Madagascar is, as many claim, a wildlife paradise. There are so many types of animals in the country that it is impressive. Let's not forget about the Malagasy nature and attractions.
Unfortunately, no penguins live in Madagascar, as the movie you were thinking about claim to be. Instead, you can find lemurs, chameleons, tigers, giraffes, and hippos. Those are also cool (and dangerous).
Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, has the beautiful Lake Anosy. Head to Nosy Be for a clear-water beach. Also, check out the Lokobe Reserve and Lemuria Land Park while there. Tsingy de Bemaraha Strict Nature Reserve has impressive-looking limestones. Being bored in Madagascar? No way!
You probably want to share your Madagascar experiences with your friends and family on social media. Roaming with your provider in Madagascar can be expensive, so you would be better off getting a local SIM card, like a Madagasy one.
In this article, I will go over everything you need to know about buying a SIM card in Madagascar. Let's get started, shall we?
Original publication: 10th of May 2020. Last updated: 15th of January 2024.
Table of Contents
Mobile Operators, Networks & Frequencies in Madagascar
Madagascar has four mobile operators offering prepaid services easily accessible to travelers:
- Airtel Madagascar
- Telma
- Orange Madagascar
- Bip by Blueline
The following frequencies are used in Madagascar:
Madagascar has 4 telecom providers: Airtel Madagascar, Telma, Orange Madagascar, and Bip by Blueline. All operators have 2G, 3G, ad 4G network.
A Note About Blueline
Blueline, which owns Bip, also started offering 3G and 4G/LTE services, but only in the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo. They are, therefore, not recommended for travelers, which is why they will not be discussed in this article.
Best SIM Card in Madagascar
If you want to buy a SIM card in Madagascar, I would recommend going with Airtel because they have the best coverage and speeds, although coverage is mainly in the populated area. Telma can be considered as a cheaper alternative.
SIM Card Registration in Madagascar
Like most countries in Africa, you have to register yourself when buying a SIM card. The store may take a photograph of you as well. This was not done consistently in the past, but it may be right now.
- Find out which countries have SIM card registration regulations and what is required from you (lookup tool)
Madagascar Prepaid SIM Cards
Below, I will guide you through the Malagasy operators 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 said, let's see what Madagascar has to offer to us.
Airtel Madagascar
Airtel Madagascar, just Airtel, is the largest operator in Madagascar. Although they are good, coverage with Airtel can be a hit or miss. Your service will be reliable at the places where you do have coverage, though.
SIM Card Price – Airtel Madagascar
Airtel SIM cards are sold for 2000 MGA ($0.55) in Airtel shops at authorized dealers. Top-up cards can be found there too.
- Find out how much SIM cards cost in every country, including data-only SIM cards and tourist SIM cards, offered by each mobile operator + information about starter benefits (lookup tool)
Airtel has various NET M’LAY plans, which are their data plans. They are sold in 3 variants: daily, weekly, and monthly. Most of these plans come with bonus data that can be used between 11 PM until 5 AM.
Airtel NET M'LAY Daily Plans
The following 5 daily NET M’LAY plans are available:
- 100 MGA: 10 MB. Activation: dial *114*68#
- 200 MGA: 20 MB. Activation: dial *114*41#
- 500 MGA: 30 MB and 30 MB at night. Activation: dial *114*47#
- 1000 MGA: 65 MB and 65 MB at night. Activation: dial *114*4#
- 2000 MGA: 135 MB and 135 MB at night. Activation: dial *114*48#
Airtel NET M'LAY Weekly Plans
Need a plan that will last you a week? There are 4 NET M’LAY weekly plans to choose from:
- 3000 MGA: 200 MB and 200 MB at night. Activation: dial *114*6#
- 6000 MGA: 425 MB and 425 MB at night. Activation: dial *114*8#
- 10 000 MGA: 725 MB and 725 MB at night. Activation: dial *114*9#
- 12 500 MGA: 1 GB and 1 GB at night. Activation: dial *114*69#
Airtel NET M'LAY Monthly Plans
Finally, you have 5 NET M’LAY plans that are valid for 30 days:
- 25 000 MGA: 2 GB and 2 GB at night. Activation: dial *114*62#
- 30 000 MGA: 2.44 GB (2500 MB) and 2.44 GB at night. Activation: dial *114*11#
- 49 000 MGA: 4 GB and 4 GB at night. Activation: dial *114*12#
- 80 000 MGA: 6.5 GB 6.5 GB at night. Activation: dial *114*14#
- 199 000 MGA: 55 GB and 50 GB at night*. Activation: dial *114*20#
* Night time data can be used between 8 PM and 6 AM with the 199 000 MGA NET M’LEY plan.
