Guinea: 3 Best Prepaid SIM Cards Buying Guide (2023)

Guinea, also known as Guinea-Conakry, is often confused with Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea, which is understandable. Guinea-Bissau is a neighboring country in the North-West of Guinea, while Equatorial Guinea is on the west coast of Central Africa. Each of these Guineas have a lot to offer.

Guinea has Fouta Djallon, which is a highland region with a lot of rivers and farks. In Conakry, the capital of Guinea, you can find the Grande Mosquée de Conakry. In Kindia, you can find amazing waterfalls. All of these attractions are social-media-worthy!

In fact, you probably want to share your Guinea experiences online but are worried about roaming costs. Roaming can be expensive in many cases, which is why many travelers prefer to buy local SIM cards, like a Guinean one, to take advantage of local rates.

Mobile data rates are low in Guinea, compared to the world average, which is another reason why you should take advantage of it.

In this article, I will go over everything you need to know about buying a SIM card in Guinea. Let’s do this.

Original publication: 16th of June 2020. Last updated: 17th of February 2023.

---

Table of Contents

Mobile Operators, Networks, and Frequencies in Guinea

Guinea has 3 mobile operators offering prepaid services easily accessible to travelers:

• Orange Guinea (Orange Guinée)
• MTN Guinea (MTN Guinée)
• Cellcom Guinea (Cellcom Guinée)

All operators have 2G and 3G networks. Only Orange Guinea has a 4G/LTE network since 2019. Both MTN Guinea and Cellcom Guinea have not been awarded a 4G/LTE network as of yet.

The following frequencies are used by the Guinean operators:

• 2G: 900 MHz & 1800 MHz
• 3G: 2100 MHz
• 4G/LTE: 1800 MHz (Band 3)

Best SIM Card in Guinea

---

SIM Card Registration Regulations in Guinea

Like most countries in West Africa, and Africa in general, you have to register your SIM card with your passport details when buying a SIM card in Guinea.

Currency in Guinea

Guinea uses the Guinean Franc with the symbol GNF (which will be used throughout this article). Prices in Guinea are listed in GNF. For reference, below are some exchange rates between GNF and USD (US Dollars):

• 100 GNF: 0.01 USD
• 1000 GNF 0.10 USD
• 10 000 GNF: 1.15 USD
• 100 000 GNF: 11.40 USD
• 1 000 000 GNF: 113.95 USD
• 10 000 000 GNF: 1139.45 USD

Guinean Prepaid SIM Cards

Below, I will guide you through the Guinean Telecom operators, Orange Guinea, MTN Guinea, and Cellcom Guinea, and go through:

• Background information
• 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 Guinea has to offer to us.

Orange Guinea

Orange Guinea, officially called Orange Guinée and will just be referred to as “Orange,” is the largest operator in Guinea, and they have the best coverage in the country. Orange is also the only Guinean operator to have a 4G/LTE network, which, by default, makes them the fastest operator in Guinea.

Orange’s 4G/LTE covers the following cities and regions:

Getting an Orange Guinea SIM Card

Orange has several types of prepaid SIM cards, but the SIM Orange, costing 5000 GNF, will give you the best value and will work with all the combo- and data plans. The SIM Orange can be bought in Orange stores and at Conakry Gbessia International Airport (in the arrival hall). Make sure to ask for the USIM if you want to take advantage of Orange’s 4G/LTE network.

The SIM Orange comes with the following perks:

• 5000 GNF in credit
• 100 GNF bonus credit for 6 months
• 100 SMS for 5 days

Topping Up Your Orange Guinea SIM Card

Orange recharge cards for the SIM Orange start from 5000 GNF all the way up to 250 000 GNF. When you top-up at least 30 000 GNF, you start getting bonus credit (from 3000 GNF – 10% – to 50 000 GNF – 25%). Orange top-up cards are widely available. To recharge, dial *123*VoucherCode#. For example, if your voucher code is 123456, you would dial *123*123456#. Dial *124# to check your Orange balance.

