Falkland Islands: Best Prepaid SIM Card Buying Guide (2023)

The Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) – known for their wildlife, hiking trails & landscapes.

The island group has an interesting history Argentinians would not like you to bring up, so I will not.

Currently, it is one of the many British Overseas Territories.

It is not the most popular travel destination in South America.

In fact, it is probably the most unpopular one.

Mostly because it is expensive to get there, expensive to be there & there is not that much to do.

Oh, and it is cold for South America standards.

But you may have a solid reason to visit the Falkland Islands. When you do, you still want to stay connected.

International roaming in the Falkland Islands is almost as unique as finding a unicorn because the local mobile operator barely has any roaming agreements.

Yes, you read that right – there is only one mobile operator in the Falkland Islands – Sure Falkland Islands (South Atlantic).

And its SIM cards and mobile data rates are not cheap.

You can get a Falkland Islands SIM card for 30 FKP (36.46 USD) in the Sure store in Stanley (Ross Road). They are not sold at (Port) Stanley Airport (nor RAF Mount Pleasant).

Yep – the Falkland Islands are the most expensive destination for SIM cards and mobile data in South America.

But for some, the costs may be worth it.

In this guide, I will tell you everything you need to know about buying a SIM card in the Falkland Islands. Let's get started.

Original publication: 26th of September 2020. Last updated: 4th of March 2023.

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Table of Contents

Can You Buy a SIM Card in the Falkland Islands?

Anyone living in or visiting the Falkland Islands can buy a Falkland Island SIM card from Sure in its store without any restrictions.

Your phone has to support the frequencies used in the Falkland Islands.

Furthermore, your phone needs to be unlocked (SIM-lock free) to use a Falkland Island SIM card.

Where Can You Buy a SIM Card in the Falkland Islands?

You can get a Falkland Island SIM card in the official store Sure. They are not available at (Port) Stanley Airport (nor RAF Mount Pleasant).

You can expect to pay the following for Falkland Island SIM cards:

• Sure Falkland Islands (Sure South Atlantic): 30 FPK

TIP: Check out my SIM card prices lookup tool for a detailed overview of SIM card starter pack benefits (for Falkland Island SIM cards and SIM cards worldwide).

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Can You Use Your Phone in the Falkland Islands?

The Falkland Islands use GSM technology for mobile communications. CDMA phones will not work in the Falkland Islands. If your phone has a SIM card slot, then it supports GSMA (99% of the phones do support GSM nowadays).

Traditional European frequencies are used in the Falkland Islands, which are mostly used in ITU Regions 1 and 3 (Africa, Asia (including the Middle East), Europe & Oceania).

The Americas (North-, Central– & South America + the Caribbean – ITU Region 2) use American Frequencies, which differ from the European ones.

If you bought your phone in Africa, Asia, Europe, or Oceania (ITU Regions 1 and 3), you should not experience any issues with using your phone in the the Falkland Islands – note that there is no 3G in this territory.

If you purchased your phone in the Americas (ITU Region 2) 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 the Falkland Islands or can only use 2G if lucky – there is no 3G in the Falkland Islands.

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

Mobile Operators, Networks & Frequencies in the Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands have one mobile operator offering prepaid services easily accessible to travelers:

• Sure Falkland Islands (Sure South Atlantic)

The following frequencies are used in the Falkland Islands:

• 2G: 900 MHz
• 3G: N/A – never had it
• 4G/LTE: 1800 MHz (Band 3)

You can learn more about frequencies in the video below.

To check whether your phone will work in the Falkland Islands, 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 the Falkland Islands

5G NR is not available in the Falkland Islands as of 2022, and the Falkland Island government has not made any andications of when it will auction 5G licenses.

Best SIM Card in the Falkland Islands

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Best eSIM in Falkland Islands

Unfortunately, none of the mobile operators offer eSIM to prepaid customers in Falkland Islands yet.

Note that the Falkland Island mobile operators require your identification (passport) for eSIMs and physical SIM cards (will be discussed later).

Therefore, if you wish to get an eSIM for Falkland Island without personal detail capturing, you can get the Falklands Island (Gentoo Mobile) eSIM from Airalo with 1 GB of data for 7 days.

Now, you may think this is a sad selection or that 1 GB of data is insufficient.

Both points are true… I agree – but you can make unlimited top-ups with the Gentoo Mobile eSIM through the Airalo website or apps.

So if you need 5 GB of data, you can purchase the Gentoo Mobile 1 GB eSIM and get four 1 GB top-ups.

Yes, it is a bit inconvenient for now; Airalo may offer 3 GB, 5 GB & 10 GB plans with a 30-day validity for Falkland Islands soon, as it did for many other countries it supports.

The Airalo links will automatically get you the available Phone Travel Wiz exclusive offers – a code is unnecessary.

For an in-depth analysis of the Falkland Islands Gentoo Mobile eSIMs (covering pros and cons as well), check out my Falkland Islands eSIMs Compared guide.

With this eSIM, you can skip Falkland Islands's SIM card registration scheme entirely and use it immediately upon arriving in Falkland Islands!

TIP: Check out my eSIM lookup tool for an overview of local mobile operators offering eSIMs to prepaid customers and travel eSIMs I use and love (for eSIMs in Falkland Islands and eSIMs worldwide).

Airalo introduced an eSIM for Latin America (Central- and South America): Latamlink. The Latamlink is following the popular Eurolink eSIM for 39 European countries and the fairly new Asialink eSIM for 14 Asian countries.

