and Western Union. Money transfer companies accept both US and CI dollars. MoneyGram
MoneyGram has eight locations on Grand Cayman and two on Cayman Brac. It offers a fast and secure way to send money. Tel: (345) 945 5616. Western Union
Western Union is located in the four Foster’s Supermarkets in Grand Cayman and L M Superstore in Cayman Brac. COMMUNICATIONS
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Cayman’s sophisticated tourism and financial industries have ensured that telecommunications are as advanced as those you would find in any developed country. Options for mobile and residential phone services, and high speed internet connections (via fixed lines and through mobile data), are available across all three Islands. In 2016 amendments to the Information and Communications Technology Authority Act gave regulators the power to fine phone, TV and internet providers up to CI$50,000 for violations to their licenses, such as not providing internet speeds that are advertised to customers. This has been great for consumers as it ensures reliability. Choosing the right provider will depend both on the services available in your area and your personal usage. Bundled options from the same provider can result in significant discounts. It is worth noting, however, that due to the small population of the Islands, the cost of broadband and residential and mobile phone services tend to be quite a bit higher than in Europe and North America. TELEPHONE SERVICES Every provider in the Cayman Islands must be able to provide local and long distance telephone services. All the mobile phone providers offer an international direct dialling service and depending on your plan rate, prices are often comparable to those for fixed lines. Mobile phone service 134
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options are varied and there are choices to suit any need, including voice, mobile data, text messaging and voicemail. The mobile providers in the Cayman Islands are Digicel and FLOW. Internet services are available from all four providers: Logic, FLOW, Digicel and C3 Pure Fibre. High speed fibre optic cables and networks are increasing in availability, with Logic, FLOW and C3 providing even higher internet speeds to homes in Grand Cayman than previously possible. Standalone and bundled internet and VoIP options are available, and in some instances discounts are offered for taking more than one service. Residential phone service choices are plenty with installation times varying from a couple of hours to a couple of weeks depending on the company and the type of service you choose. If you are building a home in a newly developed area and want a fixed line installed, check directly with your provider to confirm the expected time of installation. Overview of Local & Long Distance Telephone Services Logic and C3 Pure Fibre offer phone services which allow users to make calls at home using an internet connection rather than traditional fixed lines. Logic’s Chatterbox service works with any internet provider and gives you unlimited international calls for a fixed monthly fee. Several monthly plans are available, depending on which countries you call the most. For those who want family or friends to be able to call them in Cayman without having to pay for overseas calls, the Chatterbox International Numbers mean Cayman residents can be reached on a US, UK or other country number. FLOW provides consumers with residential phones that use fixed landlines. They offer three home phone plans: Residential, Home 500 and Home 800. All three packages have a monthly line rental charge with the difference occurring in free local call minutes and discounts on international calls.
MOBILE SERVICES Two mobile service providers operate in the Cayman Islands: Digicel and FLOW. Both companies offer prepaid options (or pay-as-you-go top up and plans), as well as postpaid plans (billed per month). Plans typically include voice calls and text messaging, and most also include a certain number of international calls (anywhere minutes) and data allowance. Most residents have Android or iOS smartphone devices. FLOW and Digicel both use 4G LTE technology – so mobile internet speeds are as fast as you will find anywhere in the world. The MyDigicel and MyFlow apps enable customers to view and pay their bills with postpaid, or top up credit with prepaid phones, as well as activate a number of addon plans, such as reduced international calling rates, roaming and data plans. The MyDigicel app also grants weekly rewards to users through customer loyalty programmes. Prepaid Mobile Services The advantage of prepaid mobile phones is that there is no contract, no monthly fee and no deposit required. Prepaid SIM cards can be purchased from Digicel and FLOW stores, as well as from other retailers, such as supermarkets and gas stations. If you have an unlocked phone, all you need to do is purchase the SIM card, put it in your phone, add calling credit with a plan and start calling. Credit can be added (also known as topping up) at the same locations, as well as at some ATMs, online and through the mobile service providers’ apps. The disadvantage of prepaid phones is that the per minute rates are higher than for postpaid plans. Local calls cost 20 to 45 cents per minute depending on the time of day and on whether you are calling numbers within your network, or fixed and mobile numbers outside the network. You may purchase calling plans for prepaid to save on regular calling rates. The prepaid credit can be used for making calls, using mobile data or for texting. You
