Which local network to lean on, what a tourist SIM costs on the ground, and the one coverage caveat that matters - for 26 destinations across the Americas.
| Country | Main operator | Local SIM | Coverage note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | Movistar Argentina | $8-20 | Claro offers the widest network with the best national reach. |
| Bahamas | BTC | $15-30 | BTC offers the incumbent with the widest reach including the Out Islands. |
| Belize | Digi | $15-30 | DigiCell (BTL) offers the dominant network with the widest reach including the cayes. |
| Bolivia | Tigo | $10-22 | Entel offers the state operator with the widest national reach. |
| Brazil | TIM Brasil | $10-25 | Vivo offers the widest network with the best national reach and broad 5G. |
| Canada | Rogers Wireless | $30-50 | Telus excellent coverage especially in the west. |
| Chile | — | $8-20 | Entel offers the widest network with the best reach across the country's long geography. |
| Colombia | Movistar | $8-20 | Claro by far the widest network with the best national reach. |
| Costa Rica | Claro | $10-25 | Kolbi offers the state operator with the widest reach including rural and coastal areas. |
| Dominican Republic | Altice Dominicana | $10-25 | Claro offers the widest network with the best national and coastal reach. |
| Ecuador | Movistar Ecuador | $8-20 | Claro offers the widest network with the best national reach. |
| El Salvador | Claro El Salvador | $8-18 | Tigo offers the widest network with strong coastal and urban reach. |
| Guatemala | Claro Guatemala | $8-18 | Tigo offers the widest network with strong reach across the highlands. |
| Guyana | Digicel Guyana | $12-28 | Digicel wide coastal coverage and the best reach toward the interior. |
| Haiti | Digicel | $12-28 | Digicel offers the dominant network with by far the widest reach. |
| Honduras | Claro | $8-18 | Tigo offers the widest network with the best reach including the Bay Islands. |
| Jamaica | Digicel | $12-28 | Digicel offers the widest network with the best national and resort reach. |
| Mexico | Movistar México | $10-25 | Telcel by far the widest network with the best rural and coastal reach. |
| Nicaragua | Claro Nicaragua | $8-18 | Claro offers the widest network with the best national reach. |
| Panama | Movistar Panama | $10-22 | Tigo offers the widest network with strong national reach. |
| Paraguay | Claro Paraguay | $8-18 | Tigo offers the widest network with the best national reach. |
| Peru | Movistar | $8-20 | Claro offers the widest network with the best national reach. |
| Puerto Rico | Claro Puerto Rico | $20-40 | Claro wide national coverage including rural areas. |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Digicel | $12-28 | Digicel wide and reliable coverage across both islands. |
| United States | Verizon Wireless | $30-50 | T-Mobile offers the widest and fastest 5G network. |
| Uruguay | Movistar | $10-22 | Antel offers the state operator with the widest and most reliable coverage. |
"Top" means the network we'd hand a traveller who can only choose one - the best balance of nationwide reach and reliability where tourists actually go, not simply the largest subscriber base. Local SIM prices are typical tourist-package rates bought on arrival, in USD.
Reviewed monthly against operator reports and field observation. History from June 2026.
It is the network we would hand to a traveller who can choose only one: the best balance of reach and reliability where visitors actually go, not simply the largest subscriber base.
No. Local SIM figures are typical tourist-package prices bought on arrival and are shown separately from the travel-eSIM price index.
The dataset is refreshed monthly. Each page shows its current update month and links to the open data-americas.json source file.
Yes. The dataset and derived figures are published under CC BY 4.0. Credit DriftAmericas and link to the relevant page or source file.
DriftAmericas, "the Americas Mobile Operators Reference", September 2026. https://driftamericas.com/data/data-americas.jsonOpen data under CC BY 4.0. Free to reuse with attribution.