Telma
Telma is the second-largest operator in Madagascar. Unlike with Airtel, where service is reliable where they have coverage, Telma’s coverage is unreliable as soon as you leave bigger towns.
SIM Card Price – Telma
Telma SIM cards can be bought for 500 MGA in Telma stores. Recharge cards are sold from 1000 MGA to 50 000 MGA, or you can top-up online. Dial *358# to check your Telma credit balance and *358*14# to check your data balance.
- Find out how much SIM cards cost in every country, including data-only SIM cards and tourist SIM cards, offered by each mobile operator + information about starter benefits (lookup tool)
Telma has various combo packs that include data and data-only packs. Only the combo packs that come with data will be highlighted below.
Telma M'ora M'ora
Telma M’ora & M’ora is one of the combo packs Telma offers. The data allowances in these packs are small:
- 500 MGA: 20 MB and/or 20 SMS for 1 day. Activation: dial #322*20#
- 800 MGA: 80 MB and/or 80 SMS for 1 day. Activation: dial #322*26#
- 1000 MGA: 20 MB and 20 SMS for 1 day. Activation: dial #322*21#
- 2000 MGA: 50 MB and 50 SMS for 2 days. Activation: dial #322*32#
- 5000 MGA: 150 MB and 100 SMS for 7 days. Activation: dial #322*35#
The 2000 MGA and 5000 MGA plans come with a night bonus, although it is unclear how much this bonus is.
Telma Offre First
Telma Offre First are Telma’s combo plans that include minutes as well. Some of these plans have a data allowace that can be used at night, which is between 9 PM to 6 AM. The following 5 bundles are available, which are all valid for 30 days:
- 10 000 MGA: 150 MB (100 MB anytime and 50 MB at night), 5 minutes, and 100 SMS. Activation: dial #322*91#
- 15 000 MGA: 400 MB (200 MB anytime and 200 MB at night), 5 minutes, and 150 SMS. Activation: dial #322*92#
- 30 000 MGA: 1 GB (500 MB anytime and 500 MB at night), 15 minutes, and 500 SMS. Activation: dial #322*93#
- 50 000 MGA: 2 GB (1 GB anytime and 1 GB at night), 30 minutes, and 1000 SMS. Activation: dial #322*95#
- 100 000 MGA: 5 GB, 60 minutes, and 500 SMS. Activation: dial #322*96#
- 200 000 MGA: 20 GB, 60 minutes, and 1200 SMS. Activation: dial #322*97#
Telma Net Plans
Only need data? Consider these Telma Net plans:
- 1000 MGA: 50 MB and 50 MB at night (10 PM – 6 AM) for 1 day. Activation: dial #322*6#
- 3000 MGA: 150 MB and 150 MB at night for 7 days. Activation: dial #322*70#
- 6000 MGA: 350 MB and 350 MB at night for 7 days. Activation: dial #322*71#
- 10 000 MGA: 750 MB and 750 MB at night for 7 days. Activation: dial #322*72#
- 10 000 MGA: 250 MB for 30 days. Activation: dial #322*7#
- 12 500 MGA: 1 GB and 1 GB at night.Activation: dial #322*73#
- 15 000 MGA: 500 MB for 30 days. Activation: dial #322*80#
- 25 000 MGA: 2 GB and 2 GB night bonus for 30 days. Activation: dial #322*8#
- 50 000 MGA: 3 GB for 30 days. Activation: dial #322*12#
- 75 000 MGA: 6 GB and 6 GB night bonus for 30 days. Activation: dial #322*13#
- 99 000 MGA: 8 GB for 30 days. Activation: dial #322*14#
- 115 000 MGA: 10 GB and 10 GB night bonus for 30 days. Activation: dial #322*9#
- 149 000 MGA: 20 GB for 30 days. Activation: dial #322*10#
- 175 000 MGA: 30 GB for 30 days. Activation: dial #322*11#
- 195 000 MGA: 50 GB for 30 days. Activation: dial #322*15#
- 429 000 MGA: 150 GB for 30 days. Activation: dial #322*150#
Orange Madagascar
Orange Madagascar, just Orange, has good 2G coverage throughout the country, which is useless for data. 3G can be found in around 200 towns, and 4G/LTE in an increasing number of towns and Antananarivo. Some Malagasy friends of mine claim Orange has the best coverage, while others say they are the worst.