Orange Guinea Internet Packages, Plans, Bundles & Offers

Insert list of plans

Orange Les Pass Internet

The Les Pass Internet are data-only bundles, although some of the daily passes come with SMS and minutes. The internet passes come in daily, nightly, weekly, and monthly variants. You can activate a Pass Internet by dialing *222#.

Orange Pass Internet Jour (Day)

The Pass Internet Jour, meaning daily internet passes, are available for 24 hours and come in 4 variants:

Price	Data	SMS	Minutes
980 GNF	30 MB	30 SMS	N/A
1950 GNF	100 MB	50 SMS	N/A
2950 GNF	150 MB	30 on-net SMS	2000 GNF airtime
6400 GNF	350 MB	50 on-net SMS	4000 GNF airtime

Orange Pass Internet Nuit (Night)

The Pass Internet Nuit, meaning night internet passes, can be used between 12 AM and 7 AM. They can be activated online or on the Orange app. They and come in 3 versions:

• 1000 GNF: 150 MB
• 2500 GNF: 400 MB
• 6000 GNF: 1 GB

Orange Pass Internet Semaine (Week)

The Pass Internet Semaine, meaning weekly internet passes, are valid for 7 days and come in 2 variants:

• 14 000 GNF: 800 MB
• 31 000 GNF: 1.8 GB

Orange Pass Internet Mois (Month)

The Pass Internet Mois, meaning monthly internet passes, are valid for 30 days and come in 3 variants:

• 50 000 GNF: 3 GB
• 105 000 GNF: 6.5 GB
• 185 000 GNF: 15 GB

Other Types of Orange Data Passes

Orange has 2 other types of data plans:

• Orange Internet Everywhere
• Orange Domino

Both Internet Everywhere and Domino require you to purchase equipment (USD stick or a pocket WIFI device). They are priced at 125 000 GNF and 360 000 for the Internet Everywhere and Domino equipment, respectively.

Although they are still affordable, depending on what you are used to at home, the data allowances are less generous compared to Les Pass Internet, which have a small start-up cost of 5000 GNF, the SIM Orange itself. That is why those plans have not been mentioned, but more information about Internet Everywhere and Domino can be found by clicking the links (the site is in French, though).

Orange Guinea APN Settings

In most cases, your phone will retrieve the correct APN settings automatically. If you need to enter it manually, then you need the following details (do not add anything not mentioned below):

• APN: internetogn

MTN Guinea

MTN Guinea, officially called MTN Guinée and will just be referred to as “MTN,” is the second-largest operator in Guinea. Their coverage is slightly worse than the one of Orange, and they do not have a 4G/LTE network (yet). It looks like MTN has not been awarded a 4G/LTE license yet.

Getting an MTN Guinea SIM Card

MTN SIM cards, called MTN Seconde, are sold for 5000 GNF in MTN stores. The SIM card comes 5000 GNF in credit (4000 GNF for on-net use and 1000 for off-net use), 30 SMS for 30 days, and 30 MB until midnight.

MTN has a combo plan called MTN Cool+ and data plans called Offres Internet.

MTN Cool+

MTN Cool+ are combo plans that come with data and minutes. They come in the following 6 variants, which can be activated by dialing *100*5#:

Price	Data	SMS	Validity
2500 GNF	200 MB	10 SMS	24 hours
2750 GNF	200 MB	10 SMS	2 days
4000 GNF	400 MB	10 SMS	24 hours
4400 GNF	400 MB	10 SMS	2 days
5000 GNF	1 GB	N/A	1 night (11 PM – 6 AM)
10 000 GNF	1 GB	10 SMS/day (max. 70 SMS)	7 days

MTN Offres Internet

The Offres Internet offers are data-only bundles. They come in 4 variants: daily, 48 hours, weekly, and monthly.

