data	Validity
2 USD	$2 Plan	2 GB	24 hours
4 USD	$4 Plan	3 GB	24 hours
6 USD	$6 Plan	5 GB	5 days
10 USD	$10 Plan	8 GB	5 days
25 USD	$25 Plan	20 GB	15 days
35 USD	$35 Plan	30 GB	15 days

2-4-6-10 Plans auto-renew. To disable auto-renewal, dial *888#.

Other Data Bundles – Bluesky American Samoa

The Other Data Bundles are, as the name implies, data plans (without 5G NR access).

The following Other Data Bundles are available, which can be activated by dialing *888#:

Price	Plan	Data	Validity
4.99 USD	Night Owl Data Bundle	Unlimited	11pm-6:59am
20 USD	$20 Atamai Bundle	1 GB Daily	30 days

Mega Data Bundles – Bluesky American Samoa

Price	Plan	Data	Validity
50 USD	$50 Plan	50 GB	30 days
60 USD	$60 Plan	60 GB	30 days

APN/Internet Settings – Bluesky American Samoa

• Name: Blyesky
• APN: 4g.bluesky

Note: leave anything not mentioned above untouched.

Jump back to the Table of Contents.

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The Preferred Way to Stay Connected When Traveling in American

Getting a SIM card Bluesky American Samoa when considering an American Samoan SIM card.