Phones, SIM cards and the internet

From abroad, Mauritius is dialled with the code +230. Once on the island, the question soon arises: keep your usual plan, or buy a local SIM card. For the second option, the island has three mobile operators, my.t, Emtel and Chili, and one rule applies to every buyer, visitors included: the card is registered in the name of the person who buys it.

Since the SIM card registration regulations of 2023, the operator collects, checks and keeps the identity details of anyone buying a new card. The rule applies to Mauritians, resident foreigners, companies, diplomatic missions and tourists passing through. Registration takes place at the time of purchase, by the operator itself.

The tourist presents a passport, or other valid travel papers, together with proof of an address in Mauritius. The operator then takes a colour photograph of the buyer and compares it with the one in the passport. There are no exceptions: no photograph, no registration, and no registration, no card. Establishments holding a tourist licence may buy cards on behalf of their guests, but activation follows the same rule, with the traveller’s passport, address and photograph.

The law takes the matter seriously. Giving false or misleading information to have a card registered is an offence, punishable by a fine of up to 50,000 rupees and up to one year in prison.

One technical change concerns travellers directly. On 3 October 2025, the government approved the gradual phasing out of 3G, at the request of the operators, who have already begun dismantling their networks, each at its own pace. They have undertaken to offer no 3G service beyond 2028 at the latest. Devices that work only on 3G, some older phones in particular, will stop working once the networks are switched off. Most customers already use devices compatible with 4G or 5G and are not affected; with an older phone, it is best to make sure before leaving home.

In the same spirit, on 15 April 2026 the regulator opened the 2,300 to 2,400 megahertz frequency band to next-generation mobile networks, 5G included, with the aim of preparing the move to 5G Advanced.

In 2023, Mauritius had 2,104,700 mobile subscriptions, a penetration rate of 167 per cent: the country has far more subscriptions than inhabitants. The same year, there were 2,063,000 internet subscriptions, 2,052,800 of them broadband.

To measure the real quality of a connection, the regulator launched KaliteNet on 11 May 2026, a national platform available as a mobile app and on the web. Free, anonymous and optional, it measures download and upload speeds, latency, the quality of browsing and streaming, signal strength and coverage, in Mauritius as well as in Rodrigues and Agaléga. The results go to the regulator, which uses them to monitor the quality of service region by region. It is also to the regulator that consumers turn in a dispute with an operator: the law charges it with receiving their complaints and, where necessary, passing them on to the competent authorities.

Connectivity is reaching the furthest corners of the country. On 28 August 2026, the regulator entrusted Emtel with providing internet access on Raphael Island, in the Saint Brandon archipelago: a link via low Earth orbit satellites will offer 34 megabits per second for downloads and 12 for uploads, serving the coast guard, the meteorological services and the fishing company based on the island.

Many hotels offer Wi-Fi at no extra charge: Récif Attitude provides it free in the rooms and public areas, LUX* Grand Baie at high speed, with USB charging ports in all its accommodation.

A few short numbers deserve a place in your contacts. Dial 150 for directory enquiries, 152 for tourist information, 171 for the weather and 96 for cyclone bulletins. In an emergency, the police answer on 999 or 112, the SAMU on 114 and the fire service on 995 or 115. At the airport, 8965 gives information on the day’s flights from a Mauritian phone. In the terminal, as in the waiting areas, sockets let you charge your phone before the flight.