SIM Card Price – Orange Madagascar
Orange SIM cards, called SIM orange, can be purchased for 1000 MGA, although the prices are sometimes more. Recharge cards can be bought throughout Madagascar.
- Find out how much SIM cards cost in every country, including data-only SIM cards and tourist SIM cards, offered by each mobile operator + information about starter benefits (lookup tool)
Orange data packs are called Be Connect. These plans last from 1 day up to 60 days:
- 200 MGA: 10 MB for 1 day
- 500 MGA: 20 MB for 1 day
- 1000 MGA: 50 MB for 1 day
- 3000 MGA: 100 MB for 3 days
- 7200 MGA: 250 MB for 5 days
- 13 500 MGA: 500 MB for 7 days
- 34 500 MGA: 1 GB for 21 days
- 77 500 MGA: 2 GB for 30 days
- 97 000 MGA: 5 GB for 30 days
- 148 500 MGA: 8 GB for 30 days
- 175 000 MGA: 10 GB for 30 days
- 220 000 MGA: 20 GB for 45 days
- 245 000 MGA: 30 GB for 60 days
- 275 000 MGA: 50 GB for 60 days
Bip (Blueline)
Bip by Blueline is the newest operator in Madagascar. They offer coverage in all regions, but their coverage is even more limited than the other operators.
SIM Card Price – Bip (Blueline)
Bip SIM cards, called Tongasoa, are sold for 1000 MGA in Bip stores.
- Find out how much SIM cards cost in every country, including data-only SIM cards and tourist SIM cards, offered by each mobile operator + information about starter benefits (lookup tool)
Bip TSIK’ TSIK’
Bip has TSIK’ TSIK’ offers, which are their 4 combo plans that all come with free Facebook:
- 1000 MGA: 20 MB, 6 minutes, and 6 SMS for 48 hours. Activation: dial *320*1000#
- 2000 MGA: 30 MB, 10 minutes, and 10 SMS for 72 hours. Activation: dial *320*2000#
- 5000 MGA: 50 MB, 20 minutes, and 20 SMS for 7 days. Activation: dial *320*5000#
- 20 000 MGA: 200 MB, 60 minutes, and 60 SMS for 30 days. Activation: dial *320*20000#
Bip Extra Data
If you only need data, consider one of Bip’s Extra Data plans:
- 100 MGA: 10 MB for 24 hours. Activation: dial *390*100#
- 1000 MGA: 50 MB for 48 hours. Activation: dial *390*1000#
- 2500 MGA: 100 MB for 7 days. Activation: dial *390*2500#
- 3500 MGA: 250 MB for 7 days. Activation: dial *390*3500#
- 11 000 MGA: 1 GB for 7 days. Activation: dial *390*11000#
- 20 000 MGA: 1 GB + 1 GB bonus for 30 days. Activation: dial *390*20000#
- 42 000 MGA: 3 GB + 2 GB bonus for 30 days. Activation: dial *390*42000#
- 109 000 MGA: 10 GB + 5 GB bonus for 30 days. Activation: dial *390*109000#
The Preferred Way to Stay Connected When Traveling in Madagascar
Getting a SIM card from Airtel or Telma would do you well when considering a Malagasy SIM card.