The Latamlink eSIM comes in four variants: 1 GB/7 days – very popular with PTW readers, 2 GB/15 days, 3 GB/30 days – most popular with PTW readers & 5 GB/30 days to be used in 19 other and 18 other Latin American countries:

¹ on 3G only

With the Latamlink eSIM, you can save a lot of money by skipping the initial SIM card costs per country you visit in Latin America!

As you can see, the Latamlink eSIM cannot be used in Falkland Islands (yet).

However, as many who visit Falkland Islands do not just stay in Falkland Islands (often go to Argentina as well), you can consider it.

Holafly also has an eSIM covering most of Central- and South America (although the eSIM is called South America eSIM).

But honestly, the Latamlink eSIM is superior (but you can consider the Holafly Central America eSIM if you want 6 GB of data instead in 13 countries – just do not forget about code PHONETRAVELWIZ if you go with Holafly).

TIP: Check out my eSIM lookup tool for an overview of local mobile operators offering eSIMs to prepaid customers and travel eSIMs I use and love (for eSIMs in Falkland Islands and eSIMs worldwide) and my Best Falkland Islands eSIMs Compared guide for an in-depth comparison of several eSIMs for Falkland Islands.

SIM Card Registration in the Falkland Islands

SIM card registration using your personal details, like your passport information, is not required in the Falkland Islands.

The Falkland Islands Mobile Internet Prices & Insights

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Currency in the Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands use the Falkland Islands Pound with the symbol FKP (which will be used throughout this guide).

Prices in the Falkland Islands are listed in (FK)£. For example, 25 FKP = £25.

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

• 1 FKP = 1.20 USD
• 10 FKP = 12.15 USD
• 100 FKP = 122.10 USD

For up-to-date FKP:USD exchange rates, search GBP (not FKP – you will get outdated results) to USD on Google, or replace USD with the currency you use.

Note that the Falkland Islands Pound is pegged 1:1 to the Pound Sterling/British Pounds (GBP).

GBP is pegged 1:1 to GBP (Pound Sterling/British Pounds), meaning that 1 FKP = 1 GBP.

Moreover, US Dollars and Euros are accepted by many merchants (but not all).

The Argentine Peso is not accepted at all.

Falkland Island Prepaid SIM Cards

Below, I will guide you through Sure Falkland Islands (South Atlantic) 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 the Falkland Islands have to offer to us.

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Sure Falkland Islands (Sure South Atlantic)

Sure Falkland Islands, just Sure but officially Sure South Atlantic, is the only mobile operator in the Falkland Islands.

It has a(n expensive) monopoly on the territory.

Sure uses the following frequencies:

• 2G: 900 MHz
• 3G: N/A – never had it
• 4G/LTE: 1800 MHz (Band 3)

This is what you will learn about Sure:

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

Coverage – Sure Falkland Islands (Sure South Atlantic)

Coming soon.

SIM Card Price – Sure Falkland Islands (Sure South Atlantic)

You can get a Sure SIM card for 30 FKP with 10 FKP credit in the Sure store in Stanley (Ross Road). They are not sold at (Port) Stanley Airport (nor RAF Mount Pleasant).

You may have to dial *451# to activate your Sure SIM card if your SIM card does not work upon purchase.

Sure has no eSIMs.

Note that the Falkland Island mobile operators require your identification (passport) for (future) eSIMs and physical SIM cards.

Therefore, if you wish to get an eSIM for Falkland Island (without personal detail capturing), you can get the Falklands Island (Gentoo Mobile) eSIM from Airalo (1 GB/7 days – top-ups are available).

The Airalo links will automatically get you the available Phone Travel Wiz exclusive offers – a code is unnecessary.

Airalo introduced an eSIM for Latin America (Central- and South America): Latamlink. The Latamlink is following the popular Eurolink eSIM for 39 European countries and the fairly new Asialink eSIM for 14 Asian countries.

The Latamlink eSIM comes in four variants: 1 GB/7 days – very popular with PTW readers, 2 GB/15 days, 3 GB/30 days – most popular with PTW readers & 5 GB/30 days to be used in 19 other and 18 other Latin American countries:

¹ on 3G only

With the Latamlink eSIM, you can save a lot of money by skipping the initial SIM card costs per country you visit in Latin America!

As you can see, the Latamlink eSIM cannot be used in Falkland Islands (yet).

However, as many who visit Falkland Islands do not just stay in Falkland Islands (often go to Argentina as well), you can consider it.

TIP: check out my Best Falkland Islands eSIMs Compared guide for an in-depth comparison of several eSIMs for Falkland Islands, including ones not mentioned above.

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Top-Up, Recharge & Balance Check – Sure Falkland Islands (Sure South Atlantic)

Packages, Plans, Bundles & Offers – Sure Falkland Islands (Sure South Atlantic)

Sure has only one data-featured prepaid plan: Pay As You Go Boosters. It is a data-only plan (without 5G NR access).

I will list all the prices in FKP (Falkland Island Pound).

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

The following Pay As You Go Boosters are available, which you can activate by dialing the Activation Code:

Price	Plan	Data	Validity	Activation Code
6 FKP	100 MB 7 Day Booster	100 MB	7 days	*456*1#
10 FKP	200 MB 14 Day Booster	200 MB	14 days	*456*2#
15 FKP	400 MB 30 Day Booster	400 MB	30 days	*456*3#

APN/Internet Settings – Sure Falkland Islands (Sure South Atlantic)

• Name: sureflk
• APN: sureflk

Note: do not use “sureflkpm” as a prepaid customer. That APN is reserved for postpaid customers. 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 the Falkland Islands

Getting a SIM card from Sure would be your only option when considering a Falkland Island SIM card.