Niue: Best Prepaid SIM Card Buying Guide (2023)

Niue – the country with the second smallest population in Oceania ahead of Tokelau.

It is also known for being the largest upraised coral atoll in the world.

Most who visit Niue are doing so to wind down. Relaxing at the beach, chilling at the resort, or sleep all day.

Well, the latter would be some expensive sleep because Niue is not a cheap travel destination.

With plenty of things to see and do, there is a lot to share with your friends and online.

However, it is not possible to roam internationally in Niue – the local operator, Telecom Niue, has no roaming agreements with foreign operators.

Yes, that also applies to mobile operators from New Zealand.

And you should be happy with that. International roaming can be expensive in many cases, so Telecom Niue is doing you a favor to some extent.

In many cases, local SIM cards, like a Niuean one, are affordable and cost nothing compared to standard roaming rates.

So how much do SIM cards cost in Niue?

You can get a regular and a Visitor SIM Telecom Niue SIM card for 10 NZD (6.20 USD) in their store in Alofi South or Niue/Hanan International Airport. 1 GB valid for 60 days will cost you 12 NZD (7.55 USD).

Those prices are not too bad – it could be worse in the region. Especially because Telecom Niue has a monopoly on telecommunications on the island.

Even then, there are many things to explore about SIM cards in Niue.

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

Original publication: 20th of January 2020. Last updated: 17th of April 2023

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Table of Contents

Can You Buy a SIM Card in Niue?

Anyone is allowed to buy a Niuean SIM card, including tourists and visitors.

Be aware that you need a phone that supports the frequencies used in the country (preferably all of them to have the most optimal experience while in Niue).

Where Can You Buy a SIM Card in Niue?

You can get a Niuean SIM card in Telecom Niue stores. They can be found in Alofi South (Commercial Centre – open daily) and Niue International Airport (Hanan International Airport – open on Plane Days).

Plane days are the days when Air New Zealand, the only airline to serve Niue, flies to Niue International Airport. Normally, this is twice a week.

You can expect to pay the following for Niuean SIM cards:

• Niue Telecom: 10 NZD

The following operators also have SIM cards targeting tourists:

• Niue Telecom: 10 NZD

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Can You Use Your Phone in Niue?

Niue uses GSM technology for mobile communications. CDMA phones will not work in Niue However, there is a 99% chance your phone supports GSM (if your phone has a SIM card slot, then it supports GSM).

Besides that, you need to be aware of the ITU Regions to determine whether your phone will work in other parts of the world.

Although there are three ITU Regions, you only need to know these two terms: American Frequencies and European Frequencies.

Africa, Asia (including the Middle East), Europe, and Oceania (ITU Regions 1 & 3) typically use European Frequencies, meaning phones bought in those regions can be used in countries using European Frequencies without issues.

The Americas (North-, Central, and South America + the Caribbean), ITU Region 2, use American Frequencies, which are different from the European Frequencies.

Niue uses European Frequencies for 2G and 4G/LTE – 3G is not available in Niue.

For 4G/LTE, Niue uses a low-band frequency that is both an American Frequency and European Frequency (700 MHz on Band 28). 700 MHz on Band 28 is used in some countries in Central- and South America, Europe, and Oceania. 700 MHz on Band 12 or 13 are typical Bands for American Frequencies.

If you purchased 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 you can get a SIM card from Telecom Niue and use 2G and 4G/LTE. However, do note that 2G cannot be used for mobile data.

If you bought your phone the Americas (ITU Region 2) and have a low/medium-end device (without Tri-Band or Quad-Band) support, then you can get a SIM card from Telecom Niue and only use 4G/LTE on 700 MHz (Band 28).

ou will not have any fallback to 2G because that is on a traditional European Frequency.

If your phone does not support the right frequencies or Bands, then you can rent a Mifi device (mobile router) from Telecom Niue. It will cost 100 NZD, of which 50 NZD is a refundable deposit.

You can connect up to 10 devices to the mobile hotspot.

If you have a medium/high-end device with Tri-Band or Quad-Band support, you can use your phone in Niue without (major) issues – also on 4G/LTE.

Mobile Operators, Networks & Frequencies in Niue

Niue has one mobile network operator offering prepaid services easily accessible to travelers:

• Telecom Niue

The following frequencies are used in Niue:

• 2G: 900 MHz
• 3G: N/A
• 4G/LTE: 700 MHz (Band 28)

You can learn more about frequencies in the video below.

To check whether your phone will work in Niue, 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.

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5G NR in Niue

5G NR is not available in Niue as of 2021, and the Niuean government has not made any indications of when they will auction 5G NR licenses.

Best SIM Card in Niue

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SIM Card Registration in Niue

SIM card registration, with the use of your personal information (such as your passport), is not required when buying a SIM card in Niue.

Niue Internet Prices & Insights

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Currency in Niue

Niue uses the New Zealand Dollar with the symbol NZD (which will be used throughout this guide).