MTN Internet Forfaits Jour (Day)

The Forfaits Jour, meaning daily offers, are valid for 24 hours and come in the following 4 variants:

• 1000 GNF: 40 MB. Activation: dial *100*3*1000#
• 2000 GNF: 120 MB. Activation: dial *100*3*2000#
• 3000 GNF: 250 MB. Activation: dial *100*3*3000#
• 5000 GNF: 500 MB. Activation: dial *100*3*5000#

MTN Internet Forfaits 48H (48 Hours)

The Forfaits 48H are internet bundles that are valid for 48 hours. They come in 4 versions:

• 1500 GNF: 60 MB. Activation: dial *100*3*1500#
• 2500 GNF: 140 MB. Activation: dial *100*3*3500#
• 4000 GNF: 300 MB. Activation: dial *100*3*4000#
• 5500 GNF: 500 MB. Activation: dial *100*3*5500#

MTN Internet Forfaits Semaine (Week)

The Forfaits Semaine, meaning weekly offers, are valid for 7 days and come in the following 3 variants:

• 10 000 GNF: 650 MB. Activation: dial *100*3*10000#
• 15 000 GNF: 1.3 GB. Activation: dial *100*3*15000#
• 30 000 GNF: 2.5 GB. Activation: dial *100*3*30000#

MTN Internet Forfaits Mois (Month)

The Forfaits Mois, meaning monthly offers, are valid for 30 days. They come in 5 versions:

• 40 000 GNF: 2.5 GB. Activation: dial *100*3*40000#
• 75 000 GNF: 5 GB. Activation: dial *100*3*75000#
• 110 000 GNF: 7.5 GB. Activation: dial *100*3*110000#
• 190 000 GNF: 15 GB. Activation: dial *100*3*190000#
• 335 000 GNF: 30 GB. Activation: dial *100*3*355000#

MTN Guinea APN Settings

In most cases, your phone will retrieve the correct APN settings automatically. If you need to enter it manually, then you need the following details (do not add anything not mentioned below):

• APN: internet.areeba.com.gn OR internet

Cellcom Guinea

Cellcom Guinea, officially called Cellcom Guinée and will just be referred to as “Cellcom,” is the smallest operator in Guinea with the worst coverage in Guinea. However, their coverage does reach all cities and most large towns. Just like MTN, Cellcom does not have a 4G/LTE network (yet).

Getting a Cellcom Guinea SIM Card

Cellcom data SIM cards, called 3G+, are sold for 5000 GNF in Cellcom stores. They come with 2000 GNF in credit and 25 SMS.

Cellcom’s data plans are called Internet 3G+ Sans Limites. They come in 3 groups: Cellcom Mini, Celcom Petit, and Cellcom Maxi. The difference between these groups is the data allowances you get:

• Cellcom Mini plans are plans from 50 MB up to 500 MB
• Cellcom Petit plans start from 1 GB to 5 GB
• Cellcom Maxi plans start from 10 GB to 100 GB

All Internet 3G+ Sans Limites plans are valid for 30 days.

The following 11 Internet 3G+ Sans Limites plans are available:

• 1000 GNF: 50 MB. Activation: dial *777*50#
• 2000 GNF: 100 MB. Activation: dial *777*100#
• 10 000 GNF: 500 MB. Activation: dial *777*500#
• 20 000 GNF: 1 GB. Activation: dial *777*1#
• 40 000 GNF: 2 GB. Activation: dial *777*2#
• 60 000 GNF: 3 GB. Activation: dial *777*3#
• 80 000 GNF: 4 GB. Activation: dial *777*4#
• 100 000 GNF: 5 GB. Activation: dial *777*5#
• 200 000 GNF: 10 GB. Activation: dial *777*10#
• 1 000 000 GNF: 50 GB. Activation: in a Cellcom store
• 2 000 000 GNF: 100 GB. Activation: in a Cellcom store

Cellcom Guinea APN Settings

In most cases, your phone will retrieve the correct APN settings automatically. If you need to enter it manually, then you need the following details (do not add anything not mentioned below):

• APN: internet.cellcom.com

The Preferred Way to Stay Connected When Traveling in Guinea

Getting a SIM card from Orange (best coverage and fastest speeds) would do you well when considering a Guinean SIM card.