Belgium SIM Cards: Here’s What You Need to Know

Coming soon to Belgium? When buying a Belgian SIM card, be sure to be aware of what to anticipate.

Today I’m going to talk to you about the topic of getting a SIM card and mobile phone in Belgium since it’s really important that you do. You should be able to communicate not only with people from your own country but also with those in your destination country if you are participating in an Erasmus exchange for one or two semesters.

Can You Buy a SIM Card in Belgium?

Anyone residing in or traveling to Belgium is free to purchase a Belgian SIM card from Proximus, Orange, BASE, Carrefour Mobile, Lycamobile, or Vectone Mobile.

Furthermore, for the best experience, while visiting Belgium, you must have a phone that is compatible with all of the frequencies used there. You also need a device without a SIM lock.

How to Buy a SIM Card in Belgium?

Prepaid SIM cards for Europe are available online as well as in some international airports, retail locations of mobile service providers, and convenience stores.

We don’t advise purchasing a SIM card at the airport because you can typically expect higher prices and limited data offers there. However, it’s important to keep in mind that not all airports will have SIM card stores, so be aware of this. Additionally, you might only have a few options when you see a store.

This is why I advise purchasing a SIM card directly from the retail location of the mobile service provider. Be aware that purchasing one might require your passport.

However, this means that you won’t receive data right away. Therefore, if you’d like to always be connected, you could use an eSIM or buy a European prepaid SIM card online.

Let’s now examine the data plans provided by Base, Proximus, and Orange.

Proximus SIM Cards

Proximus offers three different types of plans:

• Pay&go + prepaid card: Get a SIM card, EUR 10 credit, and 3 GB data for EUR 5 (online offer)
• Reload 10: 500 MB data for EUR 10
• Reload 15: 3 GB data for EUR 15
• Reload 25: 5 GB data for EUR 25

If you can buy your SIM online, the first choice is probably best for visitors.

Orange SIM Cards

Orange Belgium has a prepaid SIM card called a ‘Tempo Card’ available with the following options:

• 1 GB data, 500 texts, 31 days for EUR 10
• 5 GB data, 4000 texts, 31 days for EUR 15
• 8 GB data, 31 days for EUR 15
• 7 GB data, 5000 texts, 31 days for EUR 20

As you can see, it is a little more affordable than Proximus.

Base SIM Cards

Base offers several different prepaid options for customers, including the following:

• 4 GB data for EUR 15
• 8 GB data for EUR 25

Overall, we believe Proximus is the best choice if you intend to purchase your SIM card physically. However, if you can’t find their store, any will work.

How to Buy a Belgium Prepaid SIM Card Online?

You could order your SIM card online or from stores like Amazon if you want it to be ready when you arrive.

On Amazon, you can find a variety of plans. For instance, the Orange Holiday Europe Prepaid SIM Card is usable in more than 30 nations and offers 20BG of data for a period of 14 days. Belgium is included.

Check to see if the nations you intend to visit are included, but there are also plenty of other options worth taking into account.

Another choice is to purchase a pre-paid European SIM card through Simplify. Australian or United States residents can use this. Four different packages are available right now.

• 12 GB, valid for 30 days for $26 – works in 71 countries
• 100 GB, valid for 30 days for $49 – works in 44 countries
• 80 GB, valid for 28 days for $69 – works in 45 countries
• 40 GB, valid for 28 days for $55 – works in 45 countries

Best SIM Card in Belgium

Using a SIM card from Proximus, Orange, Base, or Airalo is advised if you’re traveling in Belgium. (Read on to find out more and I’ll talk about Airalo later!)

To that end, if you intend to travel to other nations while in Europe, you might want to choose a plan that provides coverage in additional European nations.

Can You Use Your Phone in Belgium?

For mobile communications, Belgium makes use of GSM technology. In Belgium, CDMA phones will not function. If your phone has a SIM card slot, it supports GSMA (99% of phones today do support GSM).

Traditional European frequencies are used primarily used in ITU Regions 1 and 3 (Africa, Asia (including the Middle East), Europe, and Oceania), which include Belgium.

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), using your phone in Belgium shouldn’t present any problems.

If you purchased your phone in the Americas (ITU Region 2) and have a low/medium-end device (without You might not be able to use your phone in Belgium or you might only be able to use slower networks (3G or 2G) if it doesn’t have Tri-Band or Quad-Band) support.

You can use your phone in Belgium (to a certain extent) if you have a medium- or high-end device with Tri-Band or Quad-Band support, including on 4G/LTE (and soon 5G NR).

Final Thoughts on SIM Cards in Belgium

As you can see, obtaining a prepaid SIM card or even an eSIM for your travels in Belgium is a fairly simple process. Even better, if you buy a European SIM card, you’ll be able to maintain connectivity wherever you go in Europe without switching SIM cards.

Getting a SIM card from Proximus or BASE would do you well when considering a Belgian SIM card.

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