However, prices are often listed as just $ & NZ$. For example, 25 NZD = NZ$/$25.

For reference, below are some exchange rates between NZD and USD (US Dollars):

• 1 NZD = 0.60 USD
• 10 NZD = 6.20 USD
• 100 NZD = 61.01 USD

For up-to-date NZD:USD exchange rates, search NZD to USD on Google, or replace USD with the currency you use.

Niuean Prepaid SIM Cards

Below, I will guide you through Niue Telecom 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 Niue has to offer to us.

Telecom Niue

Telecom Niue is the sole operator of Niue in terms of mobile, landline, and broadband services.

Although the operator became a private company in 2016, the government is the sole shareholder.

Telecom Niue uses the following frequencies:

• 2G: 900 MHz
• 3G: N/A
• 4G/LTE: 700 MHz (Band 28)

This is what you will learn about Telecom Niue:

* Coverage
* How to Get a Telecom Niue SIM Card & SIM Card Price
* Topping Up Options & Methods + Balance Check
* Plans & Packages
* APN/Internet Settings

Coverage – Telecom Niue

Telecom Niue has decent coverage throughout the island.

You will have great reception around the roads.

Go more inland, and you will have to deal with 2G, which you cannot browse the web on, or have no coverage at all.

Below is Telecom's coverage map produced by Speedtest:

SIM Card Price – Telecom Niue

You can get a Telecom Niue SIM card for 10 NZD in the Telecom Niue store in the Commercial Centre in Alofi South or at Niue International Airports (Hanan International Airport).

Short-term visitors and tourists can also get a Telecom Niue Visitor Travel SIM card for 10 NZD.

This SIM card has a short validity, and there is a high probability Telecom Niue will only sell you this SIM card and not one of their regular SIM cards.

The Visitor SIM has a validity of up to 30 days and cannot be extended. However, it is often only valid for 7 or 14 days.

Suppose you are staying in Niue for a prolonged period. In that case, you may be able to convince the staff to sell you a regular SIM card with longer validity.

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Top-Up, Recharge & Balance Check – Telecom Niue

Packages, Plans, Bundles & Offers – Telecom Niue

Telecom has four data-featured prepaid plans, which are:

• Pre Paid Mobile Bundle (combo)
• Visitor Data + Voice + SMS (combo for Visitor SIM)
• Data Only Plans (data-only)
• Visitor Data Plan (data-only for Visitor SIM)

All Niue Telecom plans can be activated in the Telecom Niue store/booth, online, on the phone (call 015), or on the app.

Click on the links above to jump to the plan you are interested in.

Pre Paid Mobile Bundle Plans – Telecom Niue

The Pre Paid Mobile Bundle Plans are combo plans with data, minutes, and SMS.

The following Pre Paid Mobile Bundle Plans can be purchased:

Price	Plan	Data	Local Minutes	Local SMS	Validity
21 NZD	Lite	512 MB	200 minutes	100 SMS	60 days
52 NZD	Classic	3 GB	500 minutes	250 SMS	60 days
104 NZD	Heavy	10 GB	Unlimited	Unlimited	60 days

Visitor Data + Voice + SMS – Telecom Niue

The Visitor Data + Voice + SMS plans are combo bundles with data, minutes, and SMS and are exclusive to the Visitor SIM.

These Visitor Data + Voice + SMS plans are available:

Price	Plan	Data	Local & International Minutes	Local & International SMS 1	Validity
52 NZD	Visitor 7 Day	2 GB	30 minutes	30 SMS	7 days
73 NZD	Visitor 14 Day	4 GB	40 minutes	40 SMS	14 days

¹ local use and to Australia & New Zealand

Data Only Plans – Telecom Niue

The Data Only Plans are data-only bundles.

You can pick one of the following Data Only Plans:

Price	Plan	Data	Validity
4 NZD	Quick Bytes	250 MB	1 day
6 NZD	Night Owl	1 GB	1 night (between 22:00 – 6:00)
12 NZD	Big Byte	1 GB	60 days
32 NZD	Data 1	3 GB	60 days
52 NZD	Data 2	7 GB	60 days
78 NZD	Data 3	11 GB	60 days
104 NZD	Data 4	16 GB	60 days
112 NZD	100 Night Surfer	100 GB	60 nights (between 22:00 – 6:00)
160 NZD	Data 5	25 GB	60 days

Visitor Data Plan – Telecom Niue

The Visitor Data Plan is a data-only bundle exclusive to the Visitor SIM.

The following Visitor Data Plans are available:

Price	Plan	Data	Validity
6 NZD	Visitor Quick	250 MB	1 day
32 NZD	Data 1	3 GB	30 days
52 NZD	Data 2	7 GB	30 days
78 NZD	Data 3	11 GB	30 days

APN/Internet Settings – Telecom Niue

• Name: Telecom Niue-INTERNET
• APN: internet

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 Niue

Getting a SIM card from Telecom Niue would be your only when considering a SIM card in